David Copperfield Page #4

It is inhuman!

Let me do the fatal deed

and forget the wretch once known

as Wilkins Micawber ever lived!

He will do away with himself -

the father of my children!

- I think it is only a scratch.

- Has he gone?

- Not dead!

- My love!

(CREDITOR) I'll be back!

He's gone!

Copperfield, my brush with mortality

makes me hungry.

A bag of muffins, if you please,

and, pray,

join us for a modest repast.

What shall I do with these,

Mr Micawber?

Negotiate, my dear Copperfield,

negotiate.

- Not much call for this.

- I am to ask five shillings.

Five shilling?! I'd be robbing

my family if I offered two!

(MICAWBER COUGHS)

It ain't plate, is it?

- The best silver.

- Three-and-six.

I can't go lower than four.

We'll trade! Are you a sporting man?

- Musical?

- Stand firm, Copperfield.

I'll put myself in the poorhouse

if I go on like this!

All right, four shilling, then.

Ahh!

My dear young Copperfield,

until something turns up,

which I am, I may say,

hourly expecting,

I have nothing

to bestow on you but advice.

My advice is never do tomorrow

what you can do today.

Procrastination

is the thief of time! Collar him!

I do not deny, at times,

Micawber has kept me in the dark

as to his liabilities,

but I never will desert him -

no use asking!

...I'm not, Mrs Micawber.

He is the father of my children,

the husband of my affections!

- I NEVER will desert Mr Micawber!

- What's the matter?

- I never will desert you!

- My life, I'm aware of it.

Be calm, Emma, be calm.

I propose a toast...

to our new guest.

You have shown a precocious grasp

of commerce

and I am convinced,

under my tuition of course,

that you will, in short, go far.

To Copperfield -

not just a lodger... a friend!

As the long, tedious days

in the factory passed,

no words could express

the agony of my soul

My father's books had inspired me

with the ambition to write,

but now I felt that

all my dreams had been crushed.

The Micawbers'friendship

was my only respite,

but even that was brought to an end

by their misfortunes.

Something will turn up...

...I'm quite certain of it.

- Where are you taking him?

- King's Bench prison.

How can he pay his debts when he's

locked up and can't earn anything?

The sun is setting. I shan't live to

see another dawn. Think kindly of me.

I never will desert you!

We will not be overcome!

- Don't worry, I'll look after them.

- God bless you!

I resolved to visit Mr Micawber

as soon as I could.

My heart raced as I approached the

gate of the infamous King's Bench.

I think I expected to find

Mr Micawber clapped in irons

in some dreadful dungeon.

The reality of a debtor's prison

was rather different,

though no less terrible

in its own way.

Let the fate of the miserable wretch

you see before you be a warning.

Annual income - 20.

Annual expenditure - 19.19.06.

Result - happiness.

Annual income - 20.

Annual expenditure - 20.00.06.

Result - misery!

The blossom is blighted,

the leaf is withered!

You are, in short, flattened!

Months passed with no sign

of a release for Mr Micawber.

I went to the prison every day

and did what I could for him,

but I had barely enough

to feed myself.

I thought you might be hungry.

You have... no close family

of your own, Copperfield?

- Beyond Mr Murdstone, I mean.

- He hates me.

I have no one else.

An aunt in Dover hasn't seen me

since I was a baby

and I don't think

she'd want to meet me now.

My advice is seek her out.

She may be overjoyed

to reacquaint herself with you.

Wilkins! Our debts are settled!

You are a free man again!

The Lord Chancellor's acknowledged

a miscarriage of justice!

I wrote to him personally.

My family's remembered

their obligations.

Not, in short, before time.

They think Micawber should exert his

talents in our home town of Plymouth.

I shall never think of our period of

difficulty without remembering you.

God bless you.

I never will forget you.

Farewell, my young friend. Farewell

Remember, Copperfield.

Annual income - 20.

Annual expenditure - 20.00.06.

Result - misery!

With my friends gone, I understood

that my fate lay in my own hands.

A great resolution

began to form within me.

I had decided to run away.

I'd go into the country to find

the only relation I had in the world -

my aunt, Betsey Trotwood.

- 15 shilling.

- I need a sovereign for the coach.

I'll throw in these valuable items

out of the kindness of my heart.

They must be worth

another 10 shillings at least.

Five.

Done.

Excuse me, sir.

Will you take this

to the coach station for sixpence?

- Give me my money!

- Let go!

Or, by God,

I'll rip your body open!

- Stop, thief!

- Get out of the way!

STOP! STOP!

With nothing left in the world,

I now had no choice but to continue

my journey to Dover on foot.

Pardon me, sir, but do you know

where Miss Betsey Trotwood lives?

Go away! Go along!

No boys here!

Go on!

If you please, ma'am.

If you please, Aunt,

I am your nephew David Copperfield.

I have been very unhappy since Mama

died, and my stepfather hates me!

He made me work in a horrible place!

Janet! Oh, mercy!

Oh, mercy on us, Janet!

Mr Dick, you've heard me mention

David Copperfield.

David Copperfield...

Oh, yes, certainly. David!

Well, this is his boy, his son.

He'd be like his father if he were

not so like his mother, too!

- He's run away!

- Run away?

- His sister never would have!

- I've no sister.

You came in her place

or this would not have happened!

- You think not?

- Of course not!

She would have lived with me!

We would have been devoted!

Don't stand there wool-gathering!

Nobody has the brains you have!

Here you see young David.

The question I put to you is

what shall I do with him?

- I want some very sound advice.

- What shall you do with him?

Why, um, if I were you,

I should... I should...

If I were you, I should wash him!

- Mr Dick sets us right!

- I'll heat the water.

J-Janet! Donkeys! Donkeys!

Get off this green at once!

Turn round!

No! Don't!

I will have

no donkeys trespassing on my green!

Please, ma'am...

Ugh! Burn them!

Whatever possessed your poor mother

to marry again, I cannot conceive.

- Perhaps she fell in love.

- Why did she do that?!

- Look at what love did for me!

- Are you married, Aunt?

Was.

My husband treated me falsely...

ungratefully and cruelly.

That's what men do -

as far as I can see.

Mine nearly broke my fortune

and closed my heart for good.

He died in India, you know.

Trampled by an elephant!

Mr Dick...

...would you please

go and find this boy some clothes?

Wash your face.

Ughh! Where have you been, boy?

Ughhh!

Now, we must consider what is to be

done with you, David Copperfield.

- I'll have to write to your stepfather.

- Will I be given up to him?

I don't know anything about that.

Perhaps. We shall see.

You have committed

a very reckless act.

Running away

is a serious business, you know.

What did you mean by coming... here?

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