2 David is sent away to school 
　  
　　I was very unhappy during this time. Mr Murdstone insisted on my studying， and so my mother gave me lessons． In the past she and I had enjoyed our studies together， and she had taught me a lot in her gentle way. But now both Mr and Miss Murdstone were present during my lessons， and somehow I could not concentrate or remember what I had learnt. My poor mother was very sympathetic，and tried to encourage me，sometimes even whispering the answer to me. But the Murdstones had sharp ears． ‘Clara，my love！ ’Mr Murdstone used to say crossly.‘Remember！Be firm！You’ re making the boy's character worse by helping him like that！’ ‘Oh，Edward, I'm sorry,’my mother replied, looking embarrassed and hanging her head like a guilty child． One morning when I arrived in the sittingroom as usual for my lesson，I saw that Mr Murd stone had a thin stick in his hand. I could not take my eyes off it.  
　　‘You must be very careful today， David,’ he said with his unpleasant smile， holding the stick in both hands． I knew what would happen then. A terrible fear took hold of me， and all that I had learnt disappeared immediately from my memory， so that I could not answer any of my mother's questions. Mr Murdstone got up from his chair. ‘Well David，’he said heavily,‘ I think you've worried your mother enough today. We'll go upstairs， boy. Come，’and he picked up the stick. I heard my mother crying as we went upstairs. ‘Please，Mr Murdstone！’I cried. ‘Don't beat me！I've tried to learn，really I have, sir！’ But he did not listen to me. In my bedroom，he held my arms and started hitting me with the stick. I managed to get hold of his hand， and bit deep into it. He cried out angrily，and began to hit me as hard as he could．Above the noise of my screams， I could hear my mother and Peggotty crying outside the door. Then the next moment， he was gone. I heard him lock the door. And I was lying， sore and bleeding, on the floor. The whole house seemed suddenly very quiet. I stayed there for a time， without moving. In the evening Miss Murdstone brought me some bread and milk， which she left on the floor beside me，frowning angrily at me as she went out. I was kept locked in that room for five days and nights，and saw nobody except Miss Murdstone， who brought me food but never spoke to me. To a small boy， the five days seemed like years，and I can still remember how frightened and guilty I felt． But during the fifth night I heard a strange noise at the key-hole. It was Peggotty，trying to give me a message． 
　　‘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 and teachers were on holiday too，all except for Mr Mell, who had to look after me. I spent a whole month in that miserable place，doing my lessons in the dirty， empty classroom, which smelt of old food and unwashed boys. Every evening I had to eat my supper with Mr Mell，and then go straight to bed. The worst thing was the sign I had to wear round my neck. It said： BE CAREFUL！HE BITES. I was only allowed to take it off when I went to bed. Although I was extremely lonely and unhappy at this time，I was not looking forward to meeting all the other boys. I felt sure they would laugh at me and especially at the sign I was forced to wear. But one day Mr Mell told me that the headmaster， Mr Creakle, had returned, and wanted to see me. So I went，trembling，to his part of the house. I realized at once that Mr Creakle lived much more comfortably than the boys or the teachers. He was a small， fat man with a purple nose， who was sitting in an armchair with a bottle and a glass in front of him.  
　　‘So， this is the boy who bites, is it？’ he asked unpleasantly.‘I know your stepfather， boy. He's a man of strong character，he is. He knows me,and I know him. Do you know me？ Answer me，boy！’He pulled violently at my ear． 
　　‘Not yet， sir,’ I answered, tears of pain in my eyes. ‘Ah，but you soon will！Oh yes, I have a strong character too，you'll see！’ He banged his hand hard on the table． I was very frightened，but I made myself ask the question I had been considering for a whole month.‘ Please， sir, I'm very sorry for what I did to Mr Murdstone. Could—could I take this sign off，before the other boys see it…’ Mr Creakle gave a sudden，terrible shout and jumped out of his chair. I did not wait to see whether he was going to hit me， but ran out of his room and hid in my bed for the next hour. However， the boys were not as cruel to me as I had feared. I made a friend almost immediately， a boy called Tommy Traddles， who was known to be the unluckiest boy in the school. I was also noticed， and even smiled on, by the great James Steerforth，one of the oldest boys, at least six years older than me. He was a handsome，intelligent, curly-haired young man， who had become an important figure at the school，with great influence over the younger boys.  
　　‘How much money have you got，Copperfield？’ he asked me.  
　　‘Eight shillings，Steerforth，’I answered，remembering the present my mother and Peggotty had given me.  
　　‘You'd better give it to me. I'll take care of it for you，’ he offered in a friendly way. 
　　I opened Peggotty's purse and turned it upside-down into his hand． 
　　‘Perhaps you'd like to spend some of it now？’he suggested，smiling.‘A bottle of wine, a tin of biscuits, a few cakes， that sort of thing？I can go out whenever I like, so I can buy it for you.’ ‘Ye-es，that’ s very kind of you, ’I said, although I was a little worried that all my money would disappear. When we went upstairs to bed， I realized that all my money had been spent， as eight shillings’ worth of food and drink was laid out on my bed in the moonlight. Of course I did not want to eat and drink it all by myself， so I invited Steerforth and the others to help themselves. The boys were very willing， and we spent a pleasant evening, sitting on our beds，whispering to each other. I discovered that the boys all hated Salem House， which they considered one of the worst schools in the country. They especially hated Mr Creakle， who was in the habit of beating them regularly with a heavy stick which he carried with him at all times. The only boy he dared not beat was Steerforth. I admired Steerforth even more when I heard this. When we were all too tired to stay awake， Steerforth got up to go.‘Goodnight，young Copperfield， ’ he said, putting a hand on my head.‘I'll take care of you．’ 
　　‘It’ s very kind of you，’ I replied gratefully.  
　　‘You haven’ t got a sister， have you？’he asked sleepily. ‘No， I haven't, ’I answered. ‘What a pity！ If you had one， I'm sure she'd be a pretty, bright-eyed little girl. I would have liked to meet her.’ I thought of him a lot that night，with his laughing, hand-some face， and his careless, confident manner. I could never have imagined what a dark shadow he would throw over the lives of people who were dear to me. I stayed at Salem House for three more months. Although one or two of the teachers，like Mr Mell, were kind to us boys，and tried to teach us properly, we were too afraid of Mr Creakle and his stick to concentrate on our studies. But Tom-my Traddles and I cheered each other up if we were beaten，and I was lucky enough to be friendly with the great Steerforth，in spite of the difference in our ages. However， my home, even with the Murdstones there, seemed a much pleasanter place than school， and I was glad when the Christmas holidays arrived， and I was allowed to return to Blunderstone. I was a little surprised to find that my mother had a new baby， and I could see at once that she was not well. She looked tired and worried，and very thin. But she and Peggotty were delighted to see me， although they dared not show it if the Murdstones were present. My stepfather and his sister seemed to hate me even more than before， if that were possible， and they made my life quite miserable whenever they could. In fact， I was almost pleased when it was time to return to school， and see Traddles and Steerforth again. As the cart drove away， I remember my mother standing outside our house，with her baby in her arms, smiling sadly at me. That was the last time I saw her，and that is how I shall always remember her.  
　 
2 大卫被送往学校 
　  
　　这段时期我很不愉快。摩德斯通先生坚持要我学习，所以母亲就教我功课。在过去，母亲和我都可以从教和学当中得到乐趣，她用她温和的方式教给我许多知识。但如今，我们上课时摩德斯通先生和小姐都在场，这在很大程度上让我不能集中精神，记住所学的内容。可怜的母亲同情我，设法提示我，有时甚至悄声告诉我答案，可摩德斯通先生和小姐的耳朵特别尖。 
　　“克拉拉，亲爱的！”摩德斯通先生总是很恼怒地说道，“记住！要严厉！你这样帮着孩子会把他的脾气惯得更糟！” 
　　“哦，爱德华，很抱歉，”母亲答道，满脸尴尬，像一个认错的孩子似地低下了头。 
　　一天早上，我像往常一样来到客厅学功课，看见摩德斯通先生手上拿着一根细木棍，我的眼睛直钩钩地盯着它不放。 
　　“你今天要非常小心，大卫，”他冷笑道，双手握着那根木棍。 
　　我知道接下来要发生什么。一阵强烈的恐惧占据了我的心头，把我所学会的东西从我的记忆中一扫而光，以致于母亲问我的问题我一个都回答不上来。摩德斯通先生从座位上站起来。 
　　“好了，大卫，”他严厉地说，“我想你今天够难为你母亲的了，我们上楼吧，孩子，来吧。”他拿起木棍。我们俩上楼时我听见母亲在哭泣。 
　　“求您了，摩德斯通先生！”我哭道，“别打我！学习我尽了努力，我真的尽了努力，先生！” 
　　可他并不理睬。到了我的卧房，他抓住我的双臂，抡起木棍就打。我使劲抓住他的手，狠狠地咬了他一口。他愤怒地叫了一声，使出浑身的劲来打我。在我一阵阵的尖叫声背后，我听见母亲和辟果提在门外哭泣的声音。过了一会儿，他走了。我听见他锁了门。我躺在地上，浑身疼痛，还流着血。整个屋子似乎突然一下子变得寂静了。 
　　我一动不动地在地上躺了很长时间。晚上，摩德斯通小姐给我拿来一些面包和牛奶，放在我身边的地上，出门时还生气地冲我皱皱眉头。我被锁在房间里五天五夜，其间除了摩德斯通小姐默不作声地给我送点食物，未见有其他任何人来。对一个孩子来说，这五天时间简直就像数年，我至今还记得当时有多恐惧、有多内疚。 
　　第五天夜里，我听到有一个奇怪的声音从锁眼里传来。那是辟果提，设法给我送口信来了。 
　　“大卫少爷，亲爱的，”她低声抽泣道，“他们要把你送到寄宿学校去！明天！” 
　　“哦！辟果提！”我哭道，“那我就不能常见着你和妈妈了！” 
　　“不能了，我亲爱的。但你放心，我会照顾你母亲，她需要我这位脾气大的老辟果提！我会留下来陪她，尽管我讨厌摩德斯通姐弟。记住，大卫，我爱你跟爱你母亲一样，只多不少。我会写信给你。” 
　　“谢谢你，亲爱的辟果提！”我轻声回答，泪水滚落到脸颊。“请你也写信给你的兄弟，还有哈姆，小埃米莉，告诉他们我并不像摩德斯通姐弟认为的那么坏。带给他们我的问候，特别是小埃米莉，好吗？” 
　　辟果提答应了我的请求。第二天一早，摩德斯通小姐告诉我，由于我的劣行，我要被送往学校。她已经为我准备好行装。母亲只被允许在马车到达时说一句简单的道别话。马车夫把我的手提箱放到车上，我们就慢慢地离开了布兰德斯通。 
　　我一直不停地大声哭喊着，突然看见辟果提从后面追来。马车夫停下来等她，她很吃力地爬上了车。 
　　“给你，大卫少爷！”她上气不接下气地说道，“这是我和你亲爱的母亲留给你的小礼物！好好照顾自己，亲爱的！”她把一个小钱包和一个纸袋塞给我，又把我紧紧地贴到她肥胖的怀里，当时我觉得可能再也喘不上气了。然后，她跳下车，沿着马路跑回了村庄。 
　　我们继续往前赶路，我擦于泪水，打开她给我的东西。纸袋里是辟果提做的拿手糕点，钱包里有8先令闪亮的硬币。一想到母亲和辟果提我又一次哭起来。这时，车夫巴克斯先生开始说话了。他是一位红脸壮汉，显然很不擅长与人交谈。 
　　“是她做的这些点心？”他吃了我给他的一块蛋糕后，不紧不慢地问道。 
　　“你是指辟果提吧，先生？是的，我们家的饭菜全是由她做的。” 
　　“是吗？”巴克斯先生饶有兴趣地应了一句。沉默了好一会儿，他想好了另一个问题。 
　　“她有小伙子吗？”他问。“就是，有没有人想娶她？” 
　　“辟果提？小伙子？”我不解地重复道，“哦，没有，她从未有过任何小伙子。” 
　　“噢！”巴克斯先生答道，面露喜色。他又想了很长时间才开口说话。 
　　“那么，”他最后说道，“或许你给她写信时——你会给她写信吧？你可以替我捎个信，你写上‘巴克斯很愿意’，可以吗？” 
　　“‘巴克斯很愿意’，”我天真地重复道，捉摸着这句话的意思。“可以，当然。可你可以自己告诉她呀，巴克斯先生，等你明天回到布兰德斯通的时候。” 
　　“不，不，”他说，“不，你只管给她写上。记住：‘巴克斯很愿意。’” 
　　说完这些，巴克斯先生一路上就完全沉默了。到了雅茅斯，我在客栈买了些信纸，给辟果提寄了这样一封信： 
　　亲爱的辟果提： 
　　我已安全到达雅茅斯。巴克斯很愿意。 
　　请代我问候我母亲。 
　　你的大卫。 
　　附：他说此事很重要——巴克斯很愿意。 
　　　  
　　在雅茅斯我被送上一辆去伦敦的长途四轮马车，行驶了一整夜。在伦敦车站，有位叫梅尔先生的教师接待了我，并把我送到萨伦学校，那是摩德斯通先生为我选定的学校。 
　　学校由一幢很大的旧楼和一片杂乱的操场组成，四周围着很高的砖墙。我很奇怪，学校里空无一人，后被告知，学生们都放假了，而我却在假期里被送到学校是对我的劣行的一种惩罚。校长和老师们也都放假了，除了这位不得不照看我的梅尔先生以外。 
　　我在这个糟糕的地方呆了整整一个月，在肮脏不堪的空教室里做功课，闻着食物霉烂的气味和那种没洗干净的孩子身上的臭味。每天晚上我都得和梅尔先生一起吃晚饭，然后直接上床睡觉。最糟糕的是我必须在脖子上挂块牌子，牌子上写有“小心，他咬人”的字样。只有在上床睡觉时这块牌子才允许被摘下来。 
　　尽管这段时间我感到特别孤单，特别无聊，但我还是不期望见着其他孩子们。我觉得他们肯定会嘲笑我，尤其笑我不得不挂着的那块牌子。然而有一天，梅尔先生告诉我，校长克里古尔先生回来了，并要我去见他。于是我哆哆嗦嗦地来到他的房间。 
　　我一眼就发现克里古尔先生住得比孩子们和老师们要舒服得多。他个子矮小，身材肥胖，长着一个酒糟鼻。他坐在扶手椅上，面前放着一瓶酒和一个酒杯。 
　　“这，就是那个咬人的孩子，对吧？”他很不高兴地问道，“我认识你继父，孩子。他是个脾气特倔的人，他的确是。他认识我，我也认识他。你认识我吗？回答我，小子！”他粗暴地揪起我的耳朵。 
　　“还不认识，先生。”我回答，疼得直掉泪。 
　　“噢，你很快会认识的！噢，对了，我也是个脾气倔强的人，你会知道的！”他狠狠地捶了一下桌子。 
　　我很害怕，但还是竭力稳住自己，问了一个困扰了我一整个月的问题，“求您了，先生，我非常抱歉我对摩德斯通先生所做的一切。我能——我能在其他同学看到之前摘下这块牌子吗……？” 
　　克里古尔先生发出一声突兀、可怕的叫声，从椅子上跳起来。我没等看清他是否想揍我就跑回了宿舍，并在床上呆了足足一个钟头。 
　　然而，同学们对我并不像我担心的那样残酷。我很快就结识了一位叫汤米·特拉德的朋友，他被公认为学校里最不幸的孩子。我还引起了学校里最年长的孩子之一的詹姆士·斯提福兹的注意，甚至互相见面致意。他至少比我大6岁，长得英俊、人很聪明，留一头卷发，是学校里的出名人物，对年幼的孩子颇具影响力。 
　　“你有多少钱，科波菲尔？”他问我。 
　　“8先令，斯提福兹，”我回答他说，回想着母亲和辟果提送给我的礼物。 
　　“你最好给我，我替你保管，”他很友善地提议。 
　　我打开辟果提给的钱包，把钱一古脑全倒在他手上。 
　　“你现在大概想先花掉一部分吧？”他笑着建议道，“可以买瓶酒，买听饼干，买些糕点什么的？我随时可以外出，所以我可以帮你买回来。” 
　　“那——好吧，你真是个热心人。”虽然我有点担心我的钱会分文不剩，但还是这么说了。 
　　当我们上楼睡觉时，我意识到我的钱已经全部被花光了，因为借着月光可以看见，价值8先令的食品和饮料已经堆在我的床上。我当然不会一个人独享这些东西，所以邀请斯提福兹和其他的同学一起吃，随便吃。孩子们都非常乐意，那晚过得很愉快。我们坐在自己的床上，悄声聊开了。我发现孩子们都讨厌萨伦学校，认为这是全国最臭的学校之一。他们尤其讨厌克里古尔先生，说他有揍学生的癖好，用他那根从不离身的粗木棍。还说他唯一不敢揍的学生就是斯提福兹。我听了后对斯提福兹更加肃然起敬。 
　　当我们都感觉没劲再熬夜时，斯提福兹站起来要走。“晚安，小科波菲尔，”他把手放在我的头上，说道，“我会保护你的。” 
　　“你真是个好心人，”我感激道。 
　　“你没有姐妹，是吧？”他困倦地问道。 
　　“没有，我没有姐妹，”我答道。 
　　“真遗憾！要是你有的话，我敢肯定她是个漂亮的大眼睛姑娘，我就可以有幸见见她啦。” 
　　那晚，他让我捉摸不透，他的笑声，他那英俊的脸，他那不拘小节、桀骜不驯的气度。而我怎么也想像不到后来他会给我的亲友们的生活蒙上一层沉重的阴影。 
　　我在萨伦学校又呆了三个月。虽然也有一两个教师，如梅尔先生，对孩子们很和气，也设法给我们以正规的教育，但我们都害怕克里古尔先生和他的棍子，所以根本没法专心学习。不过，汤米·特拉德和我总是在挨打的时候互相安慰，而且我还很幸运与大孩子斯提福兹保持友好，虽然我们俩年龄相差很多。 
　　不管怎样，我的家，虽然有摩德斯通姐弟在，总显得比学校亲切。所以在圣诞来临之际，我很高兴，我可以回到布兰德斯通去了。我有些吃惊，母亲已经又生了一个小孩，看得出来她身体欠佳。她看上去很疲倦，忧心仲仲，而且瘦弱不堪。但她和辟果提见到我时都很高兴，尽管有摩德斯通姐弟在场时不敢表露出来。继父和他姐姐比以前更讨厌我了，只要有可能，他们就会抓住一切机会让我生活在痛苦之中。所以，当返校的日子来临，想着我又可以见到特拉德和斯提福兹时，我反而感到欣喜。 
　　马车开始启动，我记得母亲站在屋外，怀里抱着小孩，苦涩地微笑着。这是我最后一次见着她，这也是我至今依旧记得的她的模样。 
　　　    


 