Chapter 28 Chapter 24 My First Debauchery

It is really a pleasure to monopolize a high and high castle.When I shut the outside door, I always feel like Robinson Crusoe pulling up the rope ladder after entering the fort!I had the key to my lodgings in my pocket, and I was having a good time wandering around the city like this.I know I can ask anyone to come to my place, and I'm sure that as long as I'm comfortable being here, anyone will be too.There is nothing more pleasant than going in and out, coming and going, without having to say hello to anyone.When I rang for Mrs. Crupp to come up, or when she wanted to, she came up from downstairs, panting.To me, it's all very pleasant; however, I must say that it can be lonely at times.

Mornings, especially sunny ones, are delightful.During the day, this life seemed fresh and easy; under the sun, it was still fresher and more comfortable.But life also seemed to sink in as the days warmed up.I don't know why—I'm seldom happy by candlelight.Back then, I just wanted someone to talk to.I miss Agnes.I found that the place where I once placed my trust in the smile now seemed to be blank.Mrs. Crupp seemed far away from me.I miss the senior who died of tobacco and alcohol, and I wish he was still alive and not bothering me with his death. After two days and two nights, I felt like I lived there for a year, but I didn't look any older, and I was still troubled by my youth as usual.

Steerforth has not been here, and I fear he must be ill.On the third day, I left the doctoral school early and walked to Highgate.Mrs Steerforth was delighted to see me.She said Steerforth had gone with a friend from Oxford to see another who lived near St Alban.She waited for him to come back tomorrow.I admired him so much that I was a little jealous of his Oxford friends. Since she insisted on keeping me for dinner, I stayed.I believe we talked all day about Steerforth and nothing else.I told her how popular he was in Yarmouth, what a welcome guest he was.Miss Dartle kept asking allusive or cryptic questions, but was still very interested in all that we were there.She kept saying, "Really, but?" She kept saying things like that, and got all she wanted to know out of me.Her appearance was still as I had described her when I first met her, but the interaction of these two ladies was so pleasant and natural to me that I even felt a little in love with her.Several times that evening, especially as I walked home at night, I couldn't help thinking how much fun it would be to have her company in Buckingham Street.

In the morning, when I was drinking coffee and eating rolls before going to Doctor's College--by the way, it is surprising that Mrs. I couldn't be happier when Tieffors came in. "My dear Steerforth," I cried, "I'm beginning to think that I shall never see you again!" "The morning after I got home," said Steerforth, "I was forcibly taken away. Ha, Daisy, what a rare old bachelor you are here!" With no small amount of pride, I showed him around my house, even showing him the pantry.He spoke highly of the place, "I'm telling you, big boy," he added, "I'm really going to make this place my stay in town unless you tell me to go."

This is a saying that makes people happy.I told him that if he was going to wait for the notification it would be the end of the world. "But you must have some breakfast!" I said, feeling the bell-rope. "Mrs. Crupp can get you some fresh coffee, and I can fry you some ham here in a bachelor's pan." "No, no!" said Steerforth, "don't ring the bell! I can't eat here! I'm going to have breakfast with one of the fellows who's staying at the Pizza Hotel in Covent Garden." "But you'll be back for dinner?" I said. "I can't, to tell you the truth. I'd love to, but I...have to be possessed by those two guys. Tomorrow morning, the three of us will be leaving together."

"Then bring them here for dinner," I followed suit. "Do you think they'd like to come?" "Oh, of course they'd like to come," said Steerforth, "but we'll bother you. You'd better dine with us somewhere else." I said nothing and wouldn't promise to do it, because I thought it was time for me to have a little housewarming party, and the opportunity would never come again.After his compliments, I felt a new pride in my abode, and a desire to make the best of it, so I pressed him to make a formal promise on behalf of his two friends, setting six points. for dinner time.

When he was gone, I rang for Mrs. Crupp, and told her my damn plan.Mrs. Crupp said she obviously couldn't be expected to do the service in the first place, but she thought it could be done by a neat young man she knew for five shillings, with tips as she wished.I said of course we use him.Mrs. Crupp added that, in the second place, she obviously couldn't be in two places at the same time (which I think made sense), so a "Miss" was indispensable, she could be in a bedroom light, in the pantry The room was constantly washing dishes.When I asked the young lady what her wages were, Mrs. Crupp said she did not think eighteenpence would make me rich or poor.I said that I also don't think so; even if this is settled.Then Mrs. Crupp said let's talk about supper now.

The man who had repaired the stove in Mrs. Crupp's kitchen had evidently lacked foresight. That stove could only cook chops and potatoes, and probably nothing else.Speaking of fish pots, Mrs. Crupp said, "Hey! I'll see if I go and see the place." She couldn't have said it more clearly.Should I go see it?Even if I saw it, I wouldn't know better, so I said no, and said, "Never mind the fish." But Mrs. Crupp said, don't say that, there are oysters in the market, why not use oysters Woolen cloth?This is also settled.Mrs. Crupp added that the suggestions she would like to contribute were: two hot roast chickens—at a pastry shop; one portion of beef stew and greens—at a pastry shop; Garnishes of pork loin - go to the pastry shop; a sandwich toast, and a side of parfaits (if I like) - go to the pastry shop.This way, said Mrs. Crupp, she could concentrate on the potatoes, and make the cheese and celery as she wished.

I followed Mrs. Crupp's advice and went to order the pastry shop myself.After ordering, I was walking down Strand Street and saw in the window of a ham and beef shop something hard, mottled, that looked like marble but was labeled "False Turtle," and I went in Bought a piece.At that time, I could have fully believed that this piece would feed fifteen people.It took me some trouble to get Mrs. Crupp to agree to cook it for cooking.In its liquid state, the thing shrunk so much that we found it - as Steerforth puts it - "only big enough" for four people. After getting away with these preparations, I bought a little after-dinner snacks at Covent Garden Market and ordered a large wine order at a retail hotel nearby.When I got home that afternoon, I was also amazed to see the bottles arranged in a square on the pantry floor, and there seemed to be so many (though Mrs. Crupp was extremely disturbed by two missing bottles). go back.

One of Steerforth's friends was called Greg, the other Macon.They are both very funny and lively.Greg was a little older than Steerforth, and Macon looked young, I think he was no more than twenty.I've noticed that the latter always refer to themselves as an indeterminate "someone," with little or no use of the first-person singular. "Someone could do well here, Mr. Copperfield," said Macken—meaning himself. "It's not a bad place," I said, "and the rooms are all ok." "I hope you're both eating well," said Steerforth. "Let's be honest," Macken said, "a city seems to give someone a big boost in digestion. Someone's hungry all day. Someone can't stop eating."

As a result of some embarrassment at first, and the feeling that I was too young to be a host, I forced Rusteerforth to sit at the top of the table at the beginning of the meal, and I sat opposite him.All was well; we drank and drank; and he made it all go so ably that there was not a single hiccup in the party.I was not as conciliatory as I had hoped throughout the dinner, for I was seated directly opposite the door, and I saw that sprightly young man come out of the room from time to time, and his shadow Throwing it to the wall at the door, you can see a wine bottle by his mouth.As a result, my attention was diverted.That "chick" made me a little uneasy, too, not so much because she didn't wash dishes, but because she kept breaking them.Since she was by nature inquisitive, she could not insist on staying in the pantry as directed, and was constantly peeping at us in the house, constantly afraid of being discovered; Be careful with the plates on the floor, causing a lot of damage. However, these were minor flaws, which were quickly forgotten after the tablecloths were removed and the snacks served.By the time the party reached this stage, the brisk young man was at a loss for words.After signaling him to socialize with Mrs. Crupp and sending the chick down to the basement, I had as much fun as I wanted. My mood gradually became very good, I became very happy, and I suddenly remembered all kinds of things I almost forgot to say, and my behavior changed from normal.I laughed at my own jokes, and I laughed at other people's jokes.As Steerforth would not pass me the wine, I warned him; I made several appointments to Oxford; declared my desire to have a dinner party exactly like the present one, and proposed to hold it once a week until this statement was changed. I took so much snuff out of Greg's snuffbox like crazy that I had to sneak into the pantry and sneeze for ten minutes straight. I talked, talked, and the wine was delivered more and more frequently, bottle after bottle opened in succession, even though it wasn't necessary at the time.I suggest a toast to Steerforth.He was, I said, my dearest friend, my protector in childhood, and companion in my adulthood.I said, I'm happy to toast him.I said that I couldn't repay the friendship he gave me, and I couldn't express my admiration for him.At the end I said, "I propose to bless Steerforth! God bless him! Hey!" We applauded him nine times and drank nine more and ended up drinking a lot more.I broke my wine glass as I walked around the table to shake his hand.I said in a breath: "O Steerforth, you are my guiding-bright-star in this world." I was talking, talking, and suddenly I heard someone singing in the middle of a song.Macon was the singer, and he sang "When a Man's Heart Is Overwhelmed with Worry." ①After he sang that song, he suggested to bless the "woman"!I object to this statement, and I am determined not to let it be said.I say, that's not a decent way to say a toast.In my place, I'm only allowed to bless the "ladies"!I got into a fight with him, mostly because I found Steerforth and Greg laughing at me--or him--or us both.Someone should not be under command, he said.I say someone deserves it.Then someone should not be disgraced, he said.I said it was right—no one was ever insulted under my roof, in my house the patron saints of the house were sacred, and the law of respect for guests was above all else.He said he recognized that I was a wonderful human being and that it would not disrespect someone in the slightest to say so.I immediately suggested a toast to him. -------- ① This is a line from a song in the opera "The Beggar's Opera", which is followed by: "Once a woman appears, the dark clouds will disappear." Someone smokes.We all smoke.I smoked and tried to control my growing tremors.Steerforth made a speech about me, which moved me almost to tears.I thank him, and hope that all the guests here will join me for dinner tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow—every day at five o'clock—so that we may enjoy long conversations and company.I feel the need to bless a person. I want to suggest blessings for my aunt.Bessie Trowood, she was the best of her sex. Someone leaned out of my bedroom window, resting his head on the cool stone railing to clear his head, and feeling the breeze on his face.That person is me.I called myself Copperfield, and said, "Why did you learn to smoke? You should know you can't do that." Well, some one's shaking in the mirror and looking at him.That person is also me.In the mirror I look pale; staring blankly; My hair—nothing but my hair—shows that I'm drunk. Someone said to me, "Let's go to the theatre, Copperfield!" Instead of a bedroom, I saw a table with criss-crossed wine; lights; Greg on my right, Macon on my left On the other side, Steerforth sat across from me--they were all sitting in the mist, far apart.watching a play?Of course, it's exactly what I want.go!They should forgive me, let them go out one by one, and then turn off the lights-in case there is a fire. In the dark, because of a panic, I found that the door was missing.I touched the door on the curtain, and Steerforth, laughing, took my arm and led me out.We followed each other as we went downstairs.Near the bottom of the stairs, someone fell and rolled down.Somebody else said it was Copperfield.I was so outraged by this erroneous report that it wasn't until I found myself lying on my back in the mud that I began to think that the report might not be nonsense. On a foggy night, there was a cloud of fog around the street lamp!Someone said vaguely that it was raining. ・I think it's foggy.Steerforth brushed my muddy water under a lamp-post, and helped me fix my hat.Somebody took my hat out of nowhere strangely because I hadn't put it on my head earlier.Then Steerforth said, "You're all right, Copperfield, aren't you?" and I said to him, "It couldn't be better." A man sitting at the window looking out through the fog, took money from someone and asked me if I was with them, hesitantly (I remember I glimpsed it) to let me in .After a while, we were sitting high up in a hot theater.Looking down, I felt like a big smoking pit below, and the people crowded in this pit seemed to be a blur.There is also a big stage. After looking at the street, I feel that the stage is extremely clean and smooth; there are still some people on the stage who are talking about some intangible things.There are many bright lights and music.There were women in the box below, and what else I don't know.It seemed to me that the whole theater was learning to swim; and when I tried to calm it down, it made indescribable oddities. On someone's suggestion, we decided to go down to the dress box where the women were.I passed a man in a frock coat with theater glasses who was reclining on a sofa, and I passed a large mirror that reflected my whole body.Then, I was ushered into a box and found that I had said something as I sat down, and people around me were shouting "Don't make trouble!" Women were giving me angry looks, and—what!yes! — Agnes, who was sitting in the same compartment as me, just in front of me, with a man and a woman I didn't know.Now, I see her face again, and I believe I can see it more clearly than I did then.I saw her face full of surprise and deep regret as she turned to me. "Agnes!" I said inarticulately. "Alas! Agnes!" "Hush! Be quiet!" she replied, and I couldn't understand why. "You're disturbing the audience. Go to the stands." I did as she asked, trying to pay attention to the stage and listen to what was being performed, but it was in vain.I looked at her slowly again, and saw her recede in a corner and put her gloved hand on her forehead. "Agnes!" said I, "I'm afraid you are not well." "Yes, yes. Don't worry about me, Trowood," she answered, "listen! Are you leaving soon? " "I'm leaving soon?" I repeated, grunting. "Yes." I had this stupid idea that I was going to stay here and wait to help her down the stairs.I believe I somehow managed to convey it; for after looking at me carefully, she seemed to understand, and said in a low voice: "If I told you that I begged you sincerely, I know you would obey. Go now, Trowood, and ask your friends to send you home for my sake." At the time, she woke me up to the point where, angry with her, but also ashamed, said "bye" (I meant to say "goodbye") and got up and went out.They all followed me.As soon as I got out of the box I went into my bedroom, where Steerforth was the only one to help me undress me.I told him repeatedly that Agnes was my sister; I also asked him to bring the corkscrew so I could open another bottle of wine. Someone was lying on my bed, having a fever and dreaming all night, saying contradictory words and doing contradictory things.That bed was a rough sea that was never quiet!When that whore gradually became myself, I started to thirst and felt that my skin was a hardened plate, and my tongue was the bottom of a pot that had been used for a long time, thickly crusted and boiled dry on a simmer , my hand is a hot iron pan that cannot be cooled even with ice. The anguish, the regret, the shame I felt the next day when I woke up!O my terror of a thousand irreparable sins which I have lost count of (I remember Agnes' unforgettable look on me)!Because I don't know - what a beast I am - how she came to London and where she lives.Can't get close to her pain!The disgusting look in the room where the party was held!O my dizzy head!That smoke!The mess of the wine bottle!The impotent pain of going out and not being able to get out of bed!Oh, what a day it is! In the evening, sitting by my fire, with a pot of mutton soup in front of my eyes, I thought that I was going the same way as the previous tenant. repeat his tragedy.How I want to rush back to Dover and confess everything!Afterwards Mrs. Crupp came in and took away the soup-basin, and brought a pork loin in a cheese dish, saying that was all that was left from yesterday's party.How I'd like to throw myself on her lilac bodice and say to her with real remorse: "Oh, Mrs. Crupp, Mrs. Crupp, forget those slices! I'm so sad!"— But even in that situation I still wondered if Mrs. Crupp was a trustworthy woman; oh, what a night it was!