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 College Algebra
Eighth Edition

Ron Larson
The Pennsylvania State University
The Behrend College

With the assistance of

David C. Falvo
The Pennsylvania State University
The Behrend College

Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States
 College Algebra, Eighth Edition © 2011, 2007 Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning
Ron Larson
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 12 11 10 09
Contents

A Word from the Author (Preface) vii

chapter P Prerequisites 1

P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties 2

P.2 Exponents and Radicals 15
P.3 Polynomials and Special Products 28
P.4 Factoring Polynomials 37
P.5 Rational Expressions 45
P.6 The Rectangular Coordinate System and Graphs 55
Chapter Summary 66 Review Exercises 68
Chapter Test 71 Proofs in Mathematics 72
Problem Solving 73

chapter 1 Equations, Inequalities, and Mathematical Modeling 75

1.1 Graphs of Equations 76

1.2 Linear Equations in One Variable 87
1.3 Modeling with Linear Equations 96
1.4 Quadratic Equations and Applications 107
1.5 Complex Numbers 122
1.6 Other Types of Equations 129
1.7 Linear Inequalities in One Variable 140
1.8 Other Types of Inequalities 150
Chapter Summary 160 Review Exercises 162
Chapter Test 165 Proofs in Mathematics 166
Problem Solving 167

chapter 2 Functions and Their Graphs 169

2.1 Linear Equations in Two Variables 170

2.2 Functions 185
2.3 Analyzing Graphs of Functions 200
2.4 A Library of Parent Functions 212
2.5 Transformations of Functions 219
2.6 Combinations of Functions: Composite Functions 229

iii
iv Contents

2.7 Inverse Functions 238

Chapter Summary 248 Review Exercises 250
Chapter Test 253 Cumulative Test for Chapters P–2 254
Proofs in Mathematics 256 Problem Solving 257

chapter 3 Polynomial Functions 259

3.1 Quadratic Functions and Models 260

3.2 Polynomial Functions of Higher Degree 270
3.3 Polynomial and Synthetic Division 284
3.4 Zeros of Polynomial Functions 293
3.5 Mathematical Modeling and Variation 308
Chapter Summary 320 Review Exercises 322
Chapter Test 326 Proofs in Mathematics 327
Problem Solving 329

chapter 4 Rational Functions and Conics 331

4.1 Rational Functions and Asymptotes 332

4.2 Graphs of Rational Functions 340
4.3 Conics 349
4.4 Translations of Conics 362
Chapter Summary 370 Review Exercises 372
Chapter Test 375 Proofs in Mathematics 376
Problem Solving 377

chapter 5 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions 379

5.1 Exponential Functions and Their Graphs 380

5.2 Logarithmic Functions and Their Graphs 391
5.3 Properties of Logarithms 401
5.4 Exponential and Logarithmic Equations 408
5.5 Exponential and Logarithmic Models 419
Chapter Summary 432 Review Exercises 434
Chapter Test 437 Cumulative Test for Chapters 3–5 438
Proofs in Mathematics 440 Problem Solving 441
 Contents v

chapter 6 Systems of Equations and Inequalities 443

6.1 Linear and Nonlinear Systems of Equations 444

6.2 Two-Variable Linear Systems 455
6.3 Multivariable Linear Systems 467
6.4 Partial Fractions 480
6.5 Systems of Inequalities 488
6.6 Linear Programming 499
Chapter Summary 508 Review Exercises 510
Chapter Test 515 Proofs in Mathematics 516
Problem Solving 517

chapter 7 Matrices and Determinants 519

7.1 Matrices and Systems of Equations 520

7.2 Operations with Matrices 534
7.3 The Inverse of a Square Matrix 549
7.4 The Determinant of a Square Matrix 558
7.5 Applications of Matrices and Determinants 566
Chapter Summary 578 Review Exercises 580
Chapter Test 585 Proofs in Mathematics 586
Problem Solving 587

chapter 8 Sequences, Series, and Probability 589

8.1 Sequences and Series 590

8.2 Arithmetic Sequences and Partial Sums 601
8.3 Geometric Sequences and Series 611
8.4 Mathematical Induction 621
8.5 The Binomial Theorem 631
8.6 Counting Principles 639
8.7 Probability 649
Chapter Summary 662 Review Exercises 664
Chapter Test 667 Cumulative Test for Chapters 6–8 668
Proofs in Mathematics 670 Problem Solving 673
vi Contents

Appendix A Errors and the Algebra of Calculus A1

Answers to Odd-Numbered Exercises and Tests A9

Index A95

Index of Applications (web)

Appendix B Concepts in Statistics (web)

B.1 Representing Data
B.2 Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion
B.3 Least Squares Regression
A Word from
the Author

Welcome to the Eighth Edition of College Algebra! We are proud to offer you a new and
revised version of our textbook. With each edition, we have listened to you, our users,
and have incorporated many of your suggestions for improvement.

8th
7th
6th
5th

4th
3rd
2nd
1st
In the Eighth Edition, we continue to offer instructors and students a text that is
pedagogically sound, mathematically precise, and still comprehensible. There are many
changes in the mathematics, art, and design; the more significant changes are noted here.
• New Chapter Openers Each Chapter Opener has three parts, In Mathematics, In
Real Life, and In Careers. In Mathematics describes an important mathematical
topic taught in the chapter. In Real Life tells students where they will encounter this
topic in real-life situations. In Careers relates application exercises to a variety of
careers.
• New Study Tips and Warning/Cautions Insightful information is given to
students in two new features. The Study Tip provides students with useful
information or suggestions for learning the topic. The Warning/Caution points out
common mathematical errors made by students.
• New Algebra Helps Algebra Help directs students to sections of the textbook
where they can review algebra skills needed to master the current topic.
• New Side-by-Side Examples Throughout the text, we present solutions to many
examples from multiple perspectives—algebraically, graphically, and numerically.
The side-by-side format of this pedagogical feature helps students to see that a problem
can be solved in more than one way and to see that different methods yield the same
result. The side-by-side format also addresses many different learning styles.

vii
viii A Word from the Author

• New Capstone Exercises Capstones are conceptual problems that synthesize key
topics and provide students with a better understanding of each section’s
concepts. Capstone exercises are excellent for classroom discussion or test prep, and
teachers may find value in integrating these problems into their reviews of the
section.
• New Chapter Summaries The Chapter Summary now includes an explanation
and/or example of each objective taught in the chapter.
• Revised Exercise Sets The exercise sets have been carefully and extensively
examined to ensure they are rigorous and cover all topics suggested by our users.
Many new skill-building and challenging exercises have been added.
For the past several years, we’ve maintained an independent website—
CalcChat.com—that provides free solutions to all odd-numbered exercises in the text.
Thousands of students using our textbooks have visited the site for practice and help
with their homework. For the Eighth Edition, we were able to use information from
CalcChat.com, including which solutions students accessed most often, to help guide
the revision of the exercises.
I hope you enjoy the Eighth Edition of College Algebra. As always, I welcome
comments and suggestions for continued improvements.
Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the many people who have helped me prepare the text and the
supplements package. Their encouragement, criticisms, and suggestions have been
invaluable.
Thank you to all of the instructors who took the time to review the changes in this
edition and to provide suggestions for improving it. Without your help, this book would
not be possible.

Reviewers
Chad Pierson, University of Minnesota-Duluth; Sally Shao, Cleveland State University;
Ed Stumpf, Central Carolina Community College; Fuzhen Zhang, Nova Southeastern
University; Dennis Shepherd, University of Colorado, Denver; Rhonda Kilgo,
Jacksonville State University; C. Altay Özgener, Manatee Community College
Bradenton; William Forrest, Baton Rouge Community College; Tracy Cook, University
of Tennessee Knoxville; Charles Hale, California State Poly University Pomona; Samuel
Evers, University of Alabama; Seongchun Kwon, University of Toledo; Dr. Arun K.
Agarwal, Grambling State University; Hyounkyun Oh, Savannah State University;
Michael J. McConnell, Clarion University; Martha Chalhoub, Collin County
Community College; Angela Lee Everett, Chattanooga State Tech Community College;
Heather Van Dyke, Walla Walla Community College; Gregory Buthusiem, Burlington
County Community College; Ward Shaffer, College of Coastal Georgia; Carmen
Thomas, Chatham University; Emily J. Keaton
My thanks to David Falvo, The Behrend College, The Pennsylvania State
University, for his contributions to this project. My thanks also to Robert Hostetler, The
Behrend College, The Pennsylvania State University, and Bruce Edwards, University of
Florida, for their significant contributions to previous editions of this text.
I would also like to thank the staff at Larson Texts, Inc. who assisted with proof-
reading the manuscript, preparing and proofreading the art package, and checking and
typesetting the supplements.
On a personal level, I am grateful to my spouse, Deanna Gilbert Larson, for her
love, patience, and support. Also, a special thanks goes to R. Scott O’Neil. If you have
suggestions for improving this text, please feel free to write to me. Over the past two
decades I have received many useful comments from both instructors and students, and
I value these comments very highly.

Ron Larson

ix
 Supplements

Supplements for the Instructor

Annotated Instructor’s Edition This AIE is the complete student text plus point-of-
use annotations for the instructor, including extra projects, classroom activities, teaching
strategies, and additional examples. Answers to even-numbered text exercises,
Vocabulary Checks, and Explorations are also provided.
Complete Solutions Manual This manual contains solutions to all exercises from the
text, including Chapter Review Exercises and Chapter Tests.
Instructor’s Companion Website This free companion website contains an abundance
of instructor resources.
PowerLecture™ with ExamView® The CD-ROM provides the instructor with dynamic
media tools for teaching college algebra. PowerPoint® lecture slides and art slides of
the figures from the text, together with electronic files for the test bank and a link to the
Solution Builder, are available. The algorithmic ExamView allows you to create, deliver,
and customize tests (both print and online) in minutes with this easy-to-use assessment
system. Enhance how your students interact with you, your lecture, and each other.
Solutions Builder This is an electronic version of the complete solutions manual
available via the PowerLecture and Instructor’s Companion Website. It provides
instructors with an efficient method for creating solution sets to homework or exams
that can then be printed or posted.

x
 Supplements xi

Supplements for the Student

Student Companion Website This free companion website contains an abundance of
student resources.
Instructional DVDs Keyed to the text by section, these DVDs provide comprehensive
coverage of the course—along with additional explanations of concepts, sample
problems, and applications—to help students review essential topics.
Student Study and Solutions Manual This guide offers step-by-step solutions for all
odd-numbered text exercises, Chapter and Cumulative Tests, and Practice Tests with
solutions.
Premium eBook The Premium eBook offers an interactive version of the textbook
with search features, highlighting and note-making tools, and direct links to videos or
tutorials that elaborate on the text discussions.
Enhanced WebAssign Enhanced WebAssign is designed for you to do your
homework online. This proven and reliable system uses pedagogy and content found in
Larson’s text, and then enhances it to help you learn College Algebra more effectively.
Automatically graded homework allows you to focus on your learning and get
interactive study assistance outside of class.
Prerequisites
P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties
P
P.2 Exponents and Radicals
P.3 Polynomials and Special Products
P.4 Factoring Polynomials
P.5 Rational Expressions
P.6 The Rectangular Coordinate System and Graphs

In Mathematics
Real numbers, exponents, radicals, and
polynomials are used in many different
branches of mathematics.

In Real Life
The concepts in this chapter are used to
model compound interest, volumes, rates
of change, and other real-life applications.
Darren McCollester/ Getty Images News /Getty Images

For instance, polynomials can be used

to model the stopping distance of an
automobile. (See Exercise 116, page 36.)

IN CAREERS
There are many careers that use prealgebra concepts. Several are listed below.

• Engineer • Financial Analyst

Exercise 115, page 35 Exercises 99 and 100, page 54
• Chemist • Meteorologist
Exercise 148, page 44 Exercise 114, page 70

1
2 Chapter P Prerequisites

P.1 REVIEW OF REAL NUMBERS AND THEIR PROPERTIES

What you should learn
Real Numbers
• Represent and classify real numbers.
• Order real numbers and use Real numbers are used in everyday life to describe quantities such as age, miles per
inequalities. gallon, and population. Real numbers are represented by symbols such as
• Find the absolute values of real 4
numbers and find the distance ⫺5, 9, 0, , 0.666 . . . , 28.21, 冪2, ␲, and 冪
3 ⫺32.
3
between two real numbers.
• Evaluate algebraic expressions. Here are some important subsets (each member of subset B is also a member of set A)
• Use the basic rules and of the real numbers. The three dots, called ellipsis points, indicate that the pattern
properties of algebra. continues indefinitely.

Why you should learn it 再1, 2, 3, 4, . . .冎 Set of natural numbers

Real numbers are used to represent 再0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . .冎 Set of whole numbers

many real-life quantities. For example,
再. . . , ⫺3, ⫺2, ⫺1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .冎 Set of integers
in Exercises 83–88 on page 13, you
will use real numbers to represent the A real number is rational if it can be written as the ratio p兾q of two integers, where
federal deficit. q ⫽ 0. For instance, the numbers
1 1 125
⫽ 0.3333 . . . ⫽ 0.3, ⫽ 0.125, and ⫽ 1.126126 . . . ⫽ 1.126
3 8 111
are rational. The decimal representation of a rational number either repeats 共as in
55 ⫽ 3.145 兲 or terminates 共as in 2 ⫽ 0.5兲. A real number that cannot be written as the
173 1

ratio of two integers is called irrational. Irrational numbers have infinite nonrepeating
decimal representations. For instance, the numbers
冪2 ⫽ 1.4142135 . . . ⬇ 1.41 and ␲ ⫽ 3.1415926 . . . ⬇ 3.14
are irrational. (The symbol ⬇ means “is approximately equal to.”) Figure P.1 shows
subsets of real numbers and their relationships to each other.

Real
numbers Example 1 Classifying Real Numbers

Determine which numbers in the set

Irrational Rational
numbers numbers
冦⫺13, ⫺ 1 5
冪5, ⫺1, ⫺ , 0, , 冪2, ␲, 7
3 8 冧
are (a) natural numbers, (b) whole numbers, (c) integers, (d) rational numbers, and
Integers Noninteger
fractions (e) irrational numbers.
(positive and
negative) Solution
a. Natural numbers: 再7冎
Negative Whole b. Whole numbers: 再0, 7冎
integers numbers c. Integers: 再⫺13, ⫺1, 0, 7冎

Natural Zero 冦 1 5
d. Rational numbers: ⫺13, ⫺1, ⫺ , 0, , 7
3 8 冧
numbers e. Irrational numbers: 再 ⫺ 冪5, 冪2, ␲冎
FIGURE P.1 Subsets of real numbers Now try Exercise 11.
 Section P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties 3

Real numbers are represented graphically on the real number line. When you
draw a point on the real number line that corresponds to a real number, you are plotting
the real number. The point 0 on the real number line is the origin. Numbers to the right
of 0 are positive, and numbers to the left of 0 are negative, as shown in Figure P.2. The
term nonnegative describes a number that is either positive or zero.
Origin
Negative Positive
direction −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 direction

FIGURE P.2 The real number line

As illustrated in Figure P.3, there is a one-to-one correspondence between real

numbers and points on the real number line.

− 53 −2.4 2
0.75 π
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3

Every real number corresponds to exactly Every point on the real number line
one point on the real number line. corresponds to exactly one real number.
FIGURE P.3 One-to-one correspondence

Example 2 Plotting Points on the Real Number Line

Plot the real numbers on the real number line.

7
a. ⫺
4
b. 2.3
2
c.
3
d. ⫺1.8

Solution
All four points are shown in Figure P.4.

− 1.8 − 74 2
3
2.3

−2 −1 0 1 2 3
FIGURE P.4

a. The point representing the real number ⫺ 74 ⫽ ⫺1.75 lies between ⫺2 and ⫺1, but
closer to ⫺2, on the real number line.
b. The point representing the real number 2.3 lies between 2 and 3, but closer to 2, on
the real number line.
c. The point representing the real number 23 ⫽ 0.666 . . . lies between 0 and 1, but
closer to 1, on the real number line.
d. The point representing the real number ⫺1.8 lies between ⫺2 and ⫺1, but closer to
⫺2, on the real number line. Note that the point representing ⫺1.8 lies slightly to
the left of the point representing ⫺ 74.
Now try Exercise 17.
4 Chapter P Prerequisites

Ordering Real Numbers

One important property of real numbers is that they are ordered.

Definition of Order on the Real Number Line

If a and b are real numbers, a is less than b if b ⫺ a is positive. The order of a
and b is denoted by the inequality a < b. This relationship can also be described
by saying that b is greater than a and writing b > a. The inequality a ≤ b means
that a is less than or equal to b, and the inequality b ≥ a means that b is greater
than or equal to a. The symbols <, >, ⱕ, and ⱖ are inequality symbols.
a b
−1 0 1 2

FIGURE P.5 a < b if and only if a lies to Geometrically, this definition implies that a < b if and only if a lies to the left of
the left of b. b on the real number line, as shown in Figure P.5.

Example 3 Ordering Real Numbers

−4 −3 −2 −1 0 Place the appropriate inequality symbol 共< or >兲 between the pair of real numbers.
FIGURE P.6 1 1 1 1
a. ⫺3, 0 b. ⫺2, ⫺4 c. , d. ⫺ , ⫺
4 3 5 2
−4 −3 −2 −1 0 Solution
FIGURE P.7
a. Because ⫺3 lies to the left of 0 on the real number line, as shown in Figure P.6, you
1 1
can say that ⫺3 is less than 0, and write ⫺3 < 0.
4 3 b. Because ⫺2 lies to the right of ⫺4 on the real number line, as shown in Figure P.7,
0 1 you can say that ⫺2 is greater than ⫺4, and write ⫺2 > ⫺4.
c. Because 14 lies to the left of 3 on the real number line, as shown in Figure P.8, you
1
FIGURE P.8
can say that 14 is less than 13, and write 14 < 13.
− 12 − 15 d. Because ⫺ 15 lies to the right of ⫺ 12 on the real number line, as shown in Figure P.9,
−1 0
you can say that ⫺ 15 is greater than ⫺ 12, and write ⫺ 15 > ⫺ 12.
FIGURE P.9 Now try Exercise 25.

Example 4 Interpreting Inequalities

Describe the subset of real numbers represented by each inequality.

a. x ⱕ 2 b. ⫺2 ⱕ x < 3
x≤2
x Solution
0 1 2 3 4
a. The inequality x ≤ 2 denotes all real numbers less than or equal to 2, as shown in
FIGURE P.10
Figure P.10.
−2 ≤ x < 3 b. The inequality ⫺2 ≤ x < 3 means that x ≥ ⫺2 and x < 3. This “double inequality”
denotes all real numbers between ⫺2 and 3, including ⫺2 but not including 3, as
x
−2 −1 0 1 2 3 shown in Figure P.11.
FIGURE P.11 Now try Exercise 31.
 Section P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties 5

Inequalities can be used to describe subsets of real numbers called intervals. In the
bounded intervals below, the real numbers a and b are the endpoints of each interval.
The endpoints of a closed interval are included in the interval, whereas the endpoints of
an open interval are not included in the interval.

Bounded Intervals on the Real Number Line

Notation Interval Type Inequality Graph
关a, b兴 Closed a ⱕ x ⱕ b x
a b
共a, b兲 Open a < x < b x
The reason that the four types a b
of intervals at the right are called
关a, b兲 a ⱕ x < b x
bounded is that each has a finite
a b
length. An interval that does not
have a finite length is unbounded 共a, b兴 a < x ⱕ b x
(see below). a b

The symbols ⬁, positive infinity, and ⫺ ⬁, negative infinity, do not represent

WARNING / CAUTION real numbers. They are simply convenient symbols used to describe the unboundedness
Whenever you write an interval of an interval such as 共1, ⬁兲 or 共⫺ ⬁, 3兴.
containing ⬁ or ⫺ ⬁, always
use a parenthesis and never a Unbounded Intervals on the Real Number Line
bracket. This is because ⬁ and
⫺ ⬁ are never an endpoint of an Notation Interval Type Inequality Graph
interval and therefore are not 关a, ⬁兲 x ⱖ a x
included in the interval. a
共a, ⬁兲 Open x > a x
a
共⫺ ⬁, b兴 x ⱕ b x
b
共⫺ ⬁, b兲 Open x < b x
b
共⫺ ⬁, ⬁兲 Entire real line ⫺⬁ < x < ⬁ x

Example 5 Using Inequalities to Represent Intervals

Use inequality notation to describe each of the following.

a. c is at most 2. b. m is at least ⫺3. c. All x in the interval 共⫺3, 5兴

Solution
a. The statement “c is at most 2” can be represented by c ≤ 2.
b. The statement “m is at least ⫺3” can be represented by m ≥ ⫺3.
c. “All x in the interval 共⫺3, 5兴” can be represented by ⫺3 < x ≤ 5.
Now try Exercise 45.
6 Chapter P Prerequisites

Example 6 Interpreting Intervals

Give a verbal description of each interval.

a. 共⫺1, 0兲 b. 关 2, ⬁兲 c. 共⫺ ⬁, 0兲

Solution
a. This interval consists of all real numbers that are greater than ⫺1 and less than 0.
b. This interval consists of all real numbers that are greater than or equal to 2.
c. This interval consists of all negative real numbers.
Now try Exercise 41.

Absolute Value and Distance

The absolute value of a real number is its magnitude, or the distance between the
origin and the point representing the real number on the real number line.

Definition of Absolute Value

If a is a real number, then the absolute value of a is

ⱍaⱍ ⫽ 冦⫺a,
a, if a ≥ 0
.
if a < 0

Notice in this definition that the absolute value of a real number is never negative.
ⱍ ⱍ
For instance, if a ⫽ ⫺5, then ⫺5 ⫽ ⫺ 共⫺5兲 ⫽ 5. The absolute value of a real
number is either positive or zero. Moreover, 0 is the only real number whose absolute
ⱍⱍ
value is 0. So, 0 ⫽ 0.

Example 7 Finding Absolute Values

ⱍ ⱍ
a. ⫺15 ⫽ 15 b.
ⱍⱍ
2
3
⫽
2
3
c. ⱍ⫺4.3ⱍ ⫽ 4.3 ⱍ ⱍ
d. ⫺ ⫺6 ⫽ ⫺ 共6兲 ⫽ ⫺6
Now try Exercise 51.

Example 8 Evaluating the Absolute Value of a Number

Evaluate
ⱍxⱍ for (a) x > 0 and (b) x < 0.
x

Solution
ⱍxⱍ ⫽ x ⫽ 1.
ⱍⱍ
a. If x > 0, then x ⫽ x and
x x
ⱍxⱍ ⫽ ⫺x ⫽ ⫺1.
ⱍⱍ
b. If x < 0, then x ⫽ ⫺x and
x x
Now try Exercise 59.
 Section P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties 7

The Law of Trichotomy states that for any two real numbers a and b, precisely one
of three relationships is possible:
a ⫽ b, a < b, or a > b. Law of Trichotomy

Example 9 Comparing Real Numbers

Place the appropriate symbol (<, >, or =) between the pair of real numbers.

ⱍ ⱍ䊏ⱍ3ⱍ
a. ⫺4 ⱍ
b. ⫺10 ⱍ䊏ⱍ10ⱍ c. ⫺ ⫺7 ⱍ ⱍ䊏ⱍ⫺7ⱍ
Solution
ⱍ ⱍ ⱍⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍⱍ
a. ⫺4 > 3 because ⫺4 ⫽ 4 and 3 ⫽ 3, and 4 is greater than 3.
ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ
b. ⫺10 ⫽ 10 because ⫺10 ⫽ 10 and 10 ⫽ 10.
ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ
c. ⫺ ⫺7 < ⫺7 because ⫺ ⫺7 ⫽ ⫺7 and ⫺7 ⫽ 7, and ⫺7 is less than 7.
Now try Exercise 61.

Properties of Absolute Values

ⱍⱍ
1. a ⱖ 0 ⱍ ⱍ ⱍⱍ
2. ⫺a ⫽ a

ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ ⱍⱍ ⱍ
3. ab ⫽ a b 4.
ⱍⱍ
a
b
⫽
ⱍaⱍ, b ⫽ 0
ⱍbⱍ

Absolute value can be used to define the distance between two points on the real
7 number line. For instance, the distance between ⫺3 and 4 is

−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4
ⱍ⫺3 ⫺ 4ⱍ ⫽ ⱍ⫺7ⱍ
⫽7
FIGURE P.12 The distance between ⫺3
and 4 is 7. as shown in Figure P.12.

Distance Between Two Points on the Real Number Line

Let a and b be real numbers. The distance between a and b is

ⱍ ⱍ ⱍ
d共a, b兲 ⫽ b ⫺ a ⫽ a ⫺ b . ⱍ

Example 10 Finding a Distance

Find the distance between ⫺25 and 13.

Solution
The distance between ⫺25 and 13 is given by

ⱍ⫺25 ⫺ 13ⱍ ⫽ ⱍ⫺38ⱍ ⫽ 38. Distance between ⫺25 and 13

The distance can also be found as follows.

ⱍ13 ⫺ 共⫺25兲ⱍ ⫽ ⱍ38ⱍ ⫽ 38 Distance between ⫺25 and 13

Now try Exercise 67.

8 Chapter P Prerequisites

Algebraic Expressions
One characteristic of algebra is the use of letters to represent numbers. The letters are
variables, and combinations of letters and numbers are algebraic expressions. Here
are a few examples of algebraic expressions.
4
5x, 2x ⫺ 3, , 7x ⫹ y
x2 ⫹2

Definition of an Algebraic Expression

An algebraic expression is a collection of letters (variables) and real numbers
(constants) combined using the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division, and exponentiation.

The terms of an algebraic expression are those parts that are separated by addition.
For example,
x 2 ⫺ 5x ⫹ 8 ⫽ x 2 ⫹ 共⫺5x兲 ⫹ 8
has three terms: x 2 and ⫺5x are the variable terms and 8 is the constant term. The
numerical factor of a term is called the coefficient. For instance, the coefficient of ⫺5x
is ⫺5, and the coefficient of x 2 is 1.

Example 11 Identifying Terms and Coefficients

Algebraic Expression Terms Coefficients
1 1 1
a. 5x ⫺ 5x, ⫺ 5, ⫺
7 7 7
b. 2x2 ⫺ 6x ⫹ 9 2x2, ⫺6x, 9 2, ⫺6, 9
3 1 3 1 4 1
c. ⫹ x4 ⫺ y , x , ⫺y 3, , ⫺1
x 2 x 2 2
Now try Exercise 89.

To evaluate an algebraic expression, substitute numerical values for each of the

variables in the expression, as shown in the next example.

Example 12 Evaluating Algebraic Expressions

Value of Value of
Expression Variable Substitute Expression
a. ⫺3x ⫹ 5 x⫽3 ⫺3共3兲 ⫹ 5 ⫺9 ⫹ 5 ⫽ ⫺4
b. 3x 2 ⫹ 2x ⫺ 1 x ⫽ ⫺1 3共⫺1兲2 ⫹ 2共⫺1兲 ⫺ 1 3⫺2⫺1⫽0
2x 2共⫺3兲 ⫺6
c. x ⫽ ⫺3 ⫽3
x⫹1 ⫺3 ⫹ 1 ⫺2
Note that you must substitute the value for each occurrence of the variable.
Now try Exercise 95.

When an algebraic expression is evaluated, the Substitution Principle is used. It

states that “If a ⫽ b, then a can be replaced by b in any expression involving a.” In
Example 12(a), for instance, 3 is substituted for x in the expression ⫺3x ⫹ 5.
 Section P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties 9

Basic Rules of Algebra

There are four arithmetic operations with real numbers: addition, multiplication,
subtraction, and division, denoted by the symbols ⫹, ⫻ or ⭈ , ⫺, and ⫼ or /. Of
these, addition and multiplication are the two primary operations. Subtraction and
division are the inverse operations of addition and multiplication, respectively.

Definitions of Subtraction and Division

Subtraction: Add the opposite. Division: Multiply by the reciprocal.

冢b冣 ⫽ b .
1 a
a ⫺ b ⫽ a ⫹ 共⫺b兲 If b ⫽ 0, then a兾b ⫽ a

In these definitions, ⫺b is the additive inverse (or opposite) of b, and 1兾b is

the multiplicative inverse (or reciprocal) of b. In the fractional form a兾b,
a is the numerator of the fraction and b is the denominator.

Because the properties of real numbers below are true for variables and
algebraic expressions as well as for real numbers, they are often called the Basic Rules
of Algebra. Try to formulate a verbal description of each property. For instance, the
first property states that the order in which two real numbers are added does not affect
their sum.

Basic Rules of Algebra

Let a, b, and c be real numbers, variables, or algebraic expressions.
Property Example
Commutative Property of Addition: a⫹b⫽b⫹a 4x ⫹ ⫽ x 2 ⫹ 4x
x2
Commutative Property of Multiplication: ab ⫽ ba 共4 ⫺ x兲 x 2 ⫽ x 2共4 ⫺ x兲
Associative Property of Addition: 共a ⫹ b兲 ⫹ c ⫽ a ⫹ 共b ⫹ c兲 共x ⫹ 5兲 ⫹ x 2 ⫽ x ⫹ 共5 ⫹ x 2兲
Associative Property of Multiplication: 共ab兲 c ⫽ a共bc兲 共2x ⭈ 3y兲共8兲 ⫽ 共2x兲共3y ⭈ 8兲
Distributive Properties: a共b ⫹ c兲 ⫽ ab ⫹ ac 3x共5 ⫹ 2x兲 ⫽ 3x ⭈ 5 ⫹ 3x ⭈ 2x
共a ⫹ b兲c ⫽ ac ⫹ bc 共 y ⫹ 8兲 y ⫽ y ⭈ y ⫹ 8 ⭈ y
Additive Identity Property: a⫹0⫽a 5y 2 ⫹ 0 ⫽ 5y 2
Multiplicative Identity Property: a⭈1⫽a 共4x 2兲共1兲 ⫽ 4x 2
Additive Inverse Property: a ⫹ 共⫺a兲 ⫽ 0 5x 3 ⫹ 共⫺5x 3兲 ⫽ 0

冢 冣
1 1
Multiplicative Inverse Property: a ⭈ ⫽ 1, a ⫽ 0 共x 2 ⫹ 4兲 2 ⫽1
a x ⫹4

Because subtraction is defined as “adding the opposite,” the Distributive Properties

are also true for subtraction. For instance, the “subtraction form” of
a共b ⫹ c兲 ⫽ ab ⫹ ac is a共b ⫺ c兲 ⫽ ab ⫺ ac. Note that the operations of subtraction
and division are neither commutative nor associative. The examples
7 ⫺ 3 ⫽ 3 ⫺ 7 and 20 ⫼ 4 ⫽ 4 ⫼ 20
show that subtraction and division are not commutative. Similarly
5 ⫺ 共3 ⫺ 2兲 ⫽ 共5 ⫺ 3兲 ⫺ 2 and 16 ⫼ 共4 ⫼ 2) ⫽ 共16 ⫼ 4) ⫼ 2
demonstrate that subtraction and division are not associative.
10 Chapter P Prerequisites

Example 13 Identifying Rules of Algebra

Identify the rule of algebra illustrated by the statement.

a. 共5x3兲2 ⫽ 2共5x3兲

b. 冢4x ⫹ 31冣 ⫺ 冢4x ⫹ 31冣 ⫽ 0

1
c. 7x ⭈ ⫽ 1, x ⫽ 0
7x
d. 共2 ⫹ 5x2兲 ⫹ x2 ⫽ 2 ⫹ 共5x2 ⫹ x2兲

Solution
a. This statement illustrates the Commutative Property of Multiplication. In other
words, you obtain the same result whether you multiply 5x3 by 2, or 2 by 5x3.
b. This statement illustrates the Additive Inverse Property. In terms of subtraction, this
property simply states that when any expression is subtracted from itself the result
is 0.
c. This statement illustrates the Multiplicative Inverse Property. Note that it is
important that x be a nonzero number. If x were 0, the reciprocal of x would be
undefined.
d. This statement illustrates the Associative Property of Addition. In other words, to
form the sum
2 ⫹ 5x2 ⫹ x2
it does not matter whether 2 and 5x2, or 5x2 and x2 are added first.
Now try Exercise 101.

Properties of Negation and Equality

Let a, b, and c be real numbers, variables, or algebraic expressions.
Property Example
Notice the difference between
1. 共⫺1兲 a ⫽ ⫺a 共⫺1兲7 ⫽ ⫺7
the opposite of a number and a
negative number. If a is already 2. ⫺ 共⫺a兲 ⫽ a ⫺ 共⫺6兲 ⫽ 6
negative, then its opposite, ⫺a,
3. 共⫺a兲b ⫽ ⫺ 共ab兲 ⫽ a共⫺b兲 共⫺5兲3 ⫽ ⫺ 共5 ⭈ 3兲 ⫽ 5共⫺3兲
is positive. For instance, if
a ⫽ ⫺5, then 4. 共⫺a兲共⫺b兲 ⫽ ab 共⫺2兲共⫺x兲 ⫽ 2x
⫺a ⫽ ⫺(⫺5) ⫽ 5. 5. ⫺ 共a ⫹ b兲 ⫽ 共⫺a兲 ⫹ 共⫺b兲 ⫺ 共x ⫹ 8兲 ⫽ 共⫺x兲 ⫹ 共⫺8兲
⫽ ⫺x ⫺ 8
1
6. If a ⫽ b, then a ± c ⫽ b ± c. 2 ⫹ 3 ⫽ 0.5 ⫹ 3
7. If a ⫽ b, then ac ⫽ bc. 42 ⭈ 2 ⫽ 16 ⭈ 2
8. If a ± c ⫽ b ± c, then a ⫽ b. 1.4 ⫺ 1 ⫽ 75 ⫺ 1 ⇒ 1.4 ⫽ 75
9. If ac ⫽ bc and c ⫽ 0, then a ⫽ b. 3x ⫽ 3 ⭈4 ⇒ x⫽4
 Section P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties 11

Properties of Zero
Let a and b be real numbers, variables, or algebraic expressions.
The “or” in the Zero-Factor
Property includes the possibility 1. a ⫹ 0 ⫽ a and a ⫺ 0 ⫽ a 2. a ⭈0⫽0
that either or both factors may be
0 a
zero. This is an inclusive or, and 3. ⫽ 0, a⫽0 4. is undefined.
it is the way the word “or” is a 0
generally used in mathematics. 5. Zero-Factor Property: If ab ⫽ 0, then a ⫽ 0 or b ⫽ 0.

Properties and Operations of Fractions

Let a, b, c, and d be real numbers, variables, or algebraic expressions such that
b ⫽ 0 and d ⫽ 0.
a c
1. Equivalent Fractions: ⫽ if and only if ad ⫽ bc.
b d
a ⫺a a ⫺a a
2. Rules of Signs: ⫺ ⫽ ⫽ and ⫽
b b ⫺b ⫺b b
a ac
3. Generate Equivalent Fractions: ⫽ , c⫽0
b bc
a c a±c
4. Add or Subtract with Like Denominators: ± ⫽
b b b
a c ad ± bc
5. Add or Subtract with Unlike Denominators: ± ⫽
b d bd
a c ac
In Property 1 of fractions, the 6. Multiply Fractions:
b
⭈ d ⫽ bd
phrase “if and only if” implies
two statements. One statement a c a d ad
is: If a兾b ⫽ c兾d, then ad ⫽ bc. 7. Divide Fractions: ⫼ ⫽
b d b
⭈ c ⫽ bc , c⫽0
The other statement is: If
ad ⫽ bc, where b ⫽ 0 and
d ⫽ 0, then a兾b ⫽ c兾d.
Example 14 Properties and Operations of Fractions

x 3 ⭈ x 3x 7 3 7 2 14
a. Equivalent fractions: ⫽ ⫽ b. Divide fractions: ⫼ ⫽ ⭈ ⫽
5 3 ⭈ 5 15 x 2 x 3 3x
x 2x 5 ⭈ x ⫹ 3 ⭈ 2x 11x
c. Add fractions with unlike denominators: ⫹ ⫽ ⫽
3 5 3⭈5 15
Now try Exercise 119.

If a, b, and c are integers such that ab ⫽ c, then a and b are factors or divisors of c.
A prime number is an integer that has exactly two positive factors—itself and 1—such
as 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11. The numbers 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are composite because each can be
written as the product of two or more prime numbers. The number 1 is neither prime
nor composite. The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic states that every
positive integer greater than 1 can be written as the product of prime numbers in
precisely one way (disregarding order). For instance, the prime factorization of 24 is
24 ⫽ 2 ⭈ 2 ⭈ 2 ⭈ 3.
12 Chapter P Prerequisites

P.1 EXERCISES See www.CalcChat.com for worked-out solutions to odd-numbered exercises.

VOCABULARY: Fill in the blanks.
p
1. A real number is ________ if it can be written as the ratio of two integers, where q ⫽ 0.
q
2. ________ numbers have infinite nonrepeating decimal representations.
3. The point 0 on the real number line is called the ________.
4. The distance between the origin and a point representing a real number on the real number line is
the ________ ________ of the real number.
5. A number that can be written as the product of two or more prime numbers is called a ________ number.
6. An integer that has exactly two positive factors, the integer itself and 1, is called a ________ number.
7. An algebraic expression is a collection of letters called ________ and real numbers called ________.
8. The ________ of an algebraic expression are those parts separated by addition.
9. The numerical factor of a variable term is the ________ of the variable term.
10. The ________ ________ states that if ab ⫽ 0, then a ⫽ 0 or b ⫽ 0.

SKILLS AND APPLICATIONS

In Exercises 11–16, determine which numbers in the set are In Exercises 25–30, plot the two real numbers on the real
(a) natural numbers, (b) whole numbers, (c) integers, number line. Then place the appropriate inequality symbol
(d) rational numbers, and (e) irrational numbers. 冇< or >冈 between them.
11. 再⫺9, ⫺ 72, 5, 23, 冪2, 0, 1, ⫺4, 2, ⫺11冎 25. ⫺4, ⫺8 26. ⫺3.5, 1
12. 再冪5, ⫺7, ⫺ 73, 0, 3.12, 54 , ⫺3, 12, 5冎 3
27. 2, 7
16
28. 1, 3
13. 再2.01, 0.666 . . . , ⫺13, 0.010110111 . . . , 1, ⫺6冎 5 2
29. 6, 3
8 3
30. ⫺ 7, ⫺ 7
14. 再2.3030030003 . . . , 0.7575, ⫺4.63, 冪10, ⫺75, 4冎
15. 再⫺ ␲, ⫺ 13, 63, 12冪2, ⫺7.5, ⫺1, 8, ⫺22冎 In Exercises 31– 42, (a) give a verbal description of the
16. 再25, ⫺17, ⫺ 125, 冪9, 3.12, 12␲, 7, ⫺11.1, 13冎 subset of real numbers represented by the inequality or the
interval, (b) sketch the subset on the real number line, and
(c) state whether the interval is bounded or unbounded.
In Exercises 17 and 18, plot the real numbers on the real
number line. 31. x ⱕ 5 32. x ⱖ ⫺2
17. (a) 3 (b) 2
7 5
(c) ⫺ 2 (d) ⫺5.2 33. x < 0 34. x > 3
18. (a) 8.5 (b)
4 8
(c) ⫺4.75 (d) ⫺ 3 35. 关4, ⬁兲 36. 共⫺ ⬁, 2兲
3
37. ⫺2 < x < 2 38. 0 ≤ x ≤ 5
In Exercises 19–22, use a calculator to find the decimal form 39. ⫺1 ≤ x < 0 40. 0 < x ≤ 6
of the rational number. If it is a nonterminating decimal, 关⫺2, 5兲 共⫺1, 2兴
41. 42.
write the repeating pattern.
5 1
19. 8 20. 3 In Exercises 43–50, use inequality notation and interval
41 6 notation to describe the set.
21. 333 22. 11
43. y is nonnegative.
In Exercises 23 and 24, approximate the numbers and place 44. y is no more than 25.
the correct symbol 冇< or >冈 between them.
45. x is greater than ⫺2 and at most 4.
23. 46. y is at least ⫺6 and less than 0.
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
47. t is at least 10 and at most 22.
24.
−7 −6 −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 48. k is less than 5 but no less than ⫺3.
49. The dog’s weight W is more than 65 pounds.
50. The annual rate of inflation r is expected to be at least
2.5% but no more than 5%.
 Section P.1 Review of Real Numbers and Their Properties 13

In Exercises 51–60, evaluate the expression. BUDGET VARIANCE In Exercises 79–82, the accounting
department of a sports drink bottling company is checking to
51. ⱍ⫺10ⱍ see whether the actual expenses of a department differ from
52. ⱍ0ⱍ the budgeted expenses by more than $500 or by more than
53. ⱍ3 ⫺ 8ⱍ 5%. Fill in the missing parts of the table, and determine
54. ⱍ4 ⫺ 1ⱍ whether each actual expense passes the “budget variance
test.”
55. ⱍ⫺1ⱍ ⫺ ⱍ⫺2ⱍ
56. ⫺3 ⫺ ⱍ⫺3ⱍ Budgeted Actual
⫺5
Expense, b Expense, a ⱍa ⫺ bⱍ 0.05b
57.
⫺5ⱍ ⱍ 79. Wages $112,700 $113,356 䊏 䊏
58. ⫺3 ⫺3ⱍ ⱍ 80. Utilities $9,400 $9,772 䊏 䊏
ⱍx ⫹ 2ⱍ,
81. Taxes $37,640 $37,335 䊏 䊏
59.
x⫹2
x < ⫺2 82. Insurance $2,575 $2,613 䊏 䊏
60. ⱍ
x⫺1
, ⱍ x > 1 FEDERAL DEFICIT In Exercises 83–88, use the bar graph,
x⫺1 which shows the receipts of the federal government (in
billions of dollars) for selected years from 1996 through
In Exercises 61–66, place the correct symbol 冇<, >, or ⴝ冈 2006. In each exercise you are given the expenditures of the
between the two real numbers. federal government. Find the magnitude of the surplus or
61. ⱍ⫺3ⱍ䊏⫺ ⱍ⫺3ⱍ deficit for the year. (Source: U.S. Office of Management
and Budget)
62. ⱍ⫺4ⱍ䊏ⱍ4ⱍ
63. ⫺5䊏⫺ ⱍ5ⱍ 2600
⫺ ⱍ⫺6ⱍ䊏ⱍ⫺6ⱍ 2407.3
(in billions of dollars)
64. 2400
65. ⫺ ⱍ⫺2ⱍ䊏⫺ ⱍ2ⱍ 2200
2025.5
Receipts

66. ⫺(⫺2)䊏⫺2 2000

1853.4 1880.3
1800 1722.0
1600
In Exercises 67–72, find the distance between a and b. 1453.2
1400
67. a ⫽ 126, b ⫽ 75 1200
68. a ⫽ ⫺126, b ⫽ ⫺75
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
69. a ⫽ ⫺ 52, b ⫽ 0 Year
70. a ⫽ 14, b ⫽ 11
ⱍ
4
Year Receipts Expenditures Receipts ⫺
71. a ⫽ 16 , b ⫽ 112

72.
5 75
a ⫽ 9.34, b ⫽ ⫺5.65
Expenditures ⱍ
83. 1996 䊏 $1560.6 billion 䊏
In Exercises 73–78, use absolute value notation to describe 84. 1998 䊏 $1652.7 billion 䊏
the situation. 85. 2000 䊏 $1789.2 billion 䊏
73. The distance between x and 5 is no more than 3. 86. 2002 䊏 $2011.2 billion 䊏
74. The distance between x and ⫺10 is at least 6. 87. 2004 䊏 $2293.0 billion 䊏
75. y is at least six units from 0. 88. 2006 䊏 $2655.4 billion 䊏
76. y is at most two units from a.
In Exercises 89–94, identify the terms. Then identify the
77. While traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, you pass coefficients of the variable terms of the expression.
milepost 57 near Pittsburgh, then milepost 236 near
Gettysburg. How many miles do you travel during that 89. 7x ⫹ 4 90. 6x 3 ⫺ 5x
time period? 91. 冪3x 2 ⫺ 8x ⫺ 11 92. 3冪3x 2 ⫹ 1
78. The temperature in Bismarck, North Dakota was 60⬚F x x2
93. 4x 3 ⫹ ⫺ 5 94. 3x 4 ⫺
at noon, then 23⬚F at midnight. What was the change in 2 4
temperature over the 12-hour period?
Discovering Diverse Content Through
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number of unopened letters lying on the table, in readiness for the
owner of the mansion on his arrival; and amongst them he espied
one, on the corner of which was written the name of “Colin Clink.”
He hastily took it up; stole a glance at its contents by shining it
against the sun; and, finding it to contain certain very serious
statements touching himself, he took a bold step at once, and,
regardless of consequences, put it into the fire. Before the servant
returned to conduct him up stairs, every vestige of the letter had
totally disappeared. Thus had Doctor Rowel not only for the time
being saved himself, but also obtained that knowledge of which he
stood in much need,—the knowledge of Colin's place of retreat and
particular address. Of these he instantly resolved to make the
earliest possible use.
Disappointed in all his expectations, and defeated in every
endeavour to obtain the means of making a livelihood, Colin
returned to his little domicile, and on the spur of the moment wrote
a very dolorous letter to his mother and Fanny, in which he set forth
all his recent disasters, and the trouble he was now in, adding, that
unless something or other to his advantage turned up very shortly
he should scarcely know which way to turn himself for a living.
And yet, when he thought the matter more calmly over again,
after the letter was despatched, and could not be recalled, he
plucked up heart, and for another evening at least drove away care
by retiring to the Condor Tavern, and taking his accustomed place
within easy sight of the adorable Harriet Wintlebury.
 CHAPTER XVIII.
Colin is pursued, and who his pursuer was.—A strange set-out,
and a very pathetic parting.

D
URING the time the transactions recently related were
progressing, a strange hubbub had been raised at Whinmoor
touching Colin s disappearance. Palethorpe waxed desperate,
and Miss Sowersoft's temper curdled like an embryo cheese.
Dire vengeance against him was threatened. York Castle and bread
and water were the mildest things prescribed for him; although, in
their opinion he well deserved a halter. Mrs. Clink and Fanny had
been heartily abused by Palethorpe for having “backed him up in
burglary, and afterwards connived at his running away from his
work.”
The fact was, this worthy felt doubly enraged because he had
missed an excellent chance of having a shot at him, and now swore
that, if ever he could lay hands upon him again, he would very
nearly bray him into a pulp.
At this portentous period it was that Dr. Rowel made his
appearance at the farm, (after his discovery of Colin's letter at Kiddal
Hall,) and by all the arguments in his power raised the wrath of its
inhabitants still higher against the young man, and even went so far
as to promise, that as he was himself also an injured party, he had
no objection to pay half Pale-thorpe's expenses, if he would go after
the culprit to London,—whither, according to certain private
information he had received, Colin had directed his flight. Palethorpe
snapped at the offer as a hungry wolf might at a bone. He had long
wished to see London, and a capital opportunity was here presented.
He vowed that he would ferret out the lad before he came back
again, though he should dive to the bottom of the Thames for him;
and proposed to set out on the following day, to avoid farther loss of
time.
 This proposal being acceded to, nearly the whole night was
expended by the attentive mistress in rigging him out for his journey.
The chaise-cart was got ready early next morning to convey
Palethorpe and his luggage to the coach-office at Leeds; and an old
half-pint bottle filled with brandy and water, together with immense
sandwiches, were secretly inveigled by Miss Sowersoft into his top-
coat pocket.
Having duly inquired whether everything was ready, Mr. Palethrope
was called into the parlour by his mistress, who having shut the
door, set her candle down on the table, (for it was not yet daylight,)
and began to talk to him in a tone more than usually serious.
“You are going,” said she, “a long journey,—a very long journey. I
hope to heaven we shall see you safe back again. I'm sure I shall
hardly sleep o'nights for knowing you are not in the house; but
wherever you are, now do remember what I say, and take care of
yourself. We don't know what different places are till we see 'em;
and I'm sure I almost feel afraid—when it comes to this last minnit
—” Here she tucked up the corner of her apron, and placed it in
close proximity with the corner of her eye. “I raelly feel afraid of
trusting you there by yourself.”
Palethorpe was here about to explain at large his own capabilities
for governing his own rampant self, had not Miss Sowersoft derived
additional vigour from the attempted interruption, and proceeded:
“I know you are plenty old enough to keep out of harm's way,—
that is certain; but then there are so many dangers that nobody can
foresee, and temptations hung out beyond any single man's capacity
to resist—I am afraid. I'm sure it would take a great load off of my
mind if I was going along with you,—a very heavy load, indeed. Ay,
dear!”
“Oh, never heed, meesis,” replied Pale-thorpe; “I shall get back as
safe and sound as a rotten pear. A rotten pear, says I!—no, I mean
as sound as a roach—trust me for that. I ar'n't going a-gate of no
temptations, that's flat. Bless me! I should think there's both ale
enough, and opportunities for folks to get married enough, i'
Yorkshire, without goin' all the road to Lunnun for 'em!”
“Well,” replied his mistress, “you are very discretionary at home. I
say nothing about that; but perhaps, you know, when you 're
surrounded by so many things to distract your considerations, you
might—a—a—. I'm sure I hardly know how to express myself fully;
but all I mean to say is, that after all, you know,—and do as we will
to the contrary, yet somehow, as I was going to say, men will be
men sometimes, and women women!”
As Miss Sowersoft uttered this very sagacious remark, she began
to sob rather hysterically, and seemingly to demand the support of
Mr. Palethorpe's arm. This he promptly offered; a few more words in
a consolatory tone escaped his lips; the maid in the passage outside
thought she heard a sound something like a kiss; and in another
minute the head farming-man hurried desperately out. He was afraid
of being too late at Leeds, and in his hurry to rush through the dairy
to get into the chaise-cart which stood in the yard, he kicked over a
pan of new milk, and plunged his other foot into a tub of hot hog-
wash, both of which had just before been placed upon the ground
by the said maid.
“Dang your stuff!” exclaimed he, dashing his foot against the
overturned vessel; “what, in the divil's name, isn't there room
enough in Yorkshire to set your things down, without cramming 'em
under people's feet like that?”
The maid laughed in his face, and Miss Sowersoft called lovingly
after him not to mind it; while Palethorpe leaped into the vehicle,
and ordered Abel to drive as fast as he could into Briggate.
On the following day he opened his wondering eyes for the first
time upon London.
 CHAPTER XIX.
Curiously illustrates the old saying, that a man may “go farther to
fare worse.”

N
O sooner had Mr. Palethorpe arrived, than following Dr.
Rowel's directions, he marched off in a very business-like
manner to the Yorkshire House, and inquired for Colin Clink.
No such person was there; although one of the female
servants told him she believed a young man of that name had made
a short stay at the house some weeks ago, and had called once or
twice since; but he had left long ago, and gone they knew not
whither.
This information brought the pursuer to a dead stop. His scent
was lost all at once; and as he had not made provision out of the
wits of other people for any disappointment of this kind, while his
own were very backward in coming to his assistance, he suddenly
felt that all was over. Moreover he found London to be a very
different place to what he had expected; and for a stranger to set
about finding a lost man there, seemed worse even than hunting for
a needle in a bottle of straw. Instead, therefore, of troubling himself
just then any farther about the matter, he thought he would first
sleep upon it, and in the mean time go about and see the sights.
First he wended his way to the top of the Monument, having
previously very carefully perused the inscription as its base. After
that he ascended into the lantern of St. Paul's. He then travelled
down to the Tower, and very narrowly escaped walking into the ditch
just where there chanced to be a rail broken, while his eyes were
turned up in curious scrutiny of the White Tower. He much longed to
go in, but dared not, for fear of the soldiers, as he was not hitherto
aware that it was guarded so stoutly by a military force. When he
got back into St. Martins le Grand, and looked up at the Post Office
clock, he was about to pull out his watch and compare dials, but, to
his dismay, found that somebody had saved him the trouble by
pulling it out before him. In his confusion he instinctively
endeavoured to wipe his nose, but discovered that one of his best
handkerchiefs was gone too. In this double dilemma he stared about
him some minutes very oddly, and not a little to the amusement of
certain cabmen, who stood hard by observing his motions with
visages wide awake. He began to be afraid of remaining any longer
in the street, and accordingly hurried back to the Yorkshire House,
where he endeavoured to console himself under his losses by taking
an extra quantity of Burton ale and gin-and-water.
These little bits of experience made him afterwards so very
cautious, that whenever he walked out he was continually engaged
in cramming his hands, first one and then the other, into his coat-
pockets, then into his breeches, in order to be assured that his
money was safe; for he held it as a maxim, that no man who knew
what he was about would leave his cash in a box which anybody
might unlock, at a public house where strangers were running in and
out, and up and down stairs, all day long. He accordingly, for the
greater safety, carried his whole stock about with him.
In this manner he wiled away nearly a week, waiting chances of
meeting with Colin accidentally, and hoping that he might luckily call
again at the Yorkshire House; in which case he had made provision
for securing him, by leaving word that, if he did come, he was to be
told that a very well-known acquaintance from the country had
arrived, who wished to see him upon most particular business. But
time passed on, his trap caught nothing, and, after eight or nine
days' stay, he found himself no forwarder, save in the amount of
wonderful things he had seen, and the quantity of money he had
expended, than he was when he parted with Miss Sowersoft.
Disastrous as all this was, it is not to be wondered at that his
courage evaporated very rapidly, and, in fact, became so very nearly
dried wholly up, that he made up his mind, after many efforts, to
sneak back again into the country, invent the best tale he possibly
could, in order to satisfy his “meesis” and the doctor, and sit down
once again to his beer and bacon on the quiet farm, renouncing
London, and every attempt to catch Colin Clink, at once and for ever.
Fortune, however, which, as we are told, ever watches over the
brave, would not suffer him to go thus far, and undergo the fatigues
and dangers of such a journey, merely to come to such an inglorious
conclusion. And as Palethorpe manfully determined to have a good
last night of it before he left town, and see for himself what life in
London really was, the frail goddess took that favourable opportunity
of adding a striking incident to the tailpiece of his chapter of
accidents,—an incident which, as it brought him very unexpectedly
into the presence of Colin, and otherwise is worthy of particular
note, I shall give in a chapter by itself.
 CHAPTER XX.
The singular meeting of Colin and Palethorpe.—A jolly night, and
the results of it, with one of the most remarkable discoveries on
record.

O
N the last afternoon of his intended stay in town, Mr.
Palethorpe rambled as far as Regent's Park, and into the
Zoological Gardens, where he amused himself some time by
tempting the bears with a bit of bun, without allowing them
to get near enough to lay hold of it; a piece of dexterity on his own
part which made him laugh heartily twenty times over; for the
cleverness of it seemed to him excellent.
 Original Size

When weary of that, he repaired to the monkey-cage, in

anticipation of some excellent sport; but there he found many much
more able fellows than himself; and, in endeavouring to outwit a
great baboon with a walnut, got one of his ears nearly twinged off,
highly to the delight of a whole company of boys who stood by, and
whose laughter and jeers eventually caused him to beat a retreat
out of the gardens.
Having taken a pretty accurate survey of the West End, he
descended Regent Street in the evening, and about nine o'clock
might have been seen wending his way with indecisive step down
Coventry Street, from the Piccadilly end, with a considerable amount
of Barclay and Perkins's stout in his head,—porter being such a rarity
to him, that he thought it as well to make the best of it while he
enjoyed the opportunity.
On the right hand side of Coventry Street he accidentally espied a
fishmonger's shop. Palethorpe always enjoyed a good appetite for
oysters whenever he could get them, and, as he had fixed his eyes
upon a leaden tank full, he walked into the shop aforesaid, and
requested the man to open him a lot. As fast as he opened them,
Mr. Palethorpe swallowed them; while, as long as he continued to
swallow, the man continued to open, keeping silent count of the
number taken all the while, until in a loud voice he at last proclaimed
a numerical amount of five dozen. Mr. Palethorpe then bid him
desist, and, with great reluctance at the moment, paid the demand
of a crown for his supper. Somehow, however, his stomach raised
certain very cogent objections against thus suddenly being
converted into an oyster bed, and demanded the instant
administration of a dram. This, however, he could not procure there,
but was invited to walk into the room behind, where he might take
wine at his leisure. Although Palethorpe did not much relish the
notion, he did not feel in the best possible condition for quitting the
shop and going elsewhere; and therefore, almost as a matter of
necessity, adopted the waiter's suggestion. Pushing open a door,
therefore, with an oval glass in it, he found himself all at once in one
of the finest public apartments he had yet entered.
At first he felt almost doubtful whether he had not made a
mistake, and walked into a chapel,—the gallery round the walls and
the pew-like seats very strongly favouring the idea. This notion was,
however, very soon put to the rout by an individual, whom he had
mistaken for a pew-opener, approaching him with the polite inquiry,
what wine would he please to take.
“Oh, ony'll do. One sort is just the same as another to me, for I
know no difference,” replied Palethorpe.
“Pint of sherry, perhaps, sir? Very well, sir.” And before the
Yorkshireman could find time to express either his acquiescence or
his dissent, the waiter had disappeared to execute the order of his
own suggestion.
When he returned, Palethorpe took the wine in silent dudgeon. Of
course he had the appearance of an animal too remarkable not to
attract attention anywhere in London, but especially so in the
particular region where fortune had now condescended to cast him.
As far as he could discern anything of the matter, the company
appeared of the highest respectability, if not, in fact, almost too
good for him. But then, as everybody conducted themselves in the
most free and easy manner possible, he was not long in making
himself perfectly at home. The ladies, who were beautifully dressed,
and decorated with various sorts of flowers, struck him with
particular admiration. All that disagreeable crust of reserve, in which
country people are so very prone to encase themselves, was here
worn quite clean off; and he found no more trouble in entering into
conversation with these ladies than he did at home in talking to his
horses. Two of them politely invited themselves to his wine, and,
without waiting permission, drank it off to his good health, and
suggested to him to call for more. They playfully tweaked his nose,
put his hat on their own heads, and invited him to partake of his
own drink so very kindly and pressingly, that at last it would scarcely
have been known whether they or he had in reality paid for it.
About midnight, and at the particular request of a young lady who
was taking leave, Palethorpe was prevailed on to escort her home; a
piece of politeness which he felt most competent to discharge by
calling a cab, as his own legs had by this time in great part lost the
faculty of carrying the superstructure of his body writh that precise
degree of perpendicularity which is commonly considered essential
to personal comfort and safety.
From that moment up to the occurrence of the following incident,
his history is wrapped in the most profound and mysterious
darkness.
On this eventful night, the intended last night of all Mr.
Palethorpe's experiences in the metropolis, as fortune would have it,
Colin had treated himself with a sight of Vauxhall Gardens; and, as
he remained to see the fireworks at the conclusion, he did not get
away very early. Add to this the time necessarily occupied in taking
refreshment, and walking all the way from the Gardens towards
London Bridge, and we shall not expect to find him at the top of
Newington Road, on his way home, earlier than between one and
two in the morning. As our hero walked rapidly down Blackman
Street, he observed a man, clothed in a short, square-lapped coat,
of a broad country-cut, staggering along before him very much as
though he meditated going head foremost at every object that
presented itself on either side of the road. Occasionally he came to a
full stop, and see-saw'd his body backwards and forwards, until the
impetus gained one way either compelled him to recede a few
paces, or plunged him again desperately forwards. Now he seized a
lamp-post, as though it were some dear, newly-recognised friend;
and then made a furious sally to reach some advanced point of the
wall on the other hand. Altogether his motions were so whimsical
“that Colin slackened his pace in order to keep behind, and thus
enjoy the fun. The street was perfectly silent; not a soul besides
themselves was about, and he had the farcical performer therefore
altogether to himself. He did not enjoy the spectacle, however, very
long. Scarcely had the man staggered a hundred yards farther
before he went down on all fours; and, as he found himself
incapable of rising again, he seemed by his actions, as though he
finally submitted to fate, and made up his mind to nestle there for
the remainder of the night. Since, however, Colin never was the lad
to leave a fellow-creature helpless, without offering his assistance,
he hastened forwards, and taking him by the shoulder, bade him get
up and go home.
“Where's meesis?” demanded the sot. “I want a posset, and a
posset I 'll have, or be dang'd to me!”
Colin immediately recognised the voice. Bursting into a loud laugh,
he raised the prostrate man's face towards the light, and beheld the
features of his old and inveterate enemy, Palethorpe. What in the
world could have brought him to town? Although Colin more than
half suspected the real occasion, he determined to ascertain the
truth.
“And, where have you come from, my man?” demanded Colin.
“Come from!” repeated Sammy. “I'll tell you where I come from. I
co—co—come from Whinmoor—Whinmoor, I say, in Yorkshire. Miss
Zowerzoft's my meesis—and a very good meesis she is, I am happy
to say. She knows me very well, and I know her. I wish she were
here!”
“Well—well!” cried Colin; “but what have you come to London
about?”
“Why, what do you think, now?” asked Palethorpe, with a
peculiarly knowing look. “What do you think? Just guess. I'll bet a
shilling you can't guess, if you guess all night. No—no; no man
knows my bizziness but myself. My name's Palethorpe, and I know
two of that. Can you tell me, do you know anybody named Colin
Clink here i' Lunnun?”
“I do,” said our hero. “I know him well.”
“You do!” exclaimed Samuel, trying to start up and stare in his
face, but sinking again in the effort; “then yo 're my man! Gis hold
on your hand, my lad. Dang his carcase! I 'll kill him as sure as iver I
touch him! I will—I tell you. I 'll kill him dead on th' spot.”
“But you mean to catch him first,” said Colin, “don't you?”
“What do you mean? Catch him! I mean to catch him! Be civil, my
lad, or else I shall put a spur in your sides afore you go.”
“You brute!” exclaimed Colin, seizing him by the collar on each
side of his neck, and holding his head stiff up with his knuckles,
—“look at me. I am Colin Clink. Now, you cowardly, drunken
scoundrel, what have you not deserved at my hands?”
“Oh! what, you are he, are you?” gurgled
Mr. Palethorpe. “Just let me go a minnit, and I 'll show you!”
“Come, then!” said Colin, and he pulled the said Mr. Palethorpe to
the edge of the causeway. In the next moment he deposited him in
the middle of a large dam which had been made in the gutter close
by for the convenience of some bricklayers, who were repairing an
adjoining house, telling him to “sit there, and sober himself; and the
next time he tried to catch Colin Clink, to thank his stars if he came
off no worse.” So saying, he left him to the enjoyment of his “new
patent water-bed,” and his meditations.
Near the Borough town-hall Colin met a policeman, whom he
informed of the hapless condition of a poor drunken countryman
some distance down the street, and requested him to go to his
assistance. He then made off at the best speed he could, and soon
baffled all pursuit amidst the intricate turnings of the city. True, he
lost his way; still he reached his lodgings before four o'clock.
To return to Mr. Palethorpe. He had not yet seen even a tithe of
his troubles. The sequel of this last adventure proved richer than all
the rest. Between two and three o'clock in the afternoon of the
following day he crept very stealthily into the parlour of his inn, as
“down in the mouth” as a beaten dog. He called for writing
materials, and addressed a strange scrawl to the Commercial Bank in
Leeds, where it was known he had deposited about three hundred
pounds. He afterwards retired to his bed-room, from which in a
short time he issued with a bundle in his hand; and, after making
certain confidential inquiries of the shoe-black, walked forth in the
direction of Rosemary Lane. It seems pretty certain that John Boots
directed him thither as one of the most eligible places in the City for
the disposal of all sorts of worn-out or superfluous wearing-apparel,
and one to which poor gentlemen in difficulties not unfrequently
resorted. However that may be, the fact itself is positive, that on the
evening of the second Saturday after his arrival, Mr. Palethorpe was
seen in a very dejected mood, pacing along Rosemary Lane, towards
Cable Street, with a bundle tied up in a blue and white cotton
handkerchief, under his arm.
As his eyes wandered from one side of the street to the other, he
observed, idling at doors, or along the footway, a generation of low,
dark men, who, by the peculiar cut of their countenances might
readily have been mistaken—especially by lamplight—for lineal and
legitimate descendants of the old race of Grecian satyrs. Inhabiting
places in which no other description of person could breathe, and
carrying on their congenial trades in “Clo'—old clo'!” these people,
with their families, live and thrive on the filth of all the other parts of
the unapproachable city. Nothing comes amiss to them: the oldest
garment has some profit in it, and the merest shred its fractional
value. Their delight seems to be in a life amidst black bags, and the
rags of every other portion of the great community; while the aspect
of the region they inhabit—as if to keep all the rest from being put
out of countenance—is desolate, dark, slimy, and enveloped in an
atmosphere of eternal smoke. The very air seems pregnant with
melancholy reminiscences of the faded glory of by-gone men,
women, and times. The tarnished embroidery, the sooty red suits,
the flabby old silks, the vamped-up hessians, what spectres do they
not evoke as they dangle (ghostly mementos of departed greatness)
beside the never-washed windows; or flap like an old arras, with
every gust of wind against the besmeared and noxious walls! Where,
perhaps, the legs of some gallant captain once found a local
habitation, there the dirty Israelite now passing along feels
ambitious to encase his own. The handkerchief of a bishop invites a
“shopb'y's” nose; the last rejected beaver of the Lord Mayor awaits
the acceptance of some rascally cranium, which the Lord Mayor
would give half his dignity to “nab,” and “pop in quod.” Even some
vanished great one's walking-stick, now sticks in the black corner of
the Jew's shop, waiting to be once again shaken by the handle, even
though it be but during a brief proud hour on Sunday, by the lad
who yesterday hawked cedar pencils through the streets at a
halfpenny a piece.
“Buy, sir?—buy?—buy?” Mr. Pale-thorpe replied in the negative to
a man who thus addressed him, but volunteered to sell. He
produced the contents of his handkerchief; and before ten minutes,
more had elapsed his best blue coat with gilt buttons, and a second
pair of corduroys, became the property of the Jew, at one-third less
than their value. The reason of this strange proceeding was that
during the preceding night's glorification the Yorkshireman had,—in
some way totally incomprehensible to himself,—been eased of
absolutely every farthing he possessed. He had, therefore, no
alternative but to raise a little ready cash upon his clothes, until he
could receive from the bank in Leeds, where he had deposited his
scrapings, enough to set himself straight again and pay his passage
home.
Several times had the sun rolled over the head of this side of the
world after the scene above-described, when, one rainy evening,
about dusk, as Miss Sowersoft was casting a weary and longing eye
across the soddened fields which lay between Snitterton Lodge and
the high road, to her inexpressible pleasure she beheld the well-
known figure of Mr. Palethorpe making its way towards the house.
“Well, here you are again!” she exclaimed, as he flung down his
top-coat, and demanded a jack to get his boots off. “How have you
gone on? I see you hav'n't brought him with you, at all events.”
Although Miss Sowersoft had made an inquiry the moment Mr.
Palethorpe entered the house, she now refused to hear him talk until
he had satisfied his appetite. This achievement occupied, of course,
considerable time. He then, in the midst of an open-mouthed and
anxious rural audience, consisting of every individual, man, maid,
and boy, upon the farm, related—not his own adventures, but the
imaginary adventures of some person very closely resembling
himself, who never lived, and whose peregrinations had only existed
in the very little world of his own brain.
His expedition had been most successful; for, although he had not
exactly succeeded in discovering Colin's retreat,—a mishap
attributable to the enormous extent of London, and not to his own
want of sagacity,—yet he had astonished the natives there by such
specimens of country talent as they were very little prepared for. He
pulled out a new watch. “Look there,” said he. “I got that through
parting with the old 'un, and a better than that niver went on
wheels. I bought some handkerchers for about half-price, and see'd
more of Lunnun in ten days than many folks that have been agate
there all their lives.”
“Then you went 'top o' th' Moniment?” demanded old George.
 “To be sure I did!” exclaimed Palethorpe, “and St. Paul's Cathedral
as well.”
“I hope you did not get dropped on, anyhow,” remarked Miss
Sowersoft, inquiringly; for she really burned to know whether any of
the fears she had expressed at his setting out had been realised.
“No, dang it! not I,” replied Palethorpe, in a misgiving tone,
though with a great assumption of bravery. Yet upon that subject,
somehow, he could not expatiate. He felt tongue-tied in spite of
himself; and then, as if desirous of escaping any farther explanation
touching what he had individually done or not done, he got up and
went to the pocket of his great-coat, from which he drew a Sunday
newspaper that he had purchased as the coach was starting, and
presenting it to Miss Sowersoft—“Here,” said he, “I've brought you
th' latest news I could lay my hands on, just to let you see what sort
of things they do i' th' big town. I hav'n't look'd at it myself yet, so
you 've the first peep, meesis.”
Miss Sowersoft took the newspaper very graciously, and opened it.
Strange news indeed she very soon found there. While Palethorpe
was yet maintaining all the dignity of a hero, and stuffing his
audience with marvellous accounts of his own exploits, Miss
Sowersoft's eye fell upon a report under the head of “Police
Intelligence,” entitled, “A Yorkshireman in London.” She read it; but
with such avidity and such a sombre expression of countenance, that
the eyes of every one present were irresistibly attracted towards her,
and even Mr. Palethorpe's efforts to speak passed almost
unobserved. At length Miss Sower-soft uttered a loud hysterical
shriek, and fell back in her chair.
Palethorpe instinctively snatched at the newspaper; but, as Abel
had seized it before him, only a portion of it reached the fire, into
which it was instantly hurled. The part remaining in the grasp of the
farming-man contained the awful cause of Miss Sowersoft's calamity.
A fight might have ensued for the possession of that fragment also,
had not Abel dexterously slipped round the table before Palethorpe
could reach him, and, snatching up a lighted lantern that stood on
the dresser, escaped into a hayloft; where, having drawn the ladder
up after him, he sat down on a truss, and, while Palethorpe bawled
and threatened vainly from beneath, deliberately read as follows:—
“A Yorkshireman in London.—Yesterday a stupid-looking 'son of
the soil' from Yorkshire, whose legs appeared to have been tied
across a barrel during the previous part of his life, and who gave his
name Samuel Palethorpe, was brought before their worships,
charged by policeman G. 95, with having been found dead drunk in
Blackman Street, Borough, between one and two o'clock that
morning. When found he was sitting bolt-upright in a pool of lime-
water about twelve inches deep, which had been made in the gutter
by some bricklayer's labourers employed in mixing mortar near the
spot. His hat was crushed into the form of a pancake, and was
floating beside him; while he was calling in a stentorian voice for
assistance. From the very deplorable statement he made, with tears
in his eyes, it appeared that, after rambling about town the greater
part of the previous day, in search of the 'lions' of London, during
which time he had imbibed an immense quantity of heavy-wet, he
repaired to a well-known house in the neighbourhood of the
Haymarket, and regaled himself until midnight with wine and cigars.
While there he picked up an acquaintance in the person of a 'lady,'
(as he described her,) 'with a plum-coloured silk gown on, and one
of the handsomest shawls he ever saw in his life.' As the 'lady' was
very communicative, and was very polite, and told him that she
wished to marry, he naturally concluded she might entertain no very
deeply-rooted, objection to himself. In order, therefore, to make a
beginning in his courtship, he eventually consented to accompany
her home. He believed her to be what she appeared, 'a lady,' and
was over-persuaded by the hope of marrying a good fortune. One of
the magistrates here expressed his astonishment that any man
arrived at the age of the prisoner, (he appeared nearly forty-five,)
even though brought up in the veriest wild in England, could
possibly be such a fool as the individual before him represented
himself. Mr. Palethorpe replied that he had several times read of
ladies falling in love with cavaliers, and he thought such a thing
might happen to him as well as to anybody else. (Laughter.)
 “'And what happened afterwards?' asked the magistrate.
“Mr. Palethorpe.—'I don't know very well, for I'd a sup too much. I
ar'n't used to drink sich strong wine: but we went over a bridge, I
think, becos I remember seeing some lights dance about; but where
we went to I know no more than this man here' (pointing to the
policeman).
“'How much money did you spend?'
“'Whoy, unfortinately, I 've lost every farthing I had.'
“'And how much had you about your person when you set out?'
“'Please, sir, I had seven pounds in goold, and about twelve
shillin's in shillin's, besides some ha'pence.'
“'Do you think you've been robbed, or did you spend it on the
lady?'
“'I don't know, sir,—but it's all gone.'
“'Well, as you seem to have paid pretty dearly for your pleasure, I
shall not fine you this time, but I should advise you to take better
care the next time you come to London.'
“The prisoner left the court very chop-fallen, while one of the
spectators as he passed whistled in his ear the tune of

'When first in London I arrived, on a visit—on a visit!'”

Before Abel had perused half the above extract he was in

ecstasies: and when he had done he cut it out of the paper with his
pocket-knife, in order the easier to preserve it for future use. The
story soon became known throughout the country side, as Abel
made a point of reading it aloud at every public-house he called at,
and on every occasion when the hero of it chanced to displease him.
The gist of the joke, however, seemed, in the general opinion, to
consist in the fact that Mr. Palethorpe himself had unwittingly
brought it all the way from London in his own pocket, for the
edification and amusement of the community. In fact, from that day
until the end of his life, that worthy never heard the last of his
expedition to London.
But, how did he settle matters with his mistress? That question
may be solved when other events of greater importance have been
described.
 CHAPTER XXI.
Something strange on the staircase, with a needful reflection or
two upon it.

B
Y this time Colin's resources had become so low that but
thirteen shillings remained to him of all he had brought from
home; and of that small sum about one-half would be due to
his landlady in the course of a few days. Yet he continued his
kindness towards the poor singer on the second floor, and only the
day previously had exchanged his last sovereign on her account. The
feelings with which her appearance had first inspired him he could
not wholly shake off; although he had since become acquainted with
various circumstances which pointed out to him imperatively the
necessity of at once setting such a connexion aside, and forgetting
even that it had ever existed. He half formed a resolution to do so;
and, in order to carry it the better into effect, made up his mind to
quit the house altogether—a step he could the more readily take
now, as he had not hitherto so much as even seen Miss Wintlebury
except on the stage; and she, on the other hand, could know no
more of him than his ever-ready and unassuming kindness might
have informed her of. These thoughts crowded his mind as he sat at
breakfast, and during several hours subsequently presented
themselves under every possible phase to his review. About twelve
o'clock in the day, as he was descending the stairs to the street, his
sight was crossed on the first landing he reached, by a kind of vision
in a white dress, which flitted from Miss Wintlebury's chamber to her
sitting-room. Its hair was tightly screwed up in bits of newspaper all
over its head, very strongly resembling a clumsy piece of mosaic. Its
face was of a horrible cream-colour, and as dry as the hide of a
rhinoceros. Its eyes dim and glazy. Its neck and shoulders—with
respect to the developement of tendons and sinews—not greatly
unlike an anatomical preparation. This surprising appearance no
sooner heard Colin's footsteps approaching than it skipped rapidly
into the sitting-room, and without turning at the instant to close the
door, sat hastily down at a small table, on which stood a black
teapot, and one cup and saucer, as if with the intention of taking its
breakfast.
Somewhat alarmed, Colin hastened down, and was very glad to
find Mrs. Popple on her hands and knees at the door, applying
pipeclay to the step. Of her he immediately inquired the nature of
the apparition he had seen; and was most shocked indeed when he
found by her reply, that he had actually mistaken Miss Wintlebury
herself for her own ghost. Still the fact was scarcely credible. Surely
it was not possible to patch up such a shadow, into the handsome
figure which had first inspired him with love; and the recollection of
whose seeming beauties still attended upon his imagination with the
constancy of a shadow in the sun.
“Ah, sir!” exclaimed Mrs. Popple; “but you ain't any conception
what a poor creatur' she is. I can carry her about this house like a
doll, she's so light and thin. She walks about more like a sperit than
anything substantive—that she do. I often think of turning her out of
house altogether, for I 'm afraid I shall never get my rent of her; but
then, again, when I 'm going to do it, a sum mut seems to whisper
to me, and say, 'Missis Popple—Missis Popple, let her alone a bit
longer.' And that is the way we go on.” Saying which, with a heavy
sigh, she scrubbed away at the stones. Colin stood mute.
“She's dyin', sir, as fast she can,” added the landlady. “I niver see
an indiwidiwal in a more gallopin' consumption in my life. I expect
noat no less than having her corpse thrown on my hands every week
that goes over my head.”
Could he altogether give up the poor creature of whom this was
said? And yet, was it possible he could love her? Colin felt perplexed,
puzzled. Like many other gentlemen, therefore, when placed in a
similar predicament, he parted company with Mrs. Popple, without
saying anything in reply, lest by speaking he should possibly chance
—to say worse than nothing.
 As the strange shock his feelings had sustained gradually wore off,
his previously formed resolutions as gradually grew weaker.
Irresistibly inclined to look on the best side only, he began to reason
himself into the belief that the lady was not so bad as his own eyes,
and Mrs. Popple's tongue, had represented. He had seen her,
unluckily, under circumstances sufficiently disadvantageous to
reduce to a very ordinary standard even one—as was not very
unlikely of the greatest beauties living: and, as for his landlady's
remarks, what did they amount to in fact? Since people always
magnify what they talk about into a ten times more hideous affair
than, according to the natural size of the subject, it would otherwise
appear, just as our opticians exhibit monsters a foot lone on paper,
which on closer inspection are found too insignificant in reality to be
even visible to the unassisted eye. Perhaps Miss Wintle-bury might
soon be recovered—soon grow strong again, and eventually be
enabled to make a fortune by that voice which now scarcely found
her in bread. Thoughts of this nature occupied his mind all day, and
until his return home, at about six in the evening.
Shortly afterwards a circumstance occurred no less unexpected on
his part than it will prove surprising to the reader; and which, as it
finally settled the question of his love for the public singer, as well as
another question of great importance to an individual in whom we
have felt some concern during the previous part of this history, I
shall lose no time in proceeding to relate.
 CHAPTER XXII.
A most uncommon courtship, a bit of jealousy, and a very plain
declaration.

N
OT long had Colin been at home before a message was sent
up by Miss Wintlebury, begging the favour of a few minutes'
conversation with him as early as it might be convenient to
himself. Poor Colin blushed to the eyes as he heard the
request, and in a manner so hurried that he scarcely knew his own
words, replied that he would wait upon her immediately. He took
some time, nevertheless, in adapting and adjusting his dress to his
own taste, which he now discovered had suddenly become very
particular; but, at length, when he grew ashamed of hanging back
any longer, he summoned a desperate resolution, and, like the
leader of a forlorn hope, went on to his mistress's door as though on
an expedition of life or death.
For the fourth time he found Miss Harriet's appearance changed;
though this fourth appearance seemed the most true one. She was
yet young, and had been handsome; just as a primrose cropped a
week since, and dangling its head over the side of a jar has been
handsome, but is so no longer. Her cheeks were slightly—very
slightly painted; for custom is custom still, even by the coffin side.
Her countenance was naturally intelligent, and had been improved in
expression by indulgence in the love of literature. The proportions of
her figure were comely enough, and such as would not have
matched ill beside even so well-formed an one as was Colin's.
“I am afraid you will think me very bold, Mr. Clink,” observed Miss
Wintlebury, after the first forms of their meeting had been gone
through; “but I wished to thank you personally for your exceeding
kindness towards one who is a mere stranger to you. I feel it the
more because, unfortunately for me, I have so rarely met with
anything of the kind. I think my poor mother—and she has been
gone these many years—was the only creature that ever loved me in
this world!”
Here her voice grew tremulous, and her utterance half convulsive.
“I do not scruple to say so much now, because in the condition in
which I am—I know I am—I am dying, and that is all about it;—in
that condition, I say, no scruples prevent me uttering what otherwise
I should be ashamed to own, because, with my feet almost in the
grave, I feel secure against any imputations which else the world
might bring against me. But, having almost done with the world, and
feeling under no apprehension that anybody will look upon me in
any other light than as a departing guest about to close the door
upon her own back for ever, I am not ashamed to speak as a woman
openly: for openly I must shortly speak before a far greater Being
than any here.”
Colin sat, with his eyes fixed on the ground, mute and motionless,
—striving to divert his feelings by counting the pattern flowers on
the carpet; but he could scarcely see them, his eyes were full. With
difficulty he swallowed his grief as Miss Wintlebury continued, “To-
night, now, I am unable to go through the exertion of pleasing those
drunkards yonder, as usual. Nor is this the first warning I have had
that the poor concert of my life is close upon its finale.”
Accustomed as the young woman appeared to be to contemplate
her own death within the little oratory of her own bosom, she yet
displayed that feminine weakness of being unable to allude to it in
words before another person without shedding tears.
“I hope, Miss,” began Colin, but he could not get on,—“I hope,
ma'am———”
“It is not for myself!” she exclaimed resolutely, and as though
determined to outface those tears,—“no, not for myself. That is very
little worth crying for, indeed.”
She smiled with a ghastly expression of selfcontempt, and
continued, “It is, sir, because I have it not in my power to repay you
for your kindness to me. I must die in the debt of a stranger, for all
help is now going from my hands. These few dresses and trinkets
——”
And as she sobbed out the words she placed her hand upon a
small heap of theatrical robes and decorations which lay beside her.
“These are all—and a very poor all they are—I have to repay you
with, besides a buckle that I have here upon my band, which my
mother gave me; and that I wish you to take off and keep when I
am dead: but I must have it till then. I cannot part with it before.”
She paused, and gazed upon the trinket of which she spoke as
though the thoughts it awakened congealed her into stone; for not a
muscle of her countenance moved, and nothing showed she was
alive save the rapid tears which dropped in painful noiselessness
from her eyelashes to the ground.
“No, that is not quite all,” she resumed, almost in a whisper;
“there is a necklace that was given me at school one Midsummer
holiday: you shall have that, too. And I should like you to give it—I
know you will forgive me saying so, won't you? Give it—if she be not
too proud—give it—if there be any one in the world you love, give it
her, and ask her to wear it for my poor sake!”
Colin was unused to the great sorrows of the world; his nature
would have its way; he could contain his heart no longer, and burst
into an agonizing and audible fit of grief. When his words came he
begged her to desist; he refused to take anything from her as a
recompense for what he had done; and, in as encouraging a tone as
he could assume, he bid her cheer up, and hope for the best. He
said she might yet recover, and be happy, why not? He would be her
friend for ever, if she would but pluck her heart up, and look on
things more cheerfully.
And, as he said this,—he knew not how he did it, or why,—but he
kissed her forehead passionately, and pressed her hand within his
own, as though those fingers might never be unclenched again.
At that moment the room door was very unceremoniously opened,
and two persons stood before him.
Mrs. Popple had entered first, leading forwards Fanny Woodruff!
 “Colin!” exclaimed the latter in a tone of mingled astonishment
and reproach, and at the same time retreating precipitately from the
room, while Miss Wintlebury sharply reproved her landlady for this
rudeness, and Mr. Clink himself as suddenly assumed much more of
the natural aspect of a fool than any person would have believed his
features at all capable of. At length he spoke; and, rushing out after
Fanny, exclaimed, “You shall not go! I have done no wrong! Come
back—come back!”
“Sir!” replied Fanny, with the determined voice of a highly-excited
spirit, “I have not accused you of anything, and, therefore, you need
not defend yourself. But, indeed, Colin, I never expected this!”
“What—what have I done?”
“Nothing, perhaps, that you have not a perfect right to do if you
think proper; but, however, I will not be troubled about it—I will
not!” She applied her handkerchief to her eyes. “I am sorry for
having interrupted you; but, since you are so much better engaged
than with me, I will never trouble you again as long as I live!”
“Will you hear me?” demanded Colin.
“It is of no use. I am satisfied. You have a right to do as you think
proper.”
“Of course I have, so long as I do right?”
“Right!”
“Yes, right. I have not injured you. I never told you I loved you—
never!”
Those words startled Fanny as with the shock of an earthquake;
shattering to fragments in one instant that visionary palace of Hope,
which her heart had been occupied for years in rearing. She looked
incredulously in his face, as though doubtful of his identity, and then
burst into a flood of tears.
“True,” she murmured, “you never did—never! I have betrayed
myself. But here, sir,” and she assumed as much firmness of manner
as possible, while she held a small packet out for his acceptance.
“Take this; for I came to give it you. It is all your mother and I——”
Her breathing became heavy and convulsive. “We read your letter,
and—Oh, save me! save me!” She fell insensible into the arms of
Mrs. Popple, who instantly, at Colin's request, carried her into Miss
Wintlebury's room, and placed her on the sofa.
The packet had fallen from her hand. It contained the three
guineas which Colin had formerly given to her, besides two from his
mother, and the whole amount of Fanny's own savings during the
time she had been in service, making in all between eight and nine
pounds.
Her unexpected appearance is readily explained. On perusing the
melancholy news contained in that letter of Colin's, to which Fanny
had alluded, she and his mother instantly formed the very natural
conclusion that, bad as he had described his situation to be, he
would endeavour to make the best of it to them; and that, therefore,
to a positive certainty it was very much worse than his description
would literally imply. A thousand imaginary dangers surrounding
him, thronged upon their minds, which, they concluded, nothing
short of a personal visit could modify or avert. Nothing less, indeed,
could satisfy their feelings upon the subject; and hence it was
agreed between them that, instead of writing to him, Fanny should
undertake the journey, carrying with her all the money for his use
which their joint efforts could procure.
The attentions of Mrs. Popple and Miss Wintlebury soon brought
the young woman again to herself.
“Let me go!” said she. “I will return home to-night! I cannot stay
here! I cannot bear it!”
“No, Fanny,” observed Colin, “that you shall not. You have
mistaken me much—very much; when, if you knew all, you would be
the first in the world to applaud me for what I have done.”
“I shall never be happy any more!” sighed Fanny almost inaudibly.
“I hope, young lady,” said Miss Wintlebury, addressing her, “that I
have not been any cause of unhappiness to you? Because if so,
perhaps it will be some comfort to you to know that I cannot
continue so long. Look at me. Surely this poor frame cannot have
excited either man's love or woman's jealousy; for no one could be
so weak as to dream of placing his happiness on such a broken reed,
nor any one so foolish as to take alarm at a shadow, which a few
days at most—perhaps a few hours—must remove for ever.”
Fanny heard this discourse at first with indifference; but now she
listened earnestly, and with evident surprise. Miss Wintlebury
continued, “If—for so it almost seems—you foolishly imagine that I
stand between that young gentleman and yourself, be assured you
are deeply mistaken. Death, I too well know, has betrothed me; and
I dare not, would not, accept another bridegroom. Now be at peace,
and hear me but a moment longer. I know not who you are, though
you and Mr. Clink are evidently acquainted; but if there be anything
between you both,—if you love him, or he you,—all I say is, may
Heaven bless you in it,—bless you! With one like him you could not
fail to be blessed. A nobler, or a more generous and feeling creature
never looked up to heaven.”
Overcome both by her bodily weakness and her feelings the poor
girl sat down, and covered her face with her hands as she sobbed
bitterly. During some minutes not a word was uttered; nor until the
last speaker again rose, and took Fanny's hand, and led her across
the room towards Colin, who stood by the fire-place, looking as
grave and immoveable as though he were cast in lead.
“Come,” said she, “forget me, and let me see you friends.”
Suiting the action to the sentiment expressed, she placed Fanny's
hand in Colin's. He gazed on her a moment, then clasped her in his
arms, and kissed her a thousand times.
That night the three supped together, and were happy. And, as
Fanny had not as yet taken any place of abode, she shared Miss
Wintlebury's apartments; while Colin passed, amidst endless anxiety
and excitement, an almost totally sleepless night.
Fanny did not choose to remain in town much longer than the
occasion of her visit rendered absolutely essential; but during that
time she related to Colin everything that could possibly interest him
respecting the home he had left behind.
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