第8章BOOKTHEFIRST：RECALLEDTOLIFE(8)

第8章bookthefirst：recalledtolife(8)

'butthisismyfather'sstory，sir；andibegintothink'—thecuriouslyroughenedforeheadwasveryintentuponhim—'thatwheniwasleftanorphanthroughmymother'ssurvivingmyfatheronlytwoyears，itwasyouwhobroughtmetoengland.iamalmostsureitwasyou.'

mr.lorrytookthehesitatinglittlehandthatconfidinglyadvancedtotakehis，andheputitwithsomeceremonytohislips.hethenconductedtheyoungladystraightwaytoherchairagain，and，holdingthechair-backwithhislefthand，andusinghisrighthandbyturnstorubhischin，pullhiswigattheears，orpointwhathesaid，stoodlookingdownintoherfacewhileshesatlookingupintohis.

'missmanette，itwasi.andyouwillseehowtrulyispokeofmyselfjustnow，insayingihadnofeelings，andthatalltherelationsiholdwithmyfellow-creaturesaremerebusinessrelations，whenyoureflectthatihaveneverseenyousince.no；youhavebeenthewardoftellson'shousesince，andihavebeenbusywiththeotherbusinessoftellson'shousesince.feelings！ihavenotimeforthem，nochanceofthem.ipassmywholelife，miss，inturninganimmensepecuniarymangle.'

afterthisodddeionofhisdailyroutineofemployment，mr.lorryflattenedhisflaxenwiguponhisheadwithbothhands（whichwasmostunnecessary，fornothingcouldbeflatterthanitsshiningsurfacewasbefore），andresumedhisformerattitude.

'sofar，miss（asyouhaveremarked），thisisthestoryofyourregrettedfather.nowcomesthedifference.ifyourfatherhadnotdiedwhenhedid—don'tbefrightened！howyoustart！'

shedid，indeed，start.andshecaughthiswristwithbothherhands.

'pray，'saidmr.lorry，inasoothingtone，bringinghislefthandfromthebackofthechairtolayitonthesupplicatoryfingersthatclaspedhiminsoviolentatremble：'praycontrolyouragitation—amatterofbusiness.asiwassaying—'herlooksodiscomposedhimthathestopped，wandered，andbegananew：'asiwassaying：ifmonsieurmanettehadnotdied；ifhehadsuddenlyandsilentlydisappeared；ifhehadbeenspiritedaway；ifithadnotbeendifficulttoguesstowhatdreadfulplace，thoughnoartcouldtracehim；ifhehadanenemyinsomecompatriotwhocouldexerciseaprivilegethatiinmyowntimehaveknowntheboldestpeopleafraidtospeakofinawhisper，acrossthewaterthere；forinstance，theprivilegeoffillingupblankformsoftheconsignmentofanyonetotheoblivionofaprisonforanylengthoftime；ifhiswifehadimploredtheking，thequeen，thecourt，theclergy，foranytidingsofhim，andallquiteinvain；—thenthehistoryofyourfatherwouldhavebeenthehistoryofthisunfortunategentleman，thedoctorofbeauvais.'

'ientreatyoutotellmemore，sir.'

'iwill.iamgoingto.youcanbearit？'

'icanbearanythingbuttheuncertaintyyouleavemeinatthismoment.'

'youspeakcollectedly，andyou—arecollected.that'sgood！'（thoughhismannerwaslesssatisfiedthanhiswords.）'amatterofbusiness.regarditasamatterofbusiness—businessthatmustbedone.nowifthisdoctor'swife，thoughaladyofgreatcourageandspirit，hadsufferedsointenselyfromthiscausebeforeherlittlechildwasborn—'

'thelittlechildwasadaughter，sir.'

'adaughter.a—a—matterofbusiness—don'tbedistressed.miss，ifthepoorladyhadsufferedsointenselybeforeherlittlechildwasborn，thatshecametothedeterminationofsparingthepoorchildtheinheritanceofanypartoftheagonyshehadknownthepainsof，byrearingherinthebeliefthatherfatherwasdead—no，don'tkneel！inheaven'snamewhyshouldyoukneeltome！'

'forthetruth.odear，good，compassionatesir，forthetruth！'

'a—amatterofbusiness.youconfuseme，andhowcanitransactbusinessifiamconfused？letusbeclear-headed.ifyoucouldkindlymentionnow，forinstance，whatninetimesninepenceare，orhowmanyshillingsintwentyguineas，itwouldbesoencouraging.ishouldbesomuchmoreatmyeaseaboutyourstateofmind.'

withoutdirectlyansweringtothisappeal，shesatsostillwhenhehadverygentlyraisedher，andthehandsthathadnotceasedtoclasphiswristsweresomuchmoresteadythantheyhadbeen，thatshecommunicatedsomereassurancetomr.jarvislorry.

'that'sright，that'sright.courage！business！youhavebusinessbeforeyou；usefulbusiness.missmanette，yourmothertookthiscoursewithyou.andwhenshedied—ibelievebroken-hearted—havingneverslackenedherunavailingsearchforyourfather，sheleftyou，attwoyearsold，togrowtobeblooming，beautiful，andhappy，withoutthedarkclouduponyouoflivinginuncertaintywhetheryourfathersoonworehisheartoutinprison，orwastedtherethroughmanylingeringyears.'

ashesaidthewordshelookeddown，withanadmiringpity，ontheflowinggoldenhair；asifhepicturedtohimselfthatitmighthavebeenalreadytingedwithgrey.

'youknowthatyourparentshadnogreatpossession，andthatwhattheyhadwassecuredtoyourmotherandtoyou.therehasbeennonewdiscovery，ofmoney，orofanyotherproperty；but—'hefelthiswristheldcloser，andhestopped.theexpressionintheforehead，whichhadsoparticularlyattractedhisnotice，andwhichwasnowimmovable，haddeepenedintooneofpainandhorror.

'buthehasbeen—beenfound.heisalive.greatlychanged，itistooprobable；almostawreck，itispossible；thoughwewillhopeforthebest.still，alive.yourfatherhasbeentakentothehouseofanoldservantinparis，andwearegoingthere：i，toidentifyhimifican：you，torestorehimtolife，love，duty，rest，comfort.'

ashiverranthroughherframe，andfromitthroughhis.shesaid，inalow，distinct，awe-strickenvoice，asifsheweresayingitinadream，'iamgoingtoseehisghost！itwillbehisghost—nothim！'