final

a bottle that has been long excluded from the light of day, and is hoary with dust and cobwebs, has been brought into the sunshine; and the golden wine within it sheds a lustre on the table.

it is the last bottle of the old madiera.

'you are quite right, mr gills,' says mr dombey. 'this is a very rare and most delicious wine.'

the captain, who is of the party, beams with joy. there is a very halo of delight round his glowing forehead.

'we always promised ourselves, sir,' observes mr gills,' ned and myself, i mean - '

mr dombey nods at the captain, who shines more and more with speechless gratification.

'-that we would drink this, one day or other, to walter safe at home: though such a home we never thought of. if you don't object to our old whim, sir, let us devote this first glass to walter and his wife.'

'to walter and his wife!' says mr dombey. 'florence, my child' - and turns to kiss her.

'to walter and his wife!' says mr toots.

'to wal'r and his wife!' exclaims the captain. 'hooroar!' and the captain exhibiting a strong desire to clink his glass against some other glass, mr dombey, with a ready hand, holds out his. the others follow; and there is a blithe and merry ringing, as of a little peal of marriage bells.

other buried wine grows older, as the old madeira did in its time; and dust and cobwebs thicken on the bottles.

mr dombey is a white-haired gentleman, whose face bears heavy marks of care and suffering; but they are traces of a storm that has passed on for ever, and left a clear evening in its track.

ambitious projects trouble him no more. his only pride is in his daughter and her husband. he has a silent, thoughtful, quiet manner, and is always with his daughter. miss tox is not infrequently of the family party, and is quite devoted to it, and a great favourite. her admiration of her once stately patron is, and has been ever since the morning of her shock in princess's place, platonic, but not weakened in the least.

nothing has drifted to him from the wreck of his fortunes, but a certain annual sum that comes he knows not how, with an earnest entreaty that he will not seek to discover, and with the assurance that it is a debt, and an act of reparation. he has consulted with his old clerk about this, who is clear it may be honourably accepted, and has no doubt it arises out of some forgotten transaction in the times of the old house.

that hazel-eyed bachelor, a bachelor no more, is married now, and to the sister of the grey-haired junior. he visits his old chief sometimes, but seldom. there is a reason in the greyhaired junior's history, and yet a stronger reason in his name, why he should keep retired from his old employer; and as he lives with his sister and her husband, they participate in that retirement. walter sees them sometimes - florence too - and the pleasant house resounds with profound duets arranged for the piano-forte and violoncello, and with the labours of harmonious blacksmiths.

and how goes the wooden midshipman in these changed days? why, here he still is, right leg foremost, hard at work upon the hackney coaches, and more on the alert than ever, being newly painted from his cocked hat to his buckled shoes; and up above him, in golden characters, these names shine refulgent, gills and cuttle.

not another stroke of business does the midshipman achieve beyond his usual easy trade. but they do say, in a circuit of some half-mile round the blue umbrella in leadenhall market, that some of mr gills's old investments are coming out wonderfully well; and that instead of being behind the time in those respects, as he supposed, he was, in truth, a little before it, and had to wait the fulness of the time and the design. the whisper is that mr gills's money has begun to turn itself, and that it is turning itself over and over pretty briskly. certain it is that, standing at his shop-door, in his coffee-coloured suit, with his chronometer in his pocket, and his spectacles on his forehead, he don't appear to break his heart at customers not coming, but looks very jovial and contented, though full as misty as of yore.

as to his partner, captain cuttle, there is a fiction of a business in the captain's mind which is better than any reality. the captain is as satisfied of the midshipman's importance to the commerce and navigation of the country, as he could possibly be, if no ship left the port of london without the midshipman's assistance. his delight in his own name over the door, is inexhaustible. he crosses the street, twenty times a day, to look at it from the other side of the way; and invariably says, on these occasions, 'ed'ard cuttle, my lad, if your mother could ha' know'd as you would ever be a man o' science, the good old creetur would ha' been took aback in-deed!'

but here is mr toots descending on the midshipman with violent rapidity, and mr toots's face is very red as he bursts into the little parlour.

'captain gills,' says mr toots, 'and mr sols, i am happy to inform you that mrs toots has had an increase to her family.

'and it does her credit!' cries the captain.

'i give you joy, mr toots!' says old sol.

'thank'ee,' chuckles mr toots, 'i'm very much obliged to you. i knew that you'd be glad to hear, and so i came down myself. we're positively getting on, you know. there's florence, and susan, and now here's another little stranger.'

'a female stranger?' inquires the captain.

'yes, captain gills,' says mr toots, 'and i'm glad of it. the oftener we can repeat that most extraordinary woman, my opinion is, the better!'

'stand by!' says the captain, turning to the old case-bottle with no throat - for it is evening, and the midshipman's usual moderate provision of pipes and glasses is on the board. 'here's to her, and may she have ever so many more!'

'thank'ee, captain gills,' says the delighted mr toots. 'i echo the sentiment. if you'll allow me, as my so doing cannot be unpleasant to anybody, under the circumstances, i think i'll take a pipe.'

mr toots begins to smoke, accordingly, and in the openness of his heart is very loquacious.

'of all the remarkable instances that that delightful woman has given of her excellent sense, captain gills and mr sols,' said mr toots, 'i think none is more remarkable than the perfection with which she has understood my devotion to miss dombey.'

both his auditors assent.

'because you know,' says mr toots, 'i have never changed my sentiments towards miss dombey. they are the same as ever. she is the same bright vision to me, at present, that she was before i made walters's acquaintance. when mrs toots and myself first began to talk of - in short, of the tender passion, you know, captain gills.'

'ay, ay, my lad,' says the captain, 'as makes us all slue round - for which you'll overhaul the book - '

'i shall certainly do so, captain gills,' says mr toots, with great earnestness; 'when we first began to mention such subjects, i explained that i was what you may call a blighted flower, you know.'

the captain approves of this figure greatly; and murmurs that no flower as blows, is like the rose.

'but lord bless me,' pursues mr toots, 'she was as entirely conscious of the state of my feelings as i was myself. there was nothing i could tell her. she was the only person who could have stood between me and the silent tomb, and she did it, in a manner to command my everlasting admiration. she knows that there's nobody in the world i look up to, as i do to miss dombey. knows that there's nothing on earth i wouldn't do for miss dombey. she knows that i consider miss dombey the most beautiful, the most amiable, the most angelic of her sex. what is her observation upon that? the perfection of sense. "my dear, you're right. i think so too."'

'and so do i!' says the captain.

'so do i,' says sol gills.

'then,' resumes mr toots, after some contemplative pulling at his pipe, during which his visage has expressed the most contented reflection, 'what an observant woman my wife is! what sagacity she possesses! what remarks she makes! it was only last night, when we were sitting in the enjoyment of connubial bliss - which, upon my word and honour, is a feeble term to express my feelings in the society of my wife - that she said how remarkable it was to consider the present position of our friend walters. "here," observes my wife, "he is, released from sea-going, after that first long voyage with his young bride" - as you know he was, mr sols.'

'quite true,' says the old instrument-maker, rubbing his hands.

"'here he is," says my wife, "released from that, immediately; appointed by the same establishment to a post of great trust and confidence at home; showing himself again worthy; mounting up the ladder with the greatest expedition; beloved by everybody; assisted by his uncle at the very best possible time of his fortunes" - which i think is the case, mr sols? my wife is always correct.'

'why yes, yes - some of our lost ships, freighted with gold, have come home, truly,' returns old sol, laughing. 'small craft, mr toots, but serviceable to my boy!'

'exactly so,' says mr toots. 'you'll never find my wife wrong. "here he is," says that most remarkable woman, "so situated, - and what follows? what follows?" observed mrs toots. now pray remark, captain gills, and mr sols, the depth of my wife's penetration. "why that, under the very eye of mr dombey, there is a foundation going on, upon which a - an edifice;" that was mrs toots's word,' says mr toots exultingly, "'is gradually rising, perhaps to equal, perhaps excel, that of which he was once the head, and the small beginnings of which (a common fault, but a bad one, mrs toots said) escaped his memory. thus," said my wife, "from his daughter, after all, another dombey and son will ascend" - no "rise;" that was mrs toots's word - "triumphant!"'

mr toots, with the assistance of his pipe - which he is extremely glad to devote to oratorical purposes, as its proper use affects him with a very uncomfortable sensation - does such grand justice to this prophetic sentence of his wife's, that the captain, throwing away his glazed hat in a state of the greatest excitement, cries:

'sol gills, you man of science and my ould pardner, what did i tell wal'r to overhaul on that there night when he first took to business? was it this here quotation, "turn again whittington, lord mayor of london, and when you are old you will never depart from it". was it them words, sol gills?'

'it certainly was, ned,' replied the old instrument-maker. 'i remember well.'

'then i tell you what,' says the captain, leaning back in his chair, and composing his chest for a prodigious roar. 'i'll give you lovely peg right through; and stand by, both on you, for the chorus!'

buried wine grows older, as the old madeira did, in its time; and dust and cobwebs thicken on the bottles.

autumn days are shining, and on the sea-beach there are often a young lady, and a white-haired gentleman. with them, or near them, are two children: boy and girl. and an old dog is generally in their company.

the white-haired gentleman walks with the little boy, talks with him, helps him in his play, attends upon him, watches him as if he were the object of his life. if he be thoughtful, the white-haired gentleman is thoughtful too; and sometimes when the child is sitting by his side, and looks up in his face, asking him questions, he takes the tiny hand in his, and holding it, forgets to answer. then the child says:

'what, grandpa! am i so like my poor little uncle again?'

'yes, paul. but he was weak, and you are very strong.'

'oh yes, i am very strong.'

'and he lay on a little bed beside the sea, and you can run about.'

and so they range away again, busily, for the white-haired gentleman likes best to see the child free and stirring; and as they go about together, the story of the bond between them goes about, and follows them.

but no one, except florence, knows the measure of the white-haired gentleman's affection for the girl. that story never goes about. the child herself almost wonders at a certain secrecy he keeps in it. he hoards her in his heart. he cannot bear to see a cloud upon her face. he cannot bear to see her sit apart. he fancies that she feels a slight, when there is none. he steals away to look at her, in her sleep. it pleases him to have her come, and wake him in the morning. he is fondest of her and most loving to her, when there is no creature by. the child says then, sometimes:

'dear grandpapa, why do you cry when you kiss me?'

he only answers, 'little florence! little florence!' and smooths away the curls that shade her earnest eyes.

the voices in the waves speak low to him of florence, day and night - plainest when he, his blooming daughter, and her husband, beside them in the evening, or sit at an open window, listening to their roar. they speak to him of florence and his altered heart; of florence and their ceaseless murmuring to her of the love, eternal and illimitable, extending still, beyond the sea, beyond the sky, to the invisible country far away.

never from the mighty sea may voices rise too late, to come between us and the unseen region on the other shore! better, far better, that they whispered of that region in our childish ears, and the swift river hurried us away!

那个长久不见白天的亮光、积满灰尘与蜘蛛网、并愈来愈老的瓶子，被拿到阳光下来了；瓶中金黄色的葡萄酒在桌子上放射出光辉。

这是最后一瓶马德拉陈萄葡酒。

“您完全正确，吉尔斯先生，”董贝先生说道。“这是很珍贵的、滋味极好的葡萄酒。”

参加宴会的船长眉飞色舞，笑逐颜开。在他发亮的前额上有一圈喜悦的光圈。

“我们好久以前许下心愿，先生，”吉尔斯先生说道，“我是说内德与我本人——”

董贝先生向船长点点头；船长心中默默地高兴，愈来愈容光焕发。

“我们将在沃尔特平安回到家里的时候喝这一瓶酒，虽然我们从来不曾想到他会回到这样的家里。如果您不反对我们过去的这个怪想的话，那么，先生，就请让我们喝这第一杯酒，为沃尔特和他的妻子祝福吧！”

“为沃尔特和他的妻子干杯！”董贝先生说道。“弗洛伦斯，我的孩子——”他转过身子去吻她。

“为沃尔特和他的妻子干杯！”图茨先生说道。“为沃尔特和他的妻子干杯！”船长大声喊道。“万岁！”船长表示非常想碰杯，董贝先生就很高兴地举出他的杯子。其他的人跟着举杯，响起了一片欢乐、愉快的叮当声，好像演奏结婚乐曲似的。

藏在地窖里的其他葡萄酒，就像马德拉陈酒一样，愈来愈陈，灰尘与蜘蛛网在瓶子上积得愈来愈厚。

董贝先生是一位白发苍苍的先生，脸上深深地留下了忧虑与痛苦的痕迹，但它们是暴风雨永远过去以后所留下的，随之而来的是一个晴朗的晚上。

他不再被雄心勃勃的计划所烦扰了。他唯一引以自豪的是他的女儿与她的丈夫。他变得沉默，安静，喜爱思考，而且总是跟他的女儿在一起。托克斯小姐在家庭聚会中不是一位不常出现的人；她为它献出了全部精力，也是一位大家所喜爱的人。她对她的曾经一度高贵显赫的恩主的爱慕是柏拉图式的；从她在公主广场受到震惊的那个早上起直到现在一直是这样，但爱慕的心情一直不曾减弱。

败落的产业中没有留下任何东西，但是每年总有一笔钱汇寄到他那里（不知是谁汇来的），而且还恳切地请求他别去寻根究底，把汇款者查找出来，同时向他保证，这是一笔偿还的债款。他跟他往日的职员商量过这件事；这位职员明确地认为可以正大光明地收下这笔钱，而且毫不怀疑，这是从过去公司经营业务时现已遗忘了的一笔交易中发生的。

这位眼睛淡褐色的单身汉已不再是单身汉；他现在已经跟头发斑白的低级职员卡克的姐姐结婚了。他有时去看望他过去的老板。但次数很少。他之所以不常去看望，头发斑白的低级职员卡克的历史是一个原因，他的姓是一个更大的原因；低级职员卡克和他的姐姐与姐夫住在一起，所以他们就一起不常去看望他过去的老板了。沃尔特有时去看他们——弗洛伦斯也一起去——；舒适的住宅中传出了钢琴与大提琴的意味深长的二重奏，有时奏出了《和睦的铁匠》这支曲子。

在发生这些变化以后的日子里，木制海军军官候补生的情况怎么样了呢？唔，他仍旧在那里，伸出右腿，密切监视着出租马车；从三角帽到扣紧的鞋，已被重新油漆过，所以他比过去更为警惕了；在他的头顶上方，辉煌地闪耀着用金字书写的两个名字：吉尔斯与卡特尔。

海军军官候补生除了他往常经营的熟悉的行业外，并没有另外开展什么新的业务。但是在伦敦肉类市场的蓝伞周围半英里左右的范围内，人们都说，吉尔斯先生过去的一些投资取得了很大的成功；在这些方面非但没有像他所想的落后于时代，而且事实上还稍稍跑在时代的前面，需要等待时间和设计发生变化。人们还在传说，吉尔斯先生的资金开始周转，而且还周转得相当快；确实无疑的是，他穿着咖啡色的衣服，衣袋里装着精密计时表，前额上架着眼镜，站在店铺门口；虽然眼睛仍像过去一样模糊多泪，但却没有为顾客不来而伤心发愁，而是露出愉快与满意的神色。

至于他的合伙人卡特尔船长，船长在头脑中对他们的业务的看法比任何实际情况都要好。如果没有海军军官候补生的帮助的话，那么就没有一条船能从伦敦港口开出去，因此船长对海军军官候补生对这个国家的商业和航海的重要性感到极为自豪。他对门上有他本人的名字感到无穷无尽的高兴；他一天之内在街上走来走去二十次，为的是从街道对过看看它；这时候他常常会说道，“爱德华·卡特尔，我的孩子，如果你的母亲知道你有一天能成为科学界的人物的话，那么这位善良的老太婆该会多么大吃一惊啊！”

可是这时图茨先生急如星火地突然前来访问海军军官候补生；当他突然出现在小客厅里的时候，他的脸很红。

“吉尔斯船长和所尔斯先生，”图茨先生说道，“我很高兴向你们报告，图茨夫人已经给她家里增添了一口人了。”

“这为她增添光彩！”船长喊道。

“我祝贺您！”老所尔说道。

“谢谢，”图茨先生吃吃地笑道，“我非常感谢你们。我知道你们听到这个消息会很高兴，所以我亲自到这里来了。你们知道，我们的情况真是十分顺利的。跟我们一起的有弗洛伦斯、苏珊，现在又增加了一个新人。”

“是个女的新人吗？”船长问道。

“是的，吉尔斯船长，”图茨先生说道，“这使我感到很高兴。我们说她是位了不起的女人，说的次数愈多我看就愈好。”

“做好准备！”船长拿起一个没有瓶颈的方瓶——因为这时是在晚上，海军军官候补生通常供应数量适当的烟斗和玻璃杯，这时都已放在餐桌上了。“为她干杯，祝她再多生几个！”

“谢谢您，吉尔斯船长，”兴高采烈的图茨先生说道，“我也为她干杯。如果您允许的话，那么我想抽一斗烟，因为我想在目前的情况下，这不会使任何人不高兴的。”

于是图茨先生就开始抽烟，并且在坦率的心情下，滔滔不绝地说起来。

“吉尔斯船长和所尔斯先生，”图茨先生说道，“这位可爱的女人多次显示她的智慧，这方面出色的事例很多；我想最了不起的是，她完全谅解我对董贝小姐的忠诚。”

他的两位听众都表示同意。

“因为你们知道，”图茨先生说道，“我从来没有改变对董贝小姐的感情。我对她的感情跟过去一样。她在我眼中的光辉形象现在就跟我认识沃尔特斯之前一样。当图茨夫人跟我第一次开始谈到——总之，在谈到男女私情的时候，您知道，吉尔斯船长。”

“是的，是的，我的孩子，”船长说道，“就是把我们玩弄得团团转的感情——，这您可以去查一查书——”

“我一定会去查的，吉尔斯船长，”图茨先生十分认真地说道，“当我们第一次谈到这个问题的时候，我解释说，您知道，我是一朵您可以称为枯萎的花。”

船长十分同意这个比喻，低声说，没有什么花能比玫瑰花更好的了。

“但是上帝保佑我，”图茨先生继续说道，“她对我的感情状况就跟我自己一样完全清楚，没有什么我能告诉她的。她是唯一能站在我和沉默的坟墓之间的一个人。她以很好的方式来处理我永远保持着的这种爱慕的感情。她知道，世界上没有一个人能像董贝小姐那样使我仰慕的；她知道，世界上没有一件事我不能为董贝小姐做的。她知道，我认为董贝小姐是她们女性中最美丽、最和蔼可亲、最像天使的一位。她对这是怎么说的呢？真是聪明极了！‘我亲爱的，你是对的，我也这样想。’”

“我也这样想！”船长说道。

“我也这样想！”所尔·吉尔斯说道。

“而且，”图茨先生脸上露出极为满意的神色，沉思地、缓慢地抽着烟，然后继续说道，“我的妻子是一位多么善于观察的人！她有多么大的智慧！她的意见多么中肯！就在昨天夜里，我们坐在那里享受婚姻的幸福——说实话，以我的荣誉发誓，这个词不能有力地表达我跟妻子在一起时心中的感情——这时候她说，想想我们的朋友沃尔特斯现在的情况是多么有意思啊。‘在跟他年轻的新娘经过第一次漫长的航行之后，’我的妻子说，‘现在他已经不用再去漂洋过海了。’您知道，所尔斯先生，他现在已经不用去了。”

“完全不错，”年老的仪器制造商搓搓手，说道。

“‘现在，’我的妻子说，‘他已立刻不用再去航海了；同一个公司任命他担任国内一个很受信任的重要职务；他又显示出他卓越的才能，并沿着阶梯迅速地上升；人人都喜欢他；在他生命中最幸运的时候他还得到他舅舅的帮助。’我想这是实际情况吧，所尔斯先生，我的妻子总是正确的。”

“啊是的，是的——我们有几条装载黄金、下落不明的船现在已真正开回来了，”老所尔哈哈大笑地回答道，“船是小的，图茨先生，但对我的孩子是有用的！”

“确实是这样，”图茨先生说道。“您决不会发现我的妻子会说错的。‘现在他担任这样重要的职务，’这位极了不起的女人说，‘以后会怎样呢？以后会怎样呢？’图茨夫人说。现在，吉尔斯船长，所尔斯先生，请你们注意我妻子的深刻的洞察力吧。‘啊要知道，就在董贝先生的眼前，现在正在打下一个基础，在这个基础上正逐渐耸立起一座大——大厦，’这就是图茨夫人的话，”图茨先生兴高采烈地说道，“它也许跟他曾经当过老板的那一座相等，也许还超过它。他现在已经记不得原先那座大厦最初简朴矮小的情形了——图茨夫人说，这是个常见的，但却是个很坏的缺点——，因此，”我的妻子说，‘由于他的女儿的缘故，另一个董贝父子公司终究将会得意扬扬地——不是‘兴起’，那是图茨夫人的话——而是蓬勃发展’。”

图茨先生在他的烟斗的帮助下（他特别喜欢用烟斗来达到他发表长篇大论的目的，因为死死板板地抽它反倒会引起他不舒适的感觉），十分有力地、正确地表达了他的妻子的预言性的话语，因此船长极为兴奋地把他那顶上了光的帽子抛开，喊道：

“所尔·吉尔斯，你这位研究科学的人，我的老合伙人，沃尔特第一次去上班的那天夜里，我告诉他到书上去查找什么话，是不是这句：‘回去吧，惠廷顿，伦敦市长！当您老了的时候，您将永远不再离开它了！’我是不是说过这些话，所尔·吉尔斯？”

“确实是的，内德，”年老的仪器制造商回答道，“我记得很清楚。”

“然后我跟你说，”船长仰靠在椅背上，让胸脯平静下来，准备发出震耳欲聋的吼声。“我将从头到尾、一字不漏地给你们唱《可爱的佩格姑娘》；请你们两人准备好来参加合唱！”

藏在地窖里的葡萄酒就像马德拉陈酒一样，愈来愈陈，灰尘和蜘蛛网在瓶上积得愈来愈厚。

秋天的日子阳光灿烂，在海滨时常有一位年轻的夫人和一位白发苍苍的先生。跟他们一起的，或挨近他们身边的是两个孩子：一个男孩子，一个女孩子。一条老狗经常跟随着他们。

那位白发苍苍的先生跟那位小男孩一起散步，跟他谈话，帮助他做游戏，照顾他，看守着他，仿佛这是他的生活目的似的。如果这个孩子沉思的话，那么这位白发苍苍的先生也沉思；有时当这个孩子坐在他身旁，仰望着他的脸，向他问问题的时候，他把他的小手拉到他的手中，握着它，忘记回答；这时候这个孩子就会说：

“怎么了，老爷！我是不是又像我可爱的小舅舅了？”

“是的，保罗。但是他身体虚弱，而你却很健壮。”

“啊是的，我很健壮。”

“他在海边躺在一张小床上，而你却能跑来跑去。”

这样他们又继续忙忙碌碌地到别的地方去游逛，因为这位白发苍苍的先生最喜欢看到这孩子自由，活跃；当他们在一起走着的时候，有关他们之间的关系的传说就到处散播开来，并跟随着他们。

可是除了弗洛伦斯之外，没有一个人知道这位白发苍苍的先生对这个女孩子所怀的感情有多深。从来不曾有过这方面的流言。女孩子自己几乎也对他保守着的什么秘密感到奇怪。他把她怀抱在胸间。看到她脸上有一丝愁云他都不能忍受。看到她独自一人坐着他也不能忍受。他错觉地以为她觉得自己被冷落了，其实情况并不是这样。在她睡觉的时候，他悄悄地走去看她。早上她走来喊醒他，他感到高兴。当他们两人单独在一起的时候，他特别喜爱她，她也特别喜爱他；这时候，女孩子就会问：

“亲爱的老爷，你吻我的时候为什么哭？”

他只是回答道，“小弗洛伦斯！小弗洛伦斯！”同时把遮到她真挚的眼睛上的卷发抚平。