Little Dorrit Book 1, Chapter 25

Conspirators and Others

• OK, mysterious meeting time at Pancks's house.
• His landlord, Mr. Rugg, is there. So is Miss Rugg, Mr. Rugg's daughter, whose main claim to fame is that she sued a former fiancé for breach of contract for breaking off an engagement – and won! That's right, folks – that was the law back then.
• Also there is Young John Chivery – the dude who's in love with Little Dorrit.
• Turns out, Pancks has been working overtime sending these people out to mysterious destinations all over the greater metropolitan London area. We don't know why.
• They all drink a toast to their new assignments, and all is well.
• The other thing Pancks likes to do is check up on Cavalletto, who has moved into Bleeding Heart Yard and is now being called Mr. Baptist by the people who live there (his first name is Jean-Baptiste, which in England ends up being John-Baptist).
• He's a constantly happy guy, despite the fact that he is clearly dirt poor.
• It's a good thing he's so good-natured, because the English? They aren't the most foreigner-friendly of people.
• Mrs. Plornish talks to him in a crazy-sounding broken English that makes her sound very smart to her neighbors and very idiotic to the reader. But he doesn't mind and takes everything in stride.
• Mr. Baptist has his rent on time. Apparently he whittles little flowers to sell, and Arthur gives him odd jobs every now and again.
• But, Mrs. Plornish tells Pancks that sometimes Mr. Baptist gets scared and starts peering around the corners of buildings as if he's looking for someone he doesn't want to see. Hmm... who could that be?