大卫科波菲尔英文版David Copperfields childhood.docx

大卫科波菲尔英文版David Copperfields childhood.docx

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大卫科波菲尔英文版DavidCopperfieldschildhood

ChapterfiveDavidmeetsoldfriendsagain

　　IdecidedtogotoLondonfirst，tostayatahotelforafewnights，andseeallthesightsofthatgreatcity．IknewitwouldbeverydifferentfromthelasttimeIwasinLondon，whenIwasworkingatthewarehouse．NowIwasadult，andeducated，andhadmoney．

　　ThehotelIchosewascalledtheGoldenCross，andbecauseIlookedsoyoung，Iwasgivenaverysmall，darkroomintheroof．ButIdidnotfeelconfidentenoughtocomplain．

　　ThateveningIwasreturningfromthetheatrewhenIrecognizedsomeonegoingintothehotel．Icouldnotpreventmyselffromsayingatonce，‘Steerforth！

Doyourememberme？

’

　　Hestaredatmeforamoment．Thenhecried，‘Goodheavens！

It'slittleCopperfield！

’

　　IwassodelightedtoseehimthatIheldbothhishands，saying，‘MydearSteerforth，youhavenoideahowpleasedIamtoseeyouagain！

’IrememberedhowmuchIhadadmiredhim，andallmyloveforhimcameback．Ihadtobrushawaythetearsfrommyeyes．

　　‘Don'tcry，Copperfield，oldboy！

’hesaidkindly．‘I'mgladtoseeyoutoo．Whatareyoudoinghere？

’

　　‘I'vejustfinishedschool，andmyaunthassentmetoLondontolookaroundbeforedecidingonaprofession．Whataboutyou，Steerforth？

’

　　‘Well，I'mstudyingatOxfordUniversity，butnothingexcitingeverhappensthere！

That'swhyI'minLondonforafewdays．Butit'sboringheretoo，isn'tit？

’

　　‘InLondon？

’Iasked，surprised．‘Ithinkit'swonderful！

There'ssomuchtodoandsee！

I'vejustbeentothetheatre—theactorswereexcellentand—’

　　‘David，David！

’laughedSteerforth．‘Itdoesmegoodtoseeyourfresh，innocentface，sofullofexcitement！

Now，letmesee，whichroomarestayingin？

’

　　‘Number44．It'sratherhighup，’Iconfessed，blushing．

　　‘They'veputyouinnumber44？

I'llsoonchangethat．’AndwhenSteerforthcomplainedtothemanager，Iwasimmediatelygivenalarge，airy，comfortableroomonthefirstfloor，nexttohis．ThatnightasIfellasleepIthoughthappilyofthenextfewdays，whichSteerforthandIwereplanningtospendtogether．

　　Aweekpassedveryquickly，withvisitstothetheatre，themuseumsandthezoo．Wewentsightseeing，riding，swimmingandboating．Steerforthwastheperfectcompaniontohave，andIadmiredhimevenmorethanbefore．Infact，Ilovedhimwithallmyheart．

　　OnedayIsaidtohim，‘Youknow，Steerforth，Ireallymustgoandvisitmymother'soldservant，Peggotty．ShewasverygoodtomewhenIwasachild．’

　　‘Yes，David，Irememberyoutoldme．ShelivesinYarmouthnow，doesn'tshe？

Whydon'twegotheretogether？

’

　　‘Ohyes，Steerforth！

You'denjoymeetingherbrothef，andallthefamily！

They'reverykind，goodpeople．’

　　‘Eveniftheyareonlyworkingpeople，’saidSteerforth．Ilookedquicklyathimtoseewhathemeant，buthewassmilingatme，soIknewhewasjoking，andIsmiledtoo．

　　WetravelledtoYarmouthbycoach，andwhenwearrived，SteerforthstayedatthehotelwhileIwenttoBarkis'shousetofindPeggotty．WhenIknockedatthedoor，Peggottyopenedit，anddidnotrecognizemeforamoment．Ihadcontinuedtowritetoherregularly，butwehadnotseeneachotherforsevenyears，andIwasnolongerthesmallboysheremembered．ButwhensherealizedIwasherMasterDavid，shesobbedandsobbedwithdelight，holdingmeinherarmsasshehadalwaysdone．Soonshewascalmer，andwetalkedabouttheeventsofthelastfewyears．IheardthatshewasveryhappywithMrBarkis，who；however，wasillinbedatthetime．ShewassopleasedtoseemethatsheinsistedIshouldsleepatherhouseduringmystayinYarmouth，inthelittlebedroomshehadalwayskeptforme．

　　ThenextdayItookSteerforthwithmetovisitDanielPeggotty．Itwasadarkandwindywinterevening．Aswecameclosertotheoldboat，weheardhappyvoicesandlaughterinside．Iopenedthedoor，andsuddenlyIwassurroundedbyDaniel，HamandEmily，alllookingverysurprised．

　　‘Look！

It'sMasterDavid！

Lookhowhe'sgrown！

’

　　Andforamomentwewereallshakinghandsandtalkingandlaughingatthesametime．IdidnotforgettointroduceSteerforth．Theywelcomedhimwarmlyasmybestfriend．

　　‘Well！

’criedDanielPeggotty，hislargefaceredandshiningwithdelight．‘It'swonderful，MasterDavid，thatyoutwogentlemenhavecomeheretonightofallnights！

Thebestnightofmylife！

Becausetonight，gentlemen，mylittleEmily—’andhetookEmily'ssmallwhitehandinhisroughredoneandplaceditonhisheart—‘hasagreedtobecomeHam'swife！

’

　　‘Icongratulateyouwithallmyheart，’saidSteerforthpolitelytoHam，withouttakinghiseyesoffEmily，whowasblushingprettily．

　　‘MasterDavidknowshowIlovethisgirl，’continuedoldDaniel，‘andmydearestwishwasforhertohaveagoodhusbandtotakecareofher．Andthere'snooneItrustmorethanHam！

He'sonlyaroughsailorlikeme，buthe'shonest，andsincere，andIknowshe'llcometonoharmwhilehelives！

’

　　Meanwhile，Hamwasblushingtoo．Ididnotknowwhattosay，unsurewhetherIstilllovedEmilyandwasthereforejealousofHam，orwhetherIwasgladtheyweregoingtobehappytogether．Butsteerforthalwaysknewtherightthingtosay，andwithafewwell-chosenwordshemadeusallfeelmuchmorecomfortable．

　　Wespenttherestoftheeveningverypleasantly，tellingstoriesandsingingsongs，anditwasmidnightwhenSteerforthandIlefttheoldboat．

　　‘Well！

’saidSteerforthtomeaswewalkedacrossthesandinthecoldnightair．‘Whatalovelygirl！

Andwhatacoarseyoungmanshe'sengagedto！

’

　　Iwasshockedbytheseunexpectedlycoldwords．ButwhenIturnedtohimandsawhimsmiling，Irepliedwarmly，‘Ah，Steerforth！

Youpretendtolaughatpeoplewhoarepoorerorlesseducatedthanyourself，butI'vejustseenyouspendthewholeeveningwiththePeggottyfamily，makingthemhappy！

Iknowyouunderstandandlovethem，andIadmireyouallthemoreforit！

’

　　Hestoppedandlookedatme，sayingrathersadly，‘David，you'reserious，aren'tyou？

IwishIwereasgoodasyou！

’

　　ForthenexttwoweeksIwasoftenwithPeggottyandBarkis，whileSteerforthwentsailingorfishingwithDanielandHam，orfoundotherthingstodo，soIdidnotseeverymuchofhim．FinallywedecidedtoreturntoLondon．

　　Whileweweretravellingbackonthecoach，Iturnedtosaysomething，andwassurprisedtoseehowmiserablehelooked．

　　‘Oh，David！

’hesaidunhappily．‘IwishIcouldcontrolmyselfbetter！

Ihatemyselfsometimes！

’

　　‘Steerforth！

Whatcanyoumean！

’Icried．‘You'rethebest，themostintelligent，thekindestofmen！

’

　　‘Thankyou，David，’hesaid，shakinghishead，‘butyoudon'tknowhowbadIam．’

　　‘Bad！

’Irepeated．‘MydearSteerforth！

Don'tsaythat！

Iknowyourcharacterwell，andI'mproudtocallyoumyfriend！

’

　　Inalittlewhilehismoodchanged，andhebecamecheerfulagain．Isoonforgothiswords，butIrememberedthemlater．

　　InLondonIdiscoveredthatmyaunthadarrivedattheColdenCrossHotel，andhadbookedaroomthereforseveraldays．Weweredelightedtoseeeachother，andhadalongconversationthatevening．Shehadcometoaskmeaparticularquestion．

　　‘David，’shesaidveryseriously，‘I'vebeenthinkingaboutyourfutureprofession．Howwouldyoufeelaboutbecomingalawyer？

’

　　Ithoughtforamoment．‘Well，aunt，itsoundsaverygoodidea．IconfessIhadn'tconsidereditbefore，butIthinkI'dlikeit．’

　　‘Verygood，’saidmyaunt，jumpingup．‘Inthatcase，let'sgoimmediatelytoseeMrSpenlow．He'sapartnerinanimportantlawfirm，andIthinkhe'llagreetotrainyou．We'llhavetopayhim，ofcourse，butafterseveralyearsyou'llbeaproperlytrainedlawyer，andbeabletoearnyourownmoney．’

　　Andsowecarriedoutthisplan．MyauntpaidMrSpenlow'sfirmathousandpounds，andIpromisedtoworkhardanddomybesttobecomeasuccessfullawyer．BeforeshereturnedtoDover，myauntrentedasmallflatforme，atthetopofahousenearthelawcourts，andImovedinatonce．

　　AtfirstitseemedveryexcitingtowalkthroughthebusystreetsafteralongdayinthecourtsoratMrSpenlow'sdustyoffice，andknowthatIhadmyownhometoreturnto．ButwhenIhadclimbedupallthestairs，andenteredmysittingroom，itnolongerseemedsoexciting．Infact，myflatlookedemptyanddepressing．So，aftertwodaysofloneliness，Iwasverygladtoreceivemyfirstvisitor，Steerforth，andbecauseIwassohappytoseehim，Iinvitedhimandtwofriendsofhistodinnerthenextevening．

　　Asitwasmyfirstdinnerparty，Ididnotknowwhattobuy，butIorderedcookeddishesofchickenandfishfromtherestaurant，boughtcheeseandfruitfromthemarket，andhadalargenumberofbottlesofwinedelivered．IwasquitefrightenedbyhowmuchmoneyIhadspent，butwhenSteerforthandhisfriendsarrived，Isoonbecamemorecheerful．Thepartywasagreatsuccess，andweallenjoyedourselvesverymuch．Weate，anddrank，andsmoked，anddrankagain．Iwasconstantlyopeningbottlesofwine，andbecameunusuallytalkative．Ibegantofeelratherstrange，andwhenIcaughtsightofmyselfinamirror，Iseemedverypale．IhadtoconfesstomyselfthatIlookeddrunk．

　　Someonesuggestedgoingtothetheatre，andinakindofmistweleftmyflatandwalkedthroughthestreets．Steerforthwasholdingmyarmandlaughing．Thenamaninalittleboxlookedoutofthefog，andtookmoneyfromsomebody．Soonweweresittinghighupinaveryhot，verycrowdedtheatre．Therewerebrightlights，andtherewasmusic，butIcouldnotunderstandwhatanyonewassaying，andthewholebuildingseemedtoswiminfrontofmyeyes．

　　Thensomeonesuggestedgoingtovisitsomefriendsinanotherpartofthetheatre，sowewentdownstairs．SuddenlyIsaw，quiteclearly，AgnesWickfield，sittingwithaladyandgentleman．Shewaslookingatmewithasurprisedexpressiononherface．

　　‘Goodheavens！

’Icried．‘Agnes！

You'reinLondon！

’

　　‘Quiet！

’shewhispered．