was wearing his first jacket, and bowling his first hoop, a domestic
misfortune, falling on a household of strangers, was destined
nevertheless to have its ultimate influence over his happiness, and to
shape the whole aftercourse of his life.

For this reason, some First Words must precede the Story, and must
present the brief narrative of what happened in the household of
strangers. By what devious ways the event here related affected the
chief personage of these pages, when he grew to manhood, it will be the
business of the story to trace, over land and sea, among men and women,
in bright days and dull days alike, until the end is reached, and the
pen (God willing) is put back in the desk.

II

Old Benjamin Ronald (of the Stationers' Company) took a young wife at
the ripe age of fifty, and carried with him into the holy estate of
matrimony some of the habits of his bachelor life.

As a bachelor, he had never willingly left his shop (situated in that
exclusively commercial region of London which is called "the City")
from one year's end to another. As a married man, he persisted in
following the same monotonous course; with this one difference, that he
now had a woman to follow it with him. "Travelling by railway," he
explained to his wife, "will make your head ache--it makes _my_ head
ache. Travelling by sea will make you sick--it makes _me_ sick. If you
want change of air, every sort of air is to be found in the City. If
you admire the beauties of Nature, there is Finsbury Square with the
beauties of Nature carefully selected and arranged. When we are in
London, you (and I) are all right; and when we are out of London, you