David Copperfield

Chapter 64 Falling in love (1)
Chapter 26 Falling In Love (1)
As Agnes was leaving town, I saw Julia Heep again.I went to the box office to see her off and he was there, going back to Canterbury in the same car.I felt a little elation when I saw him in that thin, dark purple coat that fit close to the shoulders, with the umbrella that stood high on the back seat of the car.Agnes was of course also in the car.But in the presence of Agnes, I may have received a small reward for my efforts to maintain a friendly relationship with him.At the car window as at the dinner table, he circled endlessly around us like a vulture, picking up every word I said to Agnes and Agnes to me.

After he told me his confidantes at the fireside, I fell into a state of anguish, in which I thought much of what Agnes had said to me about the partnership. "I had to do what I hoped was right. I felt that was the only way for Daddy's safety, so I persuaded Daddy to do it." She would feel the same way about any sacrifice for her father's sake. The troubling foreboding of making concessions and supporting herself with the same feelings was constantly weighing on my mind.I know how much she adores her father.I know how her character demands filial piety.I have heard from her that she confessed that she had unknowingly caused her father to make a mistake, and that she believed she owed him a great debt which she earnestly wanted to make up.I saw how different she was from the red haired ghost in the deep purple coat, and I was disturbed, because I thought the most terrifying thing was the difference between them, she was the pure self in the depths of her soul Sacrifice, and the depths of his soul are vile and shameless selfishness.No doubt he knew it all too well, and had already considered his insidiousness well.

However, I am fully convinced that the prospect of making such a sacrifice would certainly ruin Agnes's life.I am also sure, from her manner, that she did not foresee this at the time.If I hinted to her of what was to come, it would immediately distress her.So we parted without any explanation.She waved at me from the car window, smiling.The demon writhed on the roof of the car, as if he had grabbed her and won.For a long time, I can't forget the scene of parting from them.When Agnes wrote to tell me she had arrived home safely.Whenever I meditate, this question must come up, and my distress must double.There was hardly a night when I did not dream about it.It has become a scene in my life, like my head and life are inseparable.

I had a lot of spare time to ponder my troubles, for Steerforth's letter mentioned his return to Oxford, and I was bored when I was not at the doctoral school.I felt that at this moment I had a suspicion of Steerforth.I wrote back as affectionately as ever, but I felt that, on the whole, I was very pleased that he could not be in London at that very moment.My fear was that the influence of Agnes would remain on me and not be shaken by the desire to meet him.And because she occupies such a large place in my thoughts and interests, her role is all the more powerful.

Meanwhile, the days slipped by.I'm apprenticed to Spenlow & Joggins & Co.My aunt pays me ninety pounds a year (excluding my rent and incidentals) and my flat is rented for a year.Even though I find it scary to be in this place at night, the nights are long, but I can beg for peace of mind in listlessness, drinking my coffee like hell.It was during this period that I made three discoveries: first, Mrs. Crupp suffered from the strange disease of "Golden Orchid", and her nose became inflamed when she had an attack, so she needed to use mint for treatment for a long time; second One, the temperature in my pantry is terrible, and the brandy bottles keep exploding; the third, I am in the world, and I am inseparable from each other, which is mostly written in the form of story poems.

On the first day of my apprenticeship, I only bought some sandwiches and sherry for my colleagues in the office. No other congratulations were held. In the evening, I went to the theater alone to see a play.This is a play as old as the doctor's house, and its name is "The Stranger".I couldn't help crying when I saw it, and when I looked in the mirror, I was crying so badly that I almost couldn't recognize myself.On this day, when we had finished all the formalities, Mr. Spenlow said that he wanted to take this opportunity to invite me to his home in Noud to congratulate him on his mentorship with me.But since his daughter was coming back from school in Paris and things were not ready at home, I could not be invited to his house that day.But he told me that when his daughter came back, he would have the honor of having me as a guest.I only know that he is single and widowed with only one daughter.I thank him for his kindness.

Mr. Spenlow really kept his word.Half a month later, he brought up the topic of the treat again, and said, if I would do me a favor and come to his house next Saturday and stay until Monday, then he would be very happy.I said I was sure to come, and so it was, and he took me in his boxcar to Noud, and back again.

The day finally arrived, when my blanket bag was the envy of the salaried clerks.As for Noud, for them, it has become a mysterious and desirable holy place.A reporter said that he had heard that Mr. Spenlow used gold and silver utensils and exquisite ceramics for his meals; others said that the champagne in his house was free to drink, and it was put in a barrel like ordinary beer.The old clerk (Mr. Tiffy) with the wig, in his clerk job, had been there on business, and had been in the small breakfast room every time.According to him, the dining room was magnificent, and he drank East India yellow sherry there, such a precious wine, it made people blink.

In the Bishop's Court that day we had an adjourned case concerning a baker excommunicated in the Parish Council for objecting to road donations, because, in my estimation, the length of the evidence was twice as long as the "Binson Crusoe".By the time the case was closed, it was too late.However, we sentenced him to six weeks of teaching and numerous court costs.Then the baker's attorney, the judge, the plaintiff, and the defense attorneys on both sides went out of town together, and Mr. Spenlow and I got into the carriage together.

That carriage is beautiful.The horse held its neck high and raised its hooves, as if they all knew they belonged to the Doctor's College.In the doctoral school, there are many times when respectability is involved, and everyone is not invincible, so at that time, there were quite a few carefully selected chariots and coachmen.However, I have always thought, and always will always think, that at my time, the most competitive thing that everyone pays attention to is the hardness of the pulp.The clothes worn by the civil jurists, I think, have become so hard that human nature cannot bear them.

We drove all the way out of town, very comfortably, and Mr. Spenlow gave me a brief account of what I was doing.He said that there is no more noble work in this world than this kind of work, and you must not mix it with the work of attorneys, because this kind of work is a completely different thing; In comparison, it is a very cold and unpopular place, and it will never let outsiders easily squeeze in. It is not as mechanical and rigid as others, but it is more profitable than others.He said that we handle cases more casually in the doctoral school than in any other institution, so we have become a special group, self-contained and unique.The unhappy fact that we are primarily employed by attorneys is self-evident, he said.However, he also told me that counselors are the lowest level among human beings, and as long as there are decent civil jurists, they will all look down on them.

I asked Mr. Spenlow what kind of business he thought would be most promising in our line of business.He said that a moderate inheritance, worth exactly thirty thousand to forty thousand pounds, and then a dispute over the will went to court, which can be said to be the most promising.At that time, he said, not only during the court sessions at each stage of the process, but also during the thousands of oral and written testimonials in the interrogation and counter-examination (not to mention the appeal, which was submitted to the representative Court, and then submitted to the House of Lords), can have a lot of stable extra income.And, in the end, because litigation costs are generally deductible from the estate itself, both plaintiff and defendant are gearing up to heat up the lawsuit, and costs are not counted.So he said a bunch of things about praising the Doctoral School.He said that in the doctoral school, the most gratifying thing is its thoroughness.There is no other place in the world where you can manage as comfortably as it does.It is the best embodiment of quiet and gentle.It can be said in one sentence.Say, for example, that you are suing a divorce case or a compensation case in the bishop's court.

You take this case, among your own people who kiss like a family, secretly perform a set of tricks, and finish this set of tricks calmly.If you are not satisfied with the Episcopal Court, you can take the case to the Arch Court.It was the same court as the Episcopal Court, in the same room, in the same dock, and the same lawyer, but another judge.Because there, the judges of the Episcopal Tribunal were able to appear in court on the opening day to plead.Well, you played the same trick there, and you still don't like it, take the case to the representative court.And the representatives of the church were idle advocates who watched the shuffling, splitting, and fighting of the cards in the first two courts when the same game was played, and talked with the players about these two things. A game of cards.And now they're reopening the case as judges to everyone's satisfaction! The disaffected can say all they want about how corrupt the doctor's house is, how tight the doctor's house is, and how the doctor's house needs improvement.Mr. Spenlow concluded this paragraph seriously: "But when every hu of wheat is the most expensive, it is also the time when the doctoral school is the busiest, and you can solemnly announce to the world that you can try the doctoral school. If you touch it, the country will collapse!"

I listened to Mr. Spenlow's words, and made me doubt whether Mr. Spenlow had a right idea of ​​the country, but I followed his advice.As for the price of wheat per dendrobium, I feel powerless to contend, so the problem is completely solved.All my life, it has come up again and again on various issues, and it has beaten me to the ground.Exactly, on various occasions, I don't know what kind of relationship it has with me, or what power it has over me, but any time I see it push in (I think it always does), I You have to admit defeat on this issue.

This is a digression, I'm not the one to bring down the country by touching doctoral schools.I express tamely by my silence that I submit to all the opinions of this man who surpasses me in age and knowledge.We talked about The Stranger, too, and the play, and about Two Horses, till we came to Mr. Spenlow's gate.

(End of this chapter)