名著阅读

'Yes, my dear young lady,' returned Uncle Sol, looking at her and away from her in a confused manner. 'I wished to see you with my own eyes, and to hear you with my own ears, once more before - ' There he stopped.
'Before when? Before what?' said Florence, putting her hand upon his arm.
'Did I say "before?"' replied old Sol. 'If I did, I must have meant before we should have news of my dear boy.'
'You are not well,' said Florence, tenderly. 'You have been so very anxious I am sure you are not well.'
'I am as well,' returned the old man, shutting up his right hand, and holding it out to show her: 'as well and firm as any man at my time of life can hope to be. See! It's steady. Is its master not as capable of resolution and fortitude as many a younger man? I think so. We shall see.'
There was that in his manner more than in his words, though they remained with her too, which impressed Florence so much, that she would have confided her uneasiness to Captain Cuttle at that moment, if the Captain had not seized that moment for expounding the state of circumstance, on which the opinion of the sagacious Bunsby was requested, and entreating that profound authority to deliver the same.
Bunsby, whose eye continued to be addressed to somewhere about the half-way house between London and Gravesend, two or three times put out his rough right arm, as seeking to wind it for inspiration round the fair form of Miss Nipper; but that young female having withdrawn herself, in displeasure, to the opposite side of the table, the soft heart of the Commander of the Cautious Clara met with no response to its impulses. After sundry failures in this wise, the Commander, addressing himself to nobody, thus spake; or rather the voice within him said of its own accord, and quite independent of himself, as if he were possessed by a gruff spirit:
'My name's Jack Bunsby!'
“是的，我亲爱的小姐，”所尔舅舅惶惑不安地看着她，然后又移开了视线，回答道，“我希望亲眼再见您一次，亲耳朵再听您一次，然后——”说到这里他停住了。
“然后怎么样？”弗洛伦斯把手搁在他的胳膊上，问道。
“我说‘然后’了吗？”老所尔说道，“如果我说了，那么我一定是想要说，然后我再耐心地等待我亲爱的孩子的消息。”
“您身体不大好，”弗洛伦斯亲切地说道，“您一直非常焦急。我确实觉得，您的身体不大好。”
“我身体好，”老人回答道，一边握紧右手，伸给她看，“健康、结实，就像我这样年纪的任何人所能指望的。您看，它一点也不颤抖。难道它的主人不能像许多年轻人那样坚决和刚毅吗？我认为能。我们以后瞧着吧！”
虽然他的话语还在她耳边响着，可是并不是他的话语，而是他的神态，在她心中留下了深刻的印象，她本来真想在那时候把她心中的不安告诉给卡特尔船长的，可是船长却抓住那个时候解释了他要求那位智慧非凡的邦斯贝前来谈谈他的看法的前后经过情况，并恳求那位知识渊博的权威人士发表他的意见。
邦斯贝的眼睛继续朝向伦敦与格雷夫森德之间的什么中途客栈，他两三次伸出他那穿着粗呢的右胳膊；想要搂住尼珀姑娘漂亮的腰身来获得灵感；可是那位年轻的姑娘不高兴地退避到桌子的另一边，“谨慎的克拉拉”的指挥者的慈善的心的冲动没有得到反响。在几次尝试失败之后，这位指挥者不对着任何人讲话了，或者更正确地说，他身体里的声音自发地、不由他作主地发出来了，仿佛他已被一个声音嘶哑的妖魔缠住了似的。
“我叫杰克·邦斯贝！”
背景阅读

本书简介：
《董贝父子》是狄更斯最重要的作品之一，发表于1848年。小说描写了董贝父子公司的盛衰史。董贝是个贪得无厌的大资本家，妻子儿女都成了他追逐利润的工具和摆设。公司经理卡克尔是个奸诈小人，骗取了董贝的信任后又一手造成了他的破产。在现实的教训中，董贝的思想发生了转变。最后，虽然他已无法重整家业，却成全了真正的家庭幸福。

作者简介：

英国小说家查尔斯·约翰·赫芬姆·狄更斯（Charles John Huffam Dickens，1812年2月7日~1870年6月9日） 英国维多利亚时期的著名小说家，他的作品至今依然盛行，并对英国文学发展起到重要影响。 狄更斯1812年出生于英国朴次茅斯（Portsmouth），是海军职员约翰·狄更斯和伊丽莎白·巴洛所生的第二个孩子。狄更斯5岁时全家就迁居占松（Chatham），10岁时又搬到康登镇（Camden Town）。 小时候狄更斯曾经在一所私立学校接受过一段时间的教育，但是12岁时，狄更斯的父亲就因债务问题而入狱，狄更斯也因此被送到伦敦一家鞋油场当学徒，每天工作10个小时。或许是由于这段经历，使得狄更斯的作品更关注底层社会劳动人民的生活状态。 不过后来由于父亲继承了一笔遗产而令家庭经济状况有所好转，狄更斯也才有机会重新回到学校。15岁时他从威灵顿学院毕业，随后进入一家律师行工作，后来又转入报馆，成为一名报导国会辩论的记者。狄更斯并没有接受很多的正规教育，基本上是靠自学成才。