paul's introduction to a new scene

mrs pipchin's constitution was made of such hard metal, in spite of its liability to the fleshly weaknesses of standing in need of repose after chops, and of requiring to be coaxed to sleep by the soporific agency of sweet-breads, that it utterly set at naught the predictions of mrs wickam, and showed no symptoms of decline. yet, as paul's rapt interest in the old lady continued unbated, mrs wickam would not budge an inch from the position she had taken up. fortifying and entrenching herself on the strong ground of her uncle's betsey jane, she advised miss berry, as a friend, to prepare herself for the worst; and forewarned her that her aunt might, at any time, be expected to go off suddenly, like a powder-mill.

'i hope, miss berry,' mrs wickam would observe, 'that you'll come into whatever little property there may be to leave. you deserve it, i am sure, for yours is a trying life. though there don't seem much worth coming into - you'll excuse my being so open - in this dismal den.'

poor berry took it all in good part, and drudged and slaved away as usual; perfectly convinced that mrs pipchin was one of the most meritorious persons in the world, and making every day innumerable sacrifices of herself upon the altar of that noble old woman. but all these immolations of berry were somehow carried to the credit of mrs pipchin by mrs pipchin's friends and admirers; and were made to harmonise with, and carry out, that melancholy fact of the deceased mr pipchin having broken his heart in the peruvian mines.

for example, there was an honest grocer and general dealer in the retail line of business, between whom and mrs pipchin there was a small memorandum book, with a greasy red cover, perpetually in question, and concerning which divers secret councils and conferences were continually being held between the parties to that register, on the mat in the passage, and with closed doors in the parlour. nor were there wanting dark hints from master bitherstone (whose temper had been made revengeful by the solar heats of india acting on his blood), of balances unsettled, and of a failure, on one occasion within his memory, in the supply of moist sugar at tea-time. this grocer being a bachelor and not a man who looked upon the surface for beauty, had once made honourable offers for the hand of berry, which mrs pipchin had, with contumely and scorn, rejected. everybody said how laudable this was in mrs pipchin, relict of a man who had died of the peruvian mines; and what a staunch, high, independent spirit the old lady had. but nobody said anything about poor berry, who cried for six weeks (being soundly rated by her good aunt all the time), and lapsed into a state of hopeless spinsterhood.

'berry's very fond of you, ain't she?' paul once asked mrs pipchin when they were sitting by the fire with the cat.

'yes,' said mrs pipchin.

'why?' asked paul.

'why!' returned the disconcerted old lady. 'how can you ask such things, sir! why are you fond of your sister florence?'

'because she's very good,' said paul. 'there's nobody like florence.'

'well!' retorted mrs pipchin, shortly, 'and there's nobody like me, i suppose.'

'ain't there really though?' asked paul, leaning forward in his chair, and looking at her very hard.

'no,' said the old lady.

'i am glad of that,' observed paul, rubbing his hands thoughtfully. 'that's a very good thing.'

mrs pipchin didn't dare to ask him why, lest she should receive some perfectly annihilating answer. but as a compensation to her wounded feelings, she harassed master bitherstone to that extent until bed-time, that he began that very night to make arrangements for an overland return to india, by secreting from his supper a quarter of a round of bread and a fragment of moist dutch cheese, as the beginning of a stock of provision to support him on the voyage.

mrs pipchin had kept watch and ward over little paul and his sister for nearly twelve months. they had been home twice, but only for a few days; and had been constant in their weekly visits to mr dombey at the hotel. by little and little paul had grown stronger, and had become able to dispense with his carriage; though he still looked thin and delicate; and still remained the same old, quiet, dreamy child that he had been when first consigned to mrs pipchin's care. one saturday afternoon, at dusk, great consternation was occasioned in the castle by the unlooked-for announcement of mr dombey as a visitor to mrs pipchin. the population of the parlour was immediately swept upstairs as on the wings of a whirlwind, and after much slamming of bedroom doors, and trampling overhead, and some knocking about of master bitherstone by mrs pipchin, as a relief to the perturbation of her spirits, the black bombazeen garments of the worthy old lady darkened the audience-chamber where mr dombey was contemplating the vacant arm-chair of his son and heir.

'mrs pipchin,' said mr dombey, 'how do you do?'

'thank you, sir,' said mrs pipchin, 'i am pretty well, considering.'

mrs pipchin always used that form of words. it meant, considering her virtues, sacrifices, and so forth.

'i can't expect, sir, to be very well,' said mrs pipchin, taking a chair and fetching her breath; 'but such health as i have, i am grateful for.'

mr dombey inclined his head with the satisfied air of a patron, who felt that this was the sort of thing for which he paid so much a quarter. after a moment's silence he went on to say:

'mrs pipchin, i have taken the liberty of calling, to consult you in reference to my son. i have had it in my mind to do so for some time past; but have deferred it from time to time, in order that his health might be thoroughly re-established. you have no misgivings on that subject, mrs pipchin?'

'brighton has proved very beneficial, sir,' returned mrs pipchin. 'very beneficial, indeed.'

'i purpose,' said mr dombey, 'his remaining at brighton.'

mrs pipchin rubbed her hands, and bent her grey eyes on the fire.

'but,' pursued mr dombey, stretching out his forefinger, 'but possibly that he should now make a change, and lead a different kind of life here. in short, mrs pipchin, that is the object of my visit. my son is getting on, mrs pipchin. really, he is getting on.'

there was something melancholy in the triumphant air with which mr dombey said this. it showed how long paul's childish life had been to him, and how his hopes were set upon a later stage of his existence. pity may appear a strange word to connect with anyone so haughty and so cold, and yet he seemed a worthy subject for it at that moment.

'six years old!' said mr dombey, settling his neckcloth - perhaps to hide an irrepressible smile that rather seemed to strike upon the surface of his face and glance away, as finding no resting-place, than to play there for an instant. 'dear me, six will be changed to sixteen, before we have time to look about us.'

'ten years,' croaked the unsympathetic pipchin, with a frosty glistening of her hard grey eye, and a dreary shaking of her bent head, 'is a long time.'

'it depends on circumstances, returned mr dombey; 'at all events, mrs pipchin, my son is six years old, and there is no doubt, i fear, that in his studies he is behind many children of his age - or his youth,' said mr dombey, quickly answering what he mistrusted was a shrewd twinkle of the frosty eye, 'his youth is a more appropriate expression. now, mrs pipchin, instead of being behind his peers, my son ought to be before them; far before them. there is an eminence ready for him to mount upon. there is nothing of chance or doubt in the course before my son. his way in life was clear and prepared, and marked out before he existed. the education of such a young gentleman must not be delayed. it must not be left imperfect. it must be very steadily and seriously undertaken, mrs pipchin.'

'well, sir,' said mrs pipchin, 'i can say nothing to the contrary.'

'i was quite sure, mrs pipchin,' returned mr dombey, approvingly, 'that a person of your good sense could not, and would not.'

'there is a great deal of nonsense - and worse - talked about young people not being pressed too hard at first, and being tempted on, and all the rest of it, sir,' said mrs pipchin, impatiently rubbing her hooked nose. 'it never was thought of in my time, and it has no business to be thought of now. my opinion is "keep 'em at it".'

'my good madam,' returned mr dombey, 'you have not acquired your reputation undeservedly; and i beg you to believe, mrs pipchin, that i am more than satisfied with your excellent system of management, and shall have the greatest pleasure in commending it whenever my poor commendation - ' mr dombey's loftiness when he affected to disparage his own importance, passed all bounds - 'can be of any service. i have been thinking of doctor blimber's, mrs pipchin.'

'my neighbour, sir?' said mrs pipchin. 'i believe the doctor's is an excellent establishment. i've heard that it's very strictly conducted, and there is nothing but learning going on from morning to night.'

'and it's very expensive,' added mr dombey.

'and it's very expensive, sir,' returned mrs pipchin, catching at the fact, as if in omitting that, she had omitted one of its leading merits.

'i have had some communication with the doctor, mrs pipchin,' said mr dombey, hitching his chair anxiously a little nearer to the fire, 'and he does not consider paul at all too young for his purpose. he mentioned several instances of boys in greek at about the same age. if i have any little uneasiness in my own mind, mrs pipchin, on the subject of this change, it is not on that head. my son not having known a mother has gradually concentrated much - too much - of his childish affection on his sister. whether their separation - ' mr dombey said no more, but sat silent.

'hoity-toity!' exclaimed mrs pipchin, shaking out her black bombazeen skirts, and plucking up all the ogress within her. 'if she don't like it, mr dombey, she must be taught to lump it.' the good lady apologised immediately afterwards for using so common a figure of speech, but said (and truly) that that was the way she reasoned with 'em.

mr dombey waited until mrs pipchin had done bridling and shaking her head, and frowning down a legion of bitherstones and pankeys; and then said quietly, but correctively, 'he, my good madam, he.'

mrs pipchin's system would have applied very much the same mode of cure to any uneasiness on the part of paul, too; but as the hard grey eye was sharp enough to see that the recipe, however mr dombey might admit its efficacy in the case of the daughter, was not a sovereign remedy for the son, she argued the point; and contended that change, and new society, and the different form of life he would lead at doctor blimber's, and the studies he would have to master, would very soon prove sufficient alienations. as this chimed in with mr dombey's own hope and belief, it gave that gentleman a still higher opinion of mrs pipchin's understanding; and as mrs pipchin, at the same time, bewailed the loss of her dear little friend (which was not an overwhelming shock to her, as she had long expected it, and had not looked, in the beginning, for his remaining with her longer than three months), he formed an equally good opinion of mrs pipchin's disinterestedness. it was plain that he had given the subject anxious consideration, for he had formed a plan, which he announced to the ogress, of sending paul to the doctor's as a weekly boarder for the first half year, during which time florence would remain at the castle, that she might receive her brother there, on saturdays. this would wean him by degrees, mr dombey said; possibly with a recollection of his not having been weaned by degrees on a former occasion.

mr dombey finished the interview by expressing his hope that mrs pipchin would still remain in office as general superintendent and overseer of his son, pending his studies at brighton; and having kissed paul, and shaken hands with florence, and beheld master bitherstone in his collar of state, and made miss pankey cry by patting her on the head (in which region she was uncommonly tender, on account of a habit mrs pipchin had of sounding it with her knuckles, like a cask), he withdrew to his hotel and dinner: resolved that paul, now that he was getting so old and well, should begin a vigorous course of education forthwith, to qualify him for the position in which he was to shine; and that doctor blimber should take him in hand immediately.

whenever a young gentleman was taken in hand by doctor blimber, he might consider himself sure of a pretty tight squeeze. the doctor only undertook the charge of ten young gentlemen, but he had, always ready, a supply of learning for a hundred, on the lowest estimate; and it was at once the business and delight of his life to gorge the unhappy ten with it.

in fact, doctor blimber's establishment was a great hot-house, in which there was a forcing apparatus incessantly at work. all the boys blew before their time. mental green-peas were produced at christmas, and intellectual asparagus all the year round. mathematical gooseberries (very sour ones too) were common at untimely seasons, and from mere sprouts of bushes, under doctor blimber's cultivation. every description of greek and latin vegetable was got off the driest twigs of boys, under the frostiest circumstances. nature was of no consequence at all. no matter what a young gentleman was intended to bear, doctor blimber made him bear to pattern, somehow or other.

this was all very pleasant and ingenious, but the system of forcing was attended with its usual disadvantages. there was not the right taste about the premature productions, and they didn't keep well. moreover, one young gentleman, with a swollen nose and an excessively large head (the oldest of the ten who had 'gone through' everything), suddenly left off blowing one day, and remained in the establishment a mere stalk. and people did say that the doctor had rather overdone it with young toots, and that when he began to have whiskers he left off having brains.

there young toots was, at any rate; possessed of the gruffest of voices and the shrillest of minds; sticking ornamental pins into his shirt, and keeping a ring in his waistcoat pocket to put on his little finger by stealth, when the pupils went out walking; constantly falling in love by sight with nurserymaids, who had no idea of his existence; and looking at the gas-lighted world over the little iron bars in the left-hand corner window of the front three pairs of stairs, after bed-time, like a greatly overgrown cherub who had sat up aloft much too long.

the doctor was a portly gentleman in a suit of black, with strings at his knees, and stockings below them. he had a bald head, highly polished; a deep voice; and a chin so very double, that it was a wonder how he ever managed to shave into the creases. he had likewise a pair of little eyes that were always half shut up, and a mouth that was always half expanded into a grin, as if he had, that moment, posed a boy, and were waiting to convict him from his own lips. insomuch, that when the doctor put his right hand into the breast of his coat, and with his other hand behind him, and a scarcely perceptible wag of his head, made the commonest observation to a nervous stranger, it was like a sentiment from the sphynx, and settled his business.

the doctor's was a mighty fine house, fronting the sea. not a joyful style of house within, but quite the contrary. sad-coloured curtains, whose proportions were spare and lean, hid themselves despondently behind the windows. the tables and chairs were put away in rows, like figures in a sum; fires were so rarely lighted in the rooms of ceremony, that they felt like wells, and a visitor represented the bucket; the dining-room seemed the last place in the world where any eating or drinking was likely to occur; there was no sound through all the house but the ticking of a great clock in the hall, which made itself audible in the very garrets; and sometimes a dull cooing of young gentlemen at their lessons, like the murmurings of an assemblage of melancholy pigeons.

miss blimber, too, although a slim and graceful maid, did no soft violence to the gravity of the house. there was no light nonsense about miss blimber. she kept her hair short and crisp, and wore spectacles. she was dry and sandy with working in the graves of deceased languages. none of your live languages for miss blimber. they must be dead - stone dead - and then miss blimber dug them up like a ghoul.

mrs blimber, her mama, was not learned herself, but she pretended to be, and that did quite as well. she said at evening parties, that if she could have known cicero, she thought she could have died contented. it was the steady joy of her life to see the doctor's young gentlemen go out walking, unlike all other young gentlemen, in the largest possible shirt-collars, and the stiffest possible cravats. it was so classical, she said.

as to mr feeder, b.a., doctor blimber's assistant, he was a kind of human barrel-organ, with a little list of tunes at which he was continually working, over and over again, without any variation. he might have been fitted up with a change of barrels, perhaps, in early life, if his destiny had been favourable; but it had not been; and he had only one, with which, in a monotonous round, it was his occupation to bewilder the young ideas of doctor blimber's young gentlemen. the young gentlemen were prematurely full of carking anxieties. they knew no rest from the pursuit of stony-hearted verbs, savage noun-substantives, inflexible syntactic passages, and ghosts of exercises that appeared to them in their dreams. under the forcing system, a young gentleman usually took leave of his spirits in three weeks. he had all the cares of the world on his head in three months. he conceived bitter sentiments against his parents or guardians in four; he was an old misanthrope, in five; envied curtius that blessed refuge in the earth, in six; and at the end of the first twelvemonth had arrived at the conclusion, from which he never afterwards departed, that all the fancies of the poets, and lessons of the sages, were a mere collection of words and grammar, and had no other meaning in the world.

but he went on blow, blow, blowing, in the doctor's hothouse, all the time; and the doctor's glory and reputation were great, when he took his wintry growth home to his relations and friends.

upon the doctor's door-steps one day, paul stood with a fluttering heart, and with his small right hand in his father's. his other hand was locked in that of florence. how tight the tiny pressure of that one; and how loose and cold the other!

mrs pipchin hovered behind the victim, with her sable plumage and her hooked beak, like a bird of ill-omen. she was out of breath - for mr dombey, full of great thoughts, had walked fast - and she croaked hoarsely as she waited for the opening of the door.

'now, paul,' said mr dombey, exultingly. 'this is the way indeed to be dombey and son, and have money. you are almost a man already.'

'almost,' returned the child.

even his childish agitation could not master the sly and quaint yet touching look, with which he accompanied the reply.

it brought a vague expression of dissatisfaction into mr dombey's face; but the door being opened, it was quickly gone

'doctor blimber is at home, i believe?' said mr dombey.

the man said yes; and as they passed in, looked at paul as if he were a little mouse, and the house were a trap. he was a weak-eyed young man, with the first faint streaks or early dawn of a grin on his countenance. it was mere imbecility; but mrs pipchin took it into her head that it was impudence, and made a snap at him directly.

'how dare you laugh behind the gentleman's back?' said mrs pipchin. 'and what do you take me for?'

'i ain't a laughing at nobody, and i'm sure i don't take you for nothing, ma'am,' returned the young man, in consternation.

'a pack of idle dogs!' said mrs pipchin, 'only fit to be turnspits. go and tell your master that mr dombey's here, or it'll be worse for you!'

the weak-eyed young man went, very meekly, to discharge himself of this commission; and soon came back to invite them to the doctor's study.

'you're laughing again, sir,' said mrs pipchin, when it came to her turn, bringing up the rear, to pass him in the hall.

'i ain't,' returned the young man, grievously oppressed. 'i never see such a thing as this!'

'what is the matter, mrs pipchin?' said mr dombey, looking round. 'softly! pray!'

mrs pipchin, in her deference, merely muttered at the young man as she passed on, and said, 'oh! he was a precious fellow' - leaving the young man, who was all meekness and incapacity, affected even to tears by the incident. but mrs pipchin had a way of falling foul of all meek people; and her friends said who could wonder at it, after the peruvian mines!

the doctor was sitting in his portentous study, with a globe at each knee, books all round him, homer over the door, and minerva on the mantel-shelf. 'and how do you do, sir?' he said to mr dombey, 'and how is my little friend?' grave as an organ was the doctor's speech; and when he ceased, the great clock in the hall seemed (to paul at least) to take him up, and to go on saying, 'how, is, my, lit, tle, friend? how, is, my, lit, tle, friend?' over and over and over again.

the little friend being something too small to be seen at all from where the doctor sat, over the books on his table, the doctor made several futile attempts to get a view of him round the legs; which mr dombey perceiving, relieved the doctor from his embarrassment by taking paul up in his arms, and sitting him on another little table, over against the doctor, in the middle of the room.

'ha!' said the doctor, leaning back in his chair with his hand in his breast. 'now i see my little friend. how do you do, my little friend?'

the clock in the hall wouldn't subscribe to this alteration in the form of words, but continued to repeat how, is, my, lit, tle, friend? how, is, my, lit, tle, friend?'

'very well, i thank you, sir,' returned paul, answering the clock quite as much as the doctor.

'ha!' said doctor blimber. 'shall we make a man of him?'

'do you hear, paul?' added mr dombey; paul being silent.

'shall we make a man of him?' repeated the doctor.

'i had rather be a child,' replied paul.

'indeed!' said the doctor. 'why?'

the child sat on the table looking at him, with a curious expression of suppressed emotion in his face, and beating one hand proudly on his knee as if he had the rising tears beneath it, and crushed them. but his other hand strayed a little way the while, a little farther - farther from him yet - until it lighted on the neck of florence. 'this is why,' it seemed to say, and then the steady look was broken up and gone; the working lip was loosened; and the tears came streaming forth.

'mrs pipchin,' said his father, in a querulous manner, 'i am really very sorry to see this.'

'come away from him, do, miss dombey,' quoth the matron.

'never mind,' said the doctor, blandly nodding his head, to keep mrs pipchin back. 'never mind; we shall substitute new cares and new impressions, mr dombey, very shortly. you would still wish my little friend to acquire - '

'everything, if you please, doctor,' returned mr dombey, firmly.

'yes,' said the doctor, who, with his half-shut eyes, and his usual smile, seemed to survey paul with the sort of interest that might attach to some choice little animal he was going to stuff. 'yes, exactly. ha! we shall impart a great variety of information to our little friend, and bring him quickly forward, i daresay. i daresay. quite a virgin soil, i believe you said, mr dombey?'

'except some ordinary preparation at home, and from this lady,' replied mr dombey, introducing mrs pipchin, who instantly communicated a rigidity to her whole muscular system, and snorted defiance beforehand, in case the doctor should disparage her; 'except so far, paul has, as yet, applied himself to no studies at all.'

doctor blimber inclined his head, in gentle tolerance of such insignificant poaching as mrs pipchin's, and said he was glad to hear it. it was much more satisfactory, he observed, rubbing his hands, to begin at the foundation. and again he leered at paul, as if he would have liked to tackle him with the greek alphabet, on the spot.

'that circumstance, indeed, doctor blimber,' pursued mr dombey, glancing at his little son, 'and the interview i have already had the pleasure of holding with you, renders any further explanation, and consequently, any further intrusion on your valuable time, so unnecessary, that - '

'now, miss dombey!' said the acid pipchin.

'permit me,' said the doctor, 'one moment. allow me to present mrs blimber and my daughter; who will be associated with the domestic life of our young pilgrim to parnassus mrs blimber,' for the lady, who had perhaps been in waiting, opportunely entered, followed by her daughter, that fair sexton in spectacles, 'mr dombey. my daughter cornelia, mr dombey. mr dombey, my love,' pursued the doctor, turning to his wife, 'is so confiding as to - do you see our little friend?'

mrs blimber, in an excess of politeness, of which mr dombey was the object, apparently did not, for she was backing against the little friend, and very much endangering his position on the table. but, on this hint, she turned to admire his classical and intellectual lineaments, and turning again to mr dombey, said, with a sigh, that she envied his dear son.

'like a bee, sir,' said mrs blimber, with uplifted eyes, 'about to plunge into a garden of the choicest flowers, and sip the sweets for the first time virgil, horace, ovid, terence, plautus, cicero. what a world of honey have we here. it may appear remarkable, mr dombey, in one who is a wife - the wife of such a husband - '

'hush, hush,' said doctor blimber. 'fie for shame.'

'mr dombey will forgive the partiality of a wife,' said mrs blimber, with an engaging smile.

mr dombey answered 'not at all:' applying those words, it is to be presumed, to the partiality, and not to the forgiveness.

'and it may seem remarkable in one who is a mother also,' resumed mrs blimber.

'and such a mother,' observed mr dombey, bowing with some confused idea of being complimentary to cornelia.

'but really,' pursued mrs blimber, 'i think if i could have known cicero, and been his friend, and talked with him in his retirement at tusculum (beau-ti-ful tusculum!), i could have died contented.'

a learned enthusiasm is so very contagious, that mr dombey half believed this was exactly his case; and even mrs pipchin, who was not, as we have seen, of an accommodating disposition generally, gave utterance to a little sound between a groan and a sigh, as if she would have said that nobody but cicero could have proved a lasting consolation under that failure of the peruvian mines, but that he indeed would have been a very davy-lamp of refuge.

cornelia looked at mr dombey through her spectacles, as if she would have liked to crack a few quotations with him from the authority in question. but this design, if she entertained it, was frustrated by a knock at the room-door.

'who is that?' said the doctor. 'oh! come in, toots; come in. mr dombey, sir.' toots bowed. 'quite a coincidence!' said doctor blimber. 'here we have the beginning and the end. alpha and omega our head boy, mr dombey.'

the doctor might have called him their head and shoulders boy, for he was at least that much taller than any of the rest. he blushed very much at finding himself among strangers, and chuckled aloud.

'an addition to our little portico, toots,' said the doctor; 'mr dombey's son.'

young toots blushed again; and finding, from a solemn silence which prevailed, that he was expected to say something, said to paul, 'how are you?' in a voice so deep, and a manner so sheepish, that if a lamb had roared it couldn't have been more surprising.

'ask mr feeder, if you please, toots,' said the doctor, 'to prepare a few introductory volumes for mr dombey's son, and to allot him a convenient seat for study. my dear, i believe mr dombey has not seen the dormitories.'

'if mr dombey will walk upstairs,' said mrs blimber, 'i shall be more than proud to show him the dominions of the drowsy god.'

with that, mrs blimber, who was a lady of great suavity, and a wiry figure, and who wore a cap composed of sky-blue materials, pied upstairs with mr dombey and cornelia; mrs pipchin following, and looking out sharp for her enemy the footman.

while they were gone, paul sat upon the table, holding florence by the hand, and glancing timidly from the doctor round and round the room, while the doctor, leaning back in his chair, with his hand in his breast as usual, held a book from him at arm's length, and read. there was something very awful in this manner of reading. it was such a determined, unimpassioned, inflexible, cold-blooded way of going to work. it left the doctor's countenance exposed to view; and when the doctor smiled suspiciously at his author, or knit his brows, or shook his head and made wry faces at him, as much as to say, 'don't tell me, sir; i know better,' it was terrific.

toots, too, had no business to be outside the door, ostentatiously examining the wheels in his watch, and counting his half-crowns. but that didn't last long; for doctor blimber, happening to change the position of his tight plump legs, as if he were going to get up, toots swiftly vanished, and appeared no more.

mr dombey and his conductress were soon heard coming downstairs again, talking all the way; and presently they re-entered the doctor's study.

'i hope, mr dombey,' said the doctor, laying down his book, 'that the arrangements meet your approval.'

'they are excellent, sir,' said mr dombey.

'very fair, indeed,' said mrs pipchin, in a low voice; never disposed to give too much encouragement.

'mrs pipchin,' said mr dombey, wheeling round, 'will, with your permission, doctor and mrs blimber, visit paul now and then.'

'whenever mrs pipchin pleases,' observed the doctor.

'always happy to see her,' said mrs blimber.

'i think,' said mr dombey, 'i have given all the trouble i need, and may take my leave. paul, my child,' he went close to him, as he sat upon the table. 'good-bye.'

'good-bye, papa.'

the limp and careless little hand that mr dombey took in his, was singularly out of keeping with the wistful face. but he had no part in its sorrowful expression. it was not addressed to him. no, no. to florence - all to florence.

if mr dombey in his insolence of wealth, had ever made an enemy, hard to appease and cruelly vindictive in his hate, even such an enemy might have received the pang that wrung his proud heart then, as compensation for his injury.

he bent down, over his boy, and kissed him. if his sight were dimmed as he did so, by something that for a moment blurred the little face, and made it indistinct to him, his mental vision may have been, for that short time, the clearer perhaps.

'i shall see you soon, paul. you are free on saturdays and sundays, you know.'

'yes, papa,' returned paul: looking at his sister. 'on saturdays and sundays.'

'and you'll try and learn a great deal here, and be a clever man,' said mr dombey; 'won't you?'

'i'll try,' returned the child, wearily.

'and you'll soon be grown up now!' said mr dombey.

'oh! very soon!' replied the child. once more the old, old look passed rapidly across his features like a strange light. it fell on mrs pipchin, and extinguished itself in her black dress. that excellent ogress stepped forward to take leave and to bear off florence, which she had long been thirsting to do. the move on her part roused mr dombey, whose eyes were fixed on paul. after patting him on the head, and pressing his small hand again, he took leave of doctor blimber, mrs blimber, and miss blimber, with his usual polite frigidity, and walked out of the study.

despite his entreaty that they would not think of stirring, doctor blimber, mrs blimber, and miss blimber all pressed forward to attend him to the hall; and thus mrs pipchin got into a state of entanglement with miss blimber and the doctor, and was crowded out of the study before she could clutch florence. to which happy accident paul stood afterwards indebted for the dear remembrance, that florence ran back to throw her arms round his neck, and that hers was the last face in the doorway: turned towards him with a smile of encouragement, the brighter for the tears through which it beamed.

it made his childish bosom heave and swell when it was gone; and sent the globes, the books, blind homer and minerva, swimming round the room. but they stopped, all of a sudden; and then he heard the loud clock in the hall still gravely inquiring 'how, is, my, lit, tle, friend? how, is, my, lit, tle, friend?' as it had done before.

he sat, with folded hands, upon his pedestal, silently listening. but he might have answered 'weary, weary! very lonely, very sad!' and there, with an aching void in his young heart, and all outside so cold, and bare, and strange, paul sat as if he had taken life unfurnished, and the upholsterer were never coming.

皮普钦太太的体质是由这样坚硬的金属做成的，它虽然难免身躯虚弱，需要在吃过排骨之后休息休息，也需要依赖小羊胰脏的催眠作用才能进入梦乡，但它使威肯姆大嫂的预言完全落了空，没有显露出衰老的任何症状。然而，由于保罗对这位老太太全神贯注的兴趣并没有减弱，所以威肯姆大嫂也不愿意从她原先的立场上后退一英寸。她以她舅舅的女儿贝特西·简为坚强后盾，挖掘壕沟，构筑要塞，防卫着自己的地段，因此她以一位朋友的身份劝告贝里小姐要为发生最坏的情况作好准备，并预先警告她，她的姑妈在任何时候都可能像火药厂一样突然爆炸。

可怜的贝里毫无恶感地接受了所有这些劝告，并跟往常一样，像奴隶一样拼命做着苦工；她完全相信，皮普钦太太是世界上最值得称颂的人之一，自愿作出无数牺牲，奉献给那位尊贵的老女人的祭坛。可是贝里所作出的所有这些牺牲却被皮普钦太太的朋友们与崇拜者们记为皮普钦太太的功劳，而且还跟那件令人伤感的事实——已故的皮普钦先生是在秘鲁的矿井伤心而死的——联系起来，认为两者是一脉相承的。

例如，有一位经营食品、杂货和一般零售业的诚实的商人，与皮普钦太太之间有一本油腻的红封面的小备忘录，它总是不断地引起争议；为了这一点，登记册涉及的各方经常在铺了席子的走廊里或在关着门的客厅里举行各种秘密的磋商与会议。比瑟斯通少爷（由于印度的太阳热对他的血液发生作用的缘故，因此他产生了一副爱报复的脾气）也屡次隐约地暗示，钱款收支不符，差额没有结清；他还记得，有一次喝茶的时候，没有供应潮湿的糖。这位商人是个单身汉，并不看重外表的漂亮，有一次规规矩矩地向贝里求婚，但皮普钦太太却傲慢无礼地刻薄挖苦他，把他的求婚给拒绝了。人人都说，皮普钦太太，一位死在秘鲁矿井的男子的遗孀，这样做是多么值得称赞，还说这位老太太有着多么坚强、高尚与独立的精神。可是对可怜的贝里却没有一个人说过一句话；她哭了六个星期（她善良的姑妈一直在严厉地斥责她），并落到一个绝望的老处女的处境。

“贝里很喜欢您，是不是？”有一次当他们和那只猫一起坐在炉旁的时候，保罗问皮普钦太太。

“是的，”皮普钦太太说道。

“为什么？”保罗问道。

“为什么！”心烦意乱的老太太回答道。“您怎么能问这样的事情，先生！您为什么喜欢您的姐姐弗洛伦斯？”

“因为她很好，”保罗说道，“没有什么人能像弗洛伦斯那样。”

“唔！”皮普钦太太简单地回答道。“那么也没有什么人能像我这样，我想。”

“难道真的没有吗？”保罗在椅子里向前欠身，很专注地看着她，问道。

“没有，”老太太说道。

“这使我很高兴，”保罗认真思考地搓搓手，说道。“这是件很好的事情。”

皮普钦太太不敢问他为什么，唯恐会得到一个完全使她陷入绝境的答复。可是，为了补偿她在感情上所受到的创伤，她把比瑟斯通少爷大大地折磨了一通，直到睡觉为止，因此他在当天夜里开始作出了由陆路回到印度去的安排，办法是吃晚饭的时候偷偷地藏起四分之一块面包和一小片潮湿的荷兰乳酪，就这样开始储存起旅途中所需的食品。

皮普钦太太对小保罗和他的姐姐看管、监护了将近十二个月。他们曾经回家去过两次，但只住了几天，每个星期照常总要到旅馆里去看望董贝先生。保罗虽然看去仍旧消瘦、虚弱，而且跟他当初被托付给皮普钦太太看管时一样，仍然同样是那个老气的、安静的、喜爱幻想的孩子，但他逐渐逐渐地强壮起来，不坐车也能出去走走了；在一个星期六的下午，已经是薄暮的时候，这里接到了一个事先没有预料到的通知：董贝先生要来拜访皮普钦太太，这在城堡中引起了极大的惊慌。客厅里的人们就像被旋风刮起来一般，飞快地被赶到了楼上；寝室的门被砰砰地关上，脚从孩子们的头踩踏过去，皮普钦太太又把比瑟斯通少爷接二连三地打了一阵，来减轻一下她精神上的焦虑不安；在这之后，这位可尊敬的老太太走进了接见室，她的黑色的邦巴辛毛葛衣服使室内的光线昏暗下来；董贝先生正在室内细心观察着他的儿子和继承人的空着的扶手椅子。

“皮普钦太太，”董贝先生说道，“您好吗？”

“谢谢您，先生，”皮普钦太太说道，“从多方面考虑来说，我还不错。”

皮普钦太太经常使用这样的措词。它的意思是，考虑到她的品德、牺牲等等。

“我不能指望我的身体非常好，先生，”皮普钦太太坐到一张椅子里，缓一口气；“但我能像现在这样的健康，我是感谢天主的。”

董贝先生露出顾主满意的神情，低下了头，他觉得这正是他每个季度付出这么多的钱所要得到的。在片刻的沉默之后，他往下说道：

“皮普钦太太，我冒昧地前来拜访，是想跟您商量一下我儿子的事。过去好些时候我就有意这样做了，但却一次又一次地推迟，为的是让他的健康完全恢复过来。您在这个问题上没有什么顾虑吧，皮普钦太太？”

“布赖顿看来是个有益于健康的地方，先生，”皮普钦太太回答道。“确实很有益。”

“我打算，”董贝先生说道，“让他继续留在布赖顿。”

皮普钦太太搓搓手，灰色的眼睛注视着炉火。

“但是，”董贝先生伸出食指，继续说道，“但是可能他现在应当有一点变化，在这里过一种完全不同的生活。总而言之，皮普钦太太，这就是我这次拜访的目的。我的儿子在成长，皮普钦太太。他确实在成长。”

董贝先生说这些话时的得意神情中有一些令人伤感的东西。它表明，保罗的童年生活对他是显得多么长久，同时他的希望是怎样寄托在他生命的较后阶段的。对于任何一位像这样傲慢这样冷酷的人来说，怜悯可能是一个无法与他联系起来的字眼，然而在目前这个时刻，他似乎正好是怜悯的很好的对象。

“六岁了！”董贝先生说道，一边整整领饰——也许是为了掩藏一个控制不住的微笑，那微笑似乎片刻也不想在他的脸上展现开来，而只是想在脸的表面一掠而过就消失不见，但却没有找到一个停落的地方。“哎呀！当我们还来不及向四周看看的时候，六岁就将转变成十六岁了。”

“十年，”毫无同情心的皮普钦用哭丧的声音说道，她那冷酷的灰色眼睛冷若冰霜地闪了一下光，低垂的头阴郁地摇晃了一下，“是很长的时间。”

“这取决于境况如何，”董贝先生回答道；“不管怎么样，皮普钦太太，我的儿子已经六岁了；我担心，跟他同样年龄或者说跟他同样处于少年时期的许多孩子相比，他在学习上毫无疑问已经落后了。”他迅速地回答了那只冷若冰霜的眼睛中发出的一道他觉得是狡狯的眼光，“跟他同样处于少年时期——这个说法更恰当。可是，皮普钦太太，我的儿子不能落在他的同辈人的后面，而应当超过他们，远远地超过他们。有一个高地正等待着他去攀登。在我的儿子的未来的生活路程中没有什么听凭机会摆布或存在疑问的东西。他的生活道路是没有障碍的，预先准备好的，在他出生之前就已经筹划定了的。这样一位年轻绅士的教育是不应该耽误的。不应该让它处于不完善的状态。它必须很坚定很认真地进行，皮普钦太太。”

“唔，先生，”皮普钦太太说道，“我不会有什么异议。”

“我完全相信，皮普钦太太，”董贝先生赞同地说道，“像您这样有卓越见识的人是不会，也不愿意有异议的。”

“现在人们谈论着各种乌七八糟的废话，——比废话还不如——，说什么对年轻人开始不要强迫得太厉害，而应当循循善诱，其他等等，先生，”皮普钦太太不耐烦地擦了擦她的钩鼻，说道，“在我做孩子的时候，从来没有这样一些想法。现在也用不着这样去想。我的意见是，‘强迫他们去做’。”

“我的好夫人，”董贝先生回答道，“您真是名不虚传；请您相信，皮普钦太太，我对您优良的管理制度非常满意；只要我不足挂齿的推荐意见能有什么用的话，我将会十分高兴来推荐它。”——当董贝先生假装贬低自己的重要性时，他的高傲是超越一切限度的——，“我一直在考虑布林伯博士的学校，皮普钦太太。”

“我的近邻吗，先生？”皮普钦太太说道。“我相信这位博士的学校是一所优秀的学校。我听说管理很严格，从早到晚除了学习不干别的。”

“而且费用很贵，”董贝先生补充道。

“而且费用很贵，”皮普钦太太回答道；她紧紧抓住这个事实，仿佛遗漏了这一点，她就遗漏了它的最主要的优点之一似的。

“我跟博士通过一些信，皮普钦太太，”董贝先生急忙把他的椅子向炉火拉近一点，说道，“他根本不认为保罗上他那里去年龄太小。他举例说明好几个跟他同年龄的孩子都在那里学习希腊语。如果我本人心中对这个变动的问题有什么小小的不安的话，皮普钦太太，那不是在那一方面。我的儿子生下来就失去了母爱，所以就把他好多（太多了）幼稚的感情逐渐倾注到他姐姐的身上，因此他们两人分离开来是否会——”董贝先生没有再说下去，而是沉默地坐着。

“哎呀，这算什么！”皮普钦太太抖动着她的黑色的拜巴辛毛葛的裙子，大声喊道，一边把她内心中恶魔般的性情全都显露出来。“如果她不喜欢这样，董贝先生，那么就得教她好歹忍着点。”这位善良的太太接着立刻对她采用这样粗俗的语言表示抱歉，但她说，这就是她跟他们论断事理的方法，这一点倒是真的。

皮普钦太太昂起头来，摇晃了两下，同时对着无数个比瑟斯通与潘基皱了皱眉头；董贝先生等待她把这些动作做完之后，平静地但是正确地说道，“我说的是他，我的好夫人，他。”

皮普钦太太的管理制度本可以很容易地把同样的治疗方法也应用到保罗身上任何不舒适的地方；但是那只冷酷的灰色眼睛十分敏锐地看出，尽管董贝先生可以允许这个处方在他的女儿身上发挥效力，但它却并不是医治他儿子的特效药；她认清了这一点，于是就解释说，环境的变化，新的社交场所，他在布林伯博士学校中所过的不同的生活方式以及他必须学会的课程，将很快就会把他的注意力充分转移了。由于这个意见与董贝先生自己的希望与看法是一致的，这就使得这位绅士对皮普钦太太的智慧有了更高的评价；由于皮普钦太太在这同时为失去她亲爱的小朋友而叹息（对她来说，这并不是一个使她不知所措的打击，因为她早就预料到这一点，一开始就没有指望他跟她待在一起的时间会超过三个月），所以他对皮普钦太太没有私心这一点也产生了同样良好的印象。显然，他对这个问题已经思前顾后地进行了考虑，因为他已经构想出一个计划，并把它通告给这位恶魔：头半年他把保罗送到博士的学校中去，作为一个每周在那里寄膳寄宿六天的学生，在这期间弗洛伦斯将留在城堡中，这样她可以在星期六把弟弟接到她那里去。董贝先生说，这样就将使他逐步地“断奶”；可能他曾回想起上一次他是没有经过逐步断奶的过程的。

董贝先生在结束会晤的时候，希望在他儿子在布赖顿学习期间，皮普钦太太仍保留她作为保罗的总管理人与监督员的职务。然后他吻吻保罗，跟弗洛伦斯握握手，看到比瑟斯通少爷露着气派庄严的衣领，拍拍潘基小姐的头，使她哭了起来（她身上的这个部位特别敏感，因为皮普钦太太习惯于用她的指关节来敲它，敲出声音来，就像敲桶一样）；在这之后，他回到旅馆吃晚饭，并作出了决定：由于保罗已经长大，也长健康了，从今以后他就应该开始接受一个充实的教育过程，以便使他有能力担当起他将大显身手的职务；布林伯博士应当立即把他接到手里，负责对他进行指导。

每当一位年轻人被布林伯博士接到手里的时候，他可以毫无疑问地受到很紧的一握。博士只管理十位年轻人，但是按照最低的估计，他肚子里准备好的学问足够供应给一百个人享用。把这些学问供给这十位不幸的人狼吞虎咽，吃得饱饱的，既是他的职业，又是他的生活乐趣。

实际上，布林伯博士的学校是一个很大的温室，里面有一个催熟的器械在连续不停地运转。所有的孩子们都过早地成熟了。精神的青豌豆在圣诞节的时候就生产出来了；智力的龙须菜则全年都有。数学的醋栗（也是很酸的）在不合时令的季节中寻常无奇，它们藏身在布林伯博士栽培的灌木嫩枝之中。各色品种的希腊语与拉丁语蔬菜是在结霜冻冰的情况下，从孩子们干枯的细枝中采摘下来的。天性是完全无关紧要的。不管原来打算让一位年轻人结什么果实，布林伯博士不知怎么的都是让他按照规定的样式结出果实来。

这些全都是很有趣、很巧妙的，但催熟的制度也附带产生出它通常的一些缺点。早熟产品的滋味不是正味，它们也不好保存。而且，有一位鼻子发肿、头长得特别大的年轻人（他是这十个人当中年龄最大的一个，他“经受过了”一切），有一天突然停止生长，只是以一株茎杆的形式留在学校里。人们都说，博士对年轻的图茨搞得太过头了，当他开始留起连鬓胡子的时候，他却停止培育脑子了。

不管怎么样，年轻的图茨还是住在布林伯博士的学校里；他有极为粗哑的嗓音和极为可怜的智力；衬衫上插着饰针；背心口袋里装着一枚戒指，当学生们出去散步的时候，他就偷偷地把它带在小指头上；他经常一见钟情地爱上了培养苗木的年轻女工们，而她们连有没有他这个人都不知道；在就寝时间以后，他通过前面第三层楼左角上的窗子的小铁格子望着外面煤气灯照亮的世界，就像一个长得太大、在高空中坐得太久的天使。

博士是一位仪表堂堂的绅士，穿一套黑衣服，膝盖上有一根带子把下面的袜子系紧。他的秃头十分光亮；声音低沉；下巴是双层的，他刮胡子的时候怎么能刮进那些折缝中是件奇事。他还有一双小眼睛经常是半闭着的；一张嘴巴半开着，显出似笑非笑的样子，仿佛他在那时刚盘问过一个孩子，现在正等待着他亲自认罪。当博士把右手伸进上衣的胸口，另一只手搁在背后，脑袋几乎觉察不到地摇晃一下，向一位紧张不安的陌生人发表一些极为平淡无奇的意见的时候，他的那些意见就像是出自斯芬克斯1的金玉良言，并把他的事情给解决了。

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1斯芬克斯（sphynx）：希腊神话中有翼的狮身女面怪物。

博士的学校是一座宏大的精美的房屋，面对着海。房屋里面的格调并不令人喜悦，而是恰恰相反。黯淡的窗帘粗陋、狭窄，垂头丧气地躲藏在窗子后面。桌子和椅子像算术题中的数字一样，一行一行地排列着；举行典礼的房间十分难得生火，因此它们觉得自己就像水井，来访的客人就像投进井中的水桶一样；餐厅似乎是世界上最后一个可以吃喝的地方；除了前厅里一只大钟滴嗒滴嗒的响声外，整个房屋里没有其他声音，而那只大钟走动的声音就连顶楼里也能听到；有时也传来年轻人上课时发出的低沉的喊声，就像一群忧郁的鸽子的咕咕声一样。

布林伯小姐虽然是一位苗条、优雅的姑娘，但也没有做任何事情破坏这房屋里的严肃气氛。轻浮的胡闹与布林伯小姐格格不入。她留着短而卷曲的头发，并戴着眼镜。她在已死去的语言的坟墓中挖掘着，所以皮肤干枯，表面是沙子的颜色。布林伯小姐不需要你们那些活的语言。她所需要的语言必须是死的——完全断了气的——，那时布林伯小姐才像食尸鬼一样，把它们挖掘出来。

她的妈妈布林伯夫人本人并没有学问，但是她却装出有学问的样子，而且装得还不坏。她在一些晚会上说，如果她能认识西塞罗1的话，那么她想她就能甘心满意地死去了。她的永不改变的生活乐趣就是看着博士手下的年轻的先生们，与其他年轻人不一样，敞开大得不能再大的衬衫领子，佩戴着硬得不能再硬的领带，出去散步。她说，那是古典式的。

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1西塞罗（marcustulliuscicero）（公元前106—43年）：古罗马政治家、雄辩家和著作家。

至于布林格博士的助手、文学士菲德先生，他是一个人为的手摇风琴；他根据一份小小的曲调目录，一遍又一遍、毫无变化地演奏着。如果他的命运好的话，那么他可能在早年就装备好一个备用的手摇风琴；但是他的命运不好，他只有他本人这个手摇风琴，他的职业就是用这个单调的圆筒来迷糊博士手下的这些年轻的先生们的年轻的思想。这些年轻的先生们过早地操心、忧虑。铁石心肠的动词、残暴粗野的名词、毫不通融的句法，以及出现在他们梦中的练习的魔鬼在追赶着他们，使他们得不到休息；在催熟的制度下，一位年轻的先生通常在三个星期以后就失去了朝气；他在三个月以后就为世界上各种事情操心；他在四个月以后对他的父母和监护人怀着怨恨的情绪；他在五个月以后成了个老厌世者；他在六个月以后羡慕库尔提乌斯1幸运地遁身在地中；他在头十二个月末尾的时候得出结论：诗篇中的幻想和圣人的教训只不过是词与语法的汇集，在世界上没有其他意义；从此以后他就再也没有抛弃过这个结论。

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1库尔提乌斯（marcuscurtius）：据古罗马神话传说，公元前362年，罗马广场裂开一条无底深沟；预言师说，只有把罗马最宝贵的东西扔下去，裂缝才能重新合拢。这时年轻人库尔提乌斯宣称，没有什么能比一个勇敢的公民更可宝贵的了，于是他全副武装跳下了深沟。他刚一跳下，裂缝就立即重新合拢。后来这处地方变成了一片池塘，称为库尔提乌斯湖（lacuscurtius）。

可是他在博士的温室中一直继续生长着，生长着，生长着。当他把他冬天生长出的产品带回家中，呈现在他的亲友面前时，博士就得到了极大的光荣与声誉。

有一天，保罗怀着一颗忐忑不安的心，由他父亲握着小小的右手，站立在博士的门阶上。他的另一只手由弗洛论斯紧紧地握在她的手中。那只小手是握得多么紧，而另一只手是多么松驰与冷淡呵！

皮普钦太太像只凶鸟，长着乌黑的羽毛和钩状的喙，在他的牺牲品后面盘旋。因为董贝先生脑子里在思考重大的事情，走得很快，所以她走得上气不接下气；当等着开门的时候，她嘶哑地发出了哭丧的声音。

“保罗，”董贝先生喜不自胜地说道。“这就是真正通向董贝父子和有钱的道路。你几乎已成为一个大人了。”

“几乎，”孩子回答道。

即使是他那孩子的激动也不能控制他回答时伴随着的顽皮的、奇妙的但却令人感动的眼光。

它使董贝先生脸上露出了隐约的、不满的表情；但这时门开了，它很快就消失了。

“我想布林伯博士在家吧？”董贝先生说道。

那仆人说是的；当他们走进去的时候，他看着保罗，仿佛他是只小耗子，而那座房屋则仿佛是只捕鼠笼似的。他是一位弱视的青年，脸上露出一丝难以觉察的龇牙咧嘴的笑容或它最初闪出的一道微光。这仅仅是低能的表现而已；但皮普钦太太却凭空地认为这是无礼，所以就立刻恶狠狠地抓住了他。

“你怎么敢在有身份的先生背后发笑？”皮普钦太太说道。

“你又把我当作什么人？”

“我没有笑任何人；我还可以肯定，我没有把您小看了，夫人，”那位年轻人惊慌地回答道。

“一群吊儿郎当的懒狗！”皮普钦太太说，“只配去转动烤肉叉1！去告诉你的主人，董贝先生来了，要不你的结果就更糟！”

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1英国旧时社会中训练狗用踏车来转动烤肉叉。

那位弱视的年轻人十分温顺地离开去执行任务；不久就回来请他们到博士的书房里去。

“你又笑了，先生，”皮普钦太太笑道；她走在后面，这时从他身边穿过前厅。

“我没有笑，”被欺压得很痛苦的年轻人回答道。“我从来没有见到这样的事情！”

“怎么回事，皮普钦太太？”董贝先生回过头来看了一下，说道。“请轻一些！”

皮普钦太太出于对董贝先生的尊敬，走过的时候对那位年轻人只是咕哝了几声，同时说道，“啊，他是个宝贝家伙”，一边离开那位年轻人；那位年轻人是极为温顺和愚钝的，这件事情甚至使他伤心地掉了泪。可是皮普钦太太惯于欺压所有温顺的人们；她的朋友们说，在秘鲁矿井的事情发生之后，这有什么好奇怪的呢？

博士坐在他的奇特的书房中，每只膝盖上摆着一个地球仪，四周都是书籍，荷马1在门的上面，米涅瓦2在壁炉架上。“您好吗，先生？”他对董贝先生说道；“我的小朋友好吗？”

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1荷马（homer）：公元前10世纪前后的希腊盲诗人；《伊利亚特》及《奥德赛》两大著名史诗的作者。

2米涅瓦（minerva）：罗马神话中司智慧、学问、战争的女神。

博士的声音像风琴一样庄重沉着；当他停止讲话的时候，前厅中的大钟似乎（至少保罗觉得是这样）接着他的话，继续往下说道，“我，的，小，朋，友，好，吗？我，的，小，朋，友，好，吗？”一遍，一遍，又一遍地重复说着。

小朋友太小了，从博士坐着的地方，越过桌子上的书去看是看不见的；博士就试图通过桌腿去看他，但也是徒劳无益；董贝先生看到这一点，就把保罗抱起来，让他坐在房间中间面对着博士的另一张小桌子上，使博士摆脱了困难。

“哈！”博士把手伸进上衣的胸间，仰靠在椅子中说道。

“现在我看见我的小朋友了。您好吗，我的小朋友？”

前厅中的钟不赞同把词的组合形式进行这样的改变，继续重复说道，“我，的，小，朋，友，好，吗？我，的，小，朋，友，好，吗？”

“很好，谢谢您，先生，”保罗回答了博士，也回答了钟。

“哈！”布林伯博士说道。“我们将把他培养成一个大人吗？”

“你听到了吗，保罗？”董贝先生补充了一句。保罗默不作声。

“我们将把他培养成一个大人吗？”博士重复问道。

“我宁肯当个孩子，”保罗回答道。

“真的吗？”博士说道。“为什么？”

孩子坐在桌子上看着他，脸上露出了被压抑的情绪的奇怪表情，一边用一只手自豪地敲打着膝盖，仿佛眼泪已经在膝盖下面涌上来，他已把它们压下去了。但是在这同时，他的另一只手却向一边伸出去，伸出去——伸得更远一些——，一直伸到弗洛伦斯的脖子上。“这就是为什么，”它似乎这么说道；然后他那镇定沉着的神色改变了，消失了，颤动着的嘴唇松驰了，眼泪汪汪地滚流出来。

“皮普钦太太，”他的父亲抱怨地说道，“我实在很不高兴看到这一点。”

“离开他，董贝小姐，照我的话做，”那位女监管人说道。

“不要紧，”博士不动感情地点点头，让皮普钦太太回去。

“不要紧；我们将很快用新的关心与新的印象来代替，董贝先生，您还跟以前一样希望我的小朋友获得——”

“一切！劳驾您，博士，”董贝先生坚决地回答道。

“好的，”博士说道；他半闭着眼睛，露出了惯常的笑容，似乎以一种对他将要喂养的某个精选的小动物可能怀有的兴趣打量着保罗，“好，好极了。哈！我们将向我们的小朋友传授很多种知识，而且我敢说，使他迅速进步。完全是一块处女地，我想您曾经这样说过吧，董贝先生？”

“除了在家里以及从这位女士那里做过一些普通的准备之外，”董贝先生一边介绍皮普钦太太，一边回答道；皮普钦太太立刻让她的整个肌肉系统紧张起来，同时挑战地喷着鼻息，以防博士贬损她。“除了这些之外，保罗到现在为止，什么都还没有学习过。”

布林伯博士对皮普钦太太这种毫不足取的侵犯温和地表示容忍，低下头说道，他很高兴听到这一点。他搓搓手说，在这个基础上开始是非常令人满意的。然后他又斜眼瞅着保罗，仿佛他很想当场就跟他聊聊希腊字母似的。

“这样一种情况，布林伯博士，”董贝向他的小儿子看了一眼，继续说道，“加上我又有幸跟您进行过会晤，因此我确实就不必要再作进一步的说明来侵占您宝贵的时间了，所以——”

“好了，董贝小姐”！皮普钦尖刻地说道。

“请允许我再耽搁你们一会儿，”博士说道，“请允许我介绍一下布林伯夫人和我的女儿，她们将与我们前往帕纳萨斯1参拜的年轻人的家庭生活有关。这是布林伯夫人，”那位可能一直在等待着的夫人及时地走了进来，后面跟着她的女儿，那位戴着眼镜的美丽的掘墓的教堂司事2；“这是董贝先生。这是我的女儿科妮莉亚，董贝先生。我亲爱的，”博士转向他的妻子，继续说道，“董贝先生对我们十分信任，因此——你看到我们的小朋友了吗？”

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1帕纳萨斯（parnassus）：希腊中部的山峰，传说为太阳神阿波罗及诗神缪斯的灵地。

2教堂司事（sexton）：教堂司事，担任教堂内外管理、敲钟、墓地等工作，这里是把布林伯小姐比做一位“掘墓人”。

布林伯夫人原先只把董贝先生作为她那过分的礼貌的目标，显然没有看到这位小朋友，因为她背对着他，对他在桌子上的地位造成很大的危险。但是，她听到这句暗示的话以后，就转过身去欣赏他的面貌中古典的与智慧的特色，然后又转回来，叹了一口气，对董贝先生说，她羡慕他的亲爱的儿子。

“像一只蜜蜂一样，先生，”布林伯夫人抬起眼睛，说道，“就将飞进一个盛开着最美好的花朵的花园里，头一次去领略那芳甜的滋味。维吉尔1，贺拉斯2，奥维德3，泰伦斯4，普劳图斯5，西塞罗。我们这里拥有一个什么样的蜜的世界呀。董贝先生，一个妻子说这些话也许看来是令人惊异的，这样一位丈夫的妻子——”

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1维吉尔（拉丁语全名为publiusvirgiliusmaro，英译名为virgil，公元前70—19年）：古罗马著名诗人。

2贺拉斯（拉丁语全名为quintushoratiusflacus，英译名为horace，公元前65—8年）：古罗马著名诗人。

3奥维德（拉丁语全名为publiusovidiusnaso，英译名为ovid，公元前48—17？年）：古罗马著名诗人。

4泰伦斯（拉丁语全名为publiusterentiniusafer，英译名为terence，公元前186a185—159？年）：古罗马著名喜剧作家。

5普劳图斯（拉丁语全名为titusmaccusplautus，英译名为plautus，公元前254？—184年）：古罗马著名喜剧作家。

“别说了，别说了，”布林伯博士说道。“真不害羞。”

“董贝先生会原谅一位妻子的偏心的，”布林伯夫人露着迷人的微笑，说道。<