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Chapter twenty one

The End

The story of Nell and her poor grandfather has now come to its end. All that is left to do is to tell you what happened to the other people who have been part of this sad story.

Mr Brass’s trial was held, but because he was a lawyer and knew all the right people, he was not transported to a country far away. He was sent to quite a nice prison for a few years and he never worked as a lawyer again.

No one was sure what happened to Sally Brass. Some people said she had dressed as a man and gone to sea as a sailor. Others said that she had become a soldier. But the truth was that she had just disappeared, and nobody knew where she was.

Daniel Quilp’s body was found several days after he had fallen into the river. There was an inquest, but there was no funeral and no one cared that he was dead.

Mr and Mrs Garland carried on their lives as before, but with fewer people in their house, as you will see. Their son, Abel, went to a dance where he met a very quiet lady and fell in love. In a few months he was happily married and in a few years he had a quiet family too.

Richard Swiveller slowly recovered from his illness and received the money that his rich aunt had left to him. He was a changed man. As he had promised, he used the money to look after the Marchioness. He bought her some wonderful new clothes and paid for her to go to school. She was very clever and became an excellent student.

The younger brother, or single gentleman as we knew him, was full of sadness at what had happened. He set out on a long journey - the same journey that Nell and his older brother had followed after they had left London. He took the time to find and thank every person who had helped them on their way.

And what about Kit? Kit’s story had been heard by a lot of people. At first he had no plan to leave Mr and Mrs Garland, but a stranger offered him an excellent job and everyone agreed that he should take it. Did Kit live as a single man for all his days, or did he get married? Of course he got married, and of course it was Barbara that became his wife! They were happy together and had two children.

As Kit’s children grew up he would often tell them the story of little Nell. He told them how good and sweet and kind she had been. He sometimes took them to the street where she had lived. But it had changed a lot and looked very different. A new, wide road was in its place. The Old Curiosity Shop was no longer there. It had been pulled down a long time ago. At first he would show them the exact spot where the shop had stood. But soon he became unsure and could not find the place where it had been. So much had changed and his memory was not what it had been.

These are the changes that can happen over a few years. Things pass away and are forgotten, just like a story that has been told!