05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [19]
next day my aunt and I went to Can terbury，where I admired the beautiful old buildings in the an cient city centre．
‘Is it a large school，aunt？’I asked politely．
‘I haven't decided which school you'll go to yet，’she replied．‘First we're going to ask my old friend Mr Wickfield's advice about it．He lives and works in Canterbury，you see．’
Soon we stopped in front of a very old house，with a very clean front doorstep，and fresh white curtains at the windows．A strange-looking person，dressed in black，with short red hair and a very thin white face came out to meet us．I thought he must be a servant．He was about fifteen，but looked much older．
‘Is Mr Wickfield at home，Uriah Heep？’asked my aunt．
‘He is，madam，’replied Uriah，smiling unpleasantly．He showed us into the sitting-room，where I noticed two large paintings on the wall，one of a grey-haired gentleman and the other of a lady with a sweet，gentle face．Just then a gentle man entered the room，looking a little older than his picture．I soon discovered he was Mr Wickfield，my aunt's lawyer．
‘Mr Wickfield，’said my aunt，‘this is my nephew．I have adopted him，and I want to send him to a good boarding school here in Canterbury．Can you help me find a school for him？’
Mr Wickfield thought for a moment．‘There's a very good school I can recommend，Dr Strong's，but the boy can't board there，and it's too far to travel from Dover every day．However，he could live here，if you liked，in my house．There's plenty of room for him．’
‘That's very kind of you，Mr Wickfield．I'll pay you for his food，of course，’said my aunt．
‘Come and meet Agnes，who takes care of everything and manages the house，’said Mr Wickfield．We all went upstairs to another sitting-room，prettily furnished，where a girl of my own age was sitting．On her face I saw immediately the beau tiful，calm expression of the lady in the painting downstairs，and I knew she must be Mr Wickfield's daughter，Agnes．When I saw the way Mr Wickfield looked at Agnes and held her hand，I realized that she was the only thing that made life worth living for him．The lady in the painting was her mother，who had died some years before，and Agnes was now in complete charge of the house．She welcomed me warmly as a guest，and showed me the comfortable bedroom I would sleep in．My aunt was very happy to leave me in the care of Mr Wickfield and his daughter．
‘I must leave now，David，’she told me．‘Mr Wickfield will take you to school tomorrow，and make all the arrange ments． I'm sure you will work hard，and do well．’
‘Thank you，aunt！’I said，trying not to cry．‘And give my love to Mr Dick！And thank you again！’
When she had gone，I dried my tears and spent a pleasant evening with the Wickfields．We ate supper and talked in the pretty little sitting－room．Agnes played the piano and tried to amuse her father，but he often looked serious and rather sad．During the evening he drank a good deal of wine．I wondered why he seemed unhappy．
The next day I had my first experience of a well－organized school．It could not have been more different from Salem House．The headmaster，Dr Strong，was a gentle，kind man who enjoyed teaching and never punished anybody．I soon made friends with the other boys，and as time went on，with the teachers too．But although I liked school very much，I was always happy to return to the Wickfields’quiet house every evening．There，Agnes used to help me with my studies and listen sympathetically to my problems，and her father always seemed pleased to see me．I often wrote to my aunt and Peg gotty，and Mr Dick came to visit me once a week．
The strangest person in my new life was Uriah Heep．Soon after I arrived in Canterbury，we had a conversation one evening．He was doing a lot of Mr Wickfield's work，and was working late
‘Is it a large school，aunt？’I asked politely．
‘I haven't decided which school you'll go to yet，’she replied．‘First we're going to ask my old friend Mr Wickfield's advice about it．He lives and works in Canterbury，you see．’
Soon we stopped in front of a very old house，with a very clean front doorstep，and fresh white curtains at the windows．A strange-looking person，dressed in black，with short red hair and a very thin white face came out to meet us．I thought he must be a servant．He was about fifteen，but looked much older．
‘Is Mr Wickfield at home，Uriah Heep？’asked my aunt．
‘He is，madam，’replied Uriah，smiling unpleasantly．He showed us into the sitting-room，where I noticed two large paintings on the wall，one of a grey-haired gentleman and the other of a lady with a sweet，gentle face．Just then a gentle man entered the room，looking a little older than his picture．I soon discovered he was Mr Wickfield，my aunt's lawyer．
‘Mr Wickfield，’said my aunt，‘this is my nephew．I have adopted him，and I want to send him to a good boarding school here in Canterbury．Can you help me find a school for him？’
Mr Wickfield thought for a moment．‘There's a very good school I can recommend，Dr Strong's，but the boy can't board there，and it's too far to travel from Dover every day．However，he could live here，if you liked，in my house．There's plenty of room for him．’
‘That's very kind of you，Mr Wickfield．I'll pay you for his food，of course，’said my aunt．
‘Come and meet Agnes，who takes care of everything and manages the house，’said Mr Wickfield．We all went upstairs to another sitting-room，prettily furnished，where a girl of my own age was sitting．On her face I saw immediately the beau tiful，calm expression of the lady in the painting downstairs，and I knew she must be Mr Wickfield's daughter，Agnes．When I saw the way Mr Wickfield looked at Agnes and held her hand，I realized that she was the only thing that made life worth living for him．The lady in the painting was her mother，who had died some years before，and Agnes was now in complete charge of the house．She welcomed me warmly as a guest，and showed me the comfortable bedroom I would sleep in．My aunt was very happy to leave me in the care of Mr Wickfield and his daughter．
‘I must leave now，David，’she told me．‘Mr Wickfield will take you to school tomorrow，and make all the arrange ments． I'm sure you will work hard，and do well．’
‘Thank you，aunt！’I said，trying not to cry．‘And give my love to Mr Dick！And thank you again！’
When she had gone，I dried my tears and spent a pleasant evening with the Wickfields．We ate supper and talked in the pretty little sitting－room．Agnes played the piano and tried to amuse her father，but he often looked serious and rather sad．During the evening he drank a good deal of wine．I wondered why he seemed unhappy．
The next day I had my first experience of a well－organized school．It could not have been more different from Salem House．The headmaster，Dr Strong，was a gentle，kind man who enjoyed teaching and never punished anybody．I soon made friends with the other boys，and as time went on，with the teachers too．But although I liked school very much，I was always happy to return to the Wickfields’quiet house every evening．There，Agnes used to help me with my studies and listen sympathetically to my problems，and her father always seemed pleased to see me．I often wrote to my aunt and Peg gotty，and Mr Dick came to visit me once a week．
The strangest person in my new life was Uriah Heep．Soon after I arrived in Canterbury，we had a conversation one evening．He was doing a lot of Mr Wickfield's work，and was working late