Clara Barley serves her father a glass of rum.
The convict Magwitch returned to London. Pip's surprise
visitor, however, cannot take a stroll down England's avenues
lest he gets caught, and turned to the gallows. Herbert therefore
decides to hide him under a pseudonym for the time being at
his fiancé's Clara Barley's place at Mill Pond Bank,
until they can safely escort him out of Britain.
In this chapter, Pip is visiting Mill Pond Bank, where Herbert
already awaits him. There, he gets introduced to dark-eyed Clara,
who spends most of her time attending her bedridden father upstairs.
The father, sardonically nicknamed by Herbert "old Gruffandgrim",
is no easy fellow to live with. Because of the gout, he spends
all day lying with his back on a bed, easing his pain trough
carefully weighed amounts of rum,
and killing his time by singing obscene songs, and scanning
the River Thames, with a telescope mounted at his bedside.
Since he's unable to move, his ever-patient daughter administers
drinks to him, or tends his other needs.
In the picture, she's seen holding him jovially a glass of rum,
his hand interlinked with hers. The scene is framed on top by
the telescope and on the bottom by a table in disarray with
many household items.
Fantastic work!
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