Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. TITELBLATT

2. IMPRESSUM

3. CHAPTER I

4. CHAPTER II

5. CHAPTER III

6. CHAPTER IV

7. CHAPTER V

8. CHAPTER VI

9. CHAPTER VII

10. CHAPTER VIII

11. CHAPTER IX

12. CHAPTER X

13. CHAPTER XI

14. CHAPTER XII

15. CHAPTER XIII

16. CHAPTER XIV

17. CHAPTER XV

18. CHAPTER XVI

19. CHAPTER XVII

20. CHAPTER XVIII

21. CHAPTER XIX

22. CHAPTER XX

23. CHAPTER XXI

24. CHAPTER XXII

25. CHAPTER XXIII

26. CHAPTER XXIV

27. CHAPTER XXV

28. CHAPTER XXVI

29. CHAPTER XXVII

30. CHAPTER XXVIII

31. CHAPTER XXIX

32. CHAPTER XXX

33. CHAPTER XXXI

34. CHAPTER XXXII

35. CHAPTER XXXIII

36. CHAPTER XXXIV

37. CHAPTER XXXV

38. CHAPTER XXXVI

39. CHAPTER XXXVII

40. CHAPTER XXXVIII

41. CHAPTER XXXIX

42. CHAPTER XL

43. CHAPTER XLI

44. CHAPTER XLII

45. CHAPTER XLIII

46. CHAPTER XLIV

47. CHAPTER XLV

48. CHAPTER XLVI

49. CHAPTER XLVII

50. CHAPTER XLVIII

51. CHAPTER XLIX

52. CHAPTER L

53. CHAPTER LI

54. CHAPTER LII

55. CHAPTER LIII

56. CHAPTER LIV

57. CHAPTER LV

58. CHAPTER LVI

59. CHAPTER LVII

60. CHAPTER LVIII

61. CHAPTER LIX

62. GREAT EXPECTATIONS (ENGLISCH)

Charles Dickens
Great Expectations / Große Erwartungen
Zweisprachige Ausgabe
Übersetzt von Margit Meyer

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CHAPTER I

1. KAPITEL

MY father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip,

Da meines Vaters Familienname Pirrip und mein Vorname Philip ist,

my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.

konnte meine kindliche Zunge beide Namen nicht länger und genauer aussprechen als Pip.

So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

So nannte ich mich Pip und wurde auch von anderen Pip genannt.

I give Pirrip as my father’s family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister — Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith.

Wenn ich Pirrip als meines Vaters Familiennamen angebe, so beziehe ich mich dabei auf dessen Grabstein und auf meine Schwester, Mrs. Joe Gargery, die den Schmied geheiratet hat.

As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them

Da ich meinen Vater und meine Mutter niemals gesehen habe und auch nie ein Bild von ihnen zu Gesicht bekam

(for their days were long before the days of photographs),

(denn zu ihren Lebzeiten gab es noch keine Photographien),

my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones.

gingen meine ersten Vorstellungen über ihr Aussehen wider alle Vernunft von ihren Grabsteinen aus.

The shape of the letters on my father’s gave me an odd idea

Die Form der Buchstaben auf meines Vaters Grab erweckte in mir den Eindruck,

that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair.

dass er ein breitschultriger, untersetzter, brünetter Mann mit lockigem schwarzem Haar war.

From the character and turn of the inscription, “Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,”

Aus dem Charakter der Inschrift »Georgiana, Ehefrau des Obigen«

I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.

zog ich die kindliche Schlussfolgerung, dass meine Mutter sommersprossig und kränklich gewesen sein muss.

To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave,

Mit fünf kleinen Steinrhomben, von denen jeder etwa eineinhalb Fuß lang war und die neben ihren Gräbern in einer ordentlichen Reihe aufgestellt

and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine

und dem Gedenken an meine fünf kleinen Brüder gewidmet waren

— who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that universal struggle — I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained

– die das Rennen in diesem allgemeinen Lebenskampf außerordentlich zeitig aufgegeben hatten –, verbinde ich die mir heilige Überzeugung,

that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state of existence.

dass sie alle auf dem Rücken liegend und mit den Händen in den Hosentaschen geboren sein mussten und dass sie sie in dieser Lebensphase niemals herausgenommen haben.

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea.

Wir wohnten im Marschland, unten am Fluss innerhalb der Flussbiegung, zwanzig Meilen von der See entfernt.

My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things, seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening.

Ich glaube, meine ersten, höchst lebendigen und nachhaltigen Eindrücke von der Gleichheit der Dinge habe ich an einem denkwürdigen, nasskalten Spätnachmittag gewonnen.

At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard;

Zu jener Zeit stellte ich mit Sicherheit fest, dass dieser trostlose, von Nesseln überwucherte Ort der Friedhof war

and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried;

und dass Philip Pirrip, verstorben in dieser Gemeinde, und Georgiana, Ehefrau des Obigen, tot und begraben waren

and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried;

und dass Alexander, Bartholomäus, Abraham, Tobias und Roger, die kleinen Kinder der Obengenannten, auch tot und begraben waren

and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes;

und dass die düstere, flache Wildnis jenseits des Friedhofs, die von Gräben, Dämmen und Toren durchzogen ist und auf der verstreut Vieh weidet, die Marschen waren

and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea;

und dass die tiefliegende, bleigraue Linie dahinter der Fluss war und dass die ferne, schroffe Gegend, aus der der Wind fegte, das Meer

and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.

war und dass das kleine, zitternde Bündel, das vor allem Angst bekam und deshalb zu weinen anfing, Pip war.

“Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch.

»Halt den Mund!«, rief eine schreckliche Stimme, und ein Mann tauchte zwischen den Gräbern seitlich der Kirchenvorhalle auf.

“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

»Sei still, du kleiner Teufel, sonst schneid ich dir die Kehle durch.«

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg.

Ein furchterregender Mann, ganz in grobes Leinen gekleidet und mit einem großen Eisen am Bein.

A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head.

Ein Mann ohne Hut, mit zerrissenen Schuhen und mit einem alten Lappen um den Kopf.

A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars;

Ein Mann, der durchnässt und schmutzbedeckt war, der sich die Füße auf den Kieselsteinen wund gelaufen hatte, der von Nesseln gestochen und von Dornen zerrissen worden war.

who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

Ein Mann, der humpelte und zitterte, der funkelnde Blicke um sich warf, knurrte und mit den Zähnen klapperte, als er mich am Kinn zog.

“O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I pleaded in terror. “Pray don’t do it, sir.”

»Oh! Schneiden Sie mir nicht die Kehle durch, Sir!«, flehte ich vor Entsetzen. »Bitte tun Sie es nicht, Sir!«

“Tell us your name!” said the man. “Quick!”

»Nenn uns deinen Namen!«, sagte der Mann. »Schnell!«

“Pip, sir.”

“Once more,” said the man, staring at me. “Give it mouth!”

»Noch mal«, sagte der Mann und starrte mich an. »Raus mit der Sprache!«

“Pip. Pip, sir.”

“Show us where you live,” said the man. “Pint out the place!”

»Zeig uns, wo du wohnst«, sagte der Mann. »Zeig die Stelle!«

I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.

Ich zeigte dahin, wo unser Dorf lag, auf der Ebene nahe der Küste zwischen den Erlen und beschnittenen Bäumen, etwa eine Meile von der Kirche entfernt.

The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets.

Nachdem mich der Mann einen Augenblick angesehen hatte, stellte er mich kopf und leerte meine Taschen.

There was nothing in them but a piece of bread.

In denen war nichts weiter als ein Stückchen Brot.

When the church came to itself — for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet

Als die Kirche wieder am alten Fleck stand, denn er ging so plötzlich und kräftig vor, dass sie verkehrt rum vor mir stand und ich den Kirchturm unter meinen Füßen sah

— when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling, while he ate the bread ravenously.

– als also die Kirche wieder am alten Fleck stand, da saß ich zitternd auf einem hohen Grabstein, während er heißhungrig das Brot aß.

“You young dog,” said the man, licking his lips, “what fat cheeks you ha’ got.”

»Du junger Hund«, sagte der Mann und schmatzte mit den Lippen, »was für dicke Backen du hast.«

I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized, for my years, and not strong.

Ich glaube, sie waren wirklich dick, obwohl ich zu dieser Zeit für mein Alter zu klein und auch nicht gesund war.

“Darn Me if I couldn’t eat ’em,” said the man, with a threatening shake of his head, “and if I han’t half a mind to’t!”

»Verflixt, dass ich die nich essen kann«, sagte der Mann mit einem bedrohlichen Kopfschütteln, »ich hab nich wenich Lust dazu!«

I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn’t, and held tighter to the tombstone

Ich brachte ernsthaft die Hoffnung zum Ausdruck, dass er es nicht tun möge, und klammerte mich an den Grabstein,

on which he had put me; partly, to keep myself upon it; partly, to keep myself from crying.

auf den er mich gesetzt hatte, teils um mich darauf festzuhalten, teils um mir das Weinen zu verkneifen.

“Now lookee here!” said the man. “Where’s your mother?”

»Hör mal«, sagte der Mann, »wo is ’n deine Mutter?«

“There, sir!” said I.

»Dort, Sir!«, antwortete ich.

He started, made a short run, and stopped and looked over his shoulder.

Er ging los, rannte ein Stück, blieb stehen und wandte den Kopf.

“There, sir!” I timidly explained. “Also Georgiana. That’s my mother.”

»Da, Sir!«, erklärte ich schüchtern. »Georgiana. Das ist meine Mutter.«

“Oh!” said he, coming back. “And is that your father alonger your mother?”

»Oh!«, sagte er und kam zurück. »Und is das dein Vater neben deiner Mutter?«

“Yes, sir,” said I; “him too; late of this parish.”

»Ja, Sir«, sagte ich, »er ist auch tot, verstorben in dieser Gemeinde.«

“Ha!” he muttered then, considering. “Who d’ye live with — supposin’ you’re kindly let to live, which I han’t made up my mind about?”

»Hm!«, murmelte er dann und dachte nach. »Bei wem wohnst du denn, falls ich dich freundlicherweise leben lasse, worüber ich mir aber noch nich klar bin.«

“My sister, sir — Mrs. Joe Gargery — wife of Joe Gargery, the blacksmith, sir.”

»Bei meiner Schwester, Sir – Mrs. Joe Gargery, der Frau von Joe Gargery, dem Schmied, Sir.«

“Blacksmith, eh?” said he. And looked down at his leg.

»Was, Schmied?«, sagte er und sah auf sein Bein hinab.

After darkly looking at his leg and at me several times, he came closer to my tombstone,

Nachdem er mehrere Male finster sein Bein und mich betrachtet hatte, kam er näher an meinen Grabstein heran,

took me by both arms, and tilted me back as far as he could hold me;

griff mich mit beiden Armen und kippte mich so weit wie möglich nach hinten,

so that his eyes looked most powerfully down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.

wobei er mir durchdringend in die Augen sah und ich äußerst hilflos zu ihm aufschaute.

“Now lookee here,” he said, “the question being whether you’re to be let to live. You know what a file is?”

»Hör zu«, sagte er, »die Frage is, ob du am Leben bleibst oder nich. Du weißt, was ’ne Feile is?«

“Yes, sir.”

»Ja, Sir.«

“And you know what wittles is?”

»Und du weißt, was Proviant is?«

“Yes, sir.”

»Ja, Sir.«

After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger.

Nach jeder Frage bog er mich noch ein bisschen weiter zurück, so als wollte er mir ein noch stärkeres Gefühl der Hilflosigkeit und Gefahr vermitteln.

“You get me a file.” He tilted me again. “And you get me wittles.” He tilted me again.

»Du besorgst mir ’ne Feile.« Er bog mich wieder nach hinten. »Und du besorgst mir Proviant.« Wieder bog er mich nach hinten.

“You bring ’em both to me.” He tilted me again. “Or I’ll have your heart and liver out.” He tilted me again.

»Du bringst mir beides her.« Und wieder bog er mich nach hinten. »Oder ich reiß dir Herz und Leber raus.« Und wieder bog er mich nach hinten.

I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy that I clung to him with both hands, and said,

Ich war so furchtbar verängstigt, und mir war so schwindlig, dass ich mich mit beiden Händen an ihn klammerte und sagte:

“If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn’t be sick, and perhaps I could attend more.”

»Wenn Sie mich bitte gütigst aufrecht stehen lassen würden, Sir, wäre mir vielleicht nicht übel, und ich könnte vielleicht mehr für Sie tun.«

He gave me a most tremendous dip and roll, so that the church jumped over its own weather-cock.

Er gab mir einen ganz gewaltigen Schubs, so dass die Kirche über ihren eigenen Wetterhahn sprang.

Then, he held me by the arms in an upright position on the top of the stone, and went on in these fearful terms:

Dann hielt er mich an den Armen oben auf dem Stein aufrecht und fuhr in diesen schrecklichen Worten fort:

“You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder.

»Du bringst mir morgen früh ganz zeitig die Feile und den Proviant. Du bringst mir das alles zur alten Batterie da hinten hin.

You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sumever,

Das machst du, und wehe, du unterstehst dich, ’n Wort zu sagen oder ’ne Andeutung zu machen, dass du jemand wie mich oder überhaupt irgend ’ne Person gesehen hast.

and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any partickler, no matter how small it is,

Dann sollst du auch am Leben bleiben. Wenn du das nich machst oder auch nur im Geringsten von meinen Anordnungen abweichst,

and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate.

wird dein Herz und deine Leber rausgerissen, gebraten und gegessen.

Now, I ain’t alone, as you may think I am.

Nun, ich bin nich allein, wie du vielleicht denkst.

There’s a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am a Angel. That young man hears the words I speak.

Da hat sich noch ’n junger Mann mit mir versteckt, wo ich im Vergleich zu dem jungen Mann ’n Engel bin. Dieser junge Mann hört die Worte, die ich spreche.

That young man has a secret way pecooliar to himself, of getting at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver.

Dieser junge Mann hat ’ne geheime Art, die nur er hat, sich ’n Jungen zu greifen und an sein Herz und an seine Leber ranzukommen.

It is in wain for a boy to attempt to hide himself from that young man.

Es is ganz umsonst, wenn ’n Junge versucht, sich vor diesem jungen Mann zu verstecken.

A boy may lock his door, may be warm in bed, may tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself comfortable and safe,

Ein Junge kann seine Tür zuriegeln, kann im warmen Bett liegen und sich einwickeln und die Decke über ’n Kopf ziehn und sich behaglich und sicher fühlen,

but that young man will softly creep and creep his way to him and tear him open.

aber dieser junge Mann wird leise zu ihm hinschleichen und ihn rauszerren.

I am a keeping that young man from harming of you at the present moment, with great difficulty.

Ich kann diesen jungen Mann nur mit großer Mühe hindern, dir jetz was zu tun.

I find it wery hard to hold that young man off of your inside. Now, what do you say?”

Es is sehr schwer, diesen jungen Mann von deinen Eingeweiden abzuhalten. Na, was sagst du?«

I said that I would get him the file, and I would get him what broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the Battery, early in the morning.

Ich sagte, dass ich ihm die Feile besorgen und ihm alle nur möglichen Essensreste bringen würde und früh am Morgen zu ihm zur Batterie hinkäme.

“Say, Lord strike you dead if you don’t!” said the man.

»Sage, dass der Herr dich tot umfallen lassen soll, wenn du das nich tust!«, sagte der Mann.

I said so, and he took me down.

Ich sprach es ihm nach, und er nahm mich herunter.

“Now,” he pursued, “you remember what you’ve undertook, and you remember that young man, and you get home!”

»So«, fuhr er fort, »du denkst dran, was du versprochen hast, und du denkst an diesen jungen Mann, und nu gehste nach Hause.«

“Goo-good night, sir,” I faltered.

»Gu – gute Nacht, Sir«, stammelte ich.

“Much of that!” said he, glancing about him over the cold wet flat. “I wish I was a frog. Or a eel!”

»Sehr unwahrscheinlich!«, sagte er und ließ seine Blicke über die kalte, nasse Ebene schweifen. »Ich wünschte, ich wär ’n Frosch. Oder ’n Aal!«

At the same time, he hugged his shuddering body in both his arms — clasping himself,

Gleichzeitig umfasste er seinen schlotternden Körper mit beiden Armen – wobei er sich selbst umklammerte,

as if to hold himself together — and limped towards the low church wall.

als wollte er sich zusammenhalten – und hinkte auf die niedrige Friedhofsmauer zu.

As I saw him go, picking his way among the nettles, and among the brambles that bound the green mounds,

Als ich ihn gehen sah, wie er sich den Weg durch die Nesseln und Dornenbüsche, die die grünen Hügel einhüllten, bahnte,

he looked in my young eyes as if he were eluding the hands of the dead people,

wirkte er in meinen kindlichen Augen wie einer, der den Händen der Toten auswich,

stretching up cautiously out of their graves, to get a twist upon his ankle and pull him in.

die sich vorsichtig aus den Gräbern reckten, um ihn am Handgelenk zu packen und hinunterzuziehen.

When he came to the low church wall, he got over it, like a man whose legs were numbed and stiff, and then turned round to look for me.

Als er an die niedrige Friedhofsmauer kam, stieg er wie ein Mann darüber, dessen Beine erstarrt und steif sind, und drehte sich nach mir um.

When I saw him turning, I set my face towards home, and made the best use of my legs.

Als ich das merkte, machte ich eine Kehrtwendung und rannte los.

But presently I looked over my shoulder, and saw him going on again towards the river, still hugging himself in both arms,

Aber bald darauf guckte ich über die Schulter und sah ihn wieder auf den Fluss zugehen, wobei er sich noch immer mit beiden Armen umschlang

and picking his way with his sore feet among the great stones dropped into the marshes here and there,

und sich mit dem wunden Bein seinen Weg zwischen den großen Steinen hindurch bahnte, die hier und dort als Laufsteg in den Marschen liegen,

for stepping-places when the rains were heavy, or the tide was in.

für den Fall, dass schwere Regen niedergehen oder die Flut einbricht.

The marshes were just a long black horizontal line then, as I stopped to look after him;

Als ich stehenblieb, um ihm nachzusehen, waren die Marschen nur noch ein langer schwarzer Streifen am Horizont,

and the river was just another horizontal line, not nearly so broad nor yet so black;

und der Fluss war auch nur noch ein Streifen am Horizont, doch nicht ganz so breit und so schwarz,

and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed.

und der Himmel war von einer langen Reihe unruhiger roter Streifen bedeckt, die mit undurchdringlichen schwarzen verwoben waren.

On the edge of the river I could faintly make out the only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to be standing upright;

In Höhe des Flusses konnte ich schwach die einzigen beiden Dinge in der ganzen Umgebung erkennen, die aufrecht zu stehen schienen:

one of these was the beacon by which the sailors steered — like an unhooped cask upon a pole — an ugly thing when you were near it;

Das war einmal der Leuchtturm, nach dem sich die Seeleute richteten und der wie ein umgestülptes Fass auf einem Pfahl aussah und, von nahem besehen, ein hässliches Ding war.

the other a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate.

Das andere war ein Galgen, an dem einige Bande hingen, in die früher ein Pirat geschlagen war.

The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again.

Der Mann humpelte auf den Galgen zu, als ob er der Seeräuber wäre, der lebendig geworden und heruntergekommen ist, um sich selbst wieder aufzuhängen.

It gave me a terrible turn when I thought so; and as I saw the cattle lifting their heads to gaze after him, I wondered whether they thought so too.

Dieser Gedanke erschreckte mich maßlos, und ich glaube, die Tiere, die den Kopf hoben und ihm nachstarrten, empfanden ebenso wie ich.

I looked all round for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of him.

Ich sah mich in allen Richtungen nach dem schrecklichen jungen Mann um, konnte aber nichts von ihm entdecken.

But now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping.

Dennoch fürchtete ich mich wieder und rannte ohne Pause nach Hause.

CHAPTER I

MY father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

I give Pirrip as my father’s family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister — Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the blacksmith. As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. The shape of the letters on my father’s gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, “Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,” I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly. To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine — who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that universal struggle — I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state of existence.

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things, seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening. At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried; and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea; and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.

“Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

“O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I pleaded in terror. “Pray don’t do it, sir.”

“Tell us your name!” said the man. “Quick!”

“Pip, sir.”

“Once more,” said the man, staring at me. “Give it mouth!”

“Pip. Pip, sir.”

“Show us where you live,” said the man. “Pint out the place!”

I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.

The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a piece of bread. When the church came to itself — for he was so sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the steeple under my feet — when the church came to itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling, while he ate the bread ravenously.

“You young dog,” said the man, licking his lips, “what fat cheeks you ha’ got.”

I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized, for my years, and not strong.

“Darn Me if I couldn’t eat ’em,” said the man, with a threatening shake of his head, “and if I han’t half a mind to’t!”

I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn’t, and held tighter to the tombstone on which he had put me; partly, to keep myself upon it; partly, to keep myself from crying.

“Now lookee here!” said the man. “Where’s your mother?”

“There, sir!” said I.

He started, made a short run, and stopped and looked over his shoulder.

“There, sir!” I timidly explained. “Also Georgiana. That’s my mother.”

“Oh!” said he, coming back. “And is that your father alonger your mother?”

“Yes, sir,” said I; “him too; late of this parish.”

“Ha!” he muttered then, considering. “Who d’ye live with — supposin’ you’re kindly let to live, which I han’t made up my mind about?”

“My sister, sir — Mrs. Joe Gargery — wife of Joe Gargery, the blacksmith, sir.”

“Blacksmith, eh?” said he. And looked down at his leg.

After darkly looking at his leg and at me several times, he came closer to my tombstone, took me by both arms, and tilted me back as far as he could hold me; so that his eyes looked most powerfully down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.

“Now lookee here,” he said, “the question being whether you’re to be let to live. You know what a file is?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you know what wittles is?”

“Yes, sir.”

After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give me a greater sense of helplessness and danger.

“You get me a file.” He tilted me again. “And you get me wittles.” He tilted me again. “You bring ’em both to me.” He tilted me again. “Or I’ll have your heart and liver out.” He tilted me again.

I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy that I clung to him with both hands, and said, “If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn’t be sick, and perhaps I could attend more.”

He gave me a most tremendous dip and roll, so that the church jumped over its own weather-cock. Then, he held me by the arms in an upright position on the top of the stone, and went on in these fearful terms:

“You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles. You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person sumever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my words in any partickler, no matter how small it is, and your heart and your liver shall be tore out, roasted and ate. Now, I ain’t alone, as you may think I am. There’s a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am a Angel. That young man hears the words I speak. That young man has a secret way pecooliar to himself, of getting at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver. It is in wain for a boy to attempt to hide himself from that young man. A boy may lock his door, may be warm in bed, may tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep and creep his way to him and tear him open. I am a keeping that young man from harming of you at the present moment, with great difficulty. I find it wery hard to hold that young man off of your inside. Now, what do you say?”

I said that I would get him the file, and I would get him what broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the Battery, early in the morning.

“Say, Lord strike you dead if you don’t!” said the man.

I said so, and he took me down.

“Now,” he pursued, “you remember what you’ve undertook, and you remember that young man, and you get home!”

“Goo-good night, sir,” I faltered.

“Much of that!” said he, glancing about him over the cold wet flat. “I wish I was a frog. Or a eel!”

At the same time, he hugged his shuddering body in both his arms — clasping himself, as if to hold himself together — and limped towards the low church wall. As I saw him go, picking his way among the nettles, and among the brambles that bound the green mounds, he looked in my young eyes as if he were eluding the hands of the dead people, stretching up cautiously out of their graves, to get a twist upon his ankle and pull him in.

When he came to the low church wall, he got over it, like a man whose legs were numbed and stiff, and then turned round to look for me. When I saw him turning, I set my face towards home, and made the best use of my legs. But presently I looked over my shoulder, and saw him going on again towards the river, still hugging himself in both arms, and picking his way with his sore feet among the great stones dropped into the marshes here and there, for stepping-places when the rains were heavy, or the tide was in.

The marshes were just a long black horizontal line then, as I stopped to look after him; and the river was just another horizontal line, not nearly so broad nor yet so black; and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines intermixed. On the edge of the river I could faintly make out the only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to be standing upright; one of these was the beacon by which the sailors steered — like an unhooped cask upon a pole — an ugly thing when you were near it; the other a gibbet, with some chains hanging to it which had once held a pirate. The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again. It gave me a terrible turn when I thought so; and as I saw the cattle lifting their heads to gaze after him, I wondered whether they thought so too. I looked all round for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of him. But now I was frightened again, and ran home without stopping.