远大前程-第6章
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little child－who came to the forge－and always the best of friends！’He could not continue。
Dear good Joe！I was so ready to leave you，and so ungrateful to you！I can see you now，with your strong blacksmith's arm in front of your eyes，and your shoulders shaking，and tears on your cheeks。 But at the time I was so excited by my good luck that I forgot what I owed to Joe。 Mr Jaggers clearly thought Joe was a fool for refusing money，and left the house，reminding me to go straight to his office in London in a week's time。
Joe told Biddy what had happened，and both congratulated me。 They were very quiet and sad at first，because I would be leaving them，but I promised I would never forget them and would often return to visit them。 Biddy tried to explain the good news to my sister，but the poor woman could not under…stand．
As Joe and Biddy became a little more cheerful，discussing my possible plans for the future，I became more miserable。 Now that I could be a gentleman，as I had always wished，I was not sure if I wanted to leave my home，which was full of happy memories。
That week passed slowly。 I took a last walk through the churchyard to the marshes．At least I need never think about my convict again。 No doubt he was dead by now。
I had something special to ask Biddy。‘Biddy，’I said，when we were alone，‘don't you think you could teach Joe a bit？’
‘What do you mean，teach him？’asked Biddy。
‘Well，I love dear old Joe more than anyone else，but his education and manners could be improved。’
Biddy opened her eyes very wide．‘Oh？’she said。‘So his manners aren't good enough，then？’
‘Oh，they're all right for here，but when I receive my for－tune，I'll want him to meet important people，and behave ocrrectly。’
Haven't you ever thought，’asked Biddy，not looking at me，‘that he wouldn't want to meet important people，he wouldn't want to be taken away from this job that he does well，and the village where he's loved？’
‘Now，Biddy，’I said crossly，‘are you jealous of my good luck？I didn't expect this of you．This is a bad side of your character，Biddy。’
‘Whether you scold me or thank me，I'll always do my best for the family at all times．And I'll always remember you，whatever you think of me，’said poor Biddy。
I was not pleased with this interview，and thought it was strange that the news of my expectations had not made me happier。
When I went into town to order my new clothes， Mr Pumblechook was waiting for me at the door of his shop．
‘My dear friend， if you will allow me to call you that，’ he cried，shaking both my hands，‘let me congratulate you on your fortune！ Nobody deserves it more than you！’He seemed so much more sensible than before that I agreed to have lunch with him．
‘When I think，’ he said happily，‘that I，Pumblechook，was able to help in my small way， by taking you to play at Miss…’
‘Remember，’I stopped him， ‘we must never say anything about the person who is being so generous to me．’
‘Don't worry， trust me， my dear friend Have some wine，have some chicken！Oh chicken，you didn't think when you were running around on the farm that you would be lucky enough to be served to one who－May I？May I？’ and he jumped up to shake my hand again．
As we drank our wine， Pumblechook reminded me of the happy times he and I had spent together during my childhood．I did not remember it quite like that， but I began to feel he was a good…hearted， sincere man． He wanted to ask my advice on a business matter．He said he was hoping to find a young gentleman who would put money into his business， and seemed very interested in my opinion．‘And may I？May I？’He shook hands with me again．
‘You know， I always used to say，“That boy will make his fortune． He's no ordinary boy．”’He had certainly kept his opinion very secret， I thought．
There was one person I really wanted to visit before going to London．Dressed in my new clothes I went to Miss Havisham's house，where her cousin opened the gate to me again．
‘Well， Pip？’said Miss Havisham to me when she saw me．
‘I'm going to London tomorrow， Miss Havisham，’I said，choosing my words carefully，‘and I wanted to say goodbye．I've been so lucky since I saw you last，and I'm so grateful for it！’
‘Good， good！’ she replied， looking delightedly at her cousin who was staring at my new clothes．‘I know about it．I've seen Mr Jaggers．So，a rich person has adopted you？’
‘Yes， Miss Havisham．’
She smiled cruelly at her cousin， who was looking rather ill．
‘Remember to do what Mr Jaggers tells you．And you will always keep the name of Pip，won't you？Goodbye，Pip．’She gave me her hand and I kissed it．It seemed the natural thing to do． And so I left the old lady in her bride's dress in the candle…light， with the dusty furniture around her．
On Saturday morning I was in such a hurry that I only said a quick goodbye to my family， before setting out to walk the few miles into town for the London coach． As I left the peaceful sleeping village， the mist over the marshes was rising，to show me the great unknown world I was entering． Suddenly I realized what I was leaving behind－my childhood， my home，and Joe． Then I wished I had asked him to walk with me to the coach， and I could not stop crying． Whenever the horses were changed on the journey， I wondered with an aching heart whether to get down and go back to say goodbye properly．But the mist had completely risen now， and my new world lay ahead of me．
7 Pip arrives in London
At that time everybody in England agreed that London was a wonderful city．So I was surprised to find it rather ugly， with narrow dirty streets， and people crowded into tiny houses． I was frightened by its huge size． At Smith－field， the meat market， I was shocked by the dirt and blood everywhere Then I came to Newgate Prison， where a drunk old man showed me the place where prisoners were hanged，and told me excitedly that four men would die there tomorrow． I was disgusted by this news．My first impression of London could not have been worse．
However I managed to find Mr Jaggers’ office， noticing that other people were waiting for the great man too． After some time he appeared， walking towards me． His clients all rushed at him together． He spoke to some， and pushed others away．One man held on to the lawyer's sleeve．
‘Please， Mr Jaggers，’he begged，‘my brother is accused of stealing silver． Only you can save him！ I'm ready to pay any－thing！’
‘Your brother？’repeated the lawyer．‘And the trial is to－morrow？ Well，I'm sorry for you， and him．I'm on the other side．’
‘No，Mr Jaggers！’ cried the man desperately， tears in his eyes．‘Don't say you're against him！I'll pay anything！’
‘Get out of my way，’said Mr Jaggers and we left the man on his knees on the pavement．
Now Mr Jaggers turned to me and told me that on Monday I would go to Matthew Pocket's house to start my studies， but until then I would stay with his son， Herbert， who lived near…by．
Wemmick， Mr Jaggers’ clerk，showed me the way to Mr Pocket's rooms．He was a short， dry man， with a square， expressionless face，between forty and fifty years old． His mouth was so wide that it looked like a post…box，and gave the impression of smiling all the time．
‘Is London a very wicked place？’I asked him， trying to make conversation as we walked．
‘You may be robbed or murdered in London． But that may happen to you anywhere， if there is any profit in it for the criminal．’
I was not sure whether I looked forward to living in London， where people like Wemmick accepted crime so calmly．
We arrived at Herbert Pocket's rented rooms． The building was the dirtiest I had ever seen， with broken windows and dusty doors．It stood in a little square with dying trees around it．I looked in horror at Mr Wemmick．
‘Ah！’ he said，not understanding my look．‘Its quiet position makes you think of the country．I quite agree．Goodbye，Mr Pip．’
I went up the stairs， where there was a note on Mr Pocket's door， saying ‘Returning soon．’His idea of ‘soon’was not the same as mine． About half an hour later I heard footsteps rushing upstairs， and a young man of my age appeared breath…less at the door．‘Mr Pip？’he said．‘I'm so sorry I'm late！’
I greeted him in a confused manner， unable to believe my eyes Suddenly he looked closely at me and gasped．
‘But you're the boy at Miss Havisham's！’
‘And you，’ I said，‘are the pale young gentleman！’
We both started laughing， and shook hands．
‘Well！’ he said，‘I hope you'll forgive me for having knocked you down that day．’In fact I had knocked him down． But I did not contradict him．
‘Do you know why I was there？’ he asked．‘I had been invited to Miss Havisham's to see if she liked me．I suppose I didn't make a good impression on her．If she had liked me，I could be a rich man and engaged to Estella by now．’
‘Were you disappointed？’I asked．
‘Oh！I wouldn't want to marry Estella！She's a hard，proud girl， and Miss Havisham has brought her up to break men's hearts， as a revenge on all men．’
‘Is she a relation of Miss Havisham's？’I asked．
‘No，only adopted． Why were you at Miss Havisham's then？’
‘To make my fortune， the same as you！ But I was lucky．’
‘You know Mr Jaggers is Miss Havisham's lawyer？It was kind of him to suggest that my father should teach you． My father is Miss Havisham's cousin， you know．’
Herbert Pocket made an excellent impression on me． He always spoke openly and honestly．There was nothing secret or mean in his character， and we soon became good friends． I told him of my past life in the village， and my expectations．
‘Call me Herbert，’ he said．‘Would you mind my calling you Handel？ There's a wonderful piece of music by Handel，called The Blacksmith， which reminds me of you．’ Of course I agreed， and as we sat down to dinner， Herbert told me Miss Havisham's sad story．
‘Her mother died young． Her father was very rich and very proud， with only one child， Miss Havisham， by his first wife．Then he married his cook， and had a son by her．This son， a half…brother to Miss Havisham， was a bad character， and didn't inherit as much from his father as Miss Havisham did．And so perhaps he was angry with her for influencing her father against him．
‘Anyway，a certain man appeared， and pretended he was in love with Miss Havisham． She was certainly in love with him，and gave him whatever money he asked for． My father was the only one of her relations who dared to tell her that this man should not be trusted． She was so angry that she ordered my father straight out of the house， and he has never seen her since． Her other relations were not interested in her happiness but only in inheriting her wealth， so they said nothing． The couple fixed the wedding day， the guests were invited， the dress and the cake were brought to the house． The day came，but the man did not． He wrote a letter—’
‘Which she received at twenty to nine， when she was dressing for her wedding？�
