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130 CHARLES,‘DI0KENSr’1:W0RK:53
pence-halfpenr. .
see Miss Mur stone secretly overjoyed. I pore ‘over
these cheeses without any result or enlightenment un-
til dinner-time ; when, having iuado a Mulatto of ‘ my-
self 1, getting the dirt of the slate into tlieporcs: of my
skin, have a slice of bread‘ to ‘help me out with the
cheeses, and am considered; in disgrace for the rest of
the evening. . ' . . .
It seems to me, at this distance oii.t1me, as if my. un-
fortunate studies generally took this course. I, ‘could
have done very well if I had been without the Murd'-
stones; but the inducnceof the Murdstoues upon me
was like the fascination of two snakes on a Wretched
young bird.
with tolerable credit, there was not much. gained. but
dinner, for Miss Murdstono never could enduroto see me
untaskod, and if I rashly made any show of being ‘un-
employed, called her brothcr’s attention to me by saying,
“Clara,.my dear, there’s nothing like work-sgivo your
boy an exercise ; ”1vhicl1' caused me to be clapped. down
to some new labour there and then. As to any,-pre.crea-
tion,with other children of my age, I had very little of
that '; for the gloomy theology of the Murdstones made
all children out to be a swarm of little vipers (though
there was a child once setvin the midst of the Disciples),
-and held that they contaminated one another.
The natural result of this treatment, continued, I sup-
. se, for some six months or more, was to make me $111?
on, dull, and dogged. I was not made the less so, by
mysense of being daily more and more shutout and
alienated from m mother. I believe I shouldhave been
almost stupefied ut for one circumstance. .
It was this. My father had left a small collection of
books in a little room up-stairs, to which I had access
(for ‘it adjoined my own) l1IId'Wlll(3ll nobody else in our
house over troubled. From that blessed little room,
Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Huiuphrey Clinker,
Tom Jones, The Vicar of Vvakeiield, Don Quixote, Gil
Bias, and Robinson Crusoe, came out, a glorioushost, to
keep me company,‘ They kept alive my fancy, and my
ho c of somethin beyond that place and time,-'-they,
an the Arabian ights, and the Tales of the Genii,--
and did me no harm ; for whatever harm was in someof
them was nottherefor me ; I knew nothing of, it. .It' is
astonishing to me now, how I found time, in the midst
of my porings and blunderings over heavier themes, to
read those books as I did. It is curious to,,me how I
could ever have consoled myself under mysmall troubles
(which were great troubles to me), by impcrsonatingmy
favouritecharacters in them-as I did-and ‘by puttin
Mr. and Miss Murdstone into all the bad. ones--which I
did‘ too. I have been Tom J ones (a child's Tom Jones, a
harmless creature) for a week together. I have sustained
my own idea of Roderick Random. for ,a month at a
stretch, Ivlvcrily believe. I had a greedy relish for a few,
volumes of Voyages and ,,T.ravels-I ‘forget wliat,;now--'
that were on tiose shelves; and fordays and days I can
remember to have gone about my region of our house,
armed with the centre-piece out offan old set of boot-
trees-tlie perfect; realisation of Captain Somebody, of
the Royal British Navy, in danger of being beset ,by
savages, and resolved to sell his- life at a‘ great price.
The Captain never lost dignity, for having his ears boxed.
with the Latin Grammar. I did ;. but the Captaiuwas a
Captain and a hero, in despite of all thogrammars of all
the languages in the world, deador alive; H ., .
,. This was my only and my constant comfort. -, "When I
think of it, the picture always rises in my mind-,of,a
summer evening, thevboys ‘at play“ in tho- churchyard,
and pl. sitting on my bed, reading as if for life. Every
barn in the neighbourhood, every stone u in vt1ie;c1iurch,‘
andpevcry foot of the churchyard, .had- some association
of its own, in my mind, connected with these books,‘and
stood forysonie locality; made famousin them; H I have
SEGHITDVI Pipes gowlimbing up the church-steeple, ; :1
have ‘watched; Strap,; with; tliedtnapsack on; his back,;
stopping to rest himself upon-the wicket-gate,;.and.,I;
know that Commodore,'I‘runnion held that-club‘ ,with.Mr.
Pickle, in the parlour of,our little village alehouseu ; H
, The readernnowunderstands as well ‘as, I do,m7],,;g .1,
was wh'eri I came to that . point of ‘my youthful history
‘9.“1.1i.0..11.1 am I.10.W.con.1ins again. I r ' ,, ' '
each, present payment”-at-which I .
Evensvlien I did get through the morning '
- 11.4 ntrfnto the parlour-with my
bogiii’ Ii“i3‘31iTtig,xll'31;1‘3Z‘cih2leiooiing anxious, Miss Maya.
stone looking firm, .0-t1<1'Mr.',IiiIurdst'one binding something
,Dam1, u,e,bottom-.of a.cane-a lithe.and limber cane,
which he left offbindings when 1.031110 ID: and 11701594
"t1 I ‘ I 1
Mg y%(l:1,l!(lJlar]?if?::‘said‘LIr. Murdstono, “ I halvcgbeven
Ofllxrll-,t,1o1,‘;g:urlaI.];) f)‘l'courso,” said Miss MurdstoneL; l I
' u(;cm1'm1'y,. mymdear Jane," faltered. my .mother;
meekly “yliute-but do you think it did Edward good ‘i ’,’
, "Dovyou think. it did Edward hur-rn,aC13Tf1’7”. asked
Mr. Murdstoue, gravely. .. vi ,,. , , . . : .
f‘,Thut)s,tl1o,po1nt.l said his sxstgr. I . =
,To this my mother r,eturned,,-.,Certa1nly.';Iy11y dear
Jnne,":andszii(1;IlO..II10re. g A 2 ‘ t , "
1, fe1t.[1pprc11enSlYQ that Iwas personally interested in
this ,dialogue.i;.a1id Bought, Mr. Murdstone’s eye as. it
‘, ‘ne. -. .i
hg‘1‘1l&gIV(‘).l1II)Illi,lV’ld," liesaid-and I sawthat‘ cast again, as
he said it’...-‘,.‘yo11,n‘lll$t be far more careful; to-day’ than
“Sun ‘iv ylmgm-e the cane Ill;i0ill8l“p0lSre, and another
switch ;, and having finished his preparation of it, laid it
down beside, him, with an expressive look, and; took, up
hisbooln - I 34 .r s‘'" it A -A’,
This was it goodfresliener to my presence of.mind,; as
:1 beginning; ,1; ‘felt’ the words ofanyjlessons slipping
off, not one,by, one, or line,by -line,;but ’by.the entire
page, I tried tojlnylxold of them; but: they SCEIl'1(‘d,.'.lf
lmay, so express, .it, to have put skateson, and: to skim
mmv from me with asmoothncss there was no checking.
,;VVe began badly, and wcnt..on’worsc.u I hndvcome. in
with an idea. of distinguishin myselfrathcr, conceiving
that Ijvas very well prepare ; butat, turned out to be
uite a mistake. Book after book was added to the heap
of, failures, Miss Murdstone being firmly watchful of us
all, the time.., And when we,carne ,at'last.to the five
tliousandxchccscs (canes :he, .made itrthat day, I remem-
ber), my-mother burst out crying. , '. ‘ , 2
" Clara i?Z,sa';l,Miss Murdstone, in her warning voice..
, .1‘. I am not'quite well, my dear J one, I think,”, said my
mother. ,1. , .. ' 2’ “ - ‘.
r’,I,saw', him wink, solemnly, at his sister, as he rose and
said,,takin up the cane: . . 3 :1- ’
“ lVhy, nnc, we can hardly expect Clara to bear, with
perfect firmness,,the Worry and torment that David has
occasioned,lier.vto-(la .‘ That would be stoical. r Clarais
greatlystrengthcnc and improved, but we can hardly
expect so much from>hcr.: David, you and I will go up-
stairs, boy.”; ; i ., I ,,.;, Q‘ .
As he took me out nttho door, my mother ran towards
us.. liliss-Murilstonesaid, “Clarai;are’you a perfect
fool,?.”, and interfered: ;I saw my mother stop hex-gears
then, and I heard her crying- , . ‘V .. .. ' ‘ , .g '
..'He,walked me up to my room slowly. and gravely’-I
amicertain l.1B'lla(l a,deli ht;iu,that.,formal5 parade of
executing, justice.-nnd , when .-.we got tl1ere,: suddenly
twisted my headunder his arm. ' ‘
‘,', Mr.. Murdstonei Sir I’’ I‘ cried; toiliimc “'Don’t l’
Pray don’,t.beat moiul liuve=trie‘d;to,:1earn, sir, but I
can‘t,learn.rwhile you and Miss Murdstone are by. ,1
can’tindeedi”i< .. , w w -I E.
if Can’t‘;you,,‘mdecd, David‘2’,' he said. .“,VVe‘ll try
tat." '
K :He had my1hcnd as in a vice, but I twined round him
someliowj and i stopped 2 him; for a, moment, Ientreatin
him not to beat me. ; It3WD.S only for;aimoment that
stopped for he cut me heavily an instant afterwards,’
nnd'in tho samejnstant I caught the hand withzwhich
he held mo in my, mouth, between my teeth, and ‘bit it
throu h. ;’It sets my teeth ,on edge to think of it. : . .
1 He eat;me then, as if. he would-hnvobeaten-me to.
dcath..‘. :Above ,all- the: noise, we made,',I heard’ them’
running uup . the stairs, and cryin ‘outs-I: heard ‘my?
mother.-crying out-,-and,-Peggotty.‘;: hen-ho; was one;
andvtho door,wa.s lockedoutside ;iand I was lying, ever-J.
ed and hot,‘ and ;torn,',and-sore, and‘ raging, in: my punyr
‘way, upon the door. '....i.;.!: A ;1- >
4, How .we1l..I recollect’; when I 5555310‘; ipiict,‘ wliht an
unnatura1,st1lln.c-ss seemed to? reign- through the whole;
house 1.: How. VVCl1'.1ll‘0lllf:lI.1l)el‘,'VVllCl1 my smart and:
Passion began to cool, how wicked I began to feclla '
r.w....-......... .
my 5!
it sit
gone ‘
come
retiir
' in
at illt
the 5!
the fl
irliicli
iiitii i
smell,
me in
to que
ippcai
oi tini-
inemli
licziiir
. iipii
I115
my" ii
that l
0CCI1l'i
hole.