按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
One Sunday I asked Biddy to come for a walk on the marshes．
‘Biddy，’I said seriously，‘promise to keep this a secret．I'm going to tell you something．I want to be a gentleman。'
‘Don't you think you're happier as you are？’she replied．
I had often wondered this myself，but I didn't want to hear it from her。 ‘It's a pity，I know，’I said．‘It would have been much better if I could have been happy working at the forge．Perhaps you and I would have spent more time together．I would have been good enough for you，wouldn't I，Biddy？’
‘Oh yes，’she said sadly．‘But I don't ask for very much．'
‘The point is，'I continued crossly，‘if nobody had told me I was coarse and common，I wouldn't have thought abut it！’
Biddy looked at me，interested．‘That wasn't a true or polite thing to say。 Who said it？’
‘It was the beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's，and I admire her greatly，and I want to be a gentleman for her！'The words rushed out before I could stop them．
Biddy said gently，‘She may not be worth the trouble，Pip。’
‘That may be true，but I can't stop myself admiring her。'
Biddy was the most sensible of girls，and did not try to persuade me any more．As we walked home，I felt rested and comforted．
‘Pip，what a fool you are！'I said to myself．I realized how much happier I would always be with Biddy than with Estella．
‘Biddy，I wish I could make myself fall in love with you！’I said suddenly．‘You don't mind my speaking so openly，as you're such an old friend？’
‘No，of course not．But you never will fall in love with me，you see，'she answered，a little sadly 。
I wondered if I should continue working with Joe in a plain，honest way of life，and perhaps marry Biddy。 Or dare I hope that Miss Havisham would make my fortune and marry me to Estella？
6 Great expectations
One Saturday evening，when I had been apprenticed to Joe for four years，he and I were sitting in the pub，with some of the villagers； listening to Mr Wopsle．He was giving a dramatic reading of a newspaper report of a murder trial； and we all enjoyed watching him act the main characters。 His witnesses were old and feeble，his lawyers were clever and sharp…eyed，and his accused was a violent，wicked murderer。
Suddenly we became aware of a strange gentleman who had also been listening，and was now looking coldly at us。
‘Well！’he said to us，biting the side of his finger。‘So you've decided the accused was the murderer，have you？'
‘Sir，'answered Mr Wopsle firmly，‘yes，I do think he is guilty。’We all nodded our heads in agreement。
‘But，’said the stranger，‘do you or do you not know that the law of England supposes every man to be innocent until he is proved…proved…to be guilty？’
‘Sir，’began Mr Wopsle，‘as an Englishman myself，I…’
‘Come！’said the stranger，‘don't avoid the question．Either you know it，or you don't know it．Which is it？’
‘Of course I know it，’answered poor Mr Wopsle。
‘Then why didn't you say so at first？Another question。 Do you know that this trial isn't finished yet？’
Mr Wopsle hesitated，and we all began to have a rather bad opinion of him 。
‘And you were going to say that the accused was guilty，before the end of the trial，before he has been proved guilty！’We realized that the unfortunate Wopsle had no understanding of the law，or indeed anything at all。
Now the stranger stood in front of our little group。
‘I'm looking for the blacksmith，Joe Gargery，’he said，‘and his apprentice，Pip．’He did not recognize me but I knew he was the gentleman I had met on the stairs when visiting Miss Havisham。 There was even the same smell of per－fumed soap on his large hands。‘I want to speak to you two in private，’he said，and so Joe and I left the pub and walked home with him．
‘My name is Jaggers，and I'm a lawyer，’he said，when he reached the forge．‘Joe Gargery，I am sent by someone who suggests cancelling this boy's apprenticeship to you．Would you want any money，if you lost your apprentice？'
‘I'd never stand in Pip's way，never，'said Joe，staring。‘The answer is no。’
‘Don't try to change that answer later，’said Mr Jaggers 。‘Now，what I have to say，and remember，I'm only an agent，I don't speak for myself，is that this young man has great expectations。’
Joe and I gasped，and looked at each other。
‘I have been told to say that he will be very rich when he is older。In addition，the person who sent me wants the young man to be removed from his home and educated as a gentleman who expects to inherit a fortune。'
My dream had come true。 Miss Havisham was making me rich！
‘Now，Mr Pip，’continued the lawyer，‘there are two conditions．The first is that you always use the name of Pip．The second is that the name of the person who has heen so generous to you must remain a secret，until that person chooses to tell you．You are forbidden to ask any questions or try to discover who the person is．Do you accept these conditions？
My heart was beating fast as I whispered，‘Yes '。
‘Now，to details．I have been given enough money for you to live the life of a gentleman in London while you are studying 。You will come to me to ask for whatever you need 。I suggest Mr Matthew Pocket as a teacher．’I remembered that was the name of one of Miss Havisham 's relations，the one who did not visit her often．‘ You must buy some new clothes．Shall I leave you twenty pounds？’He counted twenty coins out of his large purse onto the table．‘And when can you come to London？Next Saturday？’
I agreed，feeling very confused．He looked at Joe，who seemed even more confused。
‘Well，Joe Gargery？Perhaps，I only say perhaps，I promise nothing，’he said，throwing his purse carelessly from one hand to another，‘perhaps I have been told to give you a present when you lose your apprentice．'
Joe put his great strong hand on my shoulder in the gentlest possible way 。 ‘Pip can go freely to fortune and happiness，he knows that．But if you think that money can ever pay me back for losing the 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