05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [26]
you with all my heart，’said Steerforth politely to Ham，without taking his eyes off Emily，who was blushing prettily．
‘Master David knows how I love this girl，’continued old Daniel，‘and my dearest wish was for her to have a good husband to take care of her． And there's no one I trust more than Ham！He's only a rough sailor like me，but he's honest，and sincere，and I know she'll come to no harm while he lives！’
Meanwhile，Ham was blushing too．I did not know what to say，unsure whether I still loved Emily and was therefore jealous of Ham，or whether I was glad they were going to be happy together．But steerforth always knew the right thing to say，and with a few well-chosen words he made us all feel much more comfortable．
We spent the rest of the evening very pleasantly，telling stories and singing songs，and it was midnight when Steerforth and I left the old boat．
‘Well！’said Steerforth to me as we walked across the sand in the cold night air．‘What a lovely girl！And what a coarse young man she's engaged to！’
I was shocked by these unexpectedly cold words．But when I turned to him and saw him smiling，I replied warmly，‘Ah，Steerforth！You pretend to laugh at people who are poorer or less educated than yourself，but I've just seen you spend the whole evening with the Peggotty family，making them happy！I know you understand and love them，and I admire you all the more for it！’
He stopped and looked at me，saying rather sadly，‘David，you're serious，aren't you？I wish I were as good as you！’
For the next two weeks I was often with Peggotty and Barkis，while Steerforth went sailing or fishing with Daniel and Ham，or found other things to do，so I did not see very much of him．Finally we decided to return to London．
While we were travelling back on the coach，I turned to say something，and was surprised to see how miserable he looked．
‘Oh，David！’he said unhappily．‘I wish I could control myself better！I hate myself sometimes！’
‘Steerforth！What can you mean！’I cried．‘You're the best，the most intelligent，the kindest of men！’
‘Thank you，David，’he said，shaking his head，‘but you don't know how bad I am．’
‘Bad！’I repeated．‘My dear Steerforth！Don't say that！I know your character well，and I'm proud to call you my friend！’
In a little while his mood changed，and he became cheerful again．I soon forgot his words，but I remembered them later．
In London I discovered that my aunt had arrived at the Colden Cross Hotel，and had booked a room there for several days．We were delighted to see each other，and had a long conversation that evening．She had come to ask me a particular question．
‘David，’she said very seriously，‘I've been thinking about your future profession．How would you feel about becoming a lawyer？’
I thought for a moment．‘Well，aunt，it sounds a very good idea．I confess I hadn't considered it before，but I think I'd like it．’
‘Very good，’said my aunt，jumping up．‘In that case，let's go immediately to see Mr Spenlow．He's a partner in an important law firm，and I think he'll agree to train you．We'll have to pay him，of course，but after several years you'll be a properly trained lawyer，and be able to earn your own money．’
And so we carried out this plan．My aunt paid Mr Spenlow's firm a thousand pounds，and I promised to work hard and do my best to become a successful lawyer．Before she returned to Dover，my aunt rented a small flat for me，at the top of a house near the lawcourts，and I moved in at once．
At first it seemed very exciting to walk through the busy streets after a long day in the courts or at Mr Spenlow's dusty office，and know that I had my own home to return to．But when I had climbed up all the stairs，and entered my sitting room，it no longer
‘Master David knows how I love this girl，’continued old Daniel，‘and my dearest wish was for her to have a good husband to take care of her． And there's no one I trust more than Ham！He's only a rough sailor like me，but he's honest，and sincere，and I know she'll come to no harm while he lives！’
Meanwhile，Ham was blushing too．I did not know what to say，unsure whether I still loved Emily and was therefore jealous of Ham，or whether I was glad they were going to be happy together．But steerforth always knew the right thing to say，and with a few well-chosen words he made us all feel much more comfortable．
We spent the rest of the evening very pleasantly，telling stories and singing songs，and it was midnight when Steerforth and I left the old boat．
‘Well！’said Steerforth to me as we walked across the sand in the cold night air．‘What a lovely girl！And what a coarse young man she's engaged to！’
I was shocked by these unexpectedly cold words．But when I turned to him and saw him smiling，I replied warmly，‘Ah，Steerforth！You pretend to laugh at people who are poorer or less educated than yourself，but I've just seen you spend the whole evening with the Peggotty family，making them happy！I know you understand and love them，and I admire you all the more for it！’
He stopped and looked at me，saying rather sadly，‘David，you're serious，aren't you？I wish I were as good as you！’
For the next two weeks I was often with Peggotty and Barkis，while Steerforth went sailing or fishing with Daniel and Ham，or found other things to do，so I did not see very much of him．Finally we decided to return to London．
While we were travelling back on the coach，I turned to say something，and was surprised to see how miserable he looked．
‘Oh，David！’he said unhappily．‘I wish I could control myself better！I hate myself sometimes！’
‘Steerforth！What can you mean！’I cried．‘You're the best，the most intelligent，the kindest of men！’
‘Thank you，David，’he said，shaking his head，‘but you don't know how bad I am．’
‘Bad！’I repeated．‘My dear Steerforth！Don't say that！I know your character well，and I'm proud to call you my friend！’
In a little while his mood changed，and he became cheerful again．I soon forgot his words，but I remembered them later．
In London I discovered that my aunt had arrived at the Colden Cross Hotel，and had booked a room there for several days．We were delighted to see each other，and had a long conversation that evening．She had come to ask me a particular question．
‘David，’she said very seriously，‘I've been thinking about your future profession．How would you feel about becoming a lawyer？’
I thought for a moment．‘Well，aunt，it sounds a very good idea．I confess I hadn't considered it before，but I think I'd like it．’
‘Very good，’said my aunt，jumping up．‘In that case，let's go immediately to see Mr Spenlow．He's a partner in an important law firm，and I think he'll agree to train you．We'll have to pay him，of course，but after several years you'll be a properly trained lawyer，and be able to earn your own money．’
And so we carried out this plan．My aunt paid Mr Spenlow's firm a thousand pounds，and I promised to work hard and do my best to become a successful lawyer．Before she returned to Dover，my aunt rented a small flat for me，at the top of a house near the lawcourts，and I moved in at once．
At first it seemed very exciting to walk through the busy streets after a long day in the courts or at Mr Spenlow's dusty office，and know that I had my own home to return to．But when I had climbed up all the stairs，and entered my sitting room，it no longer