05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [5]
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‘Master David，my dear，’she whispered, sobbing，‘they are going to send you away to boarding school！ Tomorrow！’ ‘Oh Peggotty！’ I cried.‘Then I won't see you and mother very often！’ ‘No， my love. But don't forget， I'll take care of your mother. She needs her cross old Peggotty！ I'll stay with her，although I hate these Murdstones. And remember，David, I love you as much as I love your mother，and more. And I'll Write to you.’ ‘Thank you，dear Peggotty！’I whispered back, tears rolling down my face.‘Will you write to your brother too，and Ham，and little Emily, and tell them I'm not as bad as the Murdstones think？ And send my love to them，especially little Emily？’ Peggotty promised to do what I asked. The next morning Miss Murdstone told me that because of my wickedness I was going away to school．She had already packed my case for me. My mother was only allowed to say a very quick goodbye to me， when the horse and cart arrived The driver put my case on the cart， and we drove slowly out of Blunderstone. I was still sobbing loudly when suddenly I saw Peggotty running after us on the road. The driver stopped and waited for her. With difficulty she climbed up onto the cart.
‘Here， Master David！’ she cried breathlessly.‘A little present from me and your dear mother！Take care of yourself， my dear！’She put a small purse and a paper bag into my hands，and held me so close to her fat body that I thought I would never breathe again. Then she jumped down and ran back along the road to the village．
As we continued our journey， I dried my tears and looked at what she had given me. The bag was full of Peggotty’ s special cakes， and in the purse were eight bright shilling coins. Thinking of my mother and Peggotty made me start crying again，but just then the driver, Mr Barkis, began to talk to me. He was a large，red-faced man, who clearly found conversation difficult.
‘Did she make those cakes？’ he asked slowly， having finished the one that I had offered him.
‘You mean Peggotty， sir？ Yes, she does all our cooking.’
‘Does she？’ replied Mr Barkis with great interest. There was a long silence while he considered his next question．
‘Does she have a young man？’he asked．‘You know，someone who wants to marry her？’
‘Peggotty？A young man？’I repeated，surprised.‘Oh no,she's never had any young men.’
‘Ah！’ replied Mr Barkis，looking very pleased. Again he thought for a long time before speaking.
‘Well，’he said at last,‘ perhaps if you write to her—will you be writing to her？ You could give her a message from me. You could say “Barkis is willing”． Would you do that？’
‘“Barkis is willing”，’ I repeated innocently， wondering what the message meant.‘Yes，of course. But you could tell her yourself， Mr Barkis, when you return to Blunderstone tomorrow．’
‘No，no’ he said, ‘ no,you just give her the message. Remember，“Barkis is willing”.’ After this conversation Mr Barkis was completely silent for the rest of the journey. When we arrived in Yarmouth，I bought paper at the hotel and wrote this letter to Peggotty： My dear Peggotty， I have arrived safely in Yarmouth. Barkis is willing. Please give my love to mother. Yours，David P.S. He says it's important—Barkis is willing.In Yarmouth I was put on the long－distance coach to London，and travelled all through the night. At the coach station in London I was collected by a teacher， Mr Mell, and taken to Salem House， the school which the Murdstones had chosen for me.
The school was a large old building with a dusty playground， surrounded by a high brick wall. It looked strangely deserted. I was very surprised to find that none of the boys were there， and was told that they were all on holiday， and that I had been sent there during the holidays as a punishment for my wickedness. The headmaster
‘Master David，my dear，’she whispered, sobbing，‘they are going to send you away to boarding school！ Tomorrow！’ ‘Oh Peggotty！’ I cried.‘Then I won't see you and mother very often！’ ‘No， my love. But don't forget， I'll take care of your mother. She needs her cross old Peggotty！ I'll stay with her，although I hate these Murdstones. And remember，David, I love you as much as I love your mother，and more. And I'll Write to you.’ ‘Thank you，dear Peggotty！’I whispered back, tears rolling down my face.‘Will you write to your brother too，and Ham，and little Emily, and tell them I'm not as bad as the Murdstones think？ And send my love to them，especially little Emily？’ Peggotty promised to do what I asked. The next morning Miss Murdstone told me that because of my wickedness I was going away to school．She had already packed my case for me. My mother was only allowed to say a very quick goodbye to me， when the horse and cart arrived The driver put my case on the cart， and we drove slowly out of Blunderstone. I was still sobbing loudly when suddenly I saw Peggotty running after us on the road. The driver stopped and waited for her. With difficulty she climbed up onto the cart.
‘Here， Master David！’ she cried breathlessly.‘A little present from me and your dear mother！Take care of yourself， my dear！’She put a small purse and a paper bag into my hands，and held me so close to her fat body that I thought I would never breathe again. Then she jumped down and ran back along the road to the village．
As we continued our journey， I dried my tears and looked at what she had given me. The bag was full of Peggotty’ s special cakes， and in the purse were eight bright shilling coins. Thinking of my mother and Peggotty made me start crying again，but just then the driver, Mr Barkis, began to talk to me. He was a large，red-faced man, who clearly found conversation difficult.
‘Did she make those cakes？’ he asked slowly， having finished the one that I had offered him.
‘You mean Peggotty， sir？ Yes, she does all our cooking.’
‘Does she？’ replied Mr Barkis with great interest. There was a long silence while he considered his next question．
‘Does she have a young man？’he asked．‘You know，someone who wants to marry her？’
‘Peggotty？A young man？’I repeated，surprised.‘Oh no,she's never had any young men.’
‘Ah！’ replied Mr Barkis，looking very pleased. Again he thought for a long time before speaking.
‘Well，’he said at last,‘ perhaps if you write to her—will you be writing to her？ You could give her a message from me. You could say “Barkis is willing”． Would you do that？’
‘“Barkis is willing”，’ I repeated innocently， wondering what the message meant.‘Yes，of course. But you could tell her yourself， Mr Barkis, when you return to Blunderstone tomorrow．’
‘No，no’ he said, ‘ no,you just give her the message. Remember，“Barkis is willing”.’ After this conversation Mr Barkis was completely silent for the rest of the journey. When we arrived in Yarmouth，I bought paper at the hotel and wrote this letter to Peggotty： My dear Peggotty， I have arrived safely in Yarmouth. Barkis is willing. Please give my love to mother. Yours，David P.S. He says it's important—Barkis is willing.In Yarmouth I was put on the long－distance coach to London，and travelled all through the night. At the coach station in London I was collected by a teacher， Mr Mell, and taken to Salem House， the school which the Murdstones had chosen for me.
The school was a large old building with a dusty playground， surrounded by a high brick wall. It looked strangely deserted. I was very surprised to find that none of the boys were there， and was told that they were all on holiday， and that I had been sent there during the holidays as a punishment for my wickedness. The headmaster