Speaker 1: Chapter fifty eight of Great Expectations. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. Great
Speaker 1: Expectations by Charles Dickens, chapter fifty eight. The tidings of
Speaker 1: my high fortunes, having had a heavy fall, had got
Speaker 1: down to my native place and its neighborhood. Before I
Speaker 1: got there, I found a blue boar in possession of
Speaker 1: the intelligence, and I found that it made a great
Speaker 1: change in the boer's demeanor. Whereas the boar had cultivated
Speaker 1: my good opinion with warm assiduity when I was coming
Speaker 1: into property, the boar was exceedingly cool on the subject.
Speaker 1: Now that I was going out of property. It was
Speaker 1: evening when I arrived, much fatigued by the journey I
Speaker 1: had so often made so easily. The boar could not
Speaker 1: put me into my usual bedroom, which was engaged, probably
Speaker 1: by some one who had expectations, and could only assign
Speaker 1: me a very indifferent chamber among the pigeons and post
Speaker 1: chaises up the yard. But I had as sound asleep
Speaker 1: in that lodging as in the most superior accommodation the
Speaker 1: boar could have given me, and the quality of my
Speaker 1: dreams was about the same as in the best bedroom.
Speaker 1: Early in the morning, while my breakfast was getting ready,
Speaker 1: I strolled round by Satus house. There were printed bills
Speaker 1: on the gate and on bits of carpet hanging out
Speaker 1: of the windows, announcing a sail by auction of the
Speaker 1: household furniture and effects next week. The house itself was
Speaker 1: to be sold as old building materials and pulled down.
Speaker 1: Lot one was marked in whitewashed knock knee letters on
Speaker 1: the brew house, Lot two on that part of the
Speaker 1: main building which had been so long shut up. Other
Speaker 1: lots were marked off on other parts of the structure,
Speaker 1: and the ivy had been torn down to make room
Speaker 1: for the inscriptions, and much of a trailed low in
Speaker 1: the dust and was withered. Already stepping in for a
Speaker 1: moment at the open gate and looking around me with
Speaker 1: the uncomfortable air of a stranger who had no business there.
Speaker 1: I saw the auctioneer's clerk walking on the casks and
Speaker 1: telling them off for the information of a catalog compiler
Speaker 1: pen in hand, who made a temporary desk of the
Speaker 1: wheeled chair I had so often pushed along to the
Speaker 1: tune of Old Clem. When I got back to my
Speaker 1: breakfast in the Boer's coffee room, I found mister Pumblechook
Speaker 1: conversing with the landlord. Mister Pumblechook, not improved in appearance
Speaker 1: by his late nocturnal adventure, was waiting for me and
Speaker 1: addressed me in the following terms, young man, I am
Speaker 1: sorry to see you brought low, but what helse could
Speaker 1: be expected? What else could be expected? As he extended
Speaker 1: his hand with a magnificently forgiving air, and as I
Speaker 1: was broken by illness and unfit to quarrel, I took it.
Speaker 1: William said mister Pumblechook to the waiter, put a muffin
Speaker 1: on table, and has it come to this? Has it
Speaker 1: come to this? I frowningly sat down to my breakfast.
Speaker 1: Mister Pumblechuk stood over me and poured out my tea
Speaker 1: before I could touch the teapot, with the air of
Speaker 1: a benefactor who was resolved to be true to the last,
Speaker 1: William said, mister Pumblechuk mournfully put the salt on in
Speaker 1: happier times, addressing me, I think you took sugar, and
Speaker 1: did you take milk? You did sugar and milk. William
Speaker 1: bring a watercress, thank you, said I shortly. But I
Speaker 1: don't eat watercresses. You don't eat em, returned mister Pumblechuk,
Speaker 1: sighing and nodding his head several times, as if he
Speaker 1: might have expected that, and as if abstinence from watercresses
Speaker 1: were consistent with my downfall, true the simple fruits of
Speaker 1: the earth. No, you needn't bring any willyum. I went
Speaker 1: on with my breakfast, and mister Pumblechuk continued to stand
Speaker 1: over me, staring fishily and breathing noisily, as he always did.
Speaker 1: Little more than skin and bone, mused mister pumblechook aloud.
Speaker 1: And yet when he went from here, I may say
Speaker 1: with my blessing, and I spread afore him my humble
Speaker 1: store like the bee, he was as plump as a peach.
Speaker 1: This reminded me of the wonderful difference between the servile
Speaker 1: manner in which he had offered his hand in my
Speaker 1: new prosperity, saying may I, and the ostentatious clemency with
Speaker 1: which he had just now exhibited the same fat five
Speaker 1: fingers ha He went on handing me bread and butter.
Speaker 1: And are you going to Joseph in Heaven's name, said I, firing,
Speaker 1: in spite of myself. What does it matter to you
Speaker 1: where I'm going? Leave that teapot alone. It was the
Speaker 1: worst course I could have taken, because it gave Pumblchuk
Speaker 1: the opportunity he wanted. Yes, young man, said he, releasing
Speaker 1: the handle of the article in question, and retiring a
Speaker 1: step or two from my table, and speaking for the
Speaker 1: behoof of the landlord and waiter at the door, I
Speaker 1: will leave that teapot alone. You are right, young man.
Speaker 1: For once you are right, I forget myself when I
Speaker 1: take such an interest in your breakfast as to wish
Speaker 1: your frame, exhausted by the debilitating effects of prodigality, to
Speaker 1: be stimulated by the wholesome nourishment of your forefathers. And yet,
Speaker 1: said Pumblechuk, turning to the landlord and waiter and pointing
Speaker 1: me out at arm's length, this is him, as I
Speaker 1: ever sported with in his days of happy infancy. Tell
Speaker 1: me not, it cannot be. I tell you this is him.
Speaker 1: A low murmur from the two replied the waiter, appear
Speaker 1: to be particularly affected. This is him, said Pumblechuk, as
Speaker 1: I have rode in my shay cart. This is him,
Speaker 1: as I have seen brought up by hand. This is
Speaker 1: him unto the sister of which I was uncle by marriage,
Speaker 1: as her name was Georgiana Miria from her own mother.
Speaker 1: Let him deny it if he can. The waiter seemed
Speaker 1: convinced that I could not deny it, and that it
Speaker 1: gave the case a black look. Young man, said Pumblechuk,
Speaker 1: screwing his head at me in the old fashion. You
Speaker 1: are a going to Joseph. What does it matter to me?
Speaker 1: You ask me where you are a going. I say
Speaker 1: to you, sir, you are a going to Joseph. The
Speaker 1: waiter coughed, as if he modestly invited me to get
Speaker 1: over that. Now, said Pumblechuk, and all this with a
Speaker 1: most exasperating air of saying, in the cause of virtue,
Speaker 1: what was perfectly convincing and conclusive. I will tell you
Speaker 1: what to say to Joseph. Here is Squire's of the
Speaker 1: Boer present, known and respected in this town. And here
Speaker 1: is William, which his father's name was Potkins. If I
Speaker 1: do not deceive myself, you do not, sir, said William
Speaker 1: in their presence pursued Pomblchuk. I will tell you, young man,
Speaker 1: what to say to Joseph. Says you, Joseph, I have
Speaker 1: this day seen my earliest benefactor and the founder of
Speaker 1: my fortune. I will name no names, Joseph, but so
Speaker 1: they are pleased to call him up town. And I
Speaker 1: have seen that man. I swear I don't see him here,
Speaker 1: said I say that. Likewise, retorted Pomblchuk, say you said that,
Speaker 1: and even Joseph will probably betray surprise there you quite
Speaker 1: mistake him. Said I I know better, says you. Pomblchuk
Speaker 1: went on, Joseph, I have seen that man, and that
Speaker 1: man bears you no malice, and bears me no malice.
Speaker 1: He knows your character, Joseph, and is well acquainted with
Speaker 1: your pigheadedness and ignorance. And he knows my character, Joseph,
Speaker 1: and he knows my want of gratitude. Yes, Joseph, says you.
Speaker 1: Here Pomelchuk shook his head and hand at me. He
Speaker 1: knows my total deficiency of common human gratitude. He knows it, Joseph,
Speaker 1: as none can you do not know it, Joseph, having
Speaker 1: no call to know it, But that man do When
Speaker 1: did Donkey as he was. It really amazed me that
Speaker 1: he could have the face to talk thus to mine,
Speaker 1: says you, Joseph. He gave me a little message, which
Speaker 1: I will now repeat. It was that in my being
Speaker 1: brought low, he saw the finger of providence. He knowed
Speaker 1: that finger when he saw Joseph, and he saw it plain.
Speaker 1: He pointed out this writing Joseph reward of ingratitude to
Speaker 1: his earliest benefactor and founder of fortune. But that man
Speaker 1: said he did not repent of what he had done, Joseph,
Speaker 1: not at all. It was right to do it, it
Speaker 1: was kind to do it, it was benevolent to do it,
Speaker 1: and he would do it again. It's a pity, said
Speaker 1: I scornfully, as I finished my interrupted breakfast, that the
Speaker 1: man did not say what he had done and would
Speaker 1: do again.
Speaker 2: Squires of the Boar.
Speaker 1: Pummelchuk was now addressing the landlord and William. I have
Speaker 1: no objections to your mentioning, either up down or down town,
Speaker 1: if such should be your wishes, that it was right
Speaker 1: to do it, kind to do it, benevolent to do it,
Speaker 1: and that I would do it again. With these words,
Speaker 1: the impostor shook them both by the hand with an
Speaker 1: air and left the house, leaving me much more astonished
Speaker 1: than delighted by the virtues of that same indefinite it.
Speaker 1: I was not long after him in leaving the house, too,
Speaker 1: and when I went down the high street, I saw
Speaker 1: him holding forth, no doubt to the same effect, at
Speaker 1: his shop door, to a select group, who honored me
Speaker 1: with very unfavorable glances as I passed on the opposite
Speaker 1: side of the way. But it was only the pleasanter
Speaker 1: to turn to Biddy and to Joe, whose great forbearance
Speaker 1: shone more brightly than before, if that could be contrasted
Speaker 1: with this brazen pretender. I went towards them, slowly, for
Speaker 1: my limbs were weak, but with a sense of increasing
Speaker 1: relief as I drew nearer to them, and a sense
Speaker 1: of leaving arrogance and untruthfulness further and further behind. The
Speaker 1: June weather was delicious, the sky was blue, the larks
Speaker 1: were soaring high over the green corn. I thought all
Speaker 1: that countryside more beautiful and peaceful by far than I
Speaker 1: had ever known it to be. Yet many pleasant pictures
Speaker 1: of the life that I would lead there, and the
Speaker 1: change for the better that would come over my character.
Speaker 1: When I had a guiding spirit at my side, whose
Speaker 1: simple faith and clear home wisdom I had proved beguiled
Speaker 1: my way. They awakened a tender emotion in me, for
Speaker 1: my heart was softened by my return, and such a
Speaker 1: change had come to pass that I felt like one
Speaker 1: who was toiling home, barefoot from distant travel, and whose
Speaker 1: wanderings had lasted many year. The schoolhouse where Biddy was
Speaker 1: mistress I had never seen, but the little roundabout lane
Speaker 1: by which I entered the village for quietness's sake, took
Speaker 1: me past it. I was disappointed to find that the
Speaker 1: day was a holiday, no children were there, and Biddy's
Speaker 1: house was closed. Some hopeful notion of seeing her busily
Speaker 1: engaged in her daily duties before she saw me had
Speaker 1: been in my mind, and was defeated. But the forge
Speaker 1: was a very short distance off, and I went towards
Speaker 1: it under the sweet green limes, listening for the clink
Speaker 1: of Joe's hammer, long after I ought to have heard it,
Speaker 1: and long after I had fancied i'd heard it and
Speaker 1: found it, But a fancy all was still. The limes
Speaker 1: were there, and the white thorns were there, and the
Speaker 1: chestnut trees were there, and their leaves rustled harmoniously when
Speaker 1: I stopped to listen, but the clink of jo rose
Speaker 1: hammer was not in the midsummer wind. Almost fearing, without
Speaker 1: knowing why, to come in view of the forge, I
Speaker 1: saw it at last and saw that it was closed.
Speaker 1: No gleam of fire, no glittering shower of sparks, no
Speaker 1: roar of bellows, all shut up and still. But the
Speaker 1: house was not deserted, and the best parlor seemed to
Speaker 1: be in use, for there were white curtains fluttering in
Speaker 1: its window, and the window was open and gay with flowers.
Speaker 1: I went softly towards it, meaning to peep over the flowers,
Speaker 1: when Joe and Biddy stood before me, arm in arm.
Speaker 1: At first, Biddy gave a cry, as if she thought
Speaker 1: it was my apparition, But in another moment she was
Speaker 1: in my embrace. I wept to see her, and she
Speaker 1: wept to see me. Ay because she looked so fresh
Speaker 1: and pleasant, she because I looked so worn and white.
Speaker 1: But dear Biddy, how smart you are, yes, dear Pip
Speaker 1: And Joe, how smart you.
Speaker 2: Are, yes, dear old Pip old chap.
Speaker 1: I looked at both of them, from one to the other,
Speaker 1: and then it's my wedding day, cried Biddy, in a
Speaker 1: burst of happiness, and I am married to Joe. They
Speaker 1: had taken me into the kitchen, and I had laid
Speaker 1: my head down on the old deal table. Biddy held
Speaker 1: one of my hands to her lips, and Joe's restoring
Speaker 1: touch was on my shoulder, which you warn't strong enough,
Speaker 1: my dear fur to be surprised, said Joe, and Biddy said,
Speaker 1: I ought to have thought of it, dear Joe, but
Speaker 1: I was too happy. They were both so overjoyed to
Speaker 1: see me, so proud to see me, so touched by
Speaker 1: my coming to them, so delighted that I should have
Speaker 1: come by accident to make their day complete. My first
Speaker 1: thought was one of great thankfulness that I have never
Speaker 1: breathed this last baffled hope to Joe, how often while
Speaker 1: he was with me in my illness had it risen
Speaker 1: to my lips. How irrevocable would have been his knowledge
Speaker 1: of it if he had remained with me but another hour,
Speaker 1: dear Biddy said I you have the best husband in
Speaker 1: the whole world, and if you could have seen him
Speaker 1: by my bed, you would have. But no, you couldn't
Speaker 1: love him better than you do. No, I couldn't, indeed,
Speaker 1: said Biddy. And dear Joe, you have the best wife
Speaker 1: in the whole world, and she will make you as
Speaker 1: happy as even you deserve to be. You, dear, good
Speaker 1: noble Joe. Joe looked at me with a quivering lip,
Speaker 1: and fairly put his sleeve before his eyes. And Joe
Speaker 1: and Biddy, both, as you have been to church to
Speaker 1: day and are in charity and love with all mankind,
Speaker 1: receive my humble thanks for all you have done for me,
Speaker 1: and all I have so ill repaid. And when I
Speaker 1: say that I am going away within the hour, for
Speaker 1: I am soon going abroad, and that I shall never
Speaker 1: rest until I have worked for the money with which
Speaker 1: you have kept me out of prison and have sent
Speaker 1: it to you, don't think, dear Joe and Biddy, that
Speaker 1: if I could repay it a thousand times over, I
Speaker 1: suppose I could cancel a farthing of the debt I
Speaker 1: owe you, or that I would do so if I could.
Speaker 1: They were both melted by these words, and both entreated
Speaker 1: me to say no more. But I must say more,
Speaker 1: Dear Joe, I hope you will have children to love,
Speaker 1: and that some little fellow will sit in this chimney
Speaker 1: corner of a winter night, who may remind you of
Speaker 1: another little fellow gone out of it forever. Don't tell him, Joe,
Speaker 1: that I was thankless. Don't tell him, Biddy, that I
Speaker 1: was ungenerous and unjust. Only tell him that I honored
Speaker 1: you both because you were both so good and true,
Speaker 1: and that as your child, I said, it would be
Speaker 1: natural to him to grow up a much better man
Speaker 1: than I did. I ain't a going, said Joe, from
Speaker 1: behind his sleeve, to tell him nothing of that nature.
Speaker 1: Pip nor Bitty ain't nor yet, no one ain't. And
Speaker 1: now though I know you have already done it in
Speaker 1: your own kind hearts, pray tell me both that you
Speaker 1: forgive me. Pray let me hear you say the words,
Speaker 1: that I may carry the sound of them away with me,
Speaker 1: and that I shall be able to believe that you
Speaker 1: can trust me and think better of me in the
Speaker 1: time to come.
Speaker 2: Oh, dear old pip Old Chap, said Joe. God knows
Speaker 2: as I forgive you if I have anythink to forgive. Amen,
Speaker 2: And God knows I do, echoed Biddy. Now let me
Speaker 2: go up and look at my old little room and
Speaker 2: rest there a few minutes by myself, and then when
Speaker 2: I have eaten and drunk with you, go with me
Speaker 2: as far as the finger post, Dear Joe and Biddy,
Speaker 2: before we say good bye. I sold all I had
Speaker 2: and put aside as much as I could for a
Speaker 2: composition with my creditors, who gave me ample time to
Speaker 2: pay them in full, and I went out and joined Herbert.
Speaker 2: Within a month I had quitted England, and within two
Speaker 2: months I was clerk to Clerriker and Company, and within
Speaker 2: four months I assumed my first undivided responsibility for the
Speaker 2: beam across the parlor ceiling at Mill Pond. Bank had
Speaker 2: then ceased to tremble under old Bill Barr Growls and
Speaker 2: was at peace, and Herbert had gone away to marry Clara,
Speaker 2: and I was left in sole charge of the eastern
Speaker 2: branch until he brought her back. Many a year went
Speaker 2: round before I was a partner in the house. But
Speaker 2: I lived happily with Herbert and his wife, and lived
Speaker 2: frugally and paid my debts and maintained a constant correspondence.
Speaker 1: With Biddy and Joe. It was not until I became
Speaker 1: third in the firm that Clerriker betrayed me to Herbert.
Speaker 1: But he then declared that the secret of Herbert's partnership
Speaker 1: had been long enough upon his conscience, and he must
Speaker 1: tell it. So he told it, and Herbert was as
Speaker 1: much moved as amazed, and the dear fellow and I
Speaker 1: were not the worst friends. For the long concealment. I
Speaker 1: must not leave it to be supposed that we were
Speaker 1: ever a great house, or that we made mints of money.
Speaker 1: We were not in a grand way of business, but
Speaker 1: we had a good name, and worked for our profits
Speaker 1: and did very well. We owed so much to Herbert's
Speaker 1: ever cheerful industry and readiness, that I often wondered how
Speaker 1: I had conceived that old idea of his inaptitude, until
Speaker 1: I was one day enlightened by the reflection that perhaps
Speaker 1: the inaptitude had never been in him at all, but
Speaker 1: had been in me. End of Chapter