Here Miss Nipper made a horrible lowing, supposed to issue from a conscientious goblin of the bull species, impatient to discharge the severe duty of his position. Having further composed her young charge by covering her head with the bedclothes, and making three or four angry dabs at the pillow, she folded her arms, and screwed up her mouth, and sat looking at the fire for the rest of the evening.

    Though little Paul was said, in nursery phrase, 'to take a deal of notice for his age,' he took as little notice of all this as of the preparations for his christening on the next day but one; which nevertheless went on about him, as to his personal apparel, and that of his sister and the two nurses, with great activity. Neither did him, on the arrival of the appointed morning, show any sense of its importance; being, on the contrary, unusually inclined to sleep, and unusually inclined to take it ill in his attendants that they dressed him to go out.

    It happened to be an iron-grey autumnal day, with a shrewd east wind blowing - a day in keeping with the proceedings.

Mr. Dombey represented in himself the wind, the shade, and the autumn of the christening. He stood in his library to receive the company, as hard and cold as the weather; and when he looked out through the glass room, at the trees in the little garden; their brown and yellow leaves came fluttering down, as if he blighted them.

注释：appointed : adj. 约定的，指定的
v. 任命；指定；约定时间，地点（appoint 的过去分词形式）
词组：
appointed time 指定的时间；法定时间
at the appointed time 在约定的时间
appointed day 指定日期
appointed member 委任议员，委任成员
例句：
1. He was appointed to act as the executor.
他被指定为遗嘱执行人。
2. He appointed to meet us at the entrance of the theatre. 
 他约定在剧院门口和我们碰头。