Chapter 55 Chapter Fifty-one is about to start a longer journey

Next morning, as I was walking in my garden with my aunt (she had no other exercise for now with my dear Dora), I heard that Mr. Peggotty wanted to talk to me.He was already in the garden as I made my way to the gate, and we met on the way.She respected my aunt very much, and took off her hat as usual when she saw her.I was telling her what happened the night before.She didn't say anything, and walked up to shake his hand with a sincere expression, and then patted his arm.This gesture is already very expressive, she doesn't need to say anything more.Mr. Peggotty understood her as if she had spoken a thousand words.

"I'm going into the house now, Trol," said my aunt, "and I'm going to take care of little flower, who's going to be up soon." "I hope it's not because I'm here, miss?" said Mr. Peggotty, "if I hadn't been absent-minded this morning, (Mr. Peggotty meant absent-mindedly) were you - because of me? " "You have something to say, my friend," answered my aunt, "and it would be better if I were absent." "I beg your pardon, madam," said Mr. Peggotty at once, "if you will listen to me patiently, if you don't find me tedious."

"Really?" My aunt was also happy, "Then I believe I will listen." So she took Mr. Peggotty's arm, and walked with him to a little arbor under a tree at the top of the garden.She sat on a stool and I sat next to her.There was one more seat vacant, and Mr. Peggotty could have sat down, but he preferred to stand there with the help of the little marble table.As he stood, looking at his own cap before speaking, I could not help observing the strength of character in his thick hands.What a good and faithful companion his hand was to his honest brow and iron-gray hair. "I took my dear child last night," said Mr. Peggotty, looking up into our eyes, "to the lodgings I had been waiting for her and had prepared for her. For many hours she did not know me; and when she had recognized me, she knelt at my feet, and told me all that had happened, as if praying. To tell the truth, when I heard her voice (it was still like I used to be at home As sweet as it was heard)—I was filled with gratitude and pained to see her, as if on the ashes where our Saviour's holy handwriting was written.

-------- ①According to the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John in the Bible, when people were about to deal with an adulterous woman, Jesus drew on the ground with his finger and said: "He who is without sin among you may first stone her. .” He wiped his eyes with his sleeve unabashedly, then cleared his throat. "The pain I feel is short because she has been found. Just thinking that she has been found and the pain is over. I really can't figure out why I am bringing it up now. By the way, 1 minute ago, I hadn't even thought of a word I was going to say, but it came to my lips so naturally, I was dominated."

"You are a sacrificial man," said my aunt, "and it will be rewarded." Mr. Peggotty's face was cast in the shadow of the swaying leaves.He thanked my aunt for her compliment with a nod, and picked up where he left off. "My Emily," he said now with great indignation, "was imprisoned in a house by that piebald snake, as Master Wei knew—that snake spoke the truth, and may God punish her He!—she ran away from there in the night. It was a dark night, but many stars were shining. She ran along the beach, dazed, thinking that the old boat was there; she told us to turn our faces away , because she was about to come. She heard her own cry, as if it was someone else's cry. The sharp-edged rock broke her skin, and she didn't notice it, as if she herself was the stone. No matter how far she ran, she saw the flames and heard the shouts. Suddenly—maybe she felt that way, you know—it was dawn, and it was windy and rainy, and she was lying on a pile of stones by the sea On the ground, a woman, speaking to her in the language of that country, asked her why she was like this."

It was as if what he was speaking was right in front of his eyes.It happened so vividly before his eyes as he spoke; and he described it to me with more sincerity than I could express.Writing this now, many years later, I almost thought I had really experienced it all; the scene moved me with its astonishing realism. "As Emily saw the woman more clearly—her eyes were dull—" continued Mr. Peggotty, "she recognized the woman as one of the people she used to talk to when she went to the beach. For Well, she ran that far in the night (as I said), but she used to make some long trips too, part walks, part water boats, part car rides, all miles and miles up the coast. Very familiar. The woman is young, and has no child; but she is due soon. May my prayers reach heaven, that this child will be a life of happiness, comfort, and glory to her! She loves her, honors her, and helps her all the time when she gets old; she becomes her angel both on earth and in heaven!"

"Amen!" said my aunt. "When Emily was first talking to the children before," said Mr. Peggotty, "the woman was always a little shy, and sat a little farther away, knitting or something of that sort. But Emily noticed her, and Go up and talk to her. Since the young woman liked children, too, they made friends quickly. They got on better and better, and every time Emily passed there, she gave Emily flowers. Then She was the one who asked why it was like that. Emily told her what happened, and she—she took Emily back to her house. She did. She took Emily back to her house," said Mr Peggotty, covering his face.

I hadn't seen anything since Emily's escape that night that had touched him more than this act of kindness.Neither my aunt nor I wanted to disturb him. "It was a little house, as you can imagine," he added afterward, "but she took Emily--her husband was off to sea--and she kept it a secret, and asked her neighbors to keep it too. Emily's fever struck me as strange—perhaps not to the learned—that she forgot the language of the country and could only speak her own, which no one could understand. She remembered lying there as if in a dream, talking in English, and figuring out that the old boat was in the nearby bay and begging them to send someone there, announcing that she was going to die with a letter claiming to forgive her. It’s good to write back even one word. She almost always feels that the man I mentioned is always waiting for her outside the window, and the man who has caused her to come into her room always, so she suffers. Please don't abandon her to the kind young woman; she also knows that the young woman can't understand what she said, and she is even more afraid of being taken away. There is still fire in her eyes, and the noise is still in her ears; , and there was no yesterday, and there would be no tomorrow. Everything in her life, or things that might be, or things that have never been and things that will never be, came to her together, and everything was blurred, and everything was blurred. Everything was not fast. But she sang and laughed out loud! How long it went on, I don't know; Still weak."

At this point he paused, as if to undercut the horror of what he was telling.After a moment of silence, he resumed the story. "It was a fine afternoon when she awoke; all was so still, and there was no sound except for the gentle rippling of the steady blue water on the beach. At first she thought it was a Sunday morning, and she It was at home. However, she saw the grape leaves in front of the window and the hills in front of her. These were not the scenes at home, and they were different from what she saw at home. Later, her friend came in and stood by her bed She took care of her; then she knew that the old boat was not in the nearby bay, but far, far away; and she knew where she was, but why. So she bent over the On the breast of the young woman weeping. I hope that the good woman's child is lying on her breast now, and delighting her with its lovely eyes!"

He could not speak of this dear friend of Emily's without tears.It was impossible to control the tears.While blessing her, he was moved again. "That's all good for my Emily," he went on, having vented his feelings (so strong were his feelings that I couldn't be immune to them, and my aunt simply burst into tears); "That was good for Emily, and she began to recover. But she couldn't remember the language of the country at all, and had to talk with signs. And so she got better day by day, slowly but steadily. , and she wanted to learn the names of common things—it was as if she had never known them—until she sat at the window one evening, watching a little girl playing on the beach. Suddenly, The child held out his hand, and said (translated into English it should be like this): 'The fisherman's daughter, here is a clam shell!' - because you know, they called her 'beautiful lady' at first, according to the custom of their country , she told them to call her 'the fisherman's daughter.' The child said suddenly, 'Daughter of the murloc, here's a clam shell!' At this moment Emily understood; and she answered her, crying; she remembered everything!"

"When Emily grew stronger again," said Mr. Peggotty, after another moment of silence, "she wanted to leave that good young man and return to her own country. At this time, the husband also returned home. So, They both put her on a little merchant ship to Leghorn, and from there to France. She ain't got no money, and they'll take even less. I'm almost happy about it, though they're poor! Everything they've done Good deeds are stored in a place where moths cannot eat and thieves cannot steal. ①Master Wei, their good deeds are more durable than all the treasures in the world. -------- ① See the 19th verse of the sixth chapter of the New Testament Matthew in the Bible. "Emily went to France and worked as a maid in an inn on the port, waiting for the traveling female guests. But one day, the poisonous snake also came - I hope he will never come near me, I don't know how I will hurt him !—she was frightened and terrified again at the sight of him; and she ran away before he found him, before he could catch her breath. She came to England, and landed at Dover." "I really don't know," said Mr. Peggotty, "when she began to lose heart; but on the way to England she kept thinking of going back to her lovely home. Once in England she turned her face Her home. However, she was afraid of not being forgiven and forgiven, afraid of being discussed by others, afraid that some of us would die because of her; Turning around. Uncle, uncle, she said to me, "I am afraid that my wounded and bleeding heart is not qualified to do what I want to do so desperately. This is what I am most afraid of! At that time, I turned around, With all my heart I pray that I may climb up to that dear old staircase in the dark, and lay my guilty face upon it and kiss it; and be found dead there in the morning.'” "She came to London," said Mr. Peggotty's voice, dropping to a somewhat menacing level, "and she had never--been in this place--alone, alone--penniless-- - young - and so good-looking - so arrived in London. Almost as soon as she came into this strange place, she found a friend (she thought it was a friend); a decent-looking woman talked to her about sewing. Well, that's exactly what she used to do; and the woman talked about doing a lot of work for her, and about finding a place to stay, and about checking up on me and my family the next day in secret. The state of man, etc., and so on. And when my child," he said aloud, trembling with emotion, "was at a critical moment which I could neither speak nor dare to think -- Martha, faithful to her, saved her. !" I was so happy that I couldn't help crying out. "Master Wei!" he said, taking mine with his strong hand, "you were the first to tell me about Martha. Thank you, sir! She has a good heart. She has suffered so much herself. , she knew where to wait for her, and what to do. She had done it, and God is almighty! She rushed there in despair to find Emily, who was sleepy. She said to Emily, 'Getting out of this place is better than dying Worse places, come with me!' They tried to stop her, but they tried to hold back the sea. 'Get out of the way,' she said; 'I am a ghost, and I will make her out of the open grave!' She told Emily that she had seen me and knew that I loved her and forgave her. She wrapped Emily in her own clothes hastily, and put her arms around Emily, who was weak and trembling. No matter She acted as if she didn't hear what those people said. She only cared about my child and walked out of them with my child. In the middle of the night, she brought my child out of that trap safely!" "She took care of Emily," said Mr. Peggotty (he had let go of my hand now, and put his hand on his heaving chest), and she took care of my Emily.Until the next night, Emily hid there wearily, raving from time to time.At that time, she went to look for me; then she went to look for you, Master Wei.She did not tell Emily why she had gone out, for fear that Emily would become frightened or hide.How that cruel woman knew she was there, I cannot tell.Whether it was because the man of whom I have spoken so many times happened to see Emily go there, or whether she had inquired about it from the woman--I think the latter is probable--I don't really try to figure it out.My niece has been found. " "All night," said Mr. Peggotty, "we were all together, Emily and I. For all that time, she didn't say much, but wept; The face I've seen in my house since I was a kid. But all night long, with her arms around my neck and her head resting here; we know we can always trust each other." He stopped talking.He put his hand on the table steadily, and that hand seemed to have a will that could conquer several lions. "When I made up my mind to be godmother to your sister Bessie Trolwood, Trol," said my aunt, wiping her eyes, "I felt she was my ray of light, but she let me down; I couldn't be happier to be godmother to that young and kind-hearted child!" Mr. Peggotty nodded, expressing understanding of his aunt's feelings, but could say nothing to express his feelings about the character she admired.We were silent, all immersed in the memories.My aunt kept wiping her eyes, choked with convulsions from time to time, laughed and called herself a fool from time to time.Finally, I spoke. "As for the rest of your life," I said to Mr. Peggotty, "you have made up your mind, my friend? I hardly need ask." "It is determined, Master Wei," he answered; "and Emily has been told. Some good places are far from here.Our future is overseas. " "They're going to emigrate together, Auntie," I said. "Yes!" said Mr. Peggotty, with a bright, hopeful smile. "In Australia, no one can blame my darling any more. We're going to start our new life there!" I asked him if he had thought about the date of departure. "I went down to the docks this morning, sir," he answered, "to inquire about the steamer. In about six weeks or two months there is a ship to set sail—I saw the ship this morning. , and went up. We will take this boat. "Without others?" I asked. "Ah, Master Wei!" he replied. "My sister, you know, she cares about you and your family very much, and she is only used to life in her own country. It is not suitable for her to go. Besides, you should not forget that she has someone to take care of, Master Wei." "Poor Ham!" said I. "My dear sister keeps his house, and he is very near to her, you know, miss," said Peggotty, expressly to my aunt. "If there is anything he cannot say to others, he can sit down quietly and tell her. Poor thing!" said Mr. Peggotty, shaking his head. "There is not much left for him, and he cannot lose more than that." There is this point!" "And Mrs. Gummidge?" I said. "Well, about Mrs. Gormidge," said Mr. Peggotty, with an air of uneasiness; but the uneasiness faded away as he went on; "I have thought a great deal, to tell you the truth. When my wife thinks about that old man, she is so-called unpopular. There are no outsiders here, just you and me, Mr. Wei—and your miss—it doesn’t matter. When Mrs. Gaomizhi is crying, she doesn’t know her. The old man's people must think her a bit of a temper. For I really knew the old man," said Mr. Peggotty, "and his good, so I could understand her; but no one else. You know—of course Impossible!" My aunt and I agree with that. "So," said Mr. Peggotty, "my sister may—I don't mean she must, but she may—find Mrs. Gummidges a little hard on her from time to time. So I don't want Mrs. Gummidge to live with her all the time. I want to give Mrs. Gummidge a home where she can take care of herself; so before I go I will give her a living allowance so that she can live comfortably. She is the most faithful person. Such a good mother, and at such an age, Alone again, she certainly cannot be expected to take a boat to some strange and remote place, and live a vagabond life there in forests and moors. So I will arrange for her that way." He didn't neglect anyone.He thought of everyone's rights and demands, but not his own. "Emily," he went on, "must stay with me until we start—poor child, she needs so much quiet and rest! She must have some necessary clothing, and I hope when she finds herself When she is next to her rude but loving uncle, she can gradually forget her troubles." My aunt nodded her head assenting to what he wished, and paid Mr. Peggotty her compliments. "One more thing, Young Master Wei," he said, reaching into his chest pocket, solemnly took out the small paper bag I had seen before, and opened it on the table. "Here's the money - £50 ten shillings. Plus what she spent. I've asked her - but didn't tell her why - and added it up. I'm not a learned man .Can you do the math for me?" He handed me a piece of paper, looked sorry for his own ignorance, and watched me do the calculations.There is nothing wrong with that. "Thank you, Master Wei," he said, taking the paper back. "If you don't object, Master Wei, before I leave, I'll put the money in an envelope for him, and put another envelope in it for his mother. I'll tell her what the price is; Tell her that I am gone, and the money will never be returned to me." I told him I thought it was right—because he thought it was right, I thought it was right. "I just said there was only one thing," he said with a serious smile after wrapping the small paper bag and putting it back in his pocket, "actually there are two. When I went out this morning, I couldn't make up my mind Well, I wondered if I should tell Ham myself what I was thankful for. So before I went out I wrote a letter and took it to the post office and told them all that had happened, and said I was going there tomorrow to take care of things. and, perhaps, farewell to Yarmouth." "Would you like me to go with you?" I asked, seeing that he hadn't said a word. "As long as you are willing to help me in that way, Master Wei," he replied. "I know they'd be happier to see you." As my little Dora was very pleased and willing that I should go--I knew it when I talked to her about it--I immediately promised to go with him as he wished.So, the next morning, we got on the bus to Yarmouth and embarked on that familiar journey again. As we walked through the familiar street in the dark—Mr. Peggotty took my luggage against my dissuasion—I looked towards Omer and Yoram's shop and saw my old friend Omer Sir smokes there.I thought I could avoid Mr. Peggotty when he first saw his sister and Ham, and used the excuse of seeing Mr. Omer to delay my arrival. "How has Mr. Omer been all this time?" I said as I walked inside. He pushed the smoke away from his pipe so that he could see me better.Soon, he recognized me with great joy. "I should stand up, sir, and thank you for coming," he said, "but my legs are useless, and I have to be pushed around in a cart. But apart from my legs and my breath, I can be compared with ordinary people." It's just as solid, thank goodness for that." I congratulated him on his satisfied manner and good humor, and I also saw that his easy-chair could be rolled back and forth on its wheels. "It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?" he said, following my gaze, rubbing his arm over the armrest. "It ran as light as a feather and nimble as a mail van. Thank goodness my little Minnie - my granddaughter, you know, Minnie's daughter - gave me a push in the back and we were off, nimble, very funny! I can tell you this - sitting on this and smoking a cigarette feels so good! " I never saw such a happy old man as Mr. Omer.He was beaming, as if his chair, his panting, his crippled legs had been specially arranged to make smoking more enjoyable for him. "I can assure you that in this chair," said Mr. Omer, "you'll know more about the world than if you don't sit in it. You'll be amazed at the number of people who come in and chat every day. You'll be amazed. The news in the papers seems to have doubled since I sat in this chair. As for general reading, my God, how much I read! That's where I am very proud. You know, if my eyes go out What's wrong with me? If my ears are wrong, what's wrong with me? Because it's my legs, what's the matter? Why, my legs, when they were useful, but Makes my breath shorter. Now, if I want to go to the street, or to the beach, I just have to call out Dick, Yoram's youngest apprentice, and I can go out in my own car like the Mayor of London." Speaking of this, he laughed so hard that he could hardly breathe. "By God!" said Mr. Omer, smoking his pipe, "a man's life should be contented, and that's what we have to admit in this life. Yoram is a good businessman. He can't do it any better!" "I'm glad to hear that," I said. "I know you'll be pleased," said Mr. Omer.Yoram and Minnie are like lovers.What more could one expect?What are his legs and feet compared with this? That he should be so contemptuous of his own legs as he sat smoking was one of the happiest oddities I have ever seen in my life. "You've been writing a lot since I started reading a lot, haven't you, sir?" said Mr. Omer, looking at me enviously. "How lovely your writing is! There are so many beautiful words in it! Read it slowly. Speaking of wanting to fall asleep, that's not it!" I am happy to express my satisfaction, and I must confess that I take this association seriously. "I swear to you, sir," said Mr. Omer, "as I laid that book on the table, and looked at it (it was divided into volumes one, two, three, three), I thought I had the honor of knowing you One, I'm proud of it, like Punch. Oh, that was all those years ago, well, isn't it? Buried a lovely little dead man with another dead man at Blandstone Yes. You were very small yourself then. My God, my God!" In order to change the subject, I mentioned Emily.First, I made him understand that I remembered how much he had cared for her and how kindly he had been to her; then I told him succinctly that she had been brought back to her uncle with Martha's help.I knew the news would make the old man happy.He listened attentively, and when I had finished speaking, he said emotionally: "I'm glad to hear that, sir! It's the best news I've heard in a long time, too. Goodness, goodness! Now, what's to be done with that unfortunate girl, Martha?" "You're talking about exactly what I've been thinking about since yesterday," I said, "but I can't tell you about it yet, Mr. Omer. Mr. Peggotty hasn't mentioned it, and I can't tell you about it." , I believe he has not forgotten. He will not neglect any good deeds that benefit others." "Because, you know," said Mr. Omer, picking up his earlier subject, "whatever has been done, I would like to know. Whatever you think is right, don't forget me, tell me. I never Thought the girl was awful, and now I know she isn't, and I'm happy. My daughter Minnie would be happy too. Young women contradict themselves about some things—her mother was exactly like her—but their Soft hearted and kind. Minnie is all fake about Martha. Why she thinks she has to fake it, I won't tell you. But it's all fake. Good God, she'll be willing to do anything quietly. So, whatever you think is right, don't forget me, please send me a text message and let me know where to send it. My God!" said Mr. Omer, "When a person approaches the two extremes of life When he finds himself being pushed around in a kind of cart again in spite of his health, he would be very, very happy if it was possible to do a good deed. He wants to do a lot. I'm not just talking about myself," Mr. Omer said, "Because, sir, the way I see it is that we're all going downhill, no matter how old we are, because time never stands still. So, we're always going to do good and take joy in it, of course!" He knocked out the ashes from his pipe and put them in the place behind the chair that he had made for them. "And Emily's cousin, the man she was going to marry," said Mr. Omer, rubbing his hands softly. "One of the nicest men in Yarmouth! He comes and sits with me sometimes for an hour at night, talking to me." , or read to me. It's a kindness, I should say! All his life was with a kind heart. "I'm going to see him now," I said. "Yes?" said Mr. Omer. "Tell him I'm well, and give him my regards. Minnie and Yoram went to a ball. If they saw you at home, they'd be as sorry as I was." For saving face. Minnie wouldn't go, you know, as she said, 'for father's sake.' So I swear tonight that if she won't go, I'll be in bed at six tonight. "Mr. Omer laughed so hard that his chair shook at the success of his scheme, "she and Yoran went to the ball." I shook his hand and said goodbye to him. "Stay half a minute longer, sir," said Mr. Omer, "and you'll be out of sight if you don't take a look at my elephant. You never had such a look, Minnie!" From somewhere upstairs a childish voice answered like music, "Here I am, Grandpa!" Presently a pretty little girl with long flaxen curly hair ran into the shop. "This is my little elephant, sir," said Mr. Omer, stroking the child. "It's a Siamese, sir. Here, little elephant!" The little elephant pushed open the door of the parlor, and I saw that this parlor had recently been converted into Mr. Omer's bedroom, for it was not easy to carry him upstairs.Elephant hid her pretty forehead behind Mr. Omer's chair and tousled her long hair. "You know, sir," said Mr. Omer with a wink, "it's like headbutting a workman. Once, like, twice, three times!" Hearing this instruction, the little elephant turned the chair Mr. Omer was sitting on with the dexterity of a small animal, and pushed it into the living room without touching the door frame.Mr. Omer liked it indescribably, and turned to look at me on the road, as if this was the culmination of his life's hard work. After a short walk around town, I went to Ham's house.Peggotty had now taken up residence here, and let her own house to the successor of Mr. Baggis, the coachman, who bought the house, the cart, and the horse, and gave her a good deal of money.I believe Bagis' slow horse is still on his way. I saw them in the neat galley, and Mrs. Gummidge, whom Mr. Peggotty himself had sent for in the old ship.I believe she was not persuaded to leave the post, and he evidently told them all.Peggotty and Mrs. Gormidge both put their aprons to their eyes, and Ham had just gone "for a walk on the beach." He was back soon, glad to see me; feel better.For interest, we spoke of Mr. Peggotty's slow fortune in that new place, and of the miracles he would write about in his letters.More than once we mentioned her only vaguely, but never by name.Among those present, Ham was the calmest. Peggotty, by the light of a lamp, led me into a small bedroom, where the book on crocodiles was laid out for me on the table.Peggotty told me that Ham was always like that.She told me, weeping, that she believed he was heartbroken, but that he was brave and kind, and worked harder and better than any dockworker in that part of the country.Sometimes at night, she said, he talked about their old life in that houseboat, and about Emily as a child.But he never mentioned her as an adult. It seemed to me that Ham's expression expressed a desire to speak to me alone.So I decided to meet him on the road the next night when he came home from work.After making up my mind, I went to bed.For the first time in a long time there was no candle behind the window, and Mr. Peggotty was rocking again in the old hammock in the old boat, and the wind whispered to him as ever. The whole of the next day he devoted himself to his fishing boat and tackle, and gathered up and carted off to London the little possessions which he thought would be of use to him in the future;She spends all day with him.I had a sad desire to see the old boat again before it was closed, so I agreed to meet them at the boathouse in the evening.But I was still determined to see Ham first. Since I knew where he worked, it was not difficult to touch him at all.I knew he was going to pass a lonely spot on the beach, and I met him there, and walked back with him, so that he would have a chance to speak to me.I read the expression on his face right.We had just walked a few steps together when he said without looking at me: "Master Wei, have you seen her?" "Only for a while, when she was unconscious." I replied gently. We walked a little further, and he said again: "Master Wei, do you think you want to see her?" "That would probably make her very miserable," I said. "It occurred to me," he answered, "that it must be so, sir, it must be so." "However, Ham," I said softly, "if there's anything I can't say to her directly, I can write to her for you; Consider it a sacred duty." "I believe you. Thank you, good sir! I feel I have a few words to say or write." "What are you talking about?" We walked in silence for a while before he spoke. "It's not that I forgive her. It's not that. It's that I beg her to forgive me for the love I've forced upon her. I've often thought that if I hadn't won her promise to marry me, sir, she would have given me If she can trust her like a friend, she will definitely tell me about her inner struggle and discuss it with me. Then maybe I can help her." I shook his hand and said, "Is that it?" "And something else," he answered, "if I may say, sir." Before he could speak, we walked a little further, longer than we had gone before.I'll use dashes to indicate the pauses in his speech.He didn't cry.He was merely calming himself so that he could speak clearly. "I loved her—I love her now in memory—too much— Can't convince her I'm a happy guy.Only by forgetting her--to be happy--I'm afraid I can't tell her that.你挺有学问，卫少爷，请你想一些话，来让她相信：我并不很伤心，依然很爱她，怜惜她；让她相信：我并没感到生活无味，依然怀着希望，当邪恶的人不再骚扰时，疲乏的人得以休息时，我能无半点怨意见到她——使她那苦愁的灵魂得到安慰，但是不要让她以为我会结婚，或我认为别人能代替她——我请你把上述的话——连同我为我非常亲爱的她作的祷告——告诉她。 " 我再次握住他富于丈夫气概的手，告诉他我将一定尽心尽力地做好。 “谢谢你，少爷，”他回答道，“你来接我是你的好心。你陪他来是你的好心。卫少爷，我很明白，虽然我姑妈要在他们启程前去伦敦，他们会再团聚一次，我却大抵不能再见到他们了。我不敢这样想。我们不说出来，但事实就是这样，只好这样了。你最后一次见他时——最后一次——请把一个孤儿的孝心和感激告诉他，他一直比亲生父亲还好。” 我也答应了做到这事。 “再次谢谢你，少爷。”他一面诚恳地和我握手，一面说道，“我知道你要上哪儿了。再见！” 他轻轻挥挥手，好像是对我解释他不能去那老地方，转身就走了。我从后面看他在月光下走过旷野的身影，见他向海上一道银光转过脸去，边看边走，一直到变成远方一团模糊。 我来到船房时，门大开着。走进去后，我发现那里的家俱全搬空了，只剩下一只旧箱子。高米芝太太坐在那箱子上，膝盖上放着只篮子，眼瞪着皮果提先生。后者的胳膊肘靠在粗糙的炉架上，注视着炉橱里将熄的余火；我一走进去，他就充满希望地抬起头，高高兴兴开口了。 “照你说的那样来和它告别，对不对，卫少爷？”他举起蜡烛来说道，“现在都空了，对吧？” “你真一点时间没浪费。”我说道。 “嘿，我们没偷懒，少爷。高米芝太太干起活来像个——我不知道高米芝太太干起活来像个什么，”皮果提先生看着她说，找不出一个恰当的比方来赞许她。 依偎在篮子上的高米芝太太不说一句话。 “这就是过去你和爱米丽一起坐的那个箱子！”皮果提先生小声说道。“最后，我要随身带它走。这里就是你的小卧室，看到了吗，卫少爷？今天晚上要多冷清有多冷清了！” 实际上，当时的风声虽小，却显得阴郁，那低低的声音含着凄清，像悲鸣一样在房四周回旋。什么都看不到了，连那个镶着贝壳边的小镜子也看不到了。我想起家中发生第一次变故时躺在这里的自己；我想起那个曾使我着迷的蓝眼睛小姑娘；我想起斯梯福兹；这时，我心中生了一种愚蠢而可怕的幻觉，好像他就在附近，到处都会遇见他。 “大概要相当一段日子后，”皮果提先生小声说道，“这条船才能找到新房客呢。现在，它被看作不吉利的了！” “这船是什么人的吗？”我问道。 “是镇上一个桅匠的，”皮果提先生说道。”我今晚就要把钥匙交给他了。” 我们看了另一个小房间，然后又回到坐在箱子上的高米芝太太那里。皮果提先生把蜡烛放到炉架上，请她站起来，好让他在熄灯前把那箱子搬出门。 “丹，”高米芝太太突然扔下篮子抱住了他的胳膊说道，“我亲爱的丹，我在这所房子里说的最后一句话是，我决不愿留下来：你别想把我留下来，丹！哦，千万别那样做！” 皮果提先生吃了一惊，看看高米芝太太，再看看我，然后又看着高米芝太太，好像大梦初醒一样。 “别这样，丹，最亲爱的丹，别这样！”高米芝太太激动地叫道，“带我和你一起去，丹，带我跟你和爱米丽一起去！我要做你的老妈子，又长久，又忠心。如果你要去的那地方有奴隶，我一定欢天喜地做奴隶。可是，别扔下我，丹，那才是个可爱的好人！” “我的好人，”皮果提先生摇摇头说道，“你不知道那段小路多么长，那生活多么苦！” “我知道，丹！我猜得出！”高米芝太太叫道，“在这个屋顶下，我讲的最后一句话是，如果不带我走，我就去济贫院死掉。我可以挖地，丹。我可以做工。我可以吃苦。我现在能做到体贴，能忍耐了——你不相信，丹，可以试试看。就算我穷死，我也不会动那笔养老金。丹·皮果提；只要你答应我，我一定跟着你和爱米丽走到世界尽头！我知道为什么，我知道，你觉得我是孤苦伶仃的；可是，亲爱的人，再也不是那样的了！这么久，我坐在这里，一面看，一面想你们的忧患苦难，并非毫无心得。卫少爷，替我劝劝他！我知道他的脾气，也知道爱米丽的脾气，我也知道他们的烦恼苦愁。我可以时时安慰他们，永远为他们操劳！丹，亲爱的丹，让我跟你们一起去吧！” 然后，高米芝太太怀着一种纯朴的热诚，还怀着他应得到的纯朴感激，握住他的手吻。 我们把箱子搬出去，吹灭了蜡烛，从外面把门锁上，离开了这只关闭了的旧船，它变成了黑黑夜色中一个黑黑的点。次日，我们回伦敦时，我们坐在车厢外，高米芝和她的篮子就在后座上。高米芝太太很快活。