05-01-远大前程 [33]
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
‘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