[00:28.98]Chapter 3 David the orphan
[00:34.65]Life went on as normal for me at school,until my birthday two months later in March.
[00:41.42]I remember that day very well. It was cold,icy weather,
[00:46.79]and we boys had to blow on our fingers and rub our hands to keep warm in the freezing classrooms.
[00:54.21]When a message came for me to go and see Mr Creakle, I thought that Peggotty must have sent me a birthday present.
[01:03.12]and so I hurried gladly along to his room. But there I realized something unusual had happened,
[01:11.59]because it was Mr Creakle's wife who was waiting to speak to me.
[01:16.25]"David, my child, "she said kindly, holding my hand, “
[01:22.19]"we all have to accept that our loved ones can die at any moment."  “
[01:29.00]I looked at her, trying to understand what she meant.
[01:34.05]"I'm sorry to tell you, " she continued, "that your mother is dangerously ill."   “
[01:42.52]There was a mist in front of my eyes, and suddenly burning tears ran down my face.
[01:51.01]I knew the truth.
[01:53.65]"Your mother is dead, "she said. “
[01:58.12]I was alreadysobbing loudly and I felt I was an orphan,quite alone in the world.
[02:06.16]Mrs Creakle packed my case herself, and sent me home on the coach for the funeral.
[02:14.70]I did not realize at the time that I would never return to Salem House.
[02:21.06]When I arrived home,Peggotty met me at the door, and we cried miserably in each other's arms.
[02:29.65]Mr Murdstone seemed very sad, and did not speak to me at all.
[02:35.65]Miss Murdstone, however,showed her usual firmness of character (which she and her brother were so proud of)
[02:44.69]by checking that I had brought all my clothes back from school.
[02:49.32]After that she showed no interest in me at all.
[02:54.52]There was a deathly stillness in the house.
[02:58.11]Peggotty took me up to the room where my dear mother's dead body lay,
[03:04.48]with my little brother,who had died a few hours after her.
[03:09.16]Everything was fresh and clean in the room,but I could not look at my mother's lovely face,
[03:17.40]which would never smile at me again, without crying.
[03:22.63]"How did it happen,Peggotty?"I asked, sobbing. “
[03:27.64]"She was ill for a long time,Master David. She got worse after the baby was born, you see.  “
[03:36.30]She was sometimes unhappy and forgetful, but she was always the same to me, her old Peggotty.
[03:44.89]Those two downstairs often spoke crossly to her and made her sad, but she still loved them,
[03:53.91]you know—she was so sweet and loving! I always sat beside her while she went to sleep.
[04:02.74]It made her feel better, she said.
[04:06.14]There was a short silence while Peggotty dried her eyes, then took both my hands in hers.
[04:14.15]"On the last night,she asked me for some water,and then gave me such a patient smile! She looked so beautiful!  “
[04:26.42]The sun was beginning to rise, and she put her head on my arm, on her stupid cross old Peggotty's arm,
[04:36.28]and died like an innocent child going to sleep! "
[04:43.97]After my mother's funeral,I began to wonder what would happen to me.
[04:50.18]The Murdstones did not even seem to notice that I was in the house.
[04:55.51]They had told Peggotty to leave,as they did not what her as their servant any more,
[05:01.57]so Peggotty was going to her brother's in Yarmouth, until she decided what work to do next.
[05:08.94]She suggested taking me with her for a holiday, and to my surprise the Murdstones agreed.
[05:16.76]So next morning Mr Barkis appeared at the door with his cart,and Peggotty's cases were put on it.
[05:25.70]We climbed up and sat beside him. Peggotty was naturally a little sad to leave her old home,
[05:34.10]where she had been so happy with my mother and me, and at first she cried a little.
[05:40.65]But when Mr Barkis saw her drying her eyes and looking more cheerful,
[05:46.93]he too began to look happier, and he whispered to me, "Barkis is willing! You told her that! "
[05:57.94]Aloud he said to Peggotty,"Are you comfortable?"
[06:04.82]Peggotty laughed and said that she was.
[06:09.08]"And are you comfortable,Master David?"he asked. “
[06:16.59]I said that I was.
[06:19.99]Mr Barkis was so pleased with this conversation that he repeated it many times during the journey,
[06:28.15]and Peggotty and I both had to keep giving him the same answer.
[06:33.52]When we arrived in Yarmouth and got down from the cart,we said goodbye to Mr Barkis.
[06:41.89]Daniel and Ham Peggotty were waiting for us.
[06:46.08]Daniel and Ham were exactly the same as I remembered them,cheerful and generous as ever,
[06:53.15]but little Emily seemed different somehow. She was taller and prettier,
[07:00.50]but she did not want to play with me, or spend her time with me.
[07:05.23]I was rather disappointed, because I still considered she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen,
[07:12.75]and I thought I was in love with her.
[07:15.42]Daniel and Ham were very proud of her intelligence and beauty,
[07:20.75]and just smiled when she laughingly refused to sit next to me.
[07:26.19]But they all listened with interest to my stories of school life at Salem House.
[07:32.22]I told them about the other boys, especially the handsome, clever Steerforth.
[07:39.13]I admired him so much that I could not stop myself telling them all about him.
[07:45.64]Suddenly I noticed that Emily was listening eagerly, her blue eyes shining and a smile on her lips.
[07:53.77]She blushed when she saw that we were all looking at her, and hid her face behind her hands.
[08:00.77]"Emily's like me,"said Peggotty kindly,"and would like to see David's friend Mr Steerforth."  “
[08:08.88]The days passed happily,although Emily and I did not play together as we had done before.
[08:16.10]Mr Barkis wasa frequent visitor,and soon Peggotty explained to me that she had decided to marry him.
[08:24.98]"I'll love you just as much, David, my dear, when I'm married! "she told me, holding me close to her.  “
[08:33.12]"And I'll be able to come and see you in the cart any time I like.  “
[08:38.10]Barkis is a good man and I'm sure I'll be happy with him.
[08:42.42]He's got a nice little house,and I'll keep a little bedroom there for you to use whenever you want.
[08:49.20]You'll always be welcome to come and stay! "
[08:52.61]So when I returned to Blunderstone, Peggotty had become Mrs Barkis,
[08:59.32]and I was glad to think of her in her own house,with a husband to take care of her.
[09:04.94]At home, my stepfather and his sister did not seem pleased to see me,
[09:11.04]and were clearly trying to find a way of getting rid of me.
[09:14.84]As they considered school too expensive, they finally arranged for me to start work,
[09:21.44]although I was still only ten years old, and very small for my age.
[09:26.87]I was sent to London,to work in a warehouse in the east of the city, near the river.
[09:33.49]My job was to wash bottles, which would then be filled with wine, or to pack the filled bottles in cases.
[09:42.32]I was paid only six shillings a week.
[09:46.28]There were several other boys who worked with me,but I was the only one who had been to school.
[09:52.96]All the warehouse workers were coarse, rough people, who were used to working in dirty conditions for long hours.
[10:01.14]No words can describe the horror I felt, when I realized what my life was going to be like from now on.
[10:09.60]I was deeply ashamed at having such a job and I was also afraid that
[10:15.38]I would forget everything I had learnt from my mother and my teachers.
[10:20.25]I would never find friends like Traddles or Steerforth, or be able to get a better position in life.
[10:27.37]It was an extremely unhappy time for me.
[10:31.58]My stepfather had asked Mr Quinion, the manager, to find me somewhere to stay in London,
[10:39.96]so at the end of my first day I was called to Mr Quinion's office
[10:45.14]and introduced to an important-looking, rather fat,middle-aged man with a head as bald as an egg.
[10:53.12]His name was Mr Micawber, and he offered me a spare room in the house he was renting with his family.
[11:01.08]I agreed to take it, and Mr Micawber and I walked home together.
[11:06.92]The Micawbers were obviously very poor, but tried hard not to let this show.
[11:13.97]The house had several floors of rather dirty,empty rooms with very little furniture.
[11:21.81]Mrs Micawber was a thin,tired-looking woman with a baby in her arms.
[11:28.29]The baby was one of twins,and in all my experience of the family,
[11:33.82]I never saw Mrs Micawber without at least one of the twins.
[11:38.77]They also had a four-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.
[11:44.02]Their only servant was a young orphan girl.
[11:48.09]"I never thought, "Mrs Micawber told me sadly as she showed me my room, "  “
[11:55.45]when I lived with Mother and Father, before I was married,that I would ever be as poor as this.  “
[12:03.55]But as Mr Micawber is for the moment in difficulties,I must of course accept the situation.
[12:11.82]I'm afraid he owes a lot of money,but his creditors will just have to wait!
[12:18.42]You can't get blood out of a stone, nor can anyone get any money at all out of Mr Micawber at present! "
[12:27.52]I soon realized that neither Mr nor Mrs Micawger had ever been able to manage money.
[12:35.26]The little that Mr Micawber earned was not enough, either to keep his creditors happy,
[12:41.45]or to pay for the needs of his growing family.
[12:45.55]So his creditors were constantly at the door, demanding payment,
[12:51.53]and meals were rather irregular in the Micawber house.
[12:55.95]Mr and Mrs Micawber's moods varied according to the situation.
[13:01.34]One moment Mr Micawber looked extremely miserable and depressed,
[13:05.90]the next he was brushing his shoes and singing a song before going out.
[13:11.22]Mrs Micawber's character was similar to her husband's.
[13:15.29]Sometimes I came home to find her lying on the floor,with her hair undone, looking wild and desperate,
[13:23.34]but an hour later she was cheerfully eating a good supper.
[13:27.56]I lived with these kind people for several months, and became very fond of them.
[13:34.36]I bought my own food out of my wages,because I knew the Micawbers hardly ever had enough for themselves,
[13:41.57]and I lived mostly on bread and cheese.
[13:44.32]As they were so short of money, once or twice I offered to lend them a few shillings,
[13:50.21]which they refused to accept.
[13:52.39]But at last Mr Micawber's creditors became tired of waiting for their money,and went to the police,
[13:59.21]who arrested him for debt.
[14:01.27]He was taken to the King's Prison, and asked me to visit him there.
[14:05.93]When I arrived,I was shown to his room, where he was waiting for me.
[14:10.75]He seemed quite brokenhearted, and even cried a little.
[14:15.16]"This is a black day for me,Copperfield! "he sobbed."I hope my mistakes will be a warning to young people like you!  “
[14:23.79]Remember,if a man earns twenty pounds a year,and spends nineteen pounds and nineteen shillings, the result is happiness.
[14:35.29]But if he spends twenty pounds and one shilling,the result is misery!
[14:42.38]By the way, Copperfield，could you lend me a shilling for some beer?
[14:47.95]Mrs Micawber will pay you back as soon as you arrive home. "
[14:51.79]And when the beer arrived, he appeared much more cheerful.
[14:56.83]We had a pleasant evening,telling stories and jokes.
[15:01.07]He stayed in prison for several weeks, and I visited him regularly.
[15:06.54]I was delighted to hear on one of my visits that he would soon be free,
[15:11.42]as his creditors had unwillingly accepted the fact that he had no way of paying his debts.
[15:17.63]I gave the news to Mrs Micawber when I returned home.
[15:21.59]We celebrated by sharing our supper and a glass of wine together.
[15:26.90]"May I ask what you will do, madam, when Mr Micawber is free?"I asked politely.  “
[15:34.53]"My family,"said Mrs Micawber grandly,"believe that Mr Micawber should move to the country,to Devon,  “
[15:43.89]and carry on his business interests there. Mr Micawber is a very clever man, Master Copperfield."
[15:51.67]"I'm sure he is, "I agreed.  “
[15:54.30]"Although they haven't found anything exactly right for him yet,  “
[15:59.88]my family think he should be ready, in Devon, in case something turns up."She put down her empty glass.
[16:09.62]"And will you be going with him, madam?"I asked.  “
[16:13.63]"I must! I will! "Mrs Micawber's voice rose to a scream.  “
[16:18.19]"He is my life! My love! My husband! The father of my children!  “
[16:22.75]I will never desert Mr Micawber! You can't ask me to desert him! "
[16:27.45]I felt very uncomfortable,as I had not asked her to desert him at all,
[16:33.31]but she soon became calm again and finished her supper.
[16:37.21]I was becoming used to the Micawbers'changes of mood.
[16:41.52]I now realized that when the Micawbers left London,as they were planning to do,I would be very lonely in the city.
[16:49.98]I still hated my work in the warehouse, and wanted to make a better life for myself.
[16:55.92]I thought about it for a long time, and decided there was only one thing I could do.
[17:01.98]I would try to find my one surviving relation,my father's aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood,and ask her to help me.
[17:10.80]I knew she lived somewhere near Dover,in Kent.
[17:15.11]I could go there by coach, because Peggotty had once sent me ten shillings to keep,in case I ever needed it.
[17:22.25]The time had come to use that money.