A letter comes to Pip from Biddy announcing that Joe will be in town and would like to
             visit. Disturbed by the thought of being seen with Joe and his "commonness," Pip isn't
             looking forward to the visit. Aspiring to the habits of a gentleman, Pip has been
             decorating the shabby room at Barnard's Inn, and there is even an occasional servant-boy,
             The day after the letter arrives, Pip can hear Joe's clumsy boots on the steps and from the
             moment the two are reunited, both are very uncomfortable. Joe's speech is a garbled
             attempt at sounding over-eloquent, he calls Pip "Sir," and he seems to use his hat to
             divert his nervous energy, and it's constantly falling on the floor. Older Pip explains Joe's
             nervousness as a consequence of Pip's: "...if I had been easier with Joe, Joe would have
             Joe is in town for Wopsle's professional acting debut in a provincial performance of
             Hamlet. He's also come to pass on the news that Miss Havisham wishes Pip to visit the
             marshes because Estella is in town. This news, of course, about melts Pip.
             Joe is not oblivious to the discomfort between he and Pip, and he admits, with what
             Older Pip appreciates as real dignity, that he is much more at ease in the forge, and that
             he and Pip really don't belong together in London. Joe has a simple, though dignified
             attitude about the divisions between men:
             "... one [man's] a blacksmith, and one's a whitesmith, and one's a goldsmith, and one's a
             coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come." Chapter
             Herbert takes Pip to the station to catch the coach back to his hometown. The ride home
             promises to be an interesting one when it's discovered that several convicts will be
             transported along with the paying passengers (a not uncommon custom in London at this
             time, Older Pip tells us). Things get even more interesting when Pip realizes one of the
             convicts is the same man that swirled his drink with a file ...