Chapter 8 Chapter Four

What useless half-hearted people we are!I originally made up my mind to abandon all worldly contacts.Thanks to my lucky stars, I finally came to a place where it was almost impossible to pass - I, the weak wretch, struggled with depression and loneliness until evening, and finally had to hoist the lower flag.When Mrs. Ding brought dinner, I pretended to inquire about the necessary things for my residence, and asked her to sit down and watch me eat. I sincerely hope that she is a real chatterer, and that her words will either make me happy or Lull me to sleep. "You've lived here quite a long time," I began. "Didn't you say sixteen years?"

"Eighteen years, sir. I came to serve my mistress when she got married. After she died, my master left me as his housekeeper." "Oh." A silence followed.I'm afraid she's not a chatty person, unless it's about herself, and that doesn't interest me.But, after a moment's reflection, with her fists on her knees, and a cloud of meditation clouding her red face, she suddenly sighed: "Oh, how much the world has changed since then!" "Yes," I said, "I suppose you've seen quite a few changes?" "I've seen it, and I've seen it a lot," she said.

"Ah, I'm turning the conversation over to my landlady!" I thought. "That's a good subject! And that pretty little widow, whose history I'd like to know. Is she a native, or, more likely, a stranger, so the surly native doesn't get along with her. Thinking in this way, I asked Mrs. Dean why Heathcliff rented out Thrushcross Grange, preferring to live in a place with much worse location and houses. "Isn't he rich enough to put his estate in order?" I asked. "Rich, sir!" she answered. "He's rich, nobody knows how much he's got, and it's increasing every year. Yeah, yeah, he's rich enough to get him a nicer house than this. But he's kind of-- tight. And, If he had intended to move to Thrushcross Grange, he would never have given up the chance of getting a few hundred more when he heard of a good lodger. There are people who live alone in the world and yet are so greedy for money. strangeness!"

"Looks like he had a son?" "Yes, there was one—dead." "Is that young lady, Mrs. Heathcliff, his widow?" "yes." "Where did she come from?" "Why, sir, she is my dead master's daughter; Catherine Linton was her maiden name. I brought her up, poor thing! I should like Mr. Heathcliff to move here , then we can be together again." "What? Katherine Linton!" I exclaimed, greatly astonished.But after a minute's reflection, I'm convinced it wasn't my ghostly Catherine. "Then," I went on, "my former landlord was named Linton?"

"yes." "And who is that Earnshaw who lives with Mr. Heathcliff, Hareton Earnshaw? Are they related?" "No, he is the nephew of the late Mrs Linton." "Then the young lady's cousin?" "Yes, her husband was also her cousins: the mother's nephew, the father's nephew; Heathcliff married Linton's sister." "I saw the word 'Earnshaw' carved on the front door of the house at Wuthering Heights. They are an old family, aren't they? " "Very old, sir, and Hareton was the last of them, just as our Miss Kitty was our last--I mean the last of the Lintons. Have you ever been to Wuthering Heights? I venture to ask." One sound, I really want to know how she is!"

"Lady Heathcliff? She looks very well, and very pretty. But, I think, not very happy." "Oh, I'm not surprised! What do you think of the master?" "Simply a rough man, Mrs. Ding. Is that his character?" "Thick as a sawtooth, hard as a rock! The less you have to do with him, the better." "He must have gone through some rough times in his life to make him such a rough man. Do you know anything about him?" "Like a cuckoo's life, sir—I know all but where he was born, and who his parents were, and how he got rich. Hareton was like a man with no feathers Throwing it out like a hedgehog! The only unfortunate boy in the whole parish, the only one who didn't realize how he was being deceived."

"Oh, Mrs. Dean, do a good deed and tell me a little about my neighbor. I don't think I'll be at ease if I go to bed, so please sit down and talk for an hour." "Oh, of course, sir! I'll get some sewing, and then I'll sit as long as you want. But you've got a cold. I see you shivering, and you'll have some porridge to get rid of the cold." The venerable woman hurried away, and I drew nearer to the fire.My head felt hot, but my body was cold, and my nerves and brain were stimulated to the point of fainting.It made me feel, not uncomfortable, but downright frightened (and still frightened) lest the events of today and yesterday might have serious consequences.She returned soon after, with a steaming basin, and a sewing basket.After she had put the basin on the hearth, she drew the chair over, evidently finding her pleasure in my company.

Before I came to live here--she began, without waiting for my invitation--I was almost always at Wuthering Heights.For my mother was with Mr. Hindley Earnshaw, who was Hareton's father, and I was used to playing with the children.I did their chores, too, and helped mow the lawn, and hung around the estate, and I did whatever I was asked to do.One fine summer morning--I remember it was when the harvest began--Mr Earnshaw, the old master, came down, dressed for a journey.After he had told Joseph what he was going to do for the day, he turned to Hindley, Katie, and me—for I was eating porridge with them—and said to his son, "Well, My pretty man, I'm going to Liverpool to-day. What shall I bring you back? Take whatever you like, just a little thing, for I'll be walking back and forth: sixty miles a way It's a long way!" Hindley said he wanted a violin, and he asked Miss Catty.She was not yet six years old, but she could already ride any horse in the stable, so she chose a whip.He didn't forget me either, for he had a kind heart, though sometimes he was a little harsh.He promised to bring me back a sack of apples and pears, then he kissed the children, said good-bye, and set off.

He was gone for three days, which seemed a long time to us, and little Katie kept asking when he was coming home.On the third evening Mrs. Earnshaw expected him to be back at suppertime, which she put off from one o'clock to one o'clock.However, there was no sign of his return.Finally the children got tired of running to the gate and looking around.It was getting dark and she bade them go to bed, but they begged bitterly to be allowed to stay a little longer.At about eleven o'clock the latch was raised lightly, and the master entered.He sank down on a chair, and laughed and groaned, and told them all to stand up, for he was almost exhausted—he wouldn't go back to the British Isles for him.

In the end, it was like running for one's life!He said, opening his overcoat, which he had wrapped up in a ball and held in his arms. "Look here, ma'am! I've never been so screwed up by anything in my life, but you must take it as a gift from God, though he's so black as if he came from the devil." We crowded round, and I peeped over Miss Kitty's head, and saw a dirty, ragged, dark-haired child.It's quite big, and it should be able to walk and talk.Indeed, his face looked older than Catherine's.However, when he was asked to stand on the ground, he would just stare around and repeat some words that no one could understand.I was terrified, and Mrs. Earnshaw was going to throw him out of the door.She really jumped up, and asked him how he had figured out how to bring that wild child home, his own children were enough for them to raise.What the hell is he going to do, is he crazy?The master wanted to explain things, but he was really tired.All I could hear over her scolding was that he had seen the child starving, homeless, and dumb in the streets of Liverpool.He took him with him to find out whose child it was.He said that no one knew whose child he was.His money and time were limited, so it was better to take him home immediately, rather than wasting time there.Because he has decided that since he found out, he can't ignore it.Well, the ending is that my housewife has complained enough and quieted down.Mr Earnshaw bade me bathe him, put him in clean clothes, and put him to bed with the children.

Hindley and Katie read and listened willingly at first during the row, until order was restored and the two began to search their father's pockets for the present he had promised them.Hindley was a boy of fourteen, but when he pulled out from his overcoat what should have been a violin but was crushed to pieces, he burst into tears.As for Katie, when she heard that the master had lost her whip in the care of the stranger, she grinned and spat at the stupid little creature, but her efforts replaced his father. A very loud slap in the face, this is to teach her to be more behaved in the future.They completely refused to share his bed with him, not even in their room.I'm no more sober than they are, so I put him on the landing and hope he'll go away tomorrow.Whether by chance, or if he heard his master's voice, he crept up to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and found him on his way out.Of course he asked how he got there, I have to admit. Because of my cowardice and cruelty, I got retribution and was kicked out of the house by my master. Such was the beginning of Heathcliff's visit to the house.I came back a few days later (for I didn't think my expulsion was permanent) and found they had named him "Heathcliff."It was originally the name of one of their sons who died in infancy, and from then on it became his first name as well as his surname.Miss Catty was very affectionate with him now, but Hindley hated him.To tell the truth, I hated him too, so we tormented him, bullied him shamefully, because I was not yet aware of my unkindness, and the mistress never said a word for him when she saw him wronged. He appeared to be a melancholy, enduring boy, hardened perhaps by all his abuse.He could bear Hindley's fist without batting an eye or shedding a tear.I pinched him, but he just took a breath and opened his eyes wide, as if he accidentally hurt himself, and no one can blame him.When old Earnshaw found his son thus mistreating what he called the poor orphan, old Earnshaw was infuriated by this resignation.The strange thing was that he liked Heathcliff so much, and believed everything he said (he seldom spoke of words, and always told the truth), and loved him far more than Katie, who was so mischievous, Too unruly to be a favorite. So, from the very beginning, he caused resentment in this family.Within two years Mrs Earnshaw died, and by this time the young master had learned to regard his father as an oppressor rather than as a friend, and to see Heathcliff as a usurper of his father's affections and his privileges. people.Thinking about these insults, he felt more and more angry.For a while I sympathized with him, but when the children had measles and I nursed them and took on the responsibilities of a woman, I changed my mind.Heathcliff was dangerously ill.When he was at his worst, he always wanted me to be by his pillow.I imagined that he felt that I was doing him a lot of favors, and he couldn't guess that I had no choice but to do so.Anyway, I'll say this: he's the quietest kid a babysitter has ever had.He is different from other children, forcing me to be less biased.Katie and her brother were grinding me to death, and he was as uncomplaining as a lamb—though he didn't bother much out of tenacity, not generosity. He escaped from death, and the doctor affirmed that it was due to me, and praised me for my good care.I am proud of his appreciation.I softened with respect to this child whom I had praised for him.Thus Hindley lost his last ally.Still I could not be fond of Heathcliff, and I have often wondered what my master saw in the dour boy to please him so much.As far as I can remember, the boy never made any gesture of gratitude in return for his favor.He wasn't being rude to his benefactor, he was just insincere.Although he knew full well that he had his heart, and that the whole family would have to obey his wishes if he spoke.To give an instance, I remember the time when Mr. Earnshaw bought a pair of ponies at the parish fair, and gave them each a horse.Heathcliff chose the prettiest one, but he was lame soon, and as soon as he noticed it, he said to Hindley: "You've got to trade horses with me. I don't like mine. If you won't, I'll tell your father you whipped me three times this week and show him my arm, blue to the shoulder. .” Hindley stuck out his tongue and slapped him again. "You'd better change it at once," insisted he, escaping to the porch (they were in the stables) and insisted again: "You must change it, and if I tell you, hit me, and you'll be hit with money and interest." pause." "Go away, dog!" cried Hindley, threatening him with a potato and straw weight. "Throw it away," he answered, standing still, "and I'll tell him how you boasted that you'd throw me out the door as soon as he's dead, and see if he'll throw you out right away." Hindley did throw it, and hit him on the chest, and he fell, but staggered to his feet again, out of breath, and pale.If I hadn't stopped him, if he really wanted to go to his master, as long as he explained his situation at that time and who caused it, he would have completely avenged him. "Gypsy, then take my horse," said little Earnshaw, "I hope the horse will break your neck. Take it, damn you beggar in the way , cheat my father of everything. Just don't let him see what you are in the future, little devil. Remember: I want it to kick your brains out!" Heathcliff went to unhook the horse, and led him to his stable.He was passing behind the horse when Hindley finished his curse, knocked him down under the horse's hooves, and ran off as fast as he could, without pausing to see if he got what he wanted.I was amazed to see how the boy calmly struggled up and went on with what he was going to do: change the saddle, etc., and then sat down on a pile of straw to suppress the shock caused by the hard blow before he entered the house. nausea.It was easy for me to persuade him to blame the horses for his scars: since he had got what he wanted, he didn't care about some nonsense.It's true that he seldom complained about such turmoil. I really thought he was a vindictive person.I was completely deceived, as you will know later.