Chapter 16 Chapter 12 I still don't like this kind of life, I made a big decision

The time came, and Micawber's petition was accepted; and the gentleman was ordered out of prison by the act, to my great delight.His creditors were not bitter enemies; Mrs. Micawber told me that even the villainous shoemaker openly declared that he had no ill will towards Mr. Micawber, though he liked to recover what was owed to him.He thought it was human nature. When his case was settled, Mr. Micawber returned to the Superior Court prison; for there were charges to be paid, and formalities to be done, before he could really be set free.The club welcomed him with joy and a gala was held.Mrs. Micawber and I ate haggis quietly beside the family after they were asleep.

"At such a time, Master Copperfield," said Mrs. Micawber, "I'll pour you some more wine," as we've had some, "in memory of my father and mother." "Ma'am, are they all dead?" I asked after I drained my glass of wine. "When my mother died," said Mrs. Micawber, "Mr. Micawber's difficulties had not yet occurred, or at least had not become serious. My father, who bailed Mr. Micawber several times during his lifetime, died, A lot of people feel sorry for it.” Mrs. Micawber shook her head, and a tear of filial piety fell on one of the twins who happened to be in her arms at the time.

As I could not hope to find a more opportune occasion to ask a question in which my interest was concerned, I said to Mrs. Micawber at this moment: "May I ask you, ma'am, now that Mr. Micawber is out of trouble and free, what is he and you going to do? Have you decided?" "My natal family," said Mrs. Micawber, who always said those three words with pomp, though I never found out who it was referring to, "was of my natal family's opinion: Mr. Micawber He should leave London, and go to the country to use his talents. Mr. Copperfield, Mr. Micawber is a man of great ability."

I said I had no doubts about it. "Great talent," repeated Mrs. Micawber. "It was my family's opinion that a man of his caliber, with a little support, could do something in customs. As my family's influence was local, they wanted Mr. Micawber to go to Plymouth. They thought he must go there right away." "Can he come anytime?" I motioned. "Of course," replied Mrs. Micawber, "he could go anytime—if any opportunity presented itself." "Would you like to go too, madam?" Even without the extra wine, Mrs. Micawber was already hysterical about what happened that day and the twins, so she replied tearfully.

"I will never abandon Mr. Micawber. Perhaps Mr. Micawber concealed the truth about his difficulties at first, but it is also probable that his optimistic nature made him expect them to be overcome. I have inherited from my mother." I've given up my pearl necklace and bracelet for less than half their original price; and the coral set my father gave me at the wedding was practically for nothing. But I'll never abandon Mr. Micawber. No! cried Mrs. Micawber, more excited than ever. "I'll never do that! I can't do it!" I was quite disturbed--as if Mrs. Micawber suspected that I wanted her to do that! —I sat and stared at her with horror.

"Mr. Micawber has his faults, and I don't deny that he's only interested in the present. I don't deny that he keeps his property and his debts from me," she went on, looking at the wall; "but I will never desert Micawber. gentlemen!" Mrs. Micawber had by this time raised her voice to the point of full screaming, and I was so frightened that I ran to the club.At this moment Mr. Micawber was sitting at a long table there presiding, leading the singing: "Run on, Dubin, run on wow dabin run on wow dabin run forward wow, run! " -------- ①It is the name of a horse.

I told Mr. Micawber the frightful state Mrs. Micawber was in, and on hearing this he burst into tears, and came out with me.The vest was still covered with the leftover shrimp heads and tails he had just eaten. "Emma, ​​my angel!" cried Mr. Micawber, running into the room. "What's going on?" "I will never desert you, Micawber!" she cried. "My darling!" said Mr. Micawber, taking her in his arms, "I know very well." "He's the father of my children! He's the father of my twins! He's my beloved husband," cried Mrs. Micawber, struggling; "I will—never—abandon Mr. Micawber! "

Mr. Micawber was so deeply moved by this proof of her fidelity (I was already in tears) that he bent affectionately and begged her to look up, and beg her to be quiet.But the more he begged Mrs. Micawber to look up, the more she refused to look, the more he begged her to be quiet, the more she refused to be quiet.Mr. Micawber, then, was greatly sentimental, and his tears, hers, and mine were mixed; and he begged me afterwards to sit up on the stairs in his favor, that he might nurse her to bed.I wanted to take my leave and go back to bed, but he wouldn't let me go until he rang the see-off bell, so I had to sit by the staircase window until he came and sat with me in another chair.

"How is Mrs. Micawber now, sir?" said I. "Very bad spirits," said Mr. Micawber, shaking his head. "Too tense. Ah, what a dreadful day! We are all alone now—everything has gone from us!" Mr. Micawber took my hand, and groaned, then wept.I was both greatly moved and disappointed, as I was looking forward to the joy we all had in this long-awaited day.I think it was simply that Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, accustomed to their former difficulties, despaired when they thought that they had escaped them.Their fitness was gone, and I never saw them so sad half the night; so, when the bell rang, and Mr. Micawber walked with me to my lodgings, and there wished me good-bye, I was really afraid of leaving him, because he was weighed down by such a heavy sorrow.

From all the unexpected confusion and dismay into which we had plunged, I knew very well that Mr. and Mrs. Micawber and their family were leaving London, and that our parting was at hand.On the way home that night, and later in the sleepless hours after going to bed, this thought came to me—though I don't know how it got into my head—and it formed a firm resolution. . I had grown to know the Micawbers very well, and when they were in trouble I was close to them and apart from them I felt alone.The thought of finding a place to live again and living with strangers, a life I knew so well from previous encounters, made me feel like I was being thrown into that situation again.And now, the thought of being in that situation and all the hurts of that situation, and the humiliation and distress it left in my chest, became all the more poignant.

So I concluded that life was unbearable. I have no hope of escaping that fate, unless I run away myself, and I know that well.I got very little information from Miss Murdstone, and nothing at all from Mr. Murdstone.And the information I got was just two or three packs of patched clothes handed over by Mr. Quining, and each pack contained a note to the effect: Jane.Mo hoped to be big, and Ke worked hard and dedicated himself to his duties.There was no hint of me being able to do anything other than a dedicated coolie. The next day, while I was still agitated by the first idea, it was confirmed to me by the fact that Mrs. Micawber's statement of their departure was not without reason.They took a place in the house where I was staying for only a week, and as soon as the tenancy was up they set out for Plymouth.Mr. Micawber himself went to the counting-room in the afternoon, and told Mr. Quinen that he could not leave me behind, and paid me such high praise that I think I deserved it.Mr. Quinen called Tip the coachman in, and Tip got married, and there was another room to rent, and Mr. Quinen appointed me to live there.He thought we must both agree, and I said nothing, though I had made up my mind. During the last days of living in the same house with Mr. and Mrs. Micawber, I spent every evening with them.I feel that our intimacy grows day by day.The last Sunday they took me to lunch and we had pork tenderloin and applesauce and a big pudding.As a parting present the night before, I bought a flowered wooden horse for little Wilkin Micawber--that was a boy--and a doll for little Emma.I also gave a shilling to the orphan girl who was about to be deported. Although we are very sad about the upcoming parting, everyone is still enjoying this day. "Mr. Copperfield," said Mrs. Micawber, "if I don't think of Mr. Micawber's hard days, I will think of you. Your conduct will always be of the most considerate and helpful kind." Sex. You were never a tenant, you were always a friend." "My dear," said Mr. Micawber, "Copperfield," as he had become accustomed to addressing me of late, "had a sympathy for the sorrows of his fellows when they were unhappy, and A mind to plan, and a hand to—in short, a whole talent for getting rid of unnecessary things.” I took the compliment heartily and said I was sad not to see each other anytime soon. "My dear young friend," said Mr. Micawber, "I am older than you, and have a little experience of the world, and--in short, a little experience, generally speaking, of difficulties. At present, before any opportunity presents itself (for which I may say I am always looking forward to it), I have nothing to offer but advice. My advice is advisable, and I myself—in short, have never Adhere to this advice, and thus become "--said Mr. Micawber, who had always been beaming with joy, his countenance changed to a distressed one. ’ ‘Such a pathetic wretch before you. " "My dear Micawber!" exhorted his wife. "I say," said Mr. Micawber, forgetting himself again, and beaming again, "you see such a miserable wretch. My advice is, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of your time. Catch the thief!" -------- ① This sentence is quoted from "Night Thoughts" written by Edgar Young, an 18th-century British poet. "That's my poor papa's motto." "My dear," said Mr. Micawber, "from your papa's point of view he is very good, and it would be hard for me to speak ill of him. We cannot, in short, know another man At his age, with his bound legs, he could read the print in the same script without glasses. But he used that motto for our marriage, my dear. ; so it was done prematurely, and I shall never be reimbursed for that expense." Mr. Micawber cast a sidelong glance at Mrs. Micawber, and added: "I don't regret it. Quite the contrary, my love." He was serious for a minute or two. "I have another piece of advice, Copperfield," said Mr. Micawber, "you know. An income of twenty pounds a year, if one spends nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence a year, the result is happiness. Annual income Twenty pounds, if it costs twenty pounds sixpence a year, the result is misery. The flowers wither, the leaves wither; the sun sinks into terror, and— So, in short, you're done.Just like me! " To make his example clearer, Mr. Micawber drank a glass of punch with an air of merriment and self-satisfaction, and whistled the collegiate dance music. I tried to assure them that I would take these teachings to heart (although I really didn't have to) because they were obviously so impressed by them.I met the family at the bus ticket office the next morning and saw them sitting outside in the back of the bus in a dejected mood. "Mr. Copperfield," said Mrs. Micawber, "God bless you! I shall never forget all that, you know, and if I could I would never forget." "Copperfield," said Mr. Micawber, "good-bye! I wish you all the best! If, as time goes on, I can believe that my misfortunes can be warned by you, I feel that I It's not all for nothing to take another's living space. If any chance ever presented itself (which I believe it will), I could have the power to make your prospects a little better, and I couldn't be happier." I believe that when Mrs. Micawber sat with the children in the back of the car and I stood silently watching them in the road, the mist disappeared from her eyes, and she saw what a small person I really was.I think so because she beckoned me to climb into the car with a motherly look on her face that she had never felt before; she put her arms around my neck and kissed me like her own son.As soon as I got out of the car, the car started.They waved their handkerchiefs so that I could not see their family.A minute later, the car was gone.The orphan girl and I stood in the middle of the road, looked at each other blankly, then shook hands and said goodbye.She was going back to St. Luke's, I supposed, and I to Murdstone and Grinber's for a weary day. But I don't want to spend many boring days there anymore.No, I have made up my mind to run away, to go to the country by all means, to see the only relative I have in this world, and to tell my aunt, Miss Bessie, what happened to me. Like I said, I don't know how this desperate thought got into my head.But once in, it stayed, forming a conviction that I have never held more strongly in my life.I can by no means say that I believe it is within reach, but I have the utmost determination to put it into action. Since that night when I had the idea and lost sleep, I have relived again and again, a hundred times, the story of my birth told by my poor mother, which used to be a joy to me to hear her tell, and I have put It knows it by heart.In that story my great-aunt came forth with a formidable majesty; but there was one little feature of her manner which I often recalled, and it was this little feature which gave me some encouragement.I can't forget that my mother didn't think my aunt's hands were rough when she touched her beautiful hair.And though it may have been all my mother's fancy, or it may not have happened at all, I have made out of it a little picture of a woman I remember so well and love so dearly, whose beauty moved the dreadful The aunt also sent kindness, and the painting softened the whole story.It is probable that my resolution was gradually formed because this picture had been in my mind for a long time. I didn't even know where Miss Betsy lived, so I wrote Peggotty a long letter, asking casually if she remembered the place.I excused myself by saying that I had heard of such a lady, who lived somewhere (I made it up), so I wondered if it was true.In that letter I also told Peggotty that I needed half a guinea for very special reasons, and that I should be obliged to her if she would lend me the half guinea, to be returned when I could. Very much, I will tell her the reason for needing the money later. A reply from Peggotty was soon received, full of devotion and love as usual.She encloses with her letter half a guinea (it took her some trouble to get it out of Baggis' chest, I'm afraid), and tells me that Miss Betsy lives near Dover, but she Nor was it certain whether he lived in Dover itself, or in Hayes, Salmonella, or Folkestone.One of our workmates said that these places were all together when I asked him about them. I thought this was enough for my purpose and decided to leave that weekend. I'm an honest little fellow, and I don't want to leave Murdstone Grinber's with a tainted impression, so I think I'll have to wait till Saturday night; , so I decided not to go to the accountant when I was paid in the past.For the last special reason, I borrowed half a guinea, so that I would not be short of the expenses of my travels.So, when it got dark on Saturday, we were all in the wholesale shop waiting to be paid, and I took Mick Walker by the hand and asked him to tell Mr. home; then I said good-bye to Baifen·Potato for the last time, and ran away. My suitcases are in the lodgings across the river.On one of the address cards we had pinned to the barrel I wrote: Master David, left at the Dover Coach Box for collection. "I put the edge of the card in my pocket, and was going to take the box down and tie it to it. I walked towards the house, looking around for someone who could take the box to the box office for me. A very long-legged young man with a small, empty donkey-cart stood near the steeple in the Haverfield Road.When I passed by, my eyes met his. He called me a "little ruffian" and hoped that I would "be able to testify after I know him." No doubt, it meant that I glared at him.I stopped and explained to him that I wasn't doing it, I was just not sure if he would want to do a job. "Huh (what) work?" said the long-legged youth. "Shipping a box," I replied. "Ha box?" said the long-legged youth. I told him it was my box, it was over there in the street, and I wanted him to take it to the Dover coach box office, at sixpence. "Sixpence will do it for you!" said the long-legged young man and got into the cart—it was just a big wooden pallet on the wheels—and the donkey dragged the cart and started rumbling. Only by running can you keep up. The young man's attitude was provocative, especially the way he chewed grass when he talked to me, which I didn't like; but the price was agreed, and I took him to the room I was leaving soon, and we carried the boxes together. down.Now I would not tie the card, for fear that some of the landlady's family would suspect my conduct and detain me; so I said to the young man, invite him outside the high walls of the Supreme Court prison stop for a minute.As soon as I finished speaking, he drove the cart and ran about, as if he, my box, the cart, and the donkey had all gone crazy.I ran after him, shouting, and was out of breath by the time I reached him at the appointed place. Because I was too excited and too nervous, when I took out the card, I also turned the half guinea out of my pocket.In order not to lose it, I put it in my mouth; although my hands were shaking badly, I still fastened the card as I wished.At this moment, I felt that long-legged young man slapped me hard on the chin, and saw the half guinea fly from my mouth to his hand. "What!" the young man grabbed my collar and bared his teeth fiercely. "It's a crime, isn't it? Want to run away, don't you? Go to the police station, you little villain, go to the police station!" "Give me back the money, will you?" I said in a panic. "Leave my business alone." "Go to the police station!" The young man said, "You must go to the police station to prove this!" "Give me back my box and my money," I cried, crying. The young man still said, "Go to the police station!" He also roughly pushed me towards the donkey, as if the animal had some resemblance to a police officer; then he changed his mind, jumped into the car, and sat on my donkey. On the box, Dudu murmured that he would go all the way to the police station, so he rumbled more energetically than before and walked away quickly. I ran after him as best I could, but I had no strength to shout, and even then I didn't have the guts to shout.I chased it for half a mile, and at least twenty times during it, I was nearly run under the wheels.Now I can't see him, now I see him, now I don't see him, now I'm whipped, now I'm scolded, now I sink in the mud, now I get up, now I bump into someone's arms, now I bump into a post .Afterwards, fearing that perhaps half London might be out for me by this time, I could only watch the young man go where he was going, with my trunk and money; and I gasped. whimpering, but I didn't stop, I walked towards Greenwich, which I knew was on the road to Dover; What I had brought into the world when I was born (and my birth had brought so much unhappiness to my great-aunt on the very night of my birth), went to the hermitage of my great-aunt, Miss Bessie.