Part 2 - Chapters 4-6

CHAPTER 4.

I FALL INTO DISGRACE

I went up to my old empty room and laying down  near the window, and  I admit in tears until a fell to  sleep.   I was awoken by a voice

‘Here he is!’ and uncovering my hot head. My  mother and Peggotty had come to look for me,  and it was one of them who had done it.

I was unable to hide my distress,  but it was  Peggotty whom my mother appeared to blame for  my behaviour.

Suddenly my new father Mr Murdstone appeared  and seem to take control,  warning my mother that  she was not being firm enough,  she laid he head  on his shoulder and I knew from  that moment that  he had full control of her.

He ordered my mother down and then Peggotty  and now I was alone with him

‘David,’ he said, making his lips thin, by pressing  them together, ‘if I have an obstinate horse or dog  to deal with, what do you think I do'’

‘I don’t know.’

‘I beat him.’

He ordered me to wash my face and we went  down and I could see from the look in my mother’s  eye that she cared but that there was nothing she  could do.

We three dined later that evening, It appeared  that he was fond of my mother and she of him,   but I still disliked him.   It appeared that he had a  business interest in a wind firm in the city.  I was  also told that his sister,  who also had an interest  in the firm,  was to come and stay with us later  that evening.

When the carriage arrive he went out ahead of  us, my mother behind him secretly held my hand  which was a great comfort to me.  

She was a very dark unpleasant woman who did  not like me and I her.    It appeared that she  resented my mother and seemed to want to take  charge of everything and it certainly looked like  she was here to stay.

The first thing she said to my mother the next  morning was:         ‘Now, Clara, my dear, I am  come here, you know, to relieve you of all the  trouble I can. You’re much too pretty and  thoughtless’—my mother blushed but laughed, and  seemed not to dislike this character—‘to have  any duties imposed upon you that can be  undertaken by me. If you’ll be so good as give me  your keys, my dear, I’ll attend to all this sort of  thing in future.’

It was soon evident that this new arrangement  upset my mother a great deal but there was little  she could do about it.

Jane Murdstone became angry at this point and  threatened to leave, my mother kept apologising  - just who was going to give in'

The next morning as I went pass the parlour I  heard my mother apologising and asking Miss  Murdsone for her forgiveness which was granted.

I was no happier either when we went to church, it  seemed very unpleasant to have Miss Murdstone  sitting next to me instead of my mother.

Mr Murdstone insists on my having homeschool  lessons and takes on the roll of my teacher with  the aid of Miss Murdstone.   I am afraid that I do  not like the lessons which I think he tries to make  far too hard for me.  This went on for months and  months and made me miserable.   

During this period the only comfort I had was from  reading some of the books my father had left me,   great books I thought with titles such as Tom  Jones, the Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil  Blas, and Robinson Crusoe.

One awful homeschool day he appeared to be  especially stern and had in his hand a cane.   Not  satisfied with me he took up upstairs to my room,   and I pleaded with him not to hurt me but as  prepared to cane me I bit his hand and caused  such a noise that my mother and Miss Murdstone  came running up,  but he closed the door locking  it,  leaving me on the floor.

No one came,  it was getting dark and I lay on my  bed in much fear that I had committed some  criminal act.

The next five days were the same,  Miss  Murstone would come and bring me food and  order once a day out into the garden to walk  about for one hour and then I was sent back to my  room and the door locked.

I say my mother from a distance but she  appeared not to look at me,  Mr Murstone had his  wrapped in a linen wrapper.

It was the evening of the 5th day when I heard  someone whisper my name - It was Peggotty  through the keyhole,  we whispered to each  other and she told me that tomorrow I was to be  sent to a school near London.   She was upset  and said she would care for my mother and write  to me and tell all at Yarmouth all that had  happened.

The next morning  Miss Murdstone told me about  the school andI was sent down to breakfast.  My  mother was there with red eyes and told me she  forgave me.    There was the noise of the cart  outside,  Miss Murdstone ordered the carrier to  take my box out.   My mother held me but was told  by Miss Murdstone to stop.   

‘Clara!’ Miss Murdstone repeated.

Miss Murdstone was good enough to take me out  to the cart, and to say on the way that she hoped  I would repent, before I came to a bad end; and  then I got into the cart, and the lazy horse walked  off with it.

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Chapter 5

I Am Sent Away from Home

We had not been on the road very long before the  driver stopped and into the cart flew Peggotty,  saying not a word hugging me and giving me gifts  of cash and cakes.  She disappeared as quickly  as she had appeared.

The purse contain silver coins and a note from my  mother ‘For Davy. With my love.’  and soon more  tears flowed from my already red eyes.

The carrier, whose name was Barkis,* told me after  my enquiry that he was taking me to Yarmouth  where I was to catch a stage coach for the rest of  the way.

To my surprise Mr Barkis started to ask me all  sorts of questions about Peggotty especially  about her cooking and then gave me a special  message -  I was to write to her and say “Barkis  is Willing*!”  and when we arrived and I was  waiting for the cart I wrote a note which contain  that phrase.

I then fell asleep in the cart and when I woke up  the coach was there but no horses as yet and a  lady from the Inn asked if I wanted some food (it  had been ordered by Mr Murdstone)

The waiter was most kind,  when he brought me  the 1/2 pint ale he was very helpful in telling me  about the man who suddenly died yesterday after  drinking it and suggested that he should try it first  just in case.    Afterwards he also suggested that  he share in my chops as they were know to help  in case the ale was off.

The situation was even stranger to me when we  set off for the passengers seemed to think I was  very rich or a great eater or something.

We had set off about 3.00 in the afternoon and  expected to get to London about 8.00 the next  morning.   I did not enjoy my fellow passengers  very much but did my best to look out when I  could to see and imagine what was happening in  houses as we past.

As the sun rose so did some of the passengers  and I could see with excitement the city of London  getting closer until we arrived at our destination  an in Called the Blue ‘something’ - I cannot  remember it’s name.

However I was alarmed when the guard called to  ask if there was something there to pick me up for  no one appeared to be waiting for me.

I waited for some hours getting more and more  anxious,  perhaps I was sent there to die' where  should I go if no one came for me'

However eventually someone arrived and took  charge of me,  he was a young man dressed  untidily in black

We set off then turned back when I remembered  my box, it was arranged for someone to pick it up  at noon

The man told me he was the master of Salem  House which over awed me.  Then, after I told him  I had had nothing to eat and could I buy  something, suggested before we catch the coach  to called at someone he knew first.

The Lady lived in a poor neighborhood, and  helped with cooking my egg and bacon and a  glass of milk which I had bought.

There is also another old lady there who asks the  Master if he has his flute and if so would he play  it, he got it out and did so but I thought it sounded  awful.  Cannot remember if I ate all my breakfast  for I eventually fell to sleep.

I eventually woke or was woken for we had not to  leave to find the coach.   Once again I dozed and  slept until we reached our destination.

We had another short walk until we arrived at  Salem House where a man let us in

We past the old man house who had let us in who  threw some boots at my master (Mr Mell) they  were very old and had been repaired.

We arrived at the schoolhouse but it was  deserted, I then found out from Mr Mell that the  boys were all away on holidays and I was sent at  that time as punishment.

Mr Mell went away with his old boots and I looked  up and down and found a placard which read

TAKE CARE OF HIM. HE BITES.

I found out shortly that the placard was made for  me and not for a dog which I first thought and I  had to wear it on my back.

I did what I was told and wore it even though  there were no other boys around,  the various  tradesmen, servants, bakers etc who came and  went though must have read it.

I got to know the names of some of the boys of  the school and dreaded when they returned to  wonder what they would think of me 'Take care of  him. He bites!'

The only company I had at this time was Mr Mell  and we spend much time in the classroom, he with  his pens paper and ink writing things,   he would  talk to himself sometimes, and grin, and clench his  fist, and grind his teeth, and pull his hair in an  unaccountable manner. But he had these  peculiarities: and at first they frightened me,  though I soon got used to them

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Part 1 - Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Summary of Chapter 1

I Am Born

I was born on a Friday in the wee small hours.   I was born with a caul* which was kept and advertised for sale  £15 but but was  withdrawn and when I was aged 10 it was sold at  a raffle for about £6-10s.

My father died some months before I was born and when I was old enough I would often look at his gravestone.

I had a great aunt who was rather feared - her name was Miss Betsey Trotwood*.     She disapproved of my father marrying my mother as  she was much younger.

On the night of that birth,  my mother was alarmed at the sudden appearance at the window of Miss Betsey who when she entered caused my  mother to cry.

They had some conversations but generally Miss Betsey dominated my mother even though at time she did try to not let that happen

Miss Betsey was convinced that when I was born I would  be a girl and suggested that I should be named after her.   My mother continued to  become more and more upset and so Miss Betsey demanded that our girl Peggotty* make us all tea.

Peggotty however was sensible enough to see that my mother’s time for delivering me into the world was getting close and so sent helped my  mother upstairs and for her nephew Ham* who she had secretly hid in the house for this very purpose and quickly dispatched him for the doctor  and nurse.

They soon arrived but the doctor came down with the news that there may be some time to wait and was as puzzled as Peggotty about the  strange lady who had set herself up comfortably before the fireplace.

And so the poor doctor (Mr Chillip*) had to suffer her presence for some hours grateful from time to time to being called upstairs to attend to my  mother.

However as the time went on and Mr Chillip was now permanently upstairs  poor Ham who was trying to keep out of the way was called into  the parlour by Miss Betsey who by now had completely lost her composure and marched him up and down as if to release some of her own  anxiety.

At last Mr Chillip came down and announced   ‘Well, ma’am, I am happy to congratulate you.’

Impatiently Miss Betsey demanded to know how “she” was and poor Mr Chillip was reprimanded severely for assuming Miss Betsey was  referring to my mother - but know she was referring to me!

‘The baby,’ said my aunt. ‘How is she?’

‘Ma’am,’ returned Mr. Chillip, ‘I apprehended you had known. It’s a boy.’

My aunt said never a word, but took her bonnet by the strings, in the manner of a sling, aimed a blow at Mr. Chillip’s head with it, put it on bent,  walked out, and never came back. She vanished like a discontented fairy; or like one of those supernatural beings, whom it was popularly  supposed I was entitled to see; and never came back any more.

No. I lay in my basket, and my mother lay in her bed; but Betsey Trotwood Copperfield was for ever in the land of dreams and shadows, the  tremendous region whence I had so lately travelled; and the light upon the window of our room shone out upon the earthly bourne of all such  travellers, and the mound above the ashes and the dust that once was he, without whom I had never been.

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Summary of Chapter 2.

I Observe

I think back to my earliest memories - two things, I learn to walk by by encouraged between my mother and Peggotty.    The other memory is of  our house particularly the kitchen and backyard.

I have other memories of the house of the two parlours,  of my mother reading part of the Bible to me of a man called Lazarus who came back  from the dead which scared my a great deal.  Then of the church nearby and the churchyard with it’s tombs and graves.   

Here is our pew in the church. What a high-backed pew! With a window near it, out of which our house can be seen, and IS seen many times  during the morning’s service, by Peggotty, who likes to make herself as sure as she can that it’s not being robbed, or is not in flames.

Some time must have gone by for now I have recollections of reading stories about crocodiles to Peggotty while waiting for my mother to  come home from visiting a neighbour.    The of asking a question which flustered her “was she every married?”      I remember how quickly she  wanted to change the subject back to crocodiles.

We had exhausted the crocodiles, and begun with the alligators, when the garden-bell rang. We went out to the door; and there was my  mother, looking unusually pretty, I thought, and with her a gentleman with beautiful black hair and whiskers, who had walked home with us from  church last Sunday.

Then the Garden Bell rang,  it was my mother with a gentleman,  one I had seen  in church and who had walked us home afterwards.   For  some reason I did not like him very much and when he was leaving I did not want to shake hands with him.

After this man with the dark eyes and whiskers when away there was a change in Peggotty,  she seemed cross with my mother and mother  with her.    We were in the parlour but the two were not close to each other.   I fell asleep then woke up to the sound of their voices how  Peggotty was almost shouting at my mother untill the stopped with many tears and sobs.

The man kept calling to see us,   I found out that his name was Mr Murdstone*. One morning he called on his horse and suggested to my  mother that I might like to go with him in the front of his saddle.  While Peggotty was gettting me ready I could see she was getting crosser and  crosser as she watch mother and Mr Murdstone walk up and down very close and seeming to touch each other.

I ride with Mr Murdstone and cannot keep his eyes off his face.  We arrived at a hotel by the sea where some of Murdstone’s friends were  lounging.    Murdstone starts to mention someone called Brooks of Sheffield which seems to amuse the other men when they ask him if Brooks  understands much about the business to which he replies:

‘Why, I don’t know that Brooks understands much about it at present,’ replied Mr. Murdstone; ‘but he is not generally favourable, I believe.’

There was more laughter at this.

Mr Murdstone and I go for a walk by the sea and then visit a moored yaught where there is much spreading of papers and documents where  Murdstone seems to get sterner even though the other were lighthearted.

When we arrived home and Mr Murdstone had left mother asked about what we had done and I told her about the men and the jokes and the  papers and Mr Brooks of Sheffield when I asked she suggested that:

“she supposed he must be a manufacturer in the knife and fork way.”

That night when I have gone to bed mother knelt beside me and asked me what the men had said about her,  I said they thought she was pretty  and

‘“Bewitching ”’ I began.

My mother put her hands upon my lips to stop me.

‘It was never bewitching,’ she said, laughing. ‘It never could have been bewitching, Davy. Now I know it wasn’t!’

‘Yes, it was. “Bewitching Mrs. Copperfield”,’ I repeated stoutly. ‘And, “pretty.”’

‘Don’t tell Peggotty; she might be angry with them. I am dreadfully angry with them myself; but I would rather Peggotty didn’t know.’

A while later maybe a month or two when my mother was out as she often was these days,  Peggotty came to be to ask if I would like to go  with her to visit her brother at Yarmouth and though I could enjoy playing with her nephew - Ham,    I said I would like that very much but would  mother approve which caused Peggotty to smile

When I asked if my mother would be ok by herself,  Peggotty suggested that should would probably stay with our neighbour - Mrs Graper.

It was all quickly arranged.   A carriage arrived for us early the next morning and mother kept running and kissing me and could not stop waving  - that is until Mr Murdstone came to her and seem to speak crossly with her to stop it

And so we were on our way to Yarmouth!

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Chapter 3

I have a Change

It was a long and weary journey to Yarmouth but at last they arrived.  It was a flat dreary place but Peggotty was proud to be called a  Yarmouth Bloater.

Peggotty sees Ham coming towards them and calls out in delight,  I of course did not recognise him for  he had not been to our house since  the night I was born.

The set out for home, Ham with a big box under his arm and me on his back and Peggotty with the other box.   We went through all sorts of  interesting places until we got near the sea - but no house in sight,  not until I realised that the ‘house’ was a sort of barge which had a  smoking chimney,  but looked strange but friendly.    Inside was equally charming and friendly with all sorts of pictures of Biblical and other  scenes.   I was shown my little bedroom at the stern which also was wonderful.

The other members of the ‘house’ were a civil lady who I had seen curtsying at the door and a young lass of a similar age to me who ran off  when I tried to kiss her on the cheek.    Shortly afterwords an older man arrived who I soon found out was Peggotty’s brother who I was to  address as Mr Peggotty.    The lady at the door was Mrs Gummage and the girl’s name was Em’ly.

I soon found out that Ham was not Mr Peggotty’s son but the son of his late brother Joe,  and that Em’ly was the daughter of his brother-in-law  Tom who also drowned.

I then asked if he had any children to which he replied:

‘No, master,’ he answered with a short laugh. ‘I’m a bacheldore.’

‘A bachelor!’ I said, astonished. ‘Why, who’s that, Mr. Peggotty?’ pointing to the person in the apron who was knitting.

‘That’s Missis Gummidge,’ said Mr. Peggotty.

The next morning I had the opportunity to chat with Emily and find out a little more about her,  that she was very loyal to Mr Peggotty and we  talked about the sea,  that she was afraid of it, but I was very impressed with her and we talked about other things,  that perhaps she would  like one day to be a lady.

We strolled a long way, and loaded ourselves with things that we thought curious, and put some stranded starfish carefully back into the water  hardly know enough of the race at this moment to be quite certain whether they had reason to feel obliged to us for doing so, or the  reverse and then made our way home to Mr. Peggotty’s dwelling. We stopped under the lee of the lobster-outhouse to exchange an innocent  kiss, and went in to breakfast glowing with health and pleasure.

I was in Love !

One evening Mr Peggotty was out (I believe at the local public house and for some reason Mrs Gummidge was very upset about this.

Everyone appeared unconcerned except Mrs Gummidge who could not control herself:     . ‘I know what I am. I know that I am a lone lorn  creetur’, and not only that everythink goes contrary with me, but that I go contrary with everybody. Yes, yes. I feel more than other people do,  and I show it more. It’s my misfortun’.’

Some time after he was in his hammock that night, I heard him myself repeat to Ham, ‘Poor thing! She’s been thinking of the old ‘un!’ And  whenever Mrs. Gummidge was overcome in a similar manner during the remainder of our stay (which happened some few times), he always  said the same thing in extenuation of the circumstance, and always with the tenderest commiseration.

The time came for us to depart for home, and although I missed Mr Peggotty and Mrs Gummidge, there was one - Little Emily who was  breaking my heart at parting from.

When we arrived home I became more and more excited at seeing mother but for some reason Peggotty appeared more and more nervous  and when we arrive I was getting down to run to my mother when Peggotty said she wanted to speak to me about something in the kitchen.

‘Master Davy,’ said Peggotty, untying her bonnet with a shaking hand, and speaking in a breathless sort of way. ‘What do you think? You have  got a Pa!’

She took me into the parlour then closed the door and disappeared:

On one side of the fire, sat my mother; on the other, Mr. Murdstone. My mother dropped her work, and arose hurriedly, but timidly I thought.

‘Now, Clara my dear,’ said Mr. Murdstone. ‘Recollect! control yourself, always control yourself! Davy boy, how do you do?’

Everything seemed different, my mother was no exception I went upstairs my bedroom was altered,  came down and out into the yard.

I very soon started back from there, for the empty dog-kennel was filled up with a great dog deep mouthed and black-haired like "Him" and he was  very angry at the sight of me, and sprang out to get at me.

Link to Part 2 (Chapters 4-6)