作者：(英)查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens),(英)韦斯特(Clare West)
出版社：外语教学与研究出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
大卫·科波菲尔 David Copperfield试读：
简介
查尔斯·狄更斯曾经说过：“在我所有的作品中，我最喜欢这一部。正如许多父母一样，我内心里有一个宠儿，他的名字就叫大卫·科波菲尔。”
狄更斯自己的童年艰难困苦，少年大卫的生活也同样不容易。父亲在他未出生前就去世了，8岁时母亲改嫁，继父摩德斯通先生严酷残暴，他的姐姐摩德斯通小姐也一样铁石心肠，不近人情。大卫成长过程中遭遇过许多不友善的人——残忍的校长、狡诈的朋友，还有心怀歹意的尤赖亚·希普。然而，在大卫的生活中也不乏善良之人：有可爱的保姆辟果提，少言寡语、不善言辞的巴克斯先生，有貌似严肃但却菩萨心肠的姨婆，有生活不如意的米考伯夫妇。他们时而兴高采烈，时而忧虑不安，却始终期待着“转机”的到来。有恬静温柔的阿格尼斯，一位聪慧的知心朋友；还有朵拉，一位最最可爱的女孩，金发碧眼，甜美漂亮，天真无邪……
查尔斯·狄更斯（1812—1870）是英国最伟大的小说家之一。他出身于贫苦家庭（父亲曾因负债被捕入狱），经过不懈努力，获得了财富和荣誉。1David Copperfield's childhood was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, in the east of England, and was given my poor father's name, David Copperfield. Sadly, he Inever saw me. He was much older than my mother when they married, and died six months before I was born. My father's death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy, and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband.
The richest and most important person in our family was my father's aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood. She had in fact been married once, to a handsome young husband. But because he demanded money from her, and sometimes beat her, she decided they should separate. He went abroad, and soon news came of his death. Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea, and lived there alone, with only one servant.
She had not spoken to my father since his marriage, because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl. But just before I was born, when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby, she came to visit Blunderstone.
It was a cold, windy Friday afternoon in March. My mother was sitting by the fire, feeling very lonely and unhappy, and crying a little. Suddenly a stern, strange-looking face appeared at the window.
'Open the door!' ordered the stern-faced lady.
My mother was shocked, but obeyed at once.
'You must be David Copperfield's wife,' said the lady as she entered. 'I'm Betsey Trotwood. You've heard of me?'
'Yes,' whispered my mother, trembling.
'How young you are!' cried Miss Betsey. 'Just a baby!'
My mother started sobbing again. 'I know I look like a child! I know I was young to be a wife, and I'm young to be a mother! But perhaps I'll die before I become a mother!'
'Come, come!' answered Miss Betsey. 'Have some tea. Then you'll feel better. What do you call your girl?'
'My girl? I don't know yet that it will be a girl,' replied my mother miserably.
'No, I don't mean the baby, I mean your servant!'
'Her name's Peggotty. Her first name's Clara, the same as mine, so I call her by her family name, you see.'
'What a terrible name! However, never mind. Peggotty!' she called, going to the door. 'Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once!' She sat down again and continued speaking. 'You were talking about the baby. I'm sure it'll be a girl. Now, as soon as she's born...'
'He, perhaps,' said my mother bravely.
'Don't be stupid, of course it'll be a she. I'm going to send her to school, and educate her well. I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I've made in life.' Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this. My mother said nothing, as she was not feeling at all well. 'But tell me, were you and your husband happy?' asked Miss Betsey.
This made my poor mother feel worse than ever. 'I know I wasn't very sensible—about money—or cooking—or things like that!' she sobbed. 'But we loved each other—and he was helping me to learn—and then he died! Oh! Oh!' And she fell back in her chair, completely unconscious.
Peggotty, who came in just then with the tea, realized how serious the situation was, and took my mother upstairs to bed. The doctor arrived soon afterwards, and stayed all evening to take care of his patient.
At about midnight he came downstairs to the sitting-room where Miss Betsey was waiting impatiently.
'Well, doctor, what's the news? How is she?'
'The young mother is quite comfortable, madam,' replied the doctor politely.
'But she, the baby, how is she?' cried Miss Betsey.
The doctor looked strangely at Miss Betsey. 'It's a boy, madam,' he replied.
Miss Betsey said nothing, but walked straight out of the house, and never came back.
That was how I was born. My early childhood was extremely happy, as my beautiful mother and kind Peggotty took care of me. But when I was about eight, a shadow passed over my happiness. My mother often went out walking, in her best clothes, with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone. He had black hair, a big black moustache and an unpleasant smile, and seemed to be very fond of my mother. But I knew that Peggotty did not like him.
A few months later Peggotty told me that my mother was going to have a short holiday with some friends. Meanwhile Peggotty and I would go to stay with her brother Daniel in Yarmouth, on the east coast, for two weeks. I was very excited when we climbed into the cart, although it was sad saying goodbye to my mother. Mr Murdstone was at her shoulder, waving goodbye, as the driver called to his horse, and we drove out of the village.
When we got down from the cart in Yarmouth, after our journey, Peggotty said, 'That's the house, Master David!'
I looked all round, but could only see an old ship on the sand. 'Is that—that your brother's house?' I asked in delight. And when we reached it, I saw it had doors and windows and a chimney, just like a real house. I could not imagine a nicer place to live. Everything was clean and tidy, and smelt of fish. Now I was introduced to the Peggotty family. There was Daniel Peggotty, a kind old sailor. Although he was not married, he had adopted two orphans, who lived with him and called him Uncle. Ham Peggotty was a large young man with a gentle smile, and Emily was a beautiful, blue-eyed little girl. They all welcomed Peggotty and me warmly.
I spent a wonderfully happy two weeks there, playing all day on the beach with Emily, and sleeping in my own little bed on the ship. I am sure I was in love with little Emily in my childish way, and I cried bitterly when we had to say goodbye at the end of the holiday.
But on the way home to Blunderstone, Peggotty looked at me very worriedly. 'Master David, my dear,' she said suddenly in a trembling voice. 'I must tell you—you'll have to know now... While we've been away, your dear mother—has married Mr Murdstone! He's your stepfather now!'
I was deeply shocked. I could not understand how my mother could have married that man. And when we arrived home, I could not help showing my mother how very miserable I was. I went straight to my room and lay sobbing on my bed, which made my poor mother very unhappy too. As she sat beside me, holding my hand, Mr Murdstone suddenly came in.
'What's this, Clara, my love?' he asked sternly. 'Remember, you must be firm with the boy! I've told you before, you're too weak with him!'
'Oh yes, Edward, I'm afraid you're right,' my mother replied quickly. 'I'm very sorry. I'll try to be firmer with him.'
And when she left the room, Mr Murdstone whispered angrily to me, 'David, do you know what I'll do if you don't obey me? I'll beat you like a dog!'
I was still very young, and I was very frightened of him. If he had said one kind word to me, perhaps I would have liked and trusted him, and my life would have been different. Instead, I hated him for the influence he had over my dear mother, who wanted to be kind to me, but also wanted to please her new husband.
That evening Mr Murdstone's sister arrived to 'help' my mother in the house. A tall dark lady, with a stern, frowning face, she looked and sounded very much like her brother. I thought she was planning to stay with us for a long time, and I was right. In fact, she intended to stay for ever. She started work the next morning.
'Now, Clara,' she said firmly to my mother at breakfast, 'I am here to help you. You're much too pretty and thoughtless to worry about the servants, the food and so on. So just hand me your keys to all the cupboards, and I'll take care of everything for you.'
My poor mother just blushed, looked a little ashamed, and obeyed. From then on, Miss Murdstone took complete control of the house, keeping the keys hanging from her waist as she hurried through the house, checking that everything was being done just as she wished.
extremely adv. highly 非常，极为。 The weather is extremely cold. 天气非常冷。
handsome a. good-looking 好看的，漂亮的。
demand v. ask for 要，要求。
go abroad go to a foreign country 出国。
lonely a. alone 独自一个，孤独的。
shocked a. disturbed 震惊，惊吓。
reply v. answer 回答。
terrible a. bad, dreadful 不好的，可怕的。
at once right now 马上，立即。
prevent v. stop 阻止，制止。
sensible a. aware 知道的，觉察的。
completely adv. fully 完全地。
arrive v. reach 到达。
take care of be responsible for 照顾，负责。
be fond of like, love 喜欢，爱。
wave goodbye depart 告别，挥手告别。
adopt v. take (sb.) into one's family as a relation 收养。
orphan n. a parentless child 孤儿。
childish a. like a child 儿童的，幼稚的。
miserable a. wretched, very unhappy 可怜的，不幸的。
firm a. hard, strict 严厉，严格。
reply v. answer 回答。
trust v. believe 相信。
ashamed a. feeling shame 感到羞耻，惭愧。
check v. examine 检查。1大卫·科波菲尔的童年
我出生在英国东部萨福克郡的布兰德斯通，并沿用了我不幸的父亲之名——大卫·科波菲尔。可悲的是，他从未见过我的面。他同我母亲结婚时比我母亲大许多，在我出生前6个月就谢世了。他的死使我年轻美貌的母亲感到极为痛苦，因为她知道没有丈夫独自带婴儿的日子将会异常艰难。
在我们家族中最富有、最重要的人物要数我父亲的姨妈——贝茜·特拉伍德小姐。其实她结过一次婚，嫁的是一个英俊的青年。但是，由于这位丈夫总找她要钱，有时还动手打她，她便决定与他分手。他出了国，不久就有消息说他已去世了。特拉伍德小姐在海边买了一所小房子，独自生活在那里，身边只随了一位用人。
自从我父亲结婚后她就不理睬我父亲了，因为她认为我父亲娶这么年轻的小姐做妻子是个错误。然而，在我出生前，当她听说我母亲临产时，就来到布兰德斯通拜访我们。
那是在三月份的一个寒冷、多风的星期五下午，我母亲正独自坐在火炉旁，因感到孤单和不幸而轻声抽泣着。突然一张严肃、陌生的脸出现在窗外。“开门！”这位满脸严肃的女人命令道。
我母亲吓了一跳，但还是很快开了门。“你就是大卫·科波菲尔的妻子吧，”她边进门边说，“我叫贝茜·特拉伍德，你听说过吧？”“听说过。”母亲轻声答道，声音发颤。“你真年轻呀，”贝茜小姐叫道，“简直还是个孩子！”
母亲又开始抽泣，“我知道我看着像个孩子！我知道我年纪还小，不该为人妻，不该为人母！但也许我会在成为一个母亲之前死去！”“行了，行了！”贝茜小姐回答说，“喝口茶吧，这样你会好受些。你叫你的女孩什么？”“我的女孩？我还不知道是不是女孩。”我母亲疑惑地答道。“不，我不是指小孩，我是说你的女用人！”“她叫辟果提。她的教名是克拉拉，因为和我同名，所以我就以她的姓称呼她，就这样！”“多难听的名字！不过没关系，辟果提！”她走到门边叫道，“马上给科波菲尔太太上点茶水！”她又坐下来，继续说道：“你刚才说到孩子，我肯定她会是个女孩。那么，只要她一出生，……”“他，或许是。”母亲勇敢地更正道。“别犯傻，当然应该是她，我会送她上学，让她接受良好的教育。我要让我生活中所犯的错误避免在她身上重演。”贝茜小姐说此话时显得很愤怒。母亲没吭声，因为她感觉不太舒服。“好吧，告诉我，你和你丈夫过得幸福吗？”贝茜小姐问道。
这个问题让我母亲更感难受。“我知道我很不开窍——在钱方面，做饭方面，等等！”她抽泣着说，“但我们彼此相爱——他帮助我慢慢学——可他死了，唉！唉！”她倒在椅子上，失去了知觉。
辟果提正巧端着茶进来，意识到情况的严重性，把我母亲扶到楼上。医生随即叫到，并彻夜守护着病人。
大约午夜时分，医生下楼来到客厅，贝茜小姐已经等得很不耐烦了。“大夫，有什么消息吗？她怎么样了？”“年轻的母亲情况很好，小姐。”大夫很礼貌地回答。“她，孩子，她怎么样？”贝茜小姐追问。
大夫很纳闷地看着贝茜小姐，“是个男孩，小姐。”他回答道。
贝茜小姐二话没说，径直走出屋子，从此不再登门。
就这样我来到了世上。孩提时的我非常幸福，因为有我美丽的母亲和善良的辟果提照顾我。然而，在我8岁左右，我的幸福生活开始蒙上了阴影。我母亲经常穿着最好的衣服，和一位叫摩德斯通的先生出去散步。那人有一头黑发，留一大撇黑胡子，笑容阴沉，似乎很喜欢我母亲。但我知道辟果提不喜欢他。
几个月后，辟果提告诉我，母亲要和几位朋友出去度短假。辟果提可以趁此机会带我去东海岸的雅茅斯镇和她兄弟丹尼尔生活两个星期。登上马车时我兴奋不已，虽然与母亲分手有些伤感。摩德斯通先生和我母亲并肩站着，向我们挥手道别。这时，马车夫吆喝一声，把我们拉出村去。
当我们结束旅程，在雅茅斯下车时，辟果提说：“到家了，大卫少爷。”
我环顾四周，只看见沙滩上的一艘旧船，便高兴地问道：“那个——那个就是你兄弟的家？”我们走到近处一看，船上有门，有窗，有烟囱，俨然是一所名符其实的住房。我再也想象不出比这更好的住处了。屋内一切陈设干净、整齐，散发着鱼腥味。这时，我被介绍给辟果提一家。家里有丹尼尔·辟果提，一位善良的老水手，他没有结婚，但收养了两个孤儿。孩子们和他生活在一起，管他叫叔叔。哈姆·辟果提是一位壮小伙子，脸上总是现出亲切的笑容，埃米莉是一位美丽的小姑娘，长着一对蓝眼睛。他们都热情地欢迎我和辟果提的到来。
在这儿的两个星期我过得相当愉快，整天和埃米莉在海滩上玩，夜里就睡在船屋里我的小床上。我相信当时我的确以孩童的方式爱上了小埃米莉。当假日结束我俩不得不道别时我哭得很伤心。
在我们回布兰德斯通的路上，辟果提很忧郁地看着我。“大卫少爷，亲爱的，”她突然说道，声音颤抖，“我必须告诉你——你现在该知道了……在我们离家的这段时间，你亲爱的母亲嫁给了摩德斯通先生！他如今已是你的继父了！”
我非常震惊，不明白母亲怎么会嫁给那个人。我们回到家后，我控制不住自己，让母亲看出了我有多痛苦。我径直走进我的卧室，倒在床上哭泣，弄得我可怜的母亲也伤心起来。正当她坐在我床边，拉着我的手时，摩德斯通先生突然走了进来。“怎么了，克拉拉，我亲爱的？”他严肃地说道，“记住，对孩子应该严厉点！我已经跟你说过，你太娇惯他了！”“哦，是的，爱德华，恐怕你是对的，”母亲赶紧答道，“我很抱歉，我会尽量对他严厉些。”
她离开房间后，摩德斯通先生压低声音，愤愤地说道，“大卫，你知道你要是不听话我会怎么对待你吗？我会像揍一条狗一样揍你！”
我当时还小，很怕他。当时他要是跟我说上一句和蔼的话，或许我会喜欢他，信任他，我后来的生活也就会完全不同。然而，我恨他给我亲爱的母亲施加压力，她总想好好待我，可还得讨好她的新丈夫。
当天晚上，摩德斯通先生的姐姐来到家中“帮助”我母亲料理家务。她又高又黑，眉头紧锁，板着面孔，神态和说话声音和她兄弟别无两样。我想她可能要长期和我们待在一起了，果不出所料，她准备永远住下去。第二天一早她就开始行动起来了。“现在，克拉拉，”早餐时她严肃地告诉我母亲，“我到这儿是来帮助你的。你在安排用人、食品等方面显得太幼稚，太没主意。所以你把所有橱子、柜子的钥匙交给我，我来为你照料一切。”
可怜的母亲只是一阵阵脸红，显得很羞愧，最终还是同意了。从那以后，摩德斯通小姐完全掌管了家事，她把钥匙挂在手腕上，来回地穿梭在屋里屋外，检查着每一件事是否照她的意思办了。2David is sent away to school was very unhappy during this time. Mr Murdstone insisted on my studying, and so my mother gave me lessons. In the past she and I Ihad enjoyed our studies together, and she had taught me a lot in her gentle way. But now both Mr and Miss Murdstone were present during my lessons, and somehow I could not concentrate or remember what I had learnt. My poor mother was very sympathetic, and tried to encourage me, sometimes even whispering the answer to me. But the Murdstones had sharp ears.
'Clara, my love!' Mr Murdstone used to say crossly. 'Remember! Be firm! You're making the boy's character worse by helping him like that!'
'Oh, Edward, I'm sorry,' my mother replied, looking embarrassed and hanging her head like a guilty child.
One morning when I arrived in the sitting-room as usual for my lesson, I saw that Mr Murdstone had a thin stick in his hand. I could not take my eyes off it.
'You must be very careful today, David,' he said with his unpleasant smile, holding the stick in both hands.
I knew what would happen then. A terrible fear took hold of me, and all that I had learnt disappeared immediately from my memory, so that I could not answer any of my mother's questions. Mr Murdstone got up from his chair.
'Well David,' he said heavily, 'I think you've worried your mother enough today. We'll go upstairs, boy. Come,' and he picked up the stick. I heard my mother crying as we went upstairs.
'Please, Mr Murdstone!' I cried. 'Don't beat me! I've tried to learn, really I have, sir!'
But he did not listen to me. In my bedroom, he held my arms and started hitting me with the stick. I managed to get hold of his hand, and bit deep into it. He cried out angrily, and began to hit me as hard as he could. Above the noise of my screams, I could hear my mother and Peggotty crying outside the door. Then the next moment, he was gone. I heard him lock the door. And I was lying, sore and bleeding, on the floor. The whole house seemed suddenly very quiet.
I stayed there for a time, without moving. In the evening Miss Murdstone brought me some bread and milk, which she left on the floor beside me, frowning angrily at me as she went out. I was kept locked in that room for five days and nights, and saw nobody except Miss Murdstone, who brought me food but never spoke to me. To a small boy, the five days seemed like years, and I can still remember how frightened and guilty I felt.
But during the fifth night I heard a strange noise at the keyhole. It was Peggotty, trying to give me a message.
'Master David, my dear,' she whispered, sobbing, 'they are going to send you away to boarding school! Tomorrow!'
'Oh Peggotty!' I cried. 'Then I won't see you and mother very often!'
'No, my love. But don't forget, I'll take care of your mother. She needs her cross old Peggotty! I'll stay with her, although I hate these Murdstones. And remember, David, I love you as much as I love your mother, and more. And I'll write to you.'
'Thank you, dear Peggotty!' I whispered back, tears rolling down my face. 'Will you write to your brother too, and Ham, and little Emily, and tell them I'm not as bad as the Murdstones think? And send my love to them, especially little Emily?'
Peggotty promised to do what I asked. The next morning Miss Murdstone told me that because of my wickedness I was going away to school. She had already packed my case for me. My mother was only allowed to say a very quick goodbye to me, when the horse and cart arrived. The driver put my case on the cart, and we drove slowly out of Blunderstone.
I was still sobbing loudly when suddenly I saw Peggotty running after us on the road. The driver stopped and waited for her. With difficulty she climbed up onto the cart.
'Here, Master David!' she cried breathlessly. 'A little present from me and your dear mother! Take care of yourself, my dear!' She put a small purse and a paper bag into my hands, and held me so close to her fat body that I thought I would never breathe again. Then she jumped down and ran back along the road to the village.
As we continued our journey, I dried my tears and looked at what she had given me. The bag was full of Peggotty's special cakes, and in the purse were eight bright shilling coins. Thinking of my mother and Peggotty made me start crying again, but just then the driver, Mr Barkis, began to talk to me. He was a large, red-faced man, who clearly found conversation difficult.
'Did she make those cakes?' he asked slowly, having finished the one that I had offered him.
'You mean Peggotty, sir? Yes, she does all our cooking.'
'Does she?' replied Mr Barkis with great interest. There was a long silence while he considered his next question.
'Does she have a young man?' he asked. 'You know, someone who wants to marry her?'
'Peggotty? A young man?' I repeated, surprised. 'Oh no, she's never had any young men.'
'Ah!' replied Mr Barkis, looking very pleased. Again he thought for a long time before speaking.
'Well,' he said at last, 'perhaps if you write to her—will you be writing to her? You could give her a message from me. You could say “Barkis is willing”. Would you do that?'
'“Barkis is willing”,' I repeated innocently, wondering what the message meant. 'Yes, of course. But you could tell her yourself, Mr Barkis, when you return to Blunderstone tomorrow.'
'No, no' he said, 'no, you just give her the message. Remember, “Barkis is willing”.'
After this conversation Mr Barkis was completely silent for the rest of the journey. When we arrived in Yarmouth, I bought paper at the hotel and wrote this letter to Peggotty:
My dear Peggotty,
I have arrived safely in Yarmouth. Barkis is willing.
Please give my love to mother.
Yours, David
P.S. He says it's important—Barkis is willing.
In Yarmouth I was put on the long-distance coach to London, and travelled all through the night. At the coach station in London I was collected by a teacher, Mr Mell, and taken to Salem House, the school which the Murdstones had chosen for me.
The school was a large old building with a dusty playground, surrounded by a high brick wall. It looked strangely deserted. I was very surprised to find that none of the boys were there, and was told that they were all on holiday, and that I had been sent there during the holidays as a punishment for my wickedness. The headmaster and teachers were on holiday too, all except for Mr Mell, who had to look after me.
I spent a whole month in that miserable place, doing my lessons in the dirty, empty classroom, which smelt of old food and unwashed boys. Every evening I had to eat my supper with Mr Mell, and then go straight to bed. The worst thing was the sign I had to wear round my neck. It said: BE CAREFUL! HE BITES. I was only allowed to take it off when I went to bed.
Although I was extremely lonely and unhappy at this time, I was not looking forward to meeting all the other boys. I felt sure they would laugh at me and especially at the sign I was forced to wear. But one day Mr Mell told me that the headmaster, Mr Creakle, had returned, and wanted to see me. So I went, trembling, to his part of the house.
I realized at once that Mr Creakle lived much more comfortably than the boys or the teachers. He was a small, fat man with a purple nose, who was sitting in an armchair with a bottle and a glass in front of him.
'So, this is the boy who bites, is it?' he asked unpleasantly. 'I know your stepfather, boy. He's a man of strong character, he is. He knows me, and I know him. Do you know me? Answer me, boy!' He pulled violently at my ear.
'Not yet, sir,' I answered, tears of pain in my eyes.
'Ah, but you soon will! Oh yes, I have a strong character too, you'll see!' He banged his hand hard on the table.
I was very frightened, but I made myself ask the question I had been considering for a whole month. 'Please, sir, I'm very sorry for what I did to Mr Murdstone. Could—could I take this sign off, before the other boys see it...'
Mr Creakle gave a sudden, terrible shout and jumped out of his chair. I did not wait to see whether he was going to hit me, but ran out of his room and hid in my bed for the next hour.
However, the boys were not as cruel to me as I had feared. I made a friend almost immediately, a boy called Tommy Traddles, who was known to be the unluckiest boy in the school. I was also noticed, and even smiled on, by the great James Steerforth, one of the oldest boys, at least six years older than me. He was a handsome, intelligent, curly-haired young man, who had become an important figure at the school, with great influence over the younger boys.
'How much money have you got, Copperfield?' he asked me.
'Eight shillings, Steerforth,' I answered, remembering the present my mother and Peggotty had given me.
'You'd better give it to me. I'll take care of it for you,' he offered in a friendly way.
I opened Peggotty's purse and turned it upside-down into his hand.
'Perhaps you'd like to spend some of it now?' he suggested, smiling. 'A bottle of wine, a tin of biscuits, a few cakes, that sort of thing? I can go out whenever I like, so I can buy it for you.'
'Ye-es, that's very kind of you,' I said, although I was a little worried that all my money would disappear.
When we went upstairs to bed, I realized that all my money had been spent, as eight shillings' worth of food and drink was laid out on my bed in the moonlight. Of course I did not want to eat and drink it all by myself, so I invited Steerforth and the others to help themselves. The boys were very willing, and we spent a pleasant evening, sitting on our beds, whispering to each other. I discovered that the boys all hated Salem House, which they considered one of the worst schools in the country. They especially hated Mr Creakle, who was in the habit of beating them regularly with a heavy stick which he carried with him at all times. The only boy he dared not beat was Steerforth. I admired Steerforth even more when I heard this.
When we were all too tired to stay awake, Steerforth got up to go. 'Goodnight, young Copperfield,' he said, putting a hand on my head. 'I'll take care of you.'
'It's very kind of you,' I replied gratefully.
'You haven't got a sister, have you?' he asked sleepily.
'No, I haven't,' I answered.
'What a pity! If you had one, I'm sure she'd be a pretty, bright-eyed little girl. I would have liked to meet her.'
I thought of him a lot that night, with his laughing, handsome face, and his careless, confident manner. I could never have imagined what a dark shadow he would throw over the lives of people who were dear to me.
I stayed at Salem House for three more months. Although one or two of the teachers, like Mr Mell, were kind to us boys, and tried to teach us properly, we were too afraid of Mr Creakle and his stick to
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