# ■ 7 Pip arrives in London

At that time everybody in England agreed that London was a wonderful city．So I was surprised to find it rather ugly， with narrow dirty streets， and people crowded into tiny houses． I was frightened by its huge size． At Smith－field， the meat market， I was shocked by the dirt and blood everywhere Then I came to Newgate Prison， where a drunk old man showed me the place where prisoners were hanged，and told me excitedly that four men would die there tomorrow． I was disgusted by this news．My first impression of London could not have been worse．

However I managed to find Mr Jaggers’ office， noticing that other people were waiting for the great man too． After some time he appeared， walking towards me． His clients all rushed at him together． He spoke to some， and pushed others away．One man held on to the lawyer's sleeve．

‘Please， Mr Jaggers，’he begged，‘my brother is accused of stealing silver． Only you can save him！ I'm ready to pay any－thing！’

‘Your brother？’repeated the lawyer．‘And the trial is to－morrow？ Well，I'm sorry for you， and him．I'm on the other side．’

‘No，Mr Jaggers！’ cried the man desperately， tears in his eyes．‘Don't say you're against him！I'll pay anything！’

‘Get out of my way，'said Mr Jaggers and we left the man on his knees on the pavement．

Now Mr Jaggers turned to me and told me that on Monday I would go to Matthew Pocket's house to start my studies， but until then I would stay with his son， Herbert， who lived near-by．

Wemmick， Mr Jaggers’ clerk，showed me the way to Mr Pocket's rooms．He was a short， dry man， with a square， expressionless face，between forty and fifty years old． His mouth was so wide that it looked like a post-box，and gave the impression of smiling all the time．

‘Is London a very wicked place？’I asked him， trying to make conversation as we walked．

‘You may be robbed or murdered in London． But that may happen to you anywhere， if there is any profit in it for the criminal．’

I was not sure whether I looked forward to living in London， where people like Wemmick accepted crime so calmly．

We arrived at Herbert Pocket's rented rooms． The building was the dirtiest I had ever seen， with broken windows and dusty doors．It stood in a little square with dying trees around it．I looked in horror at Mr Wemmick．

‘Ah！’ he said，not understanding my look．‘Its quiet position makes you think of the country．I quite agree．Goodbye，Mr Pip．’

I went up the stairs， where there was a note on Mr Pocket's door， saying ‘Returning soon．’His idea of ‘soon’was not the same as mine． About half an hour later I heard footsteps rushing upstairs， and a young man of my age appeared breath-less at the door．‘Mr Pip？’he said．‘I'm so sorry I'm late！’

I greeted him in a confused manner， unable to believe my eyes Suddenly he looked closely at me and gasped．

‘But you're the boy at Miss Havisham's！’

‘And you，’ I said，‘are the pale young gentleman！’

We both started laughing， and shook hands．

‘Well！’ he said，‘I hope you'll forgive me for having knocked you down that day．’In fact I had knocked him down． But I did not contradict him．

‘Do you know why I was there？’ he asked．‘I had been invited to Miss Havisham's to see if she liked me．I suppose I didn't make a good impression on her．If she had liked me，I could be a rich man and engaged to Estella by now．’

‘Were you disappointed？’I asked．

‘Oh！I wouldn't want to marry Estella！She's a hard，proud girl， and Miss Havisham has brought her up to break men's hearts， as a revenge on all men．’

‘Is she a relation of Miss Havisham's？’I asked．

‘No，only adopted． Why were you at Miss Havisham's then？’

‘To make my fortune， the same as you！ But I was lucky．’

‘You know Mr Jaggers is Miss Havisham's lawyer？It was kind of him to suggest that my father should teach you． My father is Miss Havisham's cousin， you know．’

Herbert Pocket made an excellent impression on me． He always spoke openly and honestly．There was nothing secret or mean in his character， and we soon became good friends． I told him of my past life in the village， and my expectations．

‘Call me Herbert，’ he said．‘Would you mind my calling you Handel？ There's a wonderful piece of music by Handel，called The Blacksmith， which reminds me of you．’ Of course I agreed， and as we sat down to dinner， Herbert told me Miss Havisham's sad story．

‘Her mother died young． Her father was very rich and very proud， with only one child， Miss Havisham， by his first wife．Then he married his cook， and had a son by her．This son， a half-brother to Miss Havisham， was a bad character， and didn't inherit as much from his father as Miss Havisham did．And so perhaps he was angry with her for influencing her father against him．

‘Anyway，a certain man appeared， and pretended he was in love with Miss Havisham． She was certainly in love with him，and gave him whatever money he asked for． My father was the only one of her relations who dared to tell her that this man should not be trusted． She was so angry that she ordered my father straight out of the house， and he has never seen her since． Her other relations were not interested in her happiness but only in inheriting her wealth， so they said nothing． The couple fixed the wedding day， the guests were invited， the dress and the cake were brought to the house． The day came，but the man did not． He wrote a letter—’

‘Which she received at twenty to nine， when she was dressing for her wedding？’ I said．

‘Yes，so she stopped the clocks at that moment．She was very ill for a while， and since then has not seen daylight． People think that her half－brother sent the man to get money from her， and that he shared the profits． Perhaps he hated her for inheriting most of the Havisham fortune． Nobody knows what happened to the two men． So now you know as much as I do！’

We talked of other things．I asked Herbert what his profession was．

‘Oh，working in the City，’ he said happily．‘Insuring ships．There's a lot of money in that， you know． Huge profits！’

I began to think that Herbert must have greater expectations than I had．

‘Where are your ships at the moment？’ I asked admiringly．

‘Oh， I haven't started yet．I'm working in a counting-house just now． They don't pay me much， but I'm looking about me for a good opportunity． Then I'll make my fortune！’

Looking around the room， at the old， worn furniture，I realized that Herbert must be very poor．And although he seemed full of hope for the future， somehow I thought he would never be very rich or successful．

He and I spent a happy weekend visiting London together．Although it was all very exciting， I could not avoid noticing the dirt and bad smells and heat， and I compared it sadly with my village home， which now seemed so far away．

■ 7 匹普到達倫敦

在那時，英國的每個人都稱讚倫敦是一座美麗的城市。然而，讓我吃驚的是，發現這座城市陳舊不堪、街道狹窄骯髒，人們擁擠在窄小的房子裡，我被城市巨大的規模而嚇呆。在倫敦肉食店，一個鮮肉市場，到處的汙物和血跡讓我毛骨悚然。然後，我來到新興門監獄，這裡一個喝得醉熏熏的老人把絞首架的地方指給我看，並興奮地告訴我，明天這兒將有4個人歸天，這個消息讓我厭惡。我的倫敦第一印象不能再壞了。

不管怎樣，我要設法找到賈格斯先生的事務所，我注意到，其他人也在等候這位大人。過了一會兒他露面了，朝我走來。他的顧客一起向他衝來，他說了幾句話，把其他人打發走了。有一個人抓住律師的衣袖。

“求您啦，賈格斯先生”，他乞求說，“指控我兄弟偷了銀器，只有你才能救他！我準備支付什麼都行！”

“你的兄弟？”律師重複說，“判決是明天嗎？喂，對你很抱歉，我是在對面。”

“不，賈格斯先生！”這個人不顧死活地叫喊著，雙眼充滿著淚水，“不是說你反對他！我什麼東西都會支付的！”

“滾開”，賈格斯先生說，我們離開了跪在人行道上的那個人。

現在，賈格斯先生轉向我並告訴我星期一我將去馬修·樸凱特的家，開始我的學業。不過，到那時，我將和他的兒子，住在附近的赫伯特生活在一起。

文米克，賈格斯先生的僱員，帶著我去了樸凱特先生的房間。他是一個乾癟矮小的傢伙，一張面無表情的方臉，年齡四、五十歲。他的大嘴看上去像一個郵箱，總是給人留下一個冷笑的印象。

“倫敦是一個很壞的地方嗎？”我問他，當我們走著的時候，設法找點兒話說。

“在倫敦，你可能被搶或被殺，如果對罪犯有點好處，不論你在何處，都可能發生。”

我不知道是否盼望在倫敦生活，這兒的人們都像文米克一樣平靜地容忍犯罪。

我們到達赫伯特·樸凱特租的房屋，這是我見到的最骯髒的房子，破碎的門窗，滿是塵土的樓道。這座房子坐落在一個小方院內，周圍有一些要死不活的樹木。我恐怖地看著文米克先生。

“啊！”他不理解我的臉色，說，“幽靜的職位讓你想起農村，我很贊成，再見，匹普先生。”

我上了樓梯，在樸凱特的門上貼有一張紙條，上面寫著“外出即歸”。他的“即歸”意思和我的意思不一樣。大約半小時之後，我聽到衝上樓的腳步聲，一個和我年齡相仿的年輕人上氣不接下氣地出現在門口。“匹普先生嗎？”他說，“對不起，我來晚了！”

我有點慌亂地向他問候，不能相信自己的眼睛。突然他氣喘吁吁地盯著我。

“你是在郝薇香小姐家裡的那個孩子！”

“你，”我說，“是那個白麵少年紳士！”

我們搖搖雙手，開始大笑起來。

“喂！”他說，“希望你能原諒我，那天把你打倒了”。事實上，是我把他打倒了。但是，我沒有反駁他。

“你知道為什麼我在那兒？”他問，“郝薇香小姐讓我去見她，看看我是否中她的意。我猜，我沒有給她留下好的印象，如果她喜歡我的話，我現在可能是一個富翁了，並和艾絲黛拉訂婚了。”

“你們沒有約定嗎？”我問道。

“噢！我不想和艾絲黛拉結婚！她是一個冷酷無情、傲慢的女孩子，郝薇香小姐把她帶大，教唆她去傷男人的心，報復所有的男人。”

“她是郝薇香小姐的親戚嗎？”我問。

“不是，只不過是養女罷了。那麼，你為什麼在郝薇香小姐家呢？”

“為我的命運，和你一樣！不過，我是幸運的。”

“你知道賈格斯先生是郝薇香小姐的律師嗎？他仁慈地建議讓我父親教你，我父親是郝薇香小姐的表兄，你明白。”

赫伯特·樸凱特給我一個極好的印象，他說的總是直率和誠實的。在他的性格上，沒有什麼祕密和別有用意的事情，我們很快就成了好朋友。我告訴他在鄉村過去的生活和我的前程。

“叫我赫伯特，”他說，“我叫你漢德爾你會介意嗎？有一支漢德爾寫的美妙的樂曲，叫《鐵匠》，這是你提醒了我。”當然我同意，當我們坐下來吃晚飯時，赫伯特給我講了郝薇香小姐悲哀的故事。

“她的媽媽年輕時就去世了，她的父親是個富翁也很高傲，他第一個妻子，只有郝薇香小姐這一個孩子。然後，他和他的廚娘結婚，和她有一個兒子，這個兒子，對郝薇香小姐來說是同父異母的弟弟，是一個性格很壞的人，從他父親那裡繼承的家產遠沒有郝薇香小姐那麼多。或許是他生她的氣，影響到她父親反對他。

有一個人假裝愛上了郝薇香小姐，她是深深地愛著他，無論什麼時候他要錢，她都給他。我父親是她親戚中唯一的一個，他敢告訴她這個人不是真正地愛她。她很生氣，以致於下令讓我父親離開她的家。從此，他再也沒有見到她。其他的親戚對她的幸福不感興趣，只想繼承她的財富。因此，他們什麼也不說。兩人定好結婚的日子，賓客都邀請了，結婚禮服和蛋糕都買回家了。可是，結婚這一天到來之際，那人卻不見了。他寫了一封信——”

“她是在8點40分收到的，當時她正穿著結婚禮服吧？”我說。

“不錯，在那一時刻她停止了鐘錶。她一時病得很重，自從那以後再沒見過陽光。人們認為是她同父異母的弟弟派那個人來向她要錢，他從中得利。也許他恨郝薇香繼承的財富太多，沒有人知道兩人發生了什麼事情。現在你所知道的和我一樣多！”

我們談了些其它事情。我問赫伯特，他的職業是什麼。

“噢，在市裡工作，”他愉快地說，“從事船隻保險，這一行有許多錢，你知道，豐厚的利潤！”

我開始想，赫伯特一定比我有更遠大的前程。

“此刻你的船在哪兒！”我羨慕地問。

“噢，我還沒有開展工作，剛才我正在會計室工作。他們沒有支付更多的錢給我，不過，我找到了掙錢的好機會，不久，我將成為富翁。”

看看周圍的屋子，古老破舊的傢俱。我想，赫伯特一定很清貧，儘管他似乎對未來充滿希望，不知為什麼我想他不會成為富翁，也不會成功的。

我和他一起遊覽了倫敦，度過了一個愉快的週末。雖然這使我很興奮，但我不能迴避去評價這個髒亂、怪味、又悶熱的地方，傷心地和我似乎更遙遠的鄉下現在的家相比較。