Chapter I
's family name being
Pirrip 2
, and
my 1
Christian name
Philip 1
,
my 1
infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than
Pip 1
.
So ,
I 1
called
myself 1
Pip 1
, and came to be called
Pip 1
.
I 1
give
Pirrip 2
as
's family name , on the authority of
his 0
tombstone and
, --
Mrs. Joe Gargery , who married
the blacksmith 4
38 .
As
I 1
never saw
or
my 1
mother 5
, and never saw any likeness of either of
them 6
( for
their 6
days were long before the days of photographs ) ,
my 1
first fancies regarding what
they 6
were like were unreasonably derived from
their 6
tombstones .
The shape of the letters on
's , gave
me 1
an odd idea that
he 0
was
a square , stout , dark man , with curly black hair 39
.
From the character and turn of the inscription , “ Also
Georgiana 5
, ”
I 1
drew a childish conclusion that
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 6
grave , and were sacred to the memory of
five little brothers of mine 7
, -- who gave up trying to get a living , exceedingly early in that universal struggle , --
I 1
am indebted for a belief
I 1
religiously entertained that
they 7
had all been born on
their 7
backs with
their 7
hands in
their 7
trousers-pockets , and had never taken
them 7
out in this state of existence .
Ours was
the marsh country 8
, down by
the river 9
, within , as
the river 9
wound , twenty miles of
the sea 10
.
My 1
first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things seems to
me 1
to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening .
At such a time
I 1
found out for certain that
this bleak place overgrown with nettles 11
was
the churchyard 100
; and that
Philip Pirrip 0
, late of
this parish 12
, and also
Georgiana 5
, were dead and buried ; and that
Alexander 13
,
Bartholomew 14
,
Abraham 15
,
Tobias 16
, and
Roger 17
,
infant children of
the aforesaid 6
7 , were also dead and buried ; and that
the dark flat wilderness beyond
the churchyard 11
18 , intersected with dikes and mounds and gates , with scattered cattle feeding on
it 18
, was
the marshes 101
; and that
the low leaden line beyond 9
was
the river 9
; and that
the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing 10
was
the sea 102
; and that
the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry 1
, was
Pip 103
.
“ Hold
your 1
noise ! ”
cried a terrible voice , as
a man 19
started up from among the graves at
the side of
the church porch 21
20 .
“ Keep still ,
, or
I 19
'll cut
your 1
throat ! ”
A fearful man , all in coarse gray , with a great iron on
his 19
leg
19 .
A man with no hat , and with broken shoes , and with an old rag tied round
his 19
head
19 .
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 19
; who limped , and shivered , and glared , and growled ; and whose teeth chattered in
his 19
head as
he 19
seized
me 1
by the chin .
“ Oh !
Do n't cut
my 1
throat ,
sir 19
, ”
I 1
pleaded in terror .
“ Pray do n't do it ,
sir 19
. ”
“ Tell
us 19
your 1
name ! ”
said
the man 19
.
“ Quick ! ”
“
Pip 1
,
sir 19
. ”
“ Once more , ” said
the man 19
, staring at
me 1
.
“ Give it mouth ! ”
“
Pip 1
.
Pip 1
,
sir 19
. ”
“ Show
us 19
where
you 1
live , ” said
the man 19
.
“ Pint out
the place 22
! ”
I 1
pointed to where
lay , on
the flat in-shore 25
among the alder-trees and pollards , a mile or more from
the church 26
.
The man 19
, after looking at
me 1
for a moment , turned
me 1
upside down , and emptied
my 1
pockets .
There was nothing in them but a piece of bread .
When
the church 26
came to itself , -- for
he 19
was so sudden and strong that
he 19
made it go head over heels before
me 1
, and
I 1
saw the steeple under
my 1
feet , -- when
the church 26
came to itself ,
I 1
say ,
I 1
was seated on a high tombstone , trembling while
he 19
ate the bread ravenously .
“
You 1
young dog 1
, ” said
the man 19
, licking
his 19
lips , “ what fat cheeks
you 1
ha ' got . ”
I 1
believe they were fat , though
I 1
was at that time undersized for
my 1
years , and not strong .
“ Darn
me 19
if
I 19
could n't eat em , ” said
the man 19
, with a threatening shake of
his 19
head , “ and if
I 19
ha n't half a mind to ' t ! ”
I 1
earnestly expressed
my 1
hope that
he 1
would n't , and held tighter to the tombstone on which
he 19
had put
me 1
; partly , to keep
myself 1
upon it ; partly , to keep
myself 1
from crying .
“ Now lookee here ! ”
said
the man 19
.
“ Where 's
? ”
“ There ,
sir 19
! ”
said
I 1
.
He 19
started , made a short run , and stopped and looked over
his 19
shoulder .
“ There ,
sir 19
! ”
I 1
timidly explained .
“ Also
Georgiana 5
.
That 's
. ”
“ Oh ! ”
said
he 19
, coming back .
“ And is that
alonger
? ”
“ Yes ,
sir 19
, ” said
I 1
; “
him 19
too ; late of
this parish 12
. ”
“ Ha ! ”
he 19
muttered then , considering .
“ Who d'ye live with , -- supposin '
you 1
're kindly let to live , which
I 1
ha n't made up
my 19
mind about ? ”
“
,
sir 19
, --
Mrs. Joe Gargery 40
, --
wife of
Joe Gargery 4
,
the blacksmith 4
41 ,
sir 19
. ”
“
Blacksmith 4
, eh ? ”
said
he 19
.
And looked down at
his 19
leg .
After darkly looking at
his 19
leg and
me 1
several times ,
he 19
came closer to
my 1
tombstone , took
me 1
by both arms , and tilted
me 1
back as far as
he 19
could hold
me 1
; so that
his 19
eyes looked most powerfully down into mine , and mine looked most helplessly up into
his 19
.
“ Now lookee here , ”
he 19
said , “ the question being whether
you 1
're to be let to live .
You 1
know what a file is ? ”
“ Yes ,
sir 19
. ”
“ And
you 1
know what wittles is ? ”
“ Yes ,
sir 19
. ”
After each question
he 19
tilted
me 1
over a little more , so as to give
me 19
a greater sense of helplessness and danger .
“
You 1
get
me 19
a file . ”
He 19
tilted
me 1
again .
“ And
you 1
get
me 19
wittles . ”
He 19
tilted
me 1
again .
“
You 1
bring 'em both to
me 19
. ”
He 19
tilted
me 1
again .
“ Or
I 19
'll have
your 1
heart and liver out . ”
He 19
tilted
me 1
again .
I 1
was dreadfully frightened , and so giddy that
I 1
clung to
him 19
with both hands , and said , “ If
you 19
would kindly please to let
me 1
keep upright ,
sir 19
, perhaps
I 1
should n't be sick , and perhaps
I 1
could attend more . ”
He 19
gave
me 19
a most tremendous dip and roll , so that
the church 26
jumped over
its 26
own weathercock .
Then ,
he 19
held
me 1
by the arms , in an upright position on the top of the stone , and went on in these fearful terms : -- “
You 1
bring
me 19
, to-morrow morning early , that file and them wittles .
You 1
bring the lot to
me 19
, at
that old Battery over yonder 27
.
You 1
do it , and
you 1
never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign concerning
your 1
having seen
such a person as
me 19
29 , or
any person sumever 28
, and
you 1
shall be let to live .
You 1
fail , or
you 1
go from
my 19
words in any partickler , no matter how small it is , and
your 1
heart and
your 1
liver shall be tore out , roasted , and ate .
Now ,
I 19
ai n't alone , as
you 1
may think
I 1
am .
There 's
a young man hid with
me 19
30 , in comparison with
which young man 30
I 19
am
a Angel 42
.
That young man 30
hears the words
I 19
speak .
That young man 30
has a secret way pecooliar to
himself 30
, of getting at
a boy 31
, and at
his 31
heart , and at
his 31
liver .
It is in wain for
a boy 32
to attempt to hide
himself 32
from
that young man 30
.
A boy 33
may lock
his 33
door , may be warm in bed , may tuck
himself 33
up , may draw the clothes over
his 33
head , may think
himself 33
comfortable and safe , but
that young man 30
will softly creep and creep
his 30
way to
him 33
and tear
him 33
open .
I 19
am a keeping
that young man 30
from harming of
you 1
at the present moment , with great difficulty .
I 19
find it wery hard to hold
that young man 30
off of
your 1
inside .
Now , what do
you 1
say ? ”
I 1
said that
I 1
would get
him 19
the file , and
I 1
would get
him 19
what broken bits of food
I 1
could , and
I 1
would come to
him 19
at
the Battery 27
, early in the morning .
“ Say
Lord 34
strike
you 1
dead if
you 1
do n't ! ”
said
the man 19
.
I 1
said so , and
he 19
took
me 1
down .
“ Now , ”
he 19
pursued , “
you 1
remember what
you 1
've undertook , and
you 1
remember
that young man 30
, and
you 1
get
home 22
! ”
“ Goo-good night ,
sir 19
, ”
I 1
faltered .
“ Much of that ! ”
said
he 19
, glancing about
him 19
over
the cold wet flat 35
.
“
I 19
wish
I 19
was a frog .
Or a eel ! ”
At the same time ,
he 19
hugged
his 19
shuddering body in both
his 19
arms , -- clasping
himself 19
, as if to hold
himself 19
together , -- and limped towards the low
church 26
wall .
As
I 1
saw
him 19
go , picking
his 19
way among the nettles , and among the brambles that bound the green mounds ,
he 19
looked in
my 1
young eyes as if
he 19
were eluding the hands of the dead people , stretching up cautiously out of
their 36
graves , to get a twist upon
his 19
ankle and pull
him 19
in .
When
he 19
came to the low
church 26
wall ,
he 19
got over it , like
a man whose legs were numbed and stiff 37
, and then turned round to look for
me 1
.
When
I 1
saw
him 19
turning ,
I 1
set
my 1
face towards
home 22
, and made the best use of
my 1
legs .
But presently
I 1
looked over
my 1
shoulder , and saw
him 19
going on again towards
the river 9
, still hugging
himself 19
in both arms , and picking
his 19
way with
his 19
sore feet among the great stones dropped into
the marshes 18
here and there , for stepping-places when the rains were heavy or the tide was in .