David Copperfield

116 gust of wind
Chapter 55 The Wind Blows

I am now about to write about an important event in my life.The event was so terrible, so unforgettable, and so inseparable from the other events of the book, that from the moment I began to describe it, it became more and more important as I went on.

Years after it happened, I still dream about it from time to time.

The immigrant's ship date is fast approaching.My kind old nurse came to London, and her heart was broken when we first met.I was often with her, her brother, and the Micawbers.But I never saw Emily.

I was alone with Peggotty and her brother one evening before departure, and we talked again about Ham.She told us how he had bade her farewell so fervently and how calmly he had kept it.Especially recently, she felt that he was the saddest recently.It is a topic that the passionate man never tires of.There are many instances of what she often liked to say when she was with him, and we heard them with as much interest as she said them.

By that time my aunt and I had moved out of the two small houses in Highgate.I'm going abroad, and she's going back to Dou Fo's house.We found a temporary lodging in Covent Garden.After our conversation that evening, as I walked in the direction of the flat, I reflected on what had happened between Ham and myself on my last visit to Yarmouth.I had resolved to leave a letter for Emily when I said good-bye to Mr. Peggotty on board.At this time, my plan changed, and I feel that it is better for me to write to her now.I thought she might, after receiving my letter, wish to have me convey a word of farewell to her unhappy lover.I should give her this chance.

Therefore, before I went to bed, I wrote to her and told her what he had asked me to tell her, and I related it sincerely.There is no need for me or anyone to exaggerate the sincerity and kindness of this statement.I put the letter out, intending to post it next morning.I also wrote a message to Mr. Peggotty asking him to deliver the letter to her.

Due to my weakness, I lay down until very late the next day, and my spirit was very bad.My aunt came to my bed, and I woke up with a start.

"My dear, Trot," said she, "I was in doubt whether to wake you, and here comes Mr. Peggotty."

I said let him come up, and Mr Peggotty came up in a moment.

"Master Wei," he said, "I gave Emily your letter, and she wrote it after reading it, and asked me to ask you to read it, and if you think there is no hindrance in it, please forward it." Bar."

"Have you read it?"

He nodded sadly.It is written like this:

Thank you for your kind and holy kindness to me, I don't know how to write to express my gratitude to you!

I have taken these words to heart, and shall not forget them until I die.Those words stung me like sharp thorns, but they were so comforting.I've prayed a lot about those words, and when I know what you are and what uncle is, I think God must be like that too, and I can cry to Him.

So farewell, dear friend, farewell to this world.If I can be forgiven, in another world, I can be reborn as a child, to you, I am very grateful.Blessings are endless, I wish you a lifetime of peace.

This is the tearful letter.

"May I say to her, that you do not find these words intrusive, and may I agree to pass them on to him, Master Wei?" asked Mr. Peggotty when I had finished reading.

"Of course," I said, "but I was thinking—"

"What's the matter, Master Wei?"

"I'm thinking," said I, "that I'm going to Yarmouth again. I've got plenty of time to go back and forth before sailing. I'm thinking of him constantly in his loneliness. I'm writing her own It would be a kindness to both of them that you could tell her on departure that he had received the letter. I solemnly accept his commission, and I will do it as thoroughly as possible. This A journey is nothing to me. I'm going tonight."

At my request, he went to the ticket office and booked a box seat for me.That night, I moved.

"Do you feel," I asked the coachman, not far from London, "that it's a strange day?"

"I can't remember either—never was like it before," he answered. "It's the wind, sir. There's going to be trouble at sea soon."

It was a dark and chaotic cloud flying by, bumped into the most terrible pile, and it seemed to be deeper than the deepest cave in the ground.The mad moon passed recklessly through it, as if, by some terrible perversion of the laws of nature, it had been lost and frightened.The wind, which had been blowing all day, picked up again, very loudly.Another hour passed, the wind increased considerably, the sky grew darker, and the wind blew harder.

But as the night got deeper, the clouds closed together and covered the whole sky thickly, the sky became darker, and the wind blew harder and harder.The wind continued to increase, and our horses were unable to go against the wind.During the darkest part of the night (it was the end of September, and the night was not very short), the lead horse in front of the cart turned its head many times, or stood still.From time to time we were even afraid that the carriage would be blown over.Before this storm, gusts of rain fell like swords.As long as there is a place to hide, we stop contentedly, and we really can't continue to struggle.

At dawn the wind picked up even more.When I was in Yarmouth I had heard people say the wind was like a cannon, but I had never seen it before, or even anything like it.We arrived in Ipswich very late, because every inch of our ten miles from London was a struggle.When we were changing horses, we heard that a large piece of lead had been torn from the top of a tall church and fell into a side street, which was then cut off.The storm didn't show any sign of stopping, but became more and more severe.

We are still moving forward, and the closer we get to the beach, the more terrible the wind becomes.Long before we saw the sea, the droplets in the sea sprayed on us.The waters that flowed out covered many miles of the plain near Yarmouth.When we saw the sea, there were huge waves rising from the turbulent sea on the sea level, and we finally entered the town. People's hair was flying, and people were blown crookedly. Surprised that a mail van came here.

I booked a bed in that old hotel, and I hobbled like this to see the sea.

I took a breath and looked out to sea.The terrible sea made me panic.The towering walls of water rolled in and crashed into waves after reaching the highest peak, as if the smallest one could swallow the town.Masses of water shook and shook the shore with a crashing sound.Dark clouds hung down quickly and densely.I seem to have seen the sky fall apart.

I failed to find Ham in this unforgettable wind, and then went to his house through the wind.The door of the house is closed.Because no one came out to answer the door, I went to the shipyard where he worked again.From there it was learned that, in urgent need of repairing a boat, he had gone to Rostoft, and was able to return next morning.

I was very disturbed and lonely, and I felt a strange uneasiness.In the absence of Ham I do not know how much the recent events have affected me.The long exposure to the strong winds has made my mind dizzy, and I have almost lost the clear distinction between time and distance.

In this mood, when the waiter told me the terrible news of the ships, quite out of my will, I at once connected it with my uneasiness about Ham.I fear he has disappeared by sea back to Rostorft.This worry is getting stronger and stronger.I thought of going down to the shipyard before supper, and asking the boatman if it was possible for him to come back by sea.If the shipwright had given me the slightest chance of that, I would certainly go to Rostoft and bring him back myself, lest he go by sea.

When I arrived at the boat yard, I asked a boatman this question, and he said, don't worry, no one will launch a boat in such a stormy weather, let alone that natural navigator, Ham Poe. What about Gouti?

I don't want to eat, I can't sit still, I can't continue to do anything.There is a vague thing in my heart, corresponding to the external storm, which stirs up my dormant memory, and the storm makes my worry about Ham always come first.

I walked up and down to read an old paper, and listening to the horrible noise, the undisturbed ticking of the undisturbed clock on the wall, finally made me, irritated, decide to go to sleep.

I went to bed extremely tired and lethargic.But as soon as I lay down, I woke up.

I lay in bed for hours, unable to fall asleep.

Distraught at last, I dressed in a hurry and went down the stairs.

I think I was there about two hours.

When I finally got back to my lonely bedroom, it was pitch black.But by this time I was tired, so I went to bed again, and I slept a long time.

A loud knock on the door woke me up.

"What happened?" I called.

"It's not far! A ship is wrecked!"

"What ship?" I asked.

"It's a galleon from Spain or Portugal. If you want to see it, sir, hurry up! It might break any moment."

I put on my clothes and ran into the street.

Many people are running to the beach.

The waves turned up one after another, one higher than the other, one lower than the other, rolling in endless numbers, the momentum was extremely astonishing.

A mast snapped off six or eight feet from the deck and lay on its side, tangled in the mess of sail-cloth and rigging.It didn't stop for an instant as the boat rolled and flapped--with unimaginable violence--and the tangled mass beat against the side of the boat as if to punch it through.Even then, we see someone chopping off the part with great force, but at this moment there is a cry from the shore, higher than the sound of wind and water, and people see a high wave of the angry sea, throwing people, logs, etc. Barrels, barrels, boards, and the topside of the ship were all involved in the rolling waves.

The stump of the mast still stands upright, and the broken sail is faintly visible.I heard that the boat hit a rock.It's about to snap in the middle.

The boat disappeared from our sight for a while, and rose again for a while.Two people are missing.The suffering of those on shore increased.Some ran frantically along the beach, calling for help where it could not be rescued.I begged a group of sailors not to let these two desperate people disappear again.

Although the lifeboats wanted to go to the rescue two hours ago, they couldn't do anything.So there is nothing more to try.Then I saw Ham coming from the crowd to the front.

I ran to him—the way he looked out to sea—reminded me of his danger.I put my arms around him and don't let him go, don't let him leave the beach!

There was another cry from the shore.Looking at the wreck again, the ferocious sail slammed down, knocking down the lower of the two men, and then triumphantly entangled the only remaining living man.

In this case, it is useless for me to stop the person who is determined to go all out. "Master Wei," he said, "if my death has come, it has come. If not, I can wait. God bless you, and everyone! Friends, get ready for me! I'm going."

I was kindly pushed aside, persuaded that he was determined to go with or without assistants.He and other sailors are ready to meet the rescue.

Ham stood alone looking out to sea, the people behind him holding their breath, and the storm ahead of him.When a big wave receded, he looked back at the people holding the ropes tied to him, and then rushed into the wave, rising with the mountain-like wave crest, falling with the deep valley-like receding wave, and disappearing in the Below the foam.He was finally pushed back to shore again.They quickly put the rope away.

There is blood on his face.he is hurt.But he didn't care about that at all, and set off as before.

He is fighting hard and bravely against the sea.It was not far from the ship, but the strength of the sea and the wind made the struggle extremely difficult.He finally approached the wreck.But suddenly, a gust of sea water surged from the side of the boat towards the shore, and he seemed to jump into it all at once, and the boat disappeared!

I ran to the place where people took up the rope, and everyone's faces were full of panic.They dragged him to my feet, and he was dead.

Then a fisherman, a man who had known Emily and I since we were little children, called my name.

"Sir," he said, with tears running down his weather-beaten face, his lips trembling, his face pale, "will you go over there?"

A strange expression came out of his face.I approached him and asked:

"Has the body on the boat landed yet?"

He replied: "Yes."

"Do you know that corpse?"

He answered nothing, but led me to the sea.I saw dead Steerforth.

(End of this chapter)