Join Host Bree Carlile as she reads the fifty-fifth chapter of Great Expectations.

Come with us as we release one bite a day of one of your favorite classic novels, plays & short stories. Bree reads these classics like she reads to her daughter, one chapter a day. If you love books or audiobooks and want something to listen to as you're getting ready, driving to work, or as you're getting ready for bed, check out Bite at a Time Books!

Follow, rate, and review Bite at a Time Books where we read you your favorite classics, one bite at a time. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Check out our website, or join our Facebook Group!

Get exclusive Behind the Scenes content on our YouTube!

We are now part of the Bite at a Time Books Productions network!

If you ever wondered what inspired your favorite classic novelist to write their stories, what was happening in their lives or the world at the time, check out Bite at a Time Books Behind the Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow us on all the socials: Instagram - Twitter - Facebook - TikTok

Follow Bree at: Instagram - Twitter - Facebook

San the book and let's see what we can find.

Take it chapter by chapter, one bite at a time so many adventures and mountains we can climb take it word for word like by line.

One bite at a time.

My name is Brie Carlyle and I love to read and wanted to share my passion with listeners like you.

If you want to know what's coming next and vote on upcoming books, sign up for our newsletter@byetatimebooks.com you'll also find our new t shirts in the shop, including podcast shirts and quote shirts from your favorite classic novels.

Be sure to follow my show on your favorite podcast platform so you get all the new episodes.

You can find most of our links in the show notes, but also our website, bytetimebooks.com includes all of the links for our show, including to our Patreon to support the show and YouTube, where we have special behind the narration of the episodes.

We're part of the Bite at a Time Books productions network.

If you'd also like to hear what inspired your favorite classic authors to write their novels and what was going on in the world at the time, check out the bite at a Time books behind the story podcast.

Wherever you listen to podcasts, please note, while we try to keep the text as close to the original as possible, some words have been changed to honor the marginalized communities who've identified the words as harmful and to stay in alignment with bite at a time book's brand values.

Today we'll be continuing great expectations by Charles Dickens chapter 55 he was taken to the police court next day and would have been immediately committed for trial, but that it was necessary to send down for an old officer of the prison ship from which he had once escaped to speak to its identity.

Nobody doubted it.

But Compison, who had meant to depose to it, was tumbling on the tides, dead, and it happened that there was not at that time any prison officer in London who could give the required evidence.

I'd gone direct to Mr.

Jaggers at his private house on my arrival overnight to retain his assistance, and Mr.

Jaggers, on the prisoner's behalf, would admit nothing.

It was the sole resource.

Fareet told me that the case must be over in five minutes, when the witness was there, and that no power on earth could prevent its going against us, I imparted to Mr.

Jaggers my design of keeping him in ignorance of the fate of his wealth.

Mr.

Jaggers was queerless and angry with me for having let it slip through my fingers, and said, we must moralize by and by and try all events for some of it.

But he did not conceal from me that although there might be many cases in which the forfeiture would not be exacted, there were no circumstances in this case to make it one of them.

I understood that very well.

I was not related to the outlaw or connected with him by any recognizable tie.

He had put his hands, no writing or settlement, in my favor before his apprehension, and to do so now would be idle.

I had no claim.

And I finally resolved, and ever afterwards abided by the resolution.

That my heart should never be sickened with the hopeless task of attempting to establish one.

There appeared to be reason for supposing that the drowned informer had hoped for a reward out of this forfeiture.

And had obtained some accurate knowledge of Magwitch's affairs.

When his body was found many miles from the scene of his death.

And so horribly disfigured that he was only recognizable by the contents of his pockets.

Notes were still legible, folded in a case he carried.

Among these were the name of banking house in New South Wales.

Where some of money was.

And the designation of certain lands of considerable value.

Both these heads of information were in a list that Magwitch, while in prison, gave to Mr.

Jaggers of the possessions he supposed I should inherit.

His ignorance, poor fellow, at last, served him he never mistrusted, but that my inheritance was quite safe with Mr.

Jaggers'aid.

After three days'delay during which the crown prosecution stood over for the production of the witness from the prison ship, the witness came and completed the easy case.

He was committed to take his trial at the next sessions, which would come on in a month.

It was at this dark time of my life that Herbert returned home one evening, a good deal cast down, and said, my dear Handel, I fear I shall soon have to leave you his partner.

Having prepared me for that, I was less surprised than he thought.

We shall lose a fine opportunity if I put off going to Cairo.

And I'm very much afraid I must go.

Handle when you most need me.

Herbert.

I shall always need you, because I shall always love you.

But my need is no greater now than at any other time.

You'll be so lonely.

I have not leisure to think of that, said I.

You know that I'm always with him to the full extent of the time allowed.

And that I should be with him all day long if I could.

And when I come away from him, you know that my thoughts are with him.

The dreadful condition to which he was brought was so appalling to both of us.

That we could not refer to it in plainer words.

My dear fellow, said Herbert, let the near prospect of our separation, for it is very near be my justification for troubling you about yourself.

Have you thought of your future?

No, for I've been afraid to think of any future.

But yours cannot be dismissed.

Indeed, my dear, dear handle, it must not be dismissed.

I wish you would enter on it now, as far as a few friendly words go with me.

I will, said I, in this branch house of ours, handle, we must have a I saw that his delicacy was avoiding the right word, so I said, a clerk, a clerk.

And I hope it is not at all unlikely that he may expand as a clerk of your acquaintance has expanded into a partner.

Now, handle.

In short, my dear boy, will you come to me?

There was something charmingly cordial and engaging in the manner in which, after saying, now, handle, as if it were the grave beginning of a portentious business exortium, he had suddenly given up that tone, stretched out his honest hand, and spoken like a schoolboy.

Claire and I've talked about it again and again.

Herbert pursued, and the dear little thing begged me only this evening with tears in her eyes, to say to you that if you will live with us when we come together, she'll do her best to make you happy, and to convince her husband's friend that he is her friend too.

We should get on so well, handle.

I thanked her heartily, and I thanked him heartily, but said I could not yet make sure of joining him as he so kindly offered.

Firstly, my mind was too preoccupied to be able to take in the subject clearly.

Secondly, yes, secondly, there was a vague something lingering in my thoughts that will come out very near the end of this slight narrative.

But if you thought, Herbert, that you could, without doing any injury to your business, leave the question open for a little while, for any while, cried Herbert.

Six months?

A year.

Not so long as that, said I.

Two or three months at most.

Herbert was highly delighted when we shook hands on this arrangement, and said he could now take courage to tell me that he believed he must go away at the end of the week.

And Clara, said I.

The dear little thing returned.

Herbert holds dutifully to her father as long as he lasts, but he won't last long.

Mrs.

Wimple confides to me that he is certainly going not to say an unfeeling thing, said I.

He cannot do better than go.

I'm afraid that must be admitted, said Herbert.

And then I shall come back for the dear little thing, and the dear little thing and I will walk quietly into the nearest church.

Remember, the blessed darling comes of no family, my dear handle, and never looked into the red book and hasn't a notion about her.

Grandpa paw.

What a fortune for the son of my mother.

On Saturday in that same week, I took my leave of Herbert, full of bright hope, but sad and sorry to leave me.

As he sat on one of the seaport mailcoaches.

I went into a coffee house to write a little note to Clara, telling her he had gone off sending his love to her over and over again, and then went to my lonely home, if it deserved the name, for it was now no home to me, and I had no home anywhere.

On the stairs I encountered Wimick, who was coming down after an unsuccessful application of his knuckles to my door.

I had not seen him alone since the disastrous issue of the attempted flight, and he'd come, in his private and personal capacity, to say a few words of explanation in reference to that failure.

The late compy sin, said Wimk, ad by little and little got at the bottom of half of the regular business, now transacted, and it was from the.

Talk of some of his people in trouble, some of his people being always.

In trouble, that I heard what I did.

I kept my ears open, seeming to have them shut, until I heard that he was absent, and I thought that would be the best time for making the attempt.

I can only suppose now that it was a part of his policy, as a very clever man, habitually to deceive his own instruments.

You don't blame me, I hope, Mr.

Pip, I'm sure I tried to serve you with all my heart.

I am as sure of that, Wimick, as you can be, and I thank you most earnestly for all your interest and friendship.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

It's a bad job, said Wimick, scratching his head, and I assure you I haven't been so cut up for a long time.

What I look at is a sacrifice.

Of so much portable property.

Dear me, what I think of Wimick is the poor owner of the property.

Yes, to be sure, said Wimick.

Of course there can be no objection to your being sorry for him, and I'd put down a five pound note myself to get him out of it.

But what I look at is this.

The late Combieson, having been beforehand with him in intelligence of his return, and being so determined to bring him to book, I do not think he could have been saved, whereas the portable property certainly could have been saved.

That's the difference between the property and the owner, don't you see?

I invited Wimick to come upstairs and refresh himself with a glass of grog before walking to Walworth.

He accepted the invitation while he was drinking his moderate allowance, he said, with nothing to lead up to it, and after having appeared rather fidgety.

What do you think of my meaning to take a holiday on Monday, Mr.

Pip?

Why, suppose you've not done such a thing these twelve months?

These twelve years, more likely, said Wimk.

Yes, I'm going to take a holiday.

More than that, I'm going to take a walk.

More than that, I'm going to ask you to take a walk with me.

I was about to excuse myself as being but a bad companion just then when Wimk anticipated me.

I know your engagements, said he, and I know you're out of sorts, Mr.

Pip, but if you could oblige me, I should take it as a kindness.

It ain't a long walk, and it's an early one.

Say, it might occupy you, including breakfast on the walk from eight to twelve.

Couldn't you stretch a point and manage it?

He had done so much for me at various times that this was very little to do for him.

I said I could manage it, would manage it.

And he was so very much pleased by my acquiescence that I was pleased too.

At his particular request.

I appointed to call for him at the castle at 08:30 on Monday morning, and so we parted for the time punctual to my appointment.

I rang at the castle gate on the Monday morning and was received by Wimick himself, who struck me as looking tighter than usual and having a sleeker hat on.

Within there were two glasses of rum and milk prepared, and two biscuits.

The age must have been stirring with the lark.

For glancing into the perspective of his bedroom, I observed that his bed was empty.

We had fortified ourselves with the rum and milk and biscuits and were going out for the walk with that training preparation on us.

I was considerably surprised to see Wimick take up a fishing rod and put it over his shoulder.

Why, we're not going fishing, said I.

No, returned Wimick, but I like to walk with one.

I thought this odd, however, I said nothing and we set off.

We went towards Canberwell Green, and when we were thereabouts, Wimick said suddenly, hello, here's a church.

There was nothing very surprising in that, but again I was rather surprised when he said, as if he were animated by a brilliant idea, let's go in we went in, Wimick leaving his fishing rod in the porch and looked all round.

In the meantime, Wimick was diving into his coat pockets and getting something out of paper there.

Hello, said he.

Here's a couple of pair of gloves.

Let's put them on.

As the gloves were white kid gloves, and as the post office was widened to its utmost extent, I now began to have my strong suspicions.

They were strengthened into certainty when I beheld the aged entrance door escorting a lady.

Hello, said Wimick.

Here's Miss Skiffins.

Let's have a wedding.

That discreet damsel was attired as usual, except that she was now engaged in substituting for her kid green gloves a pair of white.

The aged was likewise occupied in preparing a similar sacrifice for the altar of hymen.

The old gentleman, however, experienced so much difficulty in getting his gloves on, that Wimick found it necessary to put him with his back against a pillar, and then to get behind the pillar himself and pull away at them, while I, for my part, held the old gentleman round the waist, that he might present an equal and safe resistance.

By dent of this ingenious scheme, his gloves were got on to perfection.

The clerk and clergyman then appeared.

We arranged in order at those fatal rails.

True to his notion of seeming to do it all without preparation, I heard Wimick say to himself as he took something out of his waistcoat pocket before the service began, hello.

Here's a ring.

I acted in the capacity of a backer or best man to the bridegroom, while a little limp pew opener and a soft bonnet, like a babies, made a faint of being the bosom friend of Miss Giffins.

The responsibility of giving the lady away devolved upon the aged, which led to the clergymans being unintentionally scandalized.

And it happened thus when he said, who giveth this woman to be married to this man?

The old gentleman, not in the least knowing what point of the ceremony we had arrived at, stood most amiably beaming at the Ten Commandments, upon which the clergyman said again, who giveth this woman to be married to this man?

The old gentleman, being still in a state of most steamable unconsciousness, the bridegroom cried out in his accustomed voice, now.

Aged p, you know who giveth.

To which the aged replied with great briskness, before saying that he gave.

All right, John, all right, my boy.

And the clergyman came to so gloomy a pause upon it, that I had doubts for the moment whether we should get completely married that day.

It was completely done, however, and when we were going out of church.

Wimick took the COVID off the font and put his white gloves in it and put the COVID on again.

Mrs.

Wimick, more heedful of the future, put her white gloves in her pocket and assumed her green.

Now, Mr.

Pip, said Wimick triumphantly, shouldering the fishing rod as we came out.

Let me ask you whether anybody would suppose this to be a wedding party.

Breakfast had been ordered at a pleasant little tavern a mile or so away upon the rising ground beyond the green, and there was a bag of board in the room in case we should desire to unbend our minds.

After the solemn tea, it was pleasant to observe that Mrs.

Wimick no longer unwound Wimick's arm when it adapted itself to her figure, but sat in a high backed chair against the wall like a violin cello in its case, and submitted to be embraced as that melodious instrument might have done.

We had an excellent breakfast, and when anyone declined anything on table, Wimick said.

Provided by contract, you know.

Don't be afraid of it.

I drank to the new couple, drank to the aged, drank to the castle, saluted the bride at parting, and made myself as agreeable as I could.

Wimick came down to the door with me, and I again shook hands with him and wished him joy.

Thank you, said Wimick, rubbing his hands.

She's such a manager of fowls, you have no idea.

You shall have some eggs and judge.

For yourself, I say, Mr.

Pip, calling me back and speaking low, this is.

Altogether a Walworth sentiment.

Please, I understand not to be mentioned in little Britain, said I.

Wimick nodded.

After what you let out the other day, Mr.

Jaggers may as well not know of it.

He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind.

Thank you for joining Bite at a time books today while we read a.

Bite of one of your favorite classics.

Again, my name is Brie Carlyle, and I hope you come back tomorrow for the next bite of great expectations.

Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter@bytetimebooks.com, and check out the shop.

You can check out the show notes or our website, byteathimebooks.com, for the rest of the links for our show, we'd love to hear from you on social media as well.

You take a look in the book and let's see what we can find.

Taking chapter by chapter, one at a time, so many adventures and mountains we can climb close don't take it word forward, line by line, one bite at a time close.