David Copperfield

Chapter 102 The News Comes
Chapter 46 News Arrives

If I'm to believe my imperfect memory of the date, it was a year or so after I got married.One night, I passed Mrs. Steerforth's house. I was returning from a walk alone, thinking about the book I was writing on the way--as I continued to work hard, my grades continued to increase. I was writing my first novel at the time.During that period, I often passed by there.

The house was always dark and dreary.The best rooms are not facing the street.The old-fashioned windows were closed and the curtains were permanently drawn, adding to the forlorn look.It also had a porch across a small stone-paved courtyard, leading to a door that no one ever walked through.There is also a circular window on the side of the stairs. The only difference is that it is not blocked by curtains, but it also has an uninhabited emptiness.If I were a person passing by here by chance, I would definitely think that the owner of this house had no children during his lifetime, and his body was left indoors after his death.Had I been lucky enough to know nothing of the place, and had only seen it unchanged from time to time, I must have resorted to many ingenious conjectures.

In fact, I try not to think about it.But my mind, which cannot walk past it and ignore it like my body, often sets off a long train of fantasies.Then a voice beside me startled me.

It was a woman's voice, and I soon remembered that it was the little girl in Mrs Steerforth's drawing room.

"Sir, would you like to speak to Miss Dartle?"

"Did she send you to come to me?" I asked.

"not now."

I followed her, and asked Mrs Steerforth how she was.Her owner was not doing well, she said.

Miss Dartle was looking out over the great city.

We met and were unfamiliar with each other.

"I hear you have something to say to me, Miss Dartle."

"If you like," she said, "have you found the girl?"

"No."

"She's gone again?"

"Yes! From him," she said, "if she hasn't been found now, it may never be. She's dead, I suppose!"

"Wishing her dead," said I, "is probably the greatest kindness you can show her. Time has softened your heart, Miss Dartle."

She said: "The friends of this wonderful victimized teenage girl are all your friends. You always act as a hero for them and protect their rights. Would you like to know more about this lady?"

"Yes." I said.

"You certainly don't show your sense of justice and vengeance here, Mr. Copperfield?"

I couldn't make out what she meant, and she called out "Come here!" again, and Mr. Richtimer appeared.

"Now," she ordered, "tell Mr. Copperfield about the escape."

"Mr. James and I, Miss—"

"Don't tell me!" she interrupted him.

"Mr. James and I, sir—"

"Please don't tell me." I said.

Mr. Li Timo, and said:

"Since the young girl escaped from Yarmouth under the protection of Mr. James, Mr. James and I have lived abroad with her. We have been to many countries. Including France, Switzerland, Italy, almost every country.

"Mr. James is very fond of that young woman, and his mood is more stable because of it. That girl is also really talented. She quickly learned the dialects of various places, and she didn't even feel that she was the countryman she used to be. No matter where we are, She was all complimented.

"Indeed, it is valued for various reasons by its exposure in the air and the sun.

"But she was listless sometimes. Later, her listlessness and temper of that sort began to offend Mr. James, who infected himself. She got more and more angry. I was among them, and it was hard." However, the situation barely lasted for a long time.

"Afterwards, they kept making noise and scolding. So, one morning, Mr. James walked away from near Naples. Before leaving, Mr. James made an excuse that he would be back in a day or two, and actually confessed to me secretly, asking me to explain to her , saying that, for the sake of safety in all respects, he would not come back after this trip. He suggested that the young woman should marry a very decent man. This man could not care about the past,

"I would do anything to relieve Mr. James from his situation and reconcile him with his mother. Therefore, I accepted the task that Mr. James gave me. When I told her the fact of his departure, she fainted. passed.

"But when I explained to her the second thing the master gave me, the girl not only didn't appreciate it, but revealed her truth. She didn't have more kindness, more emotion, or more than a piece of wood or stone More patience, more rationality. If I hadn't taken precautions, I'm sure she would have killed me."

"But I have to respect her more!" I said angrily.

"In short, there was a time when everything near her had to be taken away, and she had to be kept tightly locked up in the house. Despite this, she escaped in the night. Since then, she has not been heard from again."

"She's probably dead," said Miss Dartle.

"She may have thrown herself into the sea, miss. But the fishermen, or their wives and children, may have helped her. I have seen her talking to the fishermen most of the time when Mr. James was away. Mr. James was annoyed by it.

"Later, when the situation became clear.

"I couldn't find her, so I went to the place Mr. James and I agreed to tell him what happened. We had a dispute, and I left him in a rage. Because he insulted me too much this time, he break my heart."

"Because I gave him money," Miss Dartle said to me.

"Yes, ma'am," said Mr. Richtimer, "that's all I know. I'm out of work, and I'd like to get a decent job."

I said, "Have you intercepted a letter from her home for her?"

"Sir," he answered, "I will answer with measure, for telling Mr. James's secret to his mother is a different act from telling you. All I can say is that Mr. James probably wouldn't call her much. Take the offending letters. Otherwise, sir, I'll have to avoid it."

"Is there nothing else?" Miss Dartle asked me.

"Also," I added, "I understand the role of this thing in this sinful story, and I want to tell this to my uncle who has been looking for her, so I advise you not to go out in public. .”

"Thank you, sir. But our country is governed by the law, and people are not allowed to commit suicide. I can go wherever I want, sir, and I have nothing to fear."

After saying this, he left.

"Besides he says," said Miss Dartle, "that he's sailing along the coast of Spain, and then, when he's tired, he's going somewhere else to satisfy his sailing addiction. But you don't know about that." Interesting. The rift between their mother and son is deeper than it was, with little hope of ever getting back together, and since the two of them are the same at heart, they've become more stubborn and arrogant with each other over time. It's not that either You are interested, the filthy girl he brought from the seaside mud is probably still alive, these filthy things are hard to die. If she is really alive, then you must get this baby back, good Take care of it. We hope so too, lest he have another chance of being seduced by her. In this regard, our interests are the same."

At this moment Mrs. Steerforth came up.

"Have you told Mr. Copperfield everything, Rosa?"

"Yes."

"Did Timo tell him from his own mouth?"

"Yes, I told him too."

"Thank you, sir," she said to me again, "my letter has not made him change his mind from filial piety or duty to me. Therefore, I have no other intentions in this matter than what Rosa mentioned. .Hope, maybe there's a way to save that respectable man you brought here from worrying, and keep my son from being framed, and that'll be all right!"

"Ma'am," I said respectfully, "I understand what you mean. I assure you, I understand what you mean. But since I have known the victimized family since I was a child, I must say, even to you, that if You think, if this woman who has been wronged so much, is willing to drink a glass of water from your son if she has not been deceived by her ignorance, then you are wrong."

"Come on, Rosa, come on!" said Mrs. Steerforth, when Rosa was about to interject. "Never mind. I heard, sir, that you're married?"

I replied that I had been married for some time.

"It's all right now? I live here behind closed doors and don't hear much, but I know you're a little famous now."

"It's just a fluke for me," I said, "and I've had a lot of compliments."

"Is your mother dead?" she said in a soft voice.

"good."

"It's a pity," she went on, "she would be proud of you if she were alive. Good-bye!"

Reflecting on what I had just heard, I felt obliged to let Mr. Peggotty know.The next night, I went to visit him.He was always wandering, though more often in London, with the sole purpose of finding her niece.At that time, I often saw him walking on the street in the middle of the night, looking for the woman he wanted to find among those who were still wandering outside at this time.

He rented a lodging above the little grocer in the Hangover Market, where his philanthropic enterprise first started.I got there.I asked the people in the store, and they said that he hadn't gone out, but was in his room.

I suddenly felt that the room was always ready to welcome her, and every time he went out, he always thought of bringing her back with him.

"Thank you, sir! I am very grateful to you for coming to see me!"

"Mr. Peggotty," said I, "you must not expect too much. I have some news."

"About Emily."

When he looked at me, he put his trembling hand over his mouth, and his face suddenly turned pale.

"The news does not know where she is, but she is separated from him."

He sat down, held his breath, and listened to me tell him everything.

He didn't say a word when I finished.

"What do you think of the matter, sir?" he asked me.

"I feel like she's alive," I replied.

"Maybe the first blow was too severe, and she was in a state of turmoil—she often talked about the sea. She has been thinking about that sea for so many years. Could it be her future grave!"

"However," he went on, "Master Wei, I used to feel that she must be alive--I was always supported by this idea--yes! Emily is still alive!"

"Emily is alive, my lord!" said he; "but I hear she's alive!"

"Now, my dear friend..." I began.

"Thank you, kind sir," he said, shaking my hand.

"If she were to come to London, where would she be more likely to hide than in this big city? And if she refused to go home, what could she possibly do but remain anonymous?

"She won't come home, and if she left it of her own accord she might have, but it doesn't, so she won't, sir."

"If she ever comes here," I said, "I'm sure there's someone here who will find her more easily than anyone else in the world. Do you remember Martha?"

"That Martha from our town?"

"Did you know she was in London?"

"I've seen her on the street before," he replied with a shudder.

"But you don't know!" I said, "that Emily, with Ham's help, rescued Emily before she ran away from home. You don't know that, when we were talking at the restaurant down the road that night, she Just listen outside the door."

"Master Wei!" he said, "Is it the night when it snowed heavily?"

"Yes, I haven't seen her since. I meant to talk to her when I parted from you, but she's gone. I didn't want to tell you about her then, and I don't want to now, but I think we should talk to her, do you understand me?"

"Understood, sir," he replied.

"It's dark now. How about we go out to find her tonight?"

He agreed with my proposal.

"A while ago," he said, "I sort of thought of Martha as dirt. But it's different now."

On the way I inquired about Ham's condition.He pretty much said the same thing as last time, that Ham was still the same as before, working as hard as he could, giving no attention to his body; never complaining, and everyone liked him.

I asked him how Ham felt about the cause of their misfortune.Is he going to make trouble.What he thought Ham would do if he and Steerforth ever met.

"I don't know, sir," he answered, "and I can't think of any reason for it."

I thought of the three of us at the beach the morning after she left home. "Do you remember?" I said, "He looked at the sea in the distance, the desperate look on his face, and he talked about 'resolving'?"

"Of course!" he said.

"What do you think that means?"

"Master Wei," he replied, "I have asked myself this question countless times, but I can never get an answer. There is also a strange thing-although he has a good temper, I seem to find it inconvenient." Go and interrogate him. He used to be very polite to me, and he will not change anything now. But it is not easy to understand what he thinks in his heart. His city is very deep, young master, I can't see through it."

"You're right," I said, "and sometimes it makes me uneasy."

"I am the same way, Young Master Wei," he replied, "to be honest, I am more worried about his silence than his recklessness. But in both cases, it is because of his change. I don't think he would use force under any circumstances, but I still hope that the two of them don't meet."

When we were very close to the Black Priests Bridge, a lone woman on the other side of the street passed by, and I immediately recognized it as Martha.

We follow her.At the same time I had an instinctive desire to know where she was going.

So we followed her not far or near.At last she turned into a dull street, away from the tumult of the crowd, and I said, "We can talk to her now," and we quickened our pace and gave chase.

(End of this chapter)