There,there——goodmorning——goodmorning——nowpray,mydearsirs,——Mr。
Lowten,thedoor!criedthelittleman,pushingDodsonandFogg,nothingloath,outoftheoffice。thisway,mydearsirs,——nowpraydon’tprolongthis——dearme——Mr。Lowten——thedoor,sir——whydon’tyouattend?
Ifthere’slawinEngland,sir,saidDodson,lookingtowardsMr。Pickwick,asheputonhishat,youshallsmartforthis。
Youareacoupleofmean——
Remember,sir,youpaydearlyforthis,saidFogg——
Rascally,pettifoggingrobbers!continuedMr。Pickwick,takingnottheleastnoticeofthethreatsthatwereaddressedtohim。
Robbers!criedMr。Pickwick,runningtothestair-head,asthetwoattorneysdescended。
Robbers!shoutedMr。Pickwick,breakingfromLowtenandPerker,andthrustinghisheadoutofthestaircasewindow。
WhenMr。Pickwickdrewinhisheadagain,hiscountenancewassmilingandplacid。and,walkingquietlybackintotheoffice,hedeclaredthathehadnowremovedagreatweightfromhismind,andthathefeltperfectlycomfortableandhappy。
Perkersaidnothingatalluntilhehademptiedhissnuffbox,andsentLowtenouttofillit,whenhewasseizedwithafitoflaughing,whichlastedfiveminutes。attheexpirationofwhichtimehesaidthathesupposedheoughttobeveryangry,buthecouldn’tthinkofthebusinessseriouslyyet——whenhecould,hewouldbe。
Well,now,saidMr。Pickwick,letmehaveasettlementwithyou。
Ofthesamekindasthelast?inquiredPerker,withanotherlaugh。
Notexactly,rejoinedMr。Pickwick,drawingouthispocket-book,andshakingthelittlemanheartilybythehand,Ionlymeanapecuniarysettlement。
YouhavedonememanyactsofkindnessthatIcanneverrepay,andhavenowishtorepay,forIprefercontinuingtheobligation。
Withthispreface,thetwofriendsdivedintosomeverycomplicatedaccountsandvouchers,which,havingbeendulydisplayedandgonethroughbyPerker,wereatoncedischargedbyMr。Pickwickwithmanyprofessionsofesteemandfriendship。
Theyhadnosoonerarrivedatthispoint,thanamostviolentandstartlingknockingwasheardatthedoor。itwasnotanordinarydoubleknock,butaconstantanduninterruptedsuccessionoftheloudestsingleraps,asiftheknockerwereendowedwiththeperpetualmotion,orthepersonoutsidehadforgottentoleaveoff。
Dearme,what’sthat!exclaimedPerker,starting。
Ithinkitisaknockatthedoor,saidMr。Pickwick,asiftherecouldbethesmallestdoubtofthefact!
Theknockermadeamoreenergeticreplythanwordscouldhaveyielded,foritcontinuedtohammerwithsurprisingforceandnoise,withoutamoment’scessation。
Dearme!saidPerker,ringinghisbell,weshallalarmtheInn。Mr。
Lowten,don’tyouhearaknock?
I’llanswerthedoorinonemoment,sir,repliedtheclerk。
Theknockerappearedtoheartheresponse,andtoassertthatitwasquiteimpossiblehecouldwaitsolong。Itmadeastupendousuproar。
It’squitedreadful,saidMr。Pickwick,stoppinghisears。
Makehaste,Mr。Lowten,Perkercalledout,weshallhavethepanelsbeatenin。
Mr。Lowten,whowaswashinghishandsinadarkcloset,hurriedtothedoor,andturningthehandle,beheldtheappearancewhichisdescribedinthenextchapter。
[NextChapter][TableofContents]ThePickwickPapers:Chapter54[PreviousChapter][TableofContents]CHAPTERLIVCONTAININGSOMEPARTICULARSRELATIVETOTHEDOUBLE
KNOCK,ANDOTHERMATTERS:AMONGWHICHCERTAININTERESTINGDISCLOSURESRELATIVE
TOMR。SNODGRASSANDAYOUNGLADYAREBYNOMEANSIRRELEVANTTOTHISHISTORY
THEobjectthatpresenteditselftotheeyesoftheastonishedclerk,wasaboy——awonderfullyfatboy——habitedasaservinglad,standinguprightonthemat,withhiseyesclosedasifinsleep。Hehadneverseensuchafatboy,inoroutofatravellingcaravan。
andthis,coupledwiththecalmnessandreposeofhisappearance,soverydifferentfromwhatwasreasonablytohavebeenexpectedoftheinflicterofsuchknocks,smotehimwithwonder。
What’sthematter?inquiredtheclerk。
Theextraordinaryboyrepliednotaword。buthenoddedonce,andseemed,totheclerk’simagination,tosnorefeebly。
Wheredoyoucomefrom?inquiredtheclerk。
Theboymadenosign。Hebreathedheavily,butinallotherrespectswasmotionless。
Theclerkrepeatedthequestionthrice,andreceivingnoanswer,preparedtoshutthedoor,whentheboysuddenlyopenedhiseyes,winkedseveraltimes,sneezedonce,andraisedhishandasiftorepeattheknocking。
Findingthedooropen,hestaredabouthimwithastonishment,andatlengthfixedhiseyesonMr。Lowten’sface。
Whatthedevildoyouknockinthatwayfor?inquiredtheclerk,angrily。
Whichway?saidtheboy,inaslowandsleepyvoice。
Why,likefortyhackney-coachmen,repliedtheclerk。
Becausemastersaid,Iwasn’ttoleaveoffknockingtilltheyopenedthedoor,forfearIshouldgotosleep,saidtheboy。
Well,saidtheclerk,whatmessagehaveyoubrought?
He’sdown-stairs,rejoinedtheboy。
Who?
Master。Hewantstoknowwhetheryou’reathome。
Mr。Lowtenbethoughthimself,atthisjuncture,oflookingoutofthewindow。Seeinganopencarriagewithaheartyoldgentlemaninit,lookingupveryanxiously,heventuredtobeckonhim。onwhich,theoldgentlemanjumpedoutdirectly。
That’syourmasterinthecarriage,Isuppose?saidLowten。
Theboynodded。
AllfurtherinquiriesweresupersededbytheappearanceofoldWardle,who,runningup-stairs,andjustrecognisingLowten,passedatonceintoMr。Perker’sroom。
Pickwick!saidtheoldgentleman。Yourhand,myboy!WhyhaveIneverhearduntilthedaybeforeyesterdayofyoursufferingyourselftobecoopedupinjail?Andwhydidyoulethimdoit,Perker?
Icouldn’thelpit,mydearsir,repliedPerker,withasmileandapinchofsnuff:youknowhowobstinateheis。
OfcourseIdo,ofcourseIdo,repliedtheoldgentleman。Iamheartilygladtoseehim,notwithstanding。Iwillnotlosesightofhimagain,inahurry。
Withthesewords,WardleshookMr。Pickwick’shandoncemore,and,havingdonethesamebyPerker,threwhimselfintoanarm-chair。hisjollyredfaceshiningagainwithsmilesandhealth。
Well!saidWardle。Hereareprettygoingson——apinchofyoursnuff,Perker,myboy——neverweresuchtimes,eh?
Whatdoyoumean?inquiredMr。Pickwick。
Mean!repliedWardle。Why,Ithinkthegirlsareallrunningmad。
that’snonews,you’llsay?Perhapsit’snot。butit’strue,forallthat。
YouhavenotcomeuptoLondon,ofallplacesintheworld,totellusthat,mydearsir,haveyou?inquiredPerker。
No,notaltogether,repliedWardle。thoughitwasthemaincauseofmycoming。How’sArabella?
Verywell,repliedMr。Pickwick,andwillbedelightedtoseeyou,Iamsure。
Black-eyedlittlejilt!repliedWardle,Ihadagreatideaofmarryinghermyself,oneoftheseodddays。ButIamgladofittoo,veryglad。
Howdidtheintelligencereachyou?askedMr。Pickwick。
Oh,itcametomygirls,ofcourse,repliedWardle。Arabellawrote,thedaybeforeyesterday,tosayshehadmadeastolenmatchwithoutherhusband’sfather’sconsent,andsoyouhadgonedowntogetitwhenhisrefusingitcouldn’tpreventthematch,andalltherestofit。Ithoughtitaverygoodtimetosaysomethingserioustomygirls。soIsaidwhatadreadfulthingitwasthatchildrenshouldmarrywithouttheirparent’sconsent,andsoforth。but,blessyourhearts,Icouldn’tmaketheleastimpressionuponthem。Theythoughtitsuchamuchmoredreadfulthingthatthereshouldhavebeenaweddingwithoutbridesmaids,thatImightaswellhavepreachedtoJoehimself。
Heretheoldgentlemanstoppedtolaugh。andhavingdonesotohisheart’scontent,presentlyresumed。
Butthisisnotthebestofit,itseems。Thisisonlyhalfthelove-makingandplottingthathavebeengoingforward。Wehavebeenwalkingonminesforthelastsixmonths,andthey’resprungatlast。
Whatdoyoumean!exclaimedMr。Pickwick,turningpale。noothersecretmarriage,Ihope?
No,no,repliedoldWardle。notsobadasthat。no。
Whatthen?inquiredMr。Pickwick。amIinterestedinit?
ShallIanswerthatquestion,Perker?saidWardle。
Ifyoudon’tcommityourselfbydoingso,mydearsir。
Wellthen,youare,saidWardle。
How?askedMr。Pickwickanxiously。Inwhatway?
Really,repliedWardle,you’resuchafierysortofyoungfellowthatIamalmostafraidtotellyou。but,however,ifPerkerwillsitbetweenustopreventmischief,I’llventure。
Havingclosedtheroomdoor,andfortifiedhimselfwithanotherapplicationtoPerker’ssnuff-box,theoldgentlemanproceededwithhisgreatdisclosureinthesewords。
Thefactis,thatmydaughterBella——Bella,whomarriedyoungTrundle,youknow。
Yes,yes,weknow,saidMr。Pickwickimpatiently。
Don’talarmmeattheverybeginning。MydaughterBella,EmilyhavinggonetobedwithaheadacheaftershehadreadArabella’slettertome,satherselfdownbymysidetheotherevening,andbegantotalkoverthismarriageaffair。`Well,pa,’shesays,`whatdoyouthinkofit?’`Why,mydear,’Isaid,`Isupposeit’sallverywell。Ihopeit’sforthebest。’
IansweredinthiswaybecauseIwassittingbeforethefireatthetime,drinkingmygrogratherthoughtfully,andIknewmythrowinginanundecidedwordnowandthen,wouldinducehertocontinuetalking。Bothmygirlsarepicturesoftheirdearmother,andasIgrowoldIliketositwithonlythembyme。fortheirvoicesandlookscarrymebacktothehappiestperiodofmylife,andmakeme,forthemoment,asyoungasIusedtobethen,thoughnotquitesolight-hearted。`It’squiteamarriageofaffection,pa,’saidBella,afterashortsilence。`Yes,mydear,saidI,`butsuchmarriagesdonotalwaysturnoutthehappiest。’
Iquestionthat,mind!interposedMr。Pickwick,warmly。
Verygood,respondedWardle,questionanythingyoulikewhenit’syourturntospeak,butdon’tinterruptme。
Ibegyourpardon,saidMr。Pickwick。
Granted,repliedWardle。`Iamsorrytohearyouexpressyouropinionagainstmarriagesofaffection,pa,’saidBella,colouringalittle。`I
waswrong。Ioughtnottohavesaidso,mydear,either,’saidI,pattinghercheekaskindlyasarougholdfellowlikemecouldpatit,`foryourmother’swasone,andsowasyours。’`It’snotthat,Imeant,pa,’saidBella。`Thefactis,pa,IwantedtospeaktoyouaboutEmily。’
Mr。Pickwickstarted。
What’sthematternow?inquiredWardle,stoppinginhisnarrative。
Nothing,repliedMr。Pickwick。Praygoon。
Inevercouldspinoutastory,saidWardleabruptly。Itmustcomeout,soonerorlater,andit’llsaveusallagreatdealoftimeifitcomesatonce。Thelongandtheshortofitis,then,thatBellaatlastmusteredupcouragetotellmethatEmilywasveryunhappy。thatsheandyouryoungfriendSnodgrasshadbeeninconstantcorrespondenceandcommunicationeversincelastChristmas。thatshehadverydutifullymadeuphermindtorunawaywithhim,inlaudableimitationofheroldfriendandschoolfellow。
butthathavingsomecompunctionsofconscienceonthesubject,inasmuchasIhadalwaysbeenratherkindlydisposedtobothofthem,theyhadthoughtitbetterinthefirstinstancetopaymethecomplimentofaskingwhetherIwouldhaveanyobjectiontotheirbeingmarriedintheusualmatter-of-factmanner。Therenow,Mr。Pickwick,ifyoucanmakeitconvenienttoreduceyoureyestotheirusualsizeagain,andtoletmehearwhatyouthinkweoughttodo,Ishallfeelratherobligedtoyou!
Thetestymannerinwhichtheheartyoldgentlemanutteredthislastsentencewasnotwhollyunwarranted。forMr。Pickwick’sfacehadsettleddownintoanexpressionofblankamazementandperplexity,quitecurioustobehold。
Snodgrass!SincelastChristmas!werethefirstbrokenwordsthatissuedfromthelipsoftheconfoundedgentleman。
SincelastChristmas,repliedWardle。that’splainenough,andverybadspectacleswemusthaveworn,nottohavediscovereditbefore。
Idon’tunderstandit,saidMr。Pickwick,ruminating。Ireallycannotunderstandit。
It’seasyenoughtounderstand,repliedthecholericoldgentleman。
Ifyouhadbeenayoungerman,youwouldhavebeeninthesecretlongago。andbesides,addedWardleafteramoment’shesitation,thetruthis,that,knowingnothingofthismatter,IhaveratherpressedEmilyforfourorfivemonthspast,toreceivefavourablyifshecould。Iwouldneverattempttoforceagirl’sinclinationstheaddressesofayounggentlemandowninourneighbourhood。Ihavenodoubtthat,girl-like,toenhanceherownvalueandincreasetheardourofMr。Snodgrass,shehasrepresentedthismatterinveryglowingcolours,andthattheyhavebotharrivedattheconclusionthattheyareaterriblypersecutedpairofunfortunates,andhavenoresourcebutclandestinematrimonyorcharcoal。Nowthequestionis,what’stobedone?
Whathaveyoudone?inquiredMr。Pickwick。
I!
Imeanwhatdidyoudowhenyourmarrieddaughtertoldyouthis?
Oh,Imadeafoolofmyself,ofcourse,rejoinedWardle。
Justso,interposedPerker,whohadaccompaniedthisdialoguewithsundrytwitchingsofhiswatch-chain,vindictiverubbingsofhisnose,andothersymptomsofimpatience。That’sverynatural。buthow?
Iwentintoagreatpassionandfrightenedmymotherintoafit,saidWardle。
Thatwasjudicious,remarkedPerker。andwhatelse?
Ifrettedandfumedallnextday,andraisedagreatdisturbance,
rejoinedtheoldgentleman。AtlastIgottiredofrenderingmyselfunpleasantandmakingeverybodymiserable。soIhiredacarriageatMuggleton,and,puttingmyownhorsesinit,cameuptotown,underpretenceofbringingEmilytoseeArabella。
MissWardleiswithyou,then?saidMr。Pickwick。
Tobesuresheis,repliedWardle。SheisatOsborne’shotelintheAdelphiatthismoment,unlessyourenterprisingfriendhasrunawaywithhersinceIcameoutthismorning。
Youarereconciled,then?saidPerker。
Notabitofit,answeredWardle。shehasbeencryingandmopingeversince,exceptlastnight,betweenteaandsupper,whenshemadeagreatparadeofwritingaletterthatIpretendedtotakenonoticeof。
Youwantmyadviceinthismatter,Isuppose?saidPerker,lookingfromthemusingfaceofMr。PickwicktotheeagercountenanceofWardle,andtakingseveralconsecutivepinchesofhisfavouritestimulant。
Isupposeso,saidWardle,lookingatMr。Pickwick。
Certainly,repliedthatgentleman。
Wellthen,saidPerker,risingandpushinghischairback,myadviceisthatyoubothwalkawaytogether,orrideaway,orgetawaybysomemeansorother,forI’mtiredofyou,andjusttalkthismatteroverbetweenyou。IfyouhavenotsettleditbythenexttimeIseeyou,I’lltellyouwhattodo。
Thisissatisfactory,saidWardle,hardlyknowingwhethertosmileorbeoffended。
Pooh,pooh,mydearsir,returnedPerker。Iknowyoubothagreatdealbetterthanyouknowyourselves。Youhavesettleditalready,toallintentsandpurposes。
Thusexpressinghimself,thelittlegentlemanpokedhissnuff-box,firstintothechestofMr。Pickwick,andthenintothewaistcoatofMr。Wardle,uponwhichtheyallthreelaughed,butespeciallythetwolast-namedgentlemen,whoatonceshookhandsagain,withoutanyobviousorparticularreason。
Youdinewithmeto-day,saidWardletoPerker,asheshowedthemout。
Can’tpromise,mydearsir,can’tpromise,repliedPerker。I’lllookin,intheevening,atallevents。
Ishallexpectyouatfive,saidWardle。Now,Joe!AndJoehavingbeenatlengthawakened,thetwofriendsdepartedinMr。Wardle’scarriage,whichincommonhumanityhadadickeybehindforthefatboy,who,iftherehadbeenafoot-boardinstead,wouldhaverolledoffandkilledhimselfinhisveryfirstnap。
DrivingtotheGeorgeandVulture,theyfoundthatArabellaandhermaidhad...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看:
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