Waiting for Estella at the Coach Office

(in Pip's point of view)

I returned to my watch in the street of the coach-office, with some three hours on hand. … I wished that Wemmick had not met me, or that I had not yielded to him and gone with him, so that, of all days in the year on this day, I might not have had Newgate in my breath and on my clothes. I beat the prison dust off my feet and I sauntered to and fro, and I shook it out of my dress, and I exhaled its air from my lungs…

“Why are you walking back and forth?”

I startled and turned around and saw a man looking straight back at me. He was not a well-groomed, and could not have been more than five feet in height. His eyes seemed to be fused together at the top of his forehand. He had on a brown little suit, and brown little shoes. His question was so unexpected that I was stunned for quite a few moments. Even when my senses had returned to me, I did not know what I should say. It being rude not to answer, I finally decided upon telling him the truth, as singular as it was.

“I am trying to rid myself of all remnants of my visit to Newgate”

“Ah, what’s the lady’s name?”

If I had been taken aback, I was now doubly taken about.

“E – Estella.

“Ah”, he said, and twitched his left nostril. “This lady of yours really causes you a lot of trouble”.

“I wouldn’t say trouble”, I responded defensively, for I would obligingly wait for the admirable and lovely Estella any day.

“Oh I am sorry, Estella is a very admirable and lovely person, and you wouldn’t mind waiting for her every single day”.

I backed off a little, disturbed by how accurately he read me and my thoughts. I pretended to have forgotten about him, turned aside and looked at him warily from the side of my eye. He was still staring at me and twitching his left nostril.

“You can call me Mr. Knoll”, he said.

I closed my eyes and prayed for the coach to come.

By: Melody Guan

"Minnie"

The two casts stared down at me in Mr. Jaggers’ office. I had come to his office to ask for a twelve pounds. I had intended to buy Herbert a new dining table that was more suitable to our needs. It was during this time when an altercation suddenly broke out outside of the office. We rushed to see a lovely young woman, dressed in a bright yellow dress, shouting at poor Wemmick.

She was neither short nor average. She was rather tall for her age, which I estimated to be at most two years younger than I am. Mr. Jaggers approached the young woman with his handkerchief out.

“Minnie,” said Mr. Jaggers, “You need not worry; I will take care of the matters of your father.”

The young woman looked at him with eyes that were filled with more despair than anything I had ever encountered in my life. “It was not my father who did so,” she said in a hushed voice.

“If you continue to interfere, young lady, he will be the one who had done it. Now leave, I will here no more of this.”

The conversation had ended without the young lady’s consent. I quickly retrieved my money from Wemmick, and immediately left to pursue this young lady. I caught up with her after a few minutes, after gradually catching my breath.

I walked up to her casually, as if I had caught her by accident. “Good morning, miss,” I said. She walked on, without giving me so much as a glance. “Just out of curiosity, may I ask where you are headed?”

Minnie tilted her head slightly towards me, acknowledging me in the most minor way. “If it concerns you, I am returning to my father. And before you ask, I will not give you any details on why I was at Mr. Jaggers’ office.” With that, she walked away with the greatest indignation. She left me with a scent of lilies and fascination. I fell behind her, and followed her to her estate. From that day on, I would pass by everyday, hoping to catch a glimpse of her yellow dress.

> xiwen

Caricature

Name: William Hawkins

Definition of character: Hawkins was neither a tall man nor imposing. He was neither skinny nor strong. He was also a pleasant looking man with a round pot belly which jiggled as he walked. He was not a young man but neither old. He seemed of the middle age variety. Hawkins did not come across as a sincere man but rather pompous.

Physical Description: He wore a brown hat and spectacles. He wore an old looking suit but did not seem of upper class, nor did he look like very wealthy or well to do.

Characteristic: He had an odd suspicious chuckle to him, and he laughed at seemingly everything, almost as though he was trying to please Pip. Always referred to Pip as “my boy”.

Circumstances: Hawkins shows up at the Gargery household after claiming to have heard about Mrs. Joe’s death and claims to be a long lost relative. (It is later found out that he is a fraud, and he was only waiting for the opportunity to meet Pip regarding the fortune and steal it.)

Dialogue
Hawkins: Your parents would be proud to see you as such a fine young gentleman
Pip: I’m sure (bluntly)
Hawkins: My boy, do you have any tea?
Pip: None at the moment
Hawkins: Ah I guess this wine will do
Pip: I guess so
Hawkins: So how is my fortunate boy doing?
Pip: Excuse me?
Hawkins: Never mind that

by Umesh.

A Dickensian Character- Timothy Rambleshaw

As I (Pip) walked up to the Satis House for my regular monthly visits, I saw an unusual sight in front of the house’s gates. There stood in front of the big black gates, a man. He was not an ordinary man, but big and bulky, with big meaty hands on his hips, his furious face glaring at me like bullets ready to tear me apart. His blue uniform shone in the light and gave him an intimidating look. He did not seem all too pleasant. Even more unpleasantly, he grinded his teeth ferociously as I advanced towards him, and for each step I took forward, I grew even more and more nervous.

“Halt there, young knave. What are you up to heading towards this private property? You know Miss Havisham rarely has visitors. Turn back if you value your neck!” barked the young man.

Of course I did not turn around. As I walked forward, I noticed how much tenser he became and how he looked as if he would pounce if need be.

“Why do you not heed my warning little boy?” I’ve warned you once already and you might not have another chance, if you don’t answer my question properly. What is your purpose here?”

This time I stood my ground and glared right back at him. Looking closely at him, I noticed that he was primed and combed to the utmost possible and his uniform did nothing to make his appearance gentler.

“Miss Havisham invited me over,” I declared boldly

Grabbing me by the scruff of my collar, he pulled my face directly in front of his eyes. Without a doubt, he would have pummelled me if it wasn’t for that voice that broke through the silence at the gate.

“Rambleshaw, Let him go. This boy indeed has been invited over by Ms. Havisham.”

There stood behind the gate, Estella, as beautiful as ever, if I could so say myself. I was dropped to the ground behind-first but I scrambled up deftly, so as to not look as a bigger idiot than she might think I already was. Timothy Rambleshaw opened the gate and let me through without another word. But I felt the gaze of his cunning eyes behind me as I walked to the doors of the house. I was infinitely glad when the main doors closed behind me.

By: Wilson Wu

Our First Blog.

The Victorians tried to stop the growth of crime by imposing more severe punishments, such as hanging and transportation. Transportation is when the convicts would be sent to colonies to serve their sentence. However, people became troubled at the number of people hanged for petty crimes, but once Queen Victoria came into power, less people were being hanged for crimes. The sentences became more lenient and transportation was much more common compared to hanging people. Other forms of punishment included imprisonment, hard labour, physical punishment, military service, and fines. The last man to be publicly hanged was Dr Edward William Pritchard in 1865, and the last execution by hanging took place in Dundee in 1889, with the death of William Henry Bury.

The trials for these crimes in court were often very quick. Compared to the modern day, prosecutors, judges and jurors had more power and choice. The prosecutor was normally the victim of the crime, and he or she would accuse the defendant. The defendant was expected to explain away the evidence against them and, thus, prove their innocence.

There were three types of courts for criminal to be brought to justice: The Magistrates' Courts, where there were two types; The Quarter Sessions which was the principal court of the magistrates, meeting only four times a year, and the Petty Sessions which dealt with minor cases since there was too much work for the Quarter Sessions. There were also the Assize Courts where there was a professional, high court judge and jury. Serious crimes were tried twice a year. These courts dealt with criminal cases assigned to them by the bench of county or borough justices. Lastly, there was the Court of King's (or Queen's) Bench which was the king's personal court, with a variety of functions connected with protecting the
interests of the Crown

The jails in the Victorian Era were dark, overcrowded, and dirty. The men and women were not separated from each other. There would be all kinds of convicts in a prison, disregarding age or any other factors. There was also the Debtors Prison, where the people who could not pay off their debts were sent. There they would work, making potato sacks, baskets, and other such items. Some prisons were reformed in the 1860s, and the convicts were actually well provided for. The conditions in the prison was better than some in the free world. Good food was provided, books could be borrowed, and the building was warm for the convicts.

Sources:
http://vcp.e2bn.org/justice/section2194-sentences-and-punishments.html
http://wuff.me.uk/assizes/P5.html
http://members.tripod.com/ajsmith_2/
http://sites.scran.ac.uk/lamb/crime.htm ]http://sites.scran.ac.uk/lamb/crime.htm
http://vcp.e2bn.org/justice/section2194-sentences-and-punishments.html