Wuthering Heights

Chapter 22

"'I can't do murder,' I replied. "Mr. Hindley was standing there with a knife and a loaded gun. '

"'Let me in through the kitchen door!' he said.

"'Hindley will go there before me,' I answered. 'This is your poor love, which cannot withstand a storm! You let our wife lie flat in bed as long as the summer moon shines , but when the winter winds come back, you must run for shelter! If I were you, Heathcliff, I would lie sprawled on her grave and die like a faithful dog... …Of course the world is worthless, isn't it? You make me feel that Catherine is all the joy in your life. I can't imagine how you'd want to live without her.'

"'There he is, is he?' cried my companion, throwing himself at the window. 'If I could stretch out my arms, I could beat him!'

"'I'm afraid, Alan, that you'll look down on me and think I'm so bad. But you don't know everything. So don't judge! Even if someone's life was the plot, I wouldn't go— —Wish him dead, and I'm not shaken. So when he sprang at Earnshaw's weapon and snatched it from his hands, I was really disappointed. And frightened, I didn't know What will happen to that mockery.'

"The bullet was unloaded, and when the knife bounced back, it cut the wrist of the owner of the weapon. With a violent pull, Heathcliff cut a long slit in the flesh, and put the bloody thing in the pocket. Then he picked up a stone, knocked down the frame between the two windows, and jumped in. His adversary was lying unconscious on the ground from the pain, and the blood from the artery or great vein. personnel.

"The rascal kicked and stomped on him, knocking his head on the flagstones one after another, while holding me tightly with one hand, to prevent me from calling Joseph.

"He exerted superhuman self-control, and it didn't quite finish him off. But he got angry; and when he caught his breath, he just let it go, and dragged the apparently unconscious body onto the high-back chair.

"Right there on the chair he tore off the sleeve of Earnshaw's coat, and bound up the wound as roughly as a wild beast. All the while he was dressing and swearing and cursing, no less vigorously than when he kicked him. .

"Since I was free, I immediately went to find the old servant. He finally understood the meaning bit by bit from my hurried narration, and hurried downstairs, panting heavily, because he took two steps at a time. Came downstairs.

"'What, now? What, now?'

"'That's it,' roared Heathcliff. 'Your master is mad. He's got another month to live, and I'll send him to the madhouse. What the hell you shut me out of. Don't you Toothy dog? Don't stand there grumbling. Come here, I'm not here to watch him. Wash off the blood, and watch out for sparks on your candle, it's mostly brandy!"'

"'So you're murdering him?' cried Joseph, rolling his eyes up in terror, and throwing up his hands. 'I've never seen anything like it! May God—'

"Heathcliff pushed him. Pushed him right to his knees in the middle of the pool of blood, and threw him a handkerchief. But instead of drying the blood, he crossed his hands and prayed, that queer word." , made me laugh. I was in a state of mind that would not shock anything. In fact, I was like some convict standing at the gallows, completely indifferent.

"'Oh, I forgot you,' said the tyrant. 'You do this. Bow down! You conspire with him to kill me, don't you, Viper? There, that's your business! '

"He shook me hard. My teeth rattled, and he shoved me up to Joseph. Joseph finished his prayer without haste, got up, and swore he was going to the Grange in a minute. Mr. Linton is a judge, even if fifty wives died, he should take care of this matter.

"His resolution was so strong that Heathcliff thought it best to press me to tell the story of the matter. He stood before me, with a foul belly, and listened to my reluctance. One answer to his question.

"It took a lot of trouble to convince the old man that he wasn't the murderer, especially since my answers were all forced out bit by bit. But Mr. Earnshaw soon proved that he was still alive, about Ser immediately poured him a glass of brandy, and by the strength of the wine, his master moved immediately and regained consciousness.

"Heathcliff knew that he didn't understand what he was being treated when he was insane, and he said he was a drunkard, that he didn't care about his absurd behavior, but advised him to go to bed and go to sleep. After he said this I was glad that the fair and wise words left us, and Hindley sprawled on the flagstones before the hearth, while I went to my own room, congratulating myself on my escape so easily.

"This morning, about 11:30, I came downstairs and Mr Earnshaw was sitting by the fire looking very badly. The ghoul had his head on the chimney and was almost as hideous as he was. Two No one wanted to eat. After all the food on the table was cold, I started to eat alone.

"I eat very well, and nothing can disturb me. And I experience a sense of satisfaction and superiority. Occasionally I glance at my two silent companions, and I feel that I have a sense of peace in my heart, even comfortable.

"When the meal was over, I ventured to the fire, walked around Earnshaw's seat, and knelt down in the corner beside him.

"Heathcliff was not paying attention to my movements, so I looked up and studied his features, which I studied at my leisure as if they had been turned to stone. His brow. I thought there were so many Manliness, now thought to be so menacing, was clouded over. His lizard eyes were almost extinguished from lack of sleep, and, perhaps, from weeping, for his lashes were wet. He The ferocious sarcasm disappeared from his lips, and an expression of indescribable sadness was sealed on the inside. If it were someone else, facing such pain, I would hide my face. But if it were him, I would Very satisfying. It is dishonorable to insult a fallen enemy, but I can't help but take the opportunity to shoot an arrow. Only when he is weak can I taste the pleasure of repaying hatred with hatred."

"Pooh, pooh, miss!" I interrupted her. "You'd think you'd never opened a Bible in your life. Surely you'd be content if God punished your enemies. It's vile and presumptuous!"

"As usual I admit it is, Ellen," she went on. "But what shall it please me if Heathcliff suffers, unless I do it with my own hands? I would rather make him suffer less, if only I could come and cause him to suffer, and he would know that I was the cause of it. Oh, I owe him so much. I can forgive him only on one condition. That is, an eye for an eye, and an eye for an eye, and every time I wring me, I wring him back, and make him feel what I have suffered too. Since he came to hurt me first, let him beg for mercy first. Then, at that time, Alan, I can show you a little mercy. But there is no day when I will get revenge, so I can't Forgive him. Hindley wants a drink, I'll give him a drink and ask him how he is.

"'I wish it was better,'" he replied. "'But leave my arm aside, every inch of me aches like I've fought a fight with a bunch of brats!'

"'Yeah, nothing surprising,'' I said again. "'Catherine used to boast that she stood between you and your pain, meaning that no one dared to hurt you for fear of offending her. One never rises from the grave, if last night, She'll be able to see a good show! Don't you have a bruise or a cut on your chest and shoulders?"

"'I can't tell,' he answered. 'But what do you mean? How dare he hit me when I'm down?'

"'He stomped on you, kicked you, and slammed you to the floor,' I whispered, 'and he was drooling, and he wanted to tear you apart with his teeth. Because, he's only half human—not even half. .'

"'Earnshaw looked up, as I did, into the face of our common enemy. Heathcliff, lost in his misery, seemed unconscious of his surroundings. The longer he stood, the The pensive form is more and more vivid through the five sense organs, showing its evil spirit.'

"'Oh, if God would give me the strength to strangle him in my last agony, I'd be glad to go to hell,' groaned the impatient man, wriggling to get up, and falling down in despair. After returning home, he knew that he was powerless to fight a battle.

"'No, he killed all of your family, and that's enough,' I cried. 'Everyone at the Grange knows that your sister is still alive today if it were not for Heathcliff. Better to hate than to be loved by him. When I think how happy we were, and how happy Catherine was before he came, I shall curse that day!"

"It is probable that Heathcliff took notice of what we were saying, and paid less attention to the speaker's emotions. I saw his attention aroused, for he was tearing down his eyelashes, and his voice choked. With a sigh, he couldn't even catch his breath.

"I stared straight at him, and laughed contemptuously. The two clouded windows of hell flashed at me. But the dark devil, who usually looked out, was so dimly soaked in tears." , I am not afraid anymore, and actually let out another laugh.

"'Get up, and don't let me see,' said the devil.

"I suppose he said at least that much. Although his voice was not clear at all.

"'I beg your pardon,' I answered. 'But I love Catherine too. Her brother needs care, and for her sake it is my duty to do so. Now that she is dead, I see her in Hindley Hindley's eyes were exactly like hers, if you didn't mean to goug them out and turn them blue and red, and her—'

"'Get up, vicious idiot, before I stomp you to death!' he cried, making a motion which caused me to do the same.

"'But then,' I went on, making ready to flee, 'if poor Catherine had believed you, and accepted the ridiculous, repulsive, shameful title of Mrs. Heathcliff, she would soon have shown She looks like a mess! She won't bear your hateful behavior in silence, she will always express her disgust and abhorrence.'

"The back of the high chair and Earnshaw's body were between me and him, so instead of lunging at him with all his might, he grabbed a table knife from the table and flew it at my head. The knife struck. just below my ear, and interrupted my speech. But I drew my knife, jumped to the door, and uttered another sentence, which I hoped had penetrated deeper than his throwing knife.

"The last thing I saw was him rushing forward in a rage, only to be hugged by his master around the waist. The two writhed and rolled over the hearth.

"While escaping through the kitchen, I told Joseph to go and see his master. I knocked down Hareton, who was hanging a litter of puppies by the door on the back of a chair. Delighted like a soul escaped from purgatory, I Jumping and jumping, running down the rough road like flying. Then, throwing off the twists and turns, taking shortcuts straight through the wilderness, falling and rolling over the embankment, and crossing the swamp. In fact, I am To the light of the Grange lampstand. I'd rather be cast into hell and never turn over than go to Wuthering Heights. Even if it's just for one night."

Isabella stopped talking and took a sip of tea.Then she got up, told me to put her hat on and wrap around the big shawl I had brought her, and I begged her to stay another hour, and she stepped into a chair and kissed Edgar and Catherine. The portrait, giving me the same courtesy, jumped out of the chair and got into the carriage.With her was Fanny, who squealed with delight at having found his mistress again.She was taken away in the car and never came to this area again.But after the matter got a little clue, there was a correspondence between her and my master.

I believe her new premises are in the south, next to London.Within a few months of her escape, she gave birth to a son there, named Linton.From the beginning, she wrote, he had been a sick and willful little thing.

Mr. Heathcliff met me one day in the village.Ask me where she is.I refuse to answer.He said it didn't matter, only that she had to be careful not to go to her brother's.Even if he insisted on taking her in himself, she should not live with him.

Through the other servants he found out where she lived, and had children, though I did not want to reveal it.He still didn't bother her, restrained her or thanked him for his distaste for that, I thought.

Whenever he sees me, he often asks about the baby.He smiled darkly at the name he had chosen, and said:

"They want me to hate him too, don't they?"

"I don't think they want you to know about it," I replied.

"But I'm going to have the kid," he said, "and I'm going to have it. They should have thought of that!"

Fortunately, before that time came, the child's mother died, roughly 13 years after Catherine's death.Linton was twelve years old, perhaps a little older.

The day after Isabella's surprise visit, I had no opportunity to speak to my host.He avoided talking, and was in no mood to discuss anything.When I could get him to listen, I saw him glad that his sister had left her husband, whom he disliked more than his mild nature could have.His hatred was so deep and sensitive that he never went near where he might see or hear Heathcliff.Sorrow, added to that state of mind, turned him into a hermit, dropped his office as a judge, forbade even church, avoided the villages, and shut himself up among his gardens and estates, utterly alien to him. The only pastime I have when I am isolated from the world is to wander alone in the wilderness and visit my wife's grave, usually at night or early in the morning, before tourists come out.

But his heart is too kind, and he won't be depressed all the time.He had not begged Catherine's spirit to haunt him, and time would bring peace, and make his melancholy sweeter than his usual joys.He recalled her with fiery tender love, looking forward to that better world, and he was convinced that she had gone there first.

He also has earthly comfort and love.As I said, in the first few days he didn't seem to care about the small heir of his dead wife.But his indifference melted as quickly as ice and snow in April, and before the little thing could utter a word or take a step, it was already waving the king's scepter in his heart.

She was named Catherine, but he never called her by her full name, just as he never called the previous Catherine by her nickname, because Heathcliff was used to it.The little thing was always Cathy, which distinguished her from her mother and connected her again.His doting is not so much because of kinship, as it is derived from her relationship with her mother.

I have often compared him with Hindley Earnshaw, and at a loss how I could explain how, in the same circumstances, the two behaved in such opposite directions.They are both loving husbands, both loving their children, and I don't see how they shouldn't be on the same path, for better or for worse.but.I thought to myself, Hindley seemed obviously more persistent.It's a pity to say that he has become a worse and weaker man.After his ship hit the rocks, the captain went AWOL, and instead of trying to save the ship, the crew rioted and rioted, and the hapless ship was hopeless.Linton is the opposite, showing true courage of a loyal soul.He believed in God, and God comforted him.One is hope, the other is despair.They chose their own destiny, and naturally they each got their own place.

But you don't want to hear me lecture, Mr. Lockwood.You, like me, pass judgment on all of these things.At least, you'll feel like you will, and that's the same.

Earnshaw's end was predictable, and it followed his sister closely, with less than six months between them.Those of us in the Grange have never heard of his situation before this, even in a few words. All I know is that I only heard about it when I went to help take care of the funeral.Mr. Kenneth came to inform my master of the matter.

"Hello, Nelly," he said one morning when he rode into the yard, and I was startled and ominous by his arrival so early. "Now it's your turn to mourn with me. Guess who left without saying goodbye this time?"

"Who?" I asked nervously.

"Why, guess!" he replied, dismounting from his horse, and hanging the reins on a hook by the door. "Hold up the corners of your apron, I'll make sure it's useful."

"Not Heathcliff, really?" I cried.

"What! You want to weep for him?" said the doctor. "No, Heathcliff is a worn-out young man. He looks radiant today. I've only seen him, and he's put on weight very quickly since he lost his wife."

"Who is it then, Mr. Kenneth?" I asked again impatiently.

"Hendley Earnshaw! Your old friend Hindley," he answered. "My old depraved friend too, though he's been quite disrespectful to me for a long time. See I said we'd weep, but cheer up! He died just as he was, Drunk. Poor boy, I'm sad too. One can't help thinking of an old friend, who seems to be only twenty-seven years old, though he has tricks no one can imagine, and has played tricks on me many times. It's your age, who would have thought you were born in the same year?"

I admit that this was a greater shock to me than the death of Mrs. Linton.Memories of the past haunted me, and I sat on the porch, weeping as if I had lost blood, and asked Kenneth to find another servant to inform the master on his behalf.

(End of this chapter)