05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [34]
and admire you！My dear husband！’And they fell into each other's arms，sobbing on each other's shoulders．In a few moments they had both dried their eyes and looked quite cheerful again．I realized that the Micawbers had not changed at all，but this quick change of mood was rather a surprise for Traddles．
Before I left， I made sure I had a word in private with my old schoolfriend．‘Traddles，’I whispered，‘take my advice—don't lend Mr Micawber any money．He's got a lot of debts．’
Traddles looked uncomfortable．‘Thank you，Copperfield，’he whispered in reply，‘but I've already lent him some．I don't know whether he'll give it back—you know how unlucky I am！’
When I got back to my rooms，I found Steer forth waiting for me there．I thought of Agnes's warning about him，but when I saw his open， good－looking face，I could not believe he could be a bad influence on anyone．However，there was something rather strange in his manner that night．Sometimes he seemed quite depressed，almost desperate， but a minute later he was laughing wildly，and I had no idea why he was like that．
‘I've just been to Yarmouth，David！’he told me．
‘Oh！’I replied．‘You've seen the Peggotty family，I expect？’
‘I haven't seen much of them，but I have got some news for you．It's about old Barkis．I'm afraid his illness has got much worse，and the doctor thinks he'll die very soon．’
‘Oh dear！’I said．‘Poor Peggotty will be so sad！’
‘Yes，it's bad luck，’replied Steerforth carelessly．‘But people die in this world every minute．I'm not afraid of death！I want to live life in my own way，and nobody can stop me！’He threw his head back proudly．I looked into his handsome face，wondering why he was so excited，which was unusual for him．
‘Steerforth，I think I'll have to go to Yarmouth myself，’I said．‘Perhaps I can help Peggotty at this difficult time．’
Smiling，he put his hands on my shoulders．‘I wish I could be as good as you！David，promise me that if anything ever happens to separate us，you'll think of me at my best！Promise me that！’
‘Steerforth，you have no best or worst for me，’I answered．‘You will always have your place in my heart！’
And as he turned to go，he gave me his hand， and smiled in his old friendly way．That is how I like to remember him，now that I shall never touch his hand again，or see him smile．
When I arrived in Yarmouth，I went straight to Barkis's house．In the sitting－room I found Daniel，Ham and Emily．Ham was standing by the door，while Emily was sobbing in Daniel's arms．None of them seemed surprised to see me．
‘Emily's very young，Master David，’explained Daniel．‘It's hard for her to accept death．That's why she's crying．Now cheer up，Emily my dear，Ham has come to take you home．what's that？’He bent his grey head down to hear her whispered reply．‘You want to stay here with your old uncle？But you should go with Ham—he'll be your husband soon！’
‘That's all right，’said Ham．‘If it makes Emily happy，it'll make me happy． I'll go home alone．’He went over to Emily and gave her a gentle kiss．She seemed to turn away from him a little．As Ham went out，I went upstairs to see poor Barkis．
He was lying unconscious in bed，looking very pale and ill．Peggotty was sitting beside him．She jumped up and took me delightedly in her arms，just as she used to do．Then she turned to her husband．‘Barkis，my dear，’she said almost cheerfully，‘ here's Master David，who brought us together，you remember？He carried your messages for you． Can you speak to him？’
Barkis lay silently there，not moving．We sat beside him all through that long night．In the early morning， he suddenly opened his eyes，reached out his hand to me，and said clearly，With a pleasant smile，
Before I left， I made sure I had a word in private with my old schoolfriend．‘Traddles，’I whispered，‘take my advice—don't lend Mr Micawber any money．He's got a lot of debts．’
Traddles looked uncomfortable．‘Thank you，Copperfield，’he whispered in reply，‘but I've already lent him some．I don't know whether he'll give it back—you know how unlucky I am！’
When I got back to my rooms，I found Steer forth waiting for me there．I thought of Agnes's warning about him，but when I saw his open， good－looking face，I could not believe he could be a bad influence on anyone．However，there was something rather strange in his manner that night．Sometimes he seemed quite depressed，almost desperate， but a minute later he was laughing wildly，and I had no idea why he was like that．
‘I've just been to Yarmouth，David！’he told me．
‘Oh！’I replied．‘You've seen the Peggotty family，I expect？’
‘I haven't seen much of them，but I have got some news for you．It's about old Barkis．I'm afraid his illness has got much worse，and the doctor thinks he'll die very soon．’
‘Oh dear！’I said．‘Poor Peggotty will be so sad！’
‘Yes，it's bad luck，’replied Steerforth carelessly．‘But people die in this world every minute．I'm not afraid of death！I want to live life in my own way，and nobody can stop me！’He threw his head back proudly．I looked into his handsome face，wondering why he was so excited，which was unusual for him．
‘Steerforth，I think I'll have to go to Yarmouth myself，’I said．‘Perhaps I can help Peggotty at this difficult time．’
Smiling，he put his hands on my shoulders．‘I wish I could be as good as you！David，promise me that if anything ever happens to separate us，you'll think of me at my best！Promise me that！’
‘Steerforth，you have no best or worst for me，’I answered．‘You will always have your place in my heart！’
And as he turned to go，he gave me his hand， and smiled in his old friendly way．That is how I like to remember him，now that I shall never touch his hand again，or see him smile．
When I arrived in Yarmouth，I went straight to Barkis's house．In the sitting－room I found Daniel，Ham and Emily．Ham was standing by the door，while Emily was sobbing in Daniel's arms．None of them seemed surprised to see me．
‘Emily's very young，Master David，’explained Daniel．‘It's hard for her to accept death．That's why she's crying．Now cheer up，Emily my dear，Ham has come to take you home．what's that？’He bent his grey head down to hear her whispered reply．‘You want to stay here with your old uncle？But you should go with Ham—he'll be your husband soon！’
‘That's all right，’said Ham．‘If it makes Emily happy，it'll make me happy． I'll go home alone．’He went over to Emily and gave her a gentle kiss．She seemed to turn away from him a little．As Ham went out，I went upstairs to see poor Barkis．
He was lying unconscious in bed，looking very pale and ill．Peggotty was sitting beside him．She jumped up and took me delightedly in her arms，just as she used to do．Then she turned to her husband．‘Barkis，my dear，’she said almost cheerfully，‘ here's Master David，who brought us together，you remember？He carried your messages for you． Can you speak to him？’
Barkis lay silently there，not moving．We sat beside him all through that long night．In the early morning， he suddenly opened his eyes，reached out his hand to me，and said clearly，With a pleasant smile，