The time at which John found himself in this enviable condition was the
same evening to which the last chapter bore reference; the place was
the cottage; and the assembled company were Nicholas, Mrs Nickleby, Mrs
Browdie, Kate Nickleby, and Smike.
A very merry party they had been. Mrs Nickleby, knowing of her son's
obligations to the honest Yorkshireman, had, after some demur, yielded
her consent to Mr and Mrs Browdie being invited out to tea; in the
way of which arrangement, there were at first sundry difficulties and
obstacles, arising out of her not having had an opportunity of 'calling'
upon Mrs Browdie first; for although Mrs Nickleby very often observed
with much complacency (as most punctilious people do), that she had not
an atom of pride or formality about her, still she was a great stickler
for dignity and ceremonies; and as it was manifest that, until a call
had been made, she could not be (politely speaking, and according to the
laws of society) even cognisant of the fact of Mrs Browdie's existence,
she felt her situation to be one of peculiar delicacy and difficulty.
'The call MUST originate with me, my dear,' said Mrs Nickleby, 'that's
indispensable.
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