David Copperfield

Chapter 53 Little Emily (3)
Chapter 21 Little Emily (3)
We heard a commotion before we were inside, and a clapping of hands as soon as we were inside, a sound which, to my surprise, came from Mrs. Gummidge, who was always sullen.But she wasn't the only one excited.Mr Peggotty's face was beaming, laughing and spreading his arms, as if expecting little Em'ly to fall into his arms; Peggotty's hand, as if to introduce her to Mr. Peggotty; and little Em'ly, who was shy herself, was delighted (as could be seen by the look of delight in her eyes) that Mr. Peggotty was happy, and was about to pass from Ham side jumped into Mr. Peggotty's arms, but was stopped by our entry (because she saw us first).We first saw them when we came into this warm and bright room out of the dark cold night, and that's how they looked; Mrs. Gummidge clapped her hands wildly.

As soon as we walked in the picture of joy disappeared, so we wondered if it ever existed.I stood in the midst of the bewildered company, and looking at Mr. Peggotty face to face, I held out my hand to him, when Ham exclaimed:

"Master Wei, this is Master Wei!"

Immediately, everyone shook hands and greeted each other, and then everyone spoke at the same time.Mr. Peggotty was so proud and delighted to see us that he didn't know what to do, shook my hand again, and ruffled his shaggy hair.It was a delight that he was so jovial and proud, laughing so much.

"Oh, it's a once-in-a-lifetime event that you come late at night!" said Mr. Peggotty. "Emily, my darling! Come here, come here! This is Master Wei's friend, my dear, and this That's the gentleman you used to hear about, Emily. Your uncle came to visit you with Master Wade on one of the happiest evenings of his life (fuck the other nights)."

When Peggotty had finished speaking in one breath, with uncharacteristic excitement, he took his niece's face in his two large hands, kissed it no less than a dozen times, and then laid her face against his broad shoulders with mild joy and pride. chest, and patted it lightly, as if his hand were a woman's hand.Then he let her go and she ran all the way into the little room where I used to sleep, and he looked at us in turn with such satisfaction that his face was hot and he was out of breath.

"Suppose you gentlemen—gentlemen now grown up—" said Mr. Peggotty.

"That's it!" cried Ham. "That's right! Master Wayne and his friends--grown gentlemen--that's it!"

"If you two grown gentlemen," said Mr Peggotty, "will not understand me when you see me in the state I am in, I beg you to forgive me when you understand why, Emily, my dear." —she understands what I'm about to say, and has run away; would you please go to her first, Mrs Gummidge?"

Mrs. Gummidge responded and went out.

"If this evening," said Mr. Peggotty, sitting down by the fire, "is not the happiest evening of my life, I am a boiled crab--I cannot say more. The little love Mirri, sir," whispered here to Steerforth, "that's the blushing you just saw here—"

Steerforth nodded, but that nod alone expressed such joy that it seemed to Mr Peggotty that he had spoken.

"Indeed," said Mr. Peggotty, "that is what she is, and that is what she is, thank you, sir."

"Little Emily," said Mr. Peggotty, "she lives with us, and she is a bright-eyed little thing (I am a brute, but that is my belief). She is not my child, But I love her dearly. Do you understand?"

"I understand," said Steerforth.

"I know you understand, sir," went on Mr. Peggotty, "Master Weiss, you remember what she was like, but you don't know what she was like in my heart. I'm a rough man. Sir," said Mr Peggotty, "I am as thick as a sea-pig; but I think no one, save a woman, can understand what little Em'ly is to me. I will tell you only Say," he said in a low voice, "she's not Mrs. Gummidge, in spite of all her virtues."

Mr. Peggotty, to prepare the ground for what he was to say next, rubbed his hair again, and then, laying his hands on his knees, said:

"Here's a man who's known Emily since our father's drowned, when she was a child, a young girl, and loved her till she was grown up, and this man looked ordinary, too, said Mr Peggotty, "he's like me--rude--all stormy--quite straightforward--but then an honest man, with a good heart."

"Here is the blessed sailor, whatever he does," said Mr. Peggotty, smiling, "he thinks of little Em'ly. He followed her, and was her servant, until at last he let me know the cause of it. Now, then, I wish to see little Em'ly marry this good man. I don't know how many years I have to live; but I know that if I capsize at sea at Yarmouth some night, I can Seeing the lights of the town at last from the waves I couldn't resist, and thinking there was a man on the shore who would be as loyal to Emily as steel to the end, God bless her, and as long as that man lives, no one will bully my little Emily , I can leave in peace."

Mr. Peggotty shook his right hand enthusiastically, as if he were waving to the town lights for the last time, and after exchanging a nod with Ham, he went on:

"But, in spite of his age, he was shyer than a child, and he was ashamed to say it. So I said it for him. 'What? He!' said Emily. I'm very close, and I like it! Oh, Uncle, I must never marry him. He's too good!' I kissed her, and said: 'Tell the truth, do as you please, you are as free as a bird. ’ So I said to Ham, ‘I hope it works, but it’s not likely. But you can go on as you have been, I said to him, and treat her as you have been, and be a fair person. He held my hand Hand said: 'I will!' Two years have passed, and our place is still the same as before."

Mr. Peggotty's face, which had taken on different expressions at different stages of the narrative, resumed its old self-satisfied expression, and he put one hand on my knee and the other on Steerforth's. , and then say to both of us:

"However, one evening--it was this evening--little Em'ly came home from get off work, and he followed! What's the matter, you will say. He always took care of her, indeed, at all times, but to-day the sailor , took her by the hand, and exclaimed joyfully to me: 'Look! She's going to be my little lady!' and Emily said, half timidly, half boldly: 'Yes, uncle, if you want to ’—if I will!” said Mr Peggotty, shaking his head joyously; “good heavens, as if I ought to be unhappy?—’If you will, I may say, I will do as much as I can now. His little lady, for he's such a good fellow!' And now, Mrs. Gummidge, applaud melodramatically, and now you come in, and that's how it is!" said Mr. Peggotty. The one who married her after his apprenticeship."

As a gesture of intimacy and affection, the smiling Mr. Peggotty punched Ham so hard that he could hardly stand.But since he felt he should say something to us, he said:

"She was not as tall as you—Master Wei—at that time I imagined what she would look like, and I saw her—gentlemen—grow up like a flower. I would give my life to her —Master Wei—oh! very happy, very satisfied! I think she surpasses everything I ask, surpasses me—more than I can say. I—I mean it. All of it No man—of sea and land—could have loved her more than I loved her, though many—could say—better than they thought."

I found it touching to see a man as strong as Ham was now, trembling with the affection which the pretty little creature had won his heart.I also find it touching that Mr. Peggotty and Ham themselves open their hearts to us so simply.All the stories moved me.My sentiments were shaped by recollections of my childhood, and I do not know if I still harbored fancies of little Em'ly.I just remember that my heart was happy because of it all; but at first my joy was so fragile it almost turned into pain.

So it was impossible for me to play a tune among them, but Steerforth played it so skilfully, and within a few minutes we were all as happy as we wanted to be.

"Mr. Peggotty," said he, "you are a thoroughly good fellow, and you deserve your pleasure to-night. I promise! I congratulate you, Ham! Stir the fire, Daisy! Peggotty Sir, you must get your niece back (I reserve a corner seat for her), or I will go. If you give me all the wealth of the Indies, I will not make any A vacant seat—and such a vacant seat."

So Mr Peggotty went into my old bedroom to find little Emily.Little Em'ly would not come out at first, so Ham went to call her himself.Presently they brought her to the fire, and she was restless and timid--but when she found Steerforth so kind and respectful, she soon became bolder, and he avoided sayings and doings which embarrassed her; Mr. Peggotty mentions boats, boats, tides, fish; he told me of seeing Mr. Peggotty at Salem School; Introduced us into his magic circle, so we all talked easily.

It is true that little Em'ly said very little that evening; but she looked and listened to the others, and she grew charming.Steerforth told a sad story of the shipwreck (which arose out of his conversation with Mr Peggotty), and he told it as if he had seen all that happened--little Em'ly's eyes had been fixed on In him, it was as if she saw it too.Then he told a ludicrous adventure about himself, and he told it so lightly, as if it were as new to himself as it was to us--and little Em'ly laughed so hard that the whole boat was filled with laughter. happy voice.We all (including Steerforth) laughed with great delight and irresistible concern.He made Peggotty sing, or roar, "When the tempest blows and beats"; It seems to be listening.

As for Mrs. Gummidge, Peggotty told me, he had an influence in cheering up the discouraged man which he had not had since the old man's death.He had given her so little time to worry that he said the next morning that he thought she must be bewitched.

But Steerforth didn't make everyone pay attention to him alone. When little Emily gradually let go, she talked to me (she was still a little shy) across the fire about how we collected shells and stones on the beach; I asked her if she remembered how I had once been fascinated by her, and Steerforth listened in silence and looked at us thoughtfully as we recounted cheerfully about our old days.Now she sat all evening on the old box in the corner—and Ham sat where I had been.She leaned against the wall and kept avoiding him, and I didn't know whether this was due to her teasing nature or her girlish reserve.I just noticed that she was like that all night.

I remember it was midnight when we left.We had biscuits and dried fish for supper, and Steerforth brought out a bottle of hollandaise.A few of us men (and I'm not ashamed to say we are men) drank it all.We say goodbye happily.They all stood by the door, trying to show us the way, and I saw little Em'ly's beautiful blue eyes watching us go from behind Ham, and heard her kind, soft voice telling us to take care.

"A most fascinating little beauty!" said Steerforth, taking my arm. "They're a strange place and people, and there's a new interest in being with them."

"What a coincidence," said I, "to have the pleasure of seeing their engagement! I never saw anyone so happy as they were; what a joy to share in their happiness!"

"That's a clumsy guy, is it okay to marry that girl?" he asked me.

He had been so warm to him and to all of them just now, and this cold and unexpected questioning really surprised me.When I hurriedly turned to him, I saw that his eyes were full of smiles, so I breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Ah! Steerforth, you may joke about the poor, make war with Miss Dartle, or try to hide your pity with jokes, but I know your heart. I know how deep you are How well you know the happiness of these honest people, or how much I feel the concern of my old nurse; you will not be indifferent to the joys and sorrows of these people. It is because of this that I respect and love you more confidently!"

He stopped and looked me in the face and said, "I know what you say comes from the heart, Daisy, you're a good man. I wish we were all like that!" Finally he sang cheerfully Mr. Peggotty's song, we walked briskly back to Yarmouth.

(End of this chapter)