Dombey and Son

—

Dombey e Filho

Charles Dickens

ESL Easy Read

Reading Comprehension B1 • Original Text • Português Support

AMOSTRA - contém apenas 15% do texto

Copyright

Fonte original - domínio público

Esta edição ESL Easy Read foi adaptada a partir de Dombey and Son, de Charles Dickens, publicado originalmente em 1848.

A obra original encontra-se em domínio público e pode ser utilizada, reproduzida, distribuída e adaptada de acordo com a legislação aplicável.

Autor

Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

Estados Unidos

Esta obra foi publicada originalmente em 1848.

Nos Estados Unidos, obras publicadas antes de 1930 encontram-se normalmente em domínio público.

Com base no ano de publicação disponível, esta obra encontra-se em domínio público nos Estados Unidos desde 1º de janeiro de 1944.

Brasil

Autor: Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

De acordo com a Lei nº 9.610/1998, os direitos patrimoniais expiram 70 anos após a morte do autor, contados a partir de 1º de janeiro do ano seguinte ao falecimento.

Charles Dickens faleceu em 1870.

Situação no Brasil: DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO.

Portugal

Autor: Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

De acordo com o Código do Direito de Autor e dos Direitos Conexos, a proteção patrimonial dura 70 anos após a morte do autor.

Charles Dickens faleceu em 1870.

Situação em Portugal: DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO.

Dados da publicação original

Obra original: Dombey and Son

Autor: Charles Dickens

Primeira publicação: 1848

Local: London

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Introdução

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Sobre este livro

O orgulhoso comerciante Dombey deseja um filho que perpetue o nome da empresa, mas o frágil Paul morre ainda menino, enquanto Florence, sua filha negligenciada, continua ansiando pelo amor do pai. O orgulho de Dombey, um segundo casamento desastroso e a ruína dos negócios acabam por destruí-lo, até que a devoção constante de Florence lhe oferece um caminho para a reconciliação.

Sobre o autor

Charles John Huffam Dickens foi um escritor e jornalista inglês. Criou alguns dos personagens mais conhecidos da literatura e é considerado um dos maiores romancistas da era vitoriana. Suas obras alcançaram enorme popularidade em vida e continuam amplamente lidas.

Declaração sobre conteúdo gerado por inteligência artificial

Esta edição contém conteúdo gerado por ferramentas baseadas em inteligência artificial, incluindo o texto em inglês simplificado, traduções em português e elementos visuais da capa e/ou do interior. O conteúdo foi submetido a revisão editorial humana.

AI-generated content disclosure: This edition contains content generated by AI-based tools, including simplified English text, Portuguese translations, and visual elements used in the cover and/or interior. The content received human editorial review.

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Contato: admin@esleasyread.com

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Reading Comprehension B1

Front Matter

1. CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son

2. CHAPTER II. In which Timely Provision is made for an Emergency that will sometimes arise in the best-regulated Families.

3. CHAPTER III. In which Mr Dombey, as a Man and a Father, is seen at the Head of the Home-Department

4. CHAPTER IV. In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these Adventures

5. CHAPTER V. Paul’s Progress and Christening

6. CHAPTER VI. Paul’s Second Deprivation

7. CHAPTER VII. A Bird’s-eye Glimpse of Miss Tox’s Dwelling-place: also of the State of Miss Tox’s Affections

8. CHAPTER VIII. Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character

9. CHAPTER IX. In which the Wooden Midshipman gets into Trouble

Contents

Front Matter

En/Pt → # Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Contents

En/Pt → CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son. CHAPTER II. Timely Plans for an Emergency in Even the Best-Run Families. CHAPTER III. Mr Dombey as a Man, a Father, and Head of the Home. CHAPTER IV. More Characters First Appear in These Adventures. CHAPTER V. Paul's Progress and Christening. CHAPTER VI. Paul's Second Loss. CHAPTER VII. A Brief Look at Miss Tox's Home and Her Feelings. CHAPTER VIII. Paul's Further Progress, Growth, and Character. CHAPTER IX. The Wooden Midshipman Gets into Trouble. CHAPTER X. What Follows the Midshipman's Disaster. CHAPTER XI. Paul Enters a New Scene. CHAPTER XII. Paul's Education. CHAPTER XIII. Shipping News and Office Business. CHAPTER XIV. Paul Becomes More Old-Fashioned and Goes Home for the Holidays. CHAPTER XV. Captain Cuttle's Remarkable Cleverness and a New Future for Walter Gay. CHAPTER XVI. What the Waves Were Always Saying. CHAPTER XVII. Captain Cuttle Does Some Business for the Young People. CHAPTER XVIII. Father and Daughter. CHAPTER XIX. Walter Goes Away. CHAPTER XX. Mr Dombey Takes a Journey. CHAPTER XXI. New Faces. CHAPTER XXII. A Little Management by Mr Carker the Manager. CHAPTER XXIII. Florence Alone and the Midshipman Mysterious. CHAPTER XXIV. The Study of a Loving Heart. CHAPTER XXV. Strange News of Uncle Sol. CHAPTER XXVI. Shadows of the Past and Future. CHAPTER XXVII. Deeper Shadows. CHAPTER XXVIII. Changes. CHAPTER XXIX. Mrs Chick Opens Her Eyes. CHAPTER XXX. The Time Before the Marriage. CHAPTER XXXI. The Wedding. CHAPTER XXXII. The Wooden Midshipman Falls Apart. CHAPTER XXXIII. Contrasts. CHAPTER XXXIV. Another Mother and Daughter. CHAPTER XXXV. The Happy Couple. CHAPTER XXXVI. Housewarming. CHAPTER XXXVII. More Than One Warning. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Miss Tox Renews an Old Friendship. CHAPTER XXXIX. Further Adventures of Captain Edward Cuttle, Sailor. CHAPTER XL. Family Relations. CHAPTER XLI. New Voices in the Waves. CHAPTER XLII. Private and Accidental. CHAPTER XLIII. The Watches of the Night. CHAPTER XLIV. A Separation. CHAPTER XLV. The Faithful Agent. CHAPTER XLVI. Recognition and Reflection. CHAPTER XLVII. The Thunderbolt. CHAPTER XLVIII. Florence Runs Away. CHAPTER XLIX. The Midshipman Makes a Discovery. CHAPTER L. Mr Toots's Complaint. CHAPTER LI. Mr Dombey and the World. CHAPTER LII. Secret Information. CHAPTER LIII. More Information. CHAPTER LIV. The Fugitives. CHAPTER LV. Rob the Grinder Loses His Place. CHAPTER LVI. Several People Are Delighted, and the Game Chicken Is Disgusted. CHAPTER LVII. Another Wedding. CHAPTER LVIII. After Some Time. CHAPTER LIX. Punishment. CHAPTER LX. Mostly About Marriage. CHAPTER LXI. Becoming Kinder. CHAPTER LXII. The End. PREFACE OF 1848. PREFACE OF 1867.

CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son

En/Pt → Dombey sat in a large armchair beside the bed, in a corner of the dark room. His son lay warmly wrapped in a small basket bed on a low sofa, directly in front of the fire. He was placed so close to it that he seemed like a new muffin that had to be toasted brown.

Dombey was about forty-eight years old; his son was about forty-eight minutes old. Dombey was rather bald and red. Though handsome and well built, he looked too stern and proud to be pleasant. His son was also bald and red. Though certainly a fine baby, he still looked a little crushed and spotted. Time and Care had marked Dombey's forehead, like workers marking a tree that would one day be cut down. The baby's face had a thousand tiny lines. Deceptive Time would first smooth them away, then later use his scythe to cut deeper marks.

En/Pt → Dombey was delighted by the long-awaited event. He kept shaking the heavy gold watch-chain below his neat blue coat, whose buttons shone in the weak firelight. His son held his tiny fists tightly closed. In his weak way, he seemed ready to fight life for arriving so unexpectedly.

“The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be Dombey and Son not only in name, but in fact.” With his eyes half closed, as if he were reading the name among flowers and breathing their scent, he added with deep pleasure, “Dom-bey and Son!”

The words softened him so much that he added a loving expression to Mrs Dombey's name. He hesitated, because he rarely spoke that way, and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.”

A brief look of weak surprise crossed the sick woman's face as she raised her eyes toward him.

“He will be christened Paul, my - Mrs Dombey - of course.”

En/Pt → She weakly repeated, “Of course,” or rather formed the words with her lips, and closed her eyes again.

“His father's name, Mrs Dombey, and his grandfather's! I wish his grandfather were alive today! It is a little inconvenient to have to write ‘Junior,’” said Mr Dombey, pretending to sign his name on his knee, “but that is only private and personal. It does not affect the House's letters. Its signature remains the same.” Again he said, “Dombey and Son,” in exactly the same tone.

Those three words expressed the single idea of Mr Dombey's life. He believed the earth existed for Dombey and Son to trade in, and the sun and moon to light their work. Rivers and seas carried their ships; rainbows promised them good weather; winds helped or opposed their business; and stars and planets moved to protect a system with Dombey and Son at its centre. Even common short forms gained new meanings for him. A.D. did not mean Anno Domini, but anno Dombei - and Son.

En/Pt → Like his father before him, Mr Dombey had passed through life and death from being Son to being Dombey. For nearly twenty years he had represented the Firm alone, and for ten of them he had been married. Some said his wife had no heart left to give him, that her happiness belonged to the past, and that she quietly accepted her broken life in the present. Such talk was unlikely to reach Mr Dombey, and nobody would have rejected it more completely. Dombey and Son traded in animal hides, never in hearts; they left such foolish goods to young people, schools, and books. Mr Dombey believed that marriage to him must honour and please any sensible woman. Even the least ambitious woman must feel proud to hope she would give such a House a new partner. Mrs Dombey had married him knowing all these advantages. She saw his social position every day, sat at the head of his table, and received guests with perfect grace. Therefore, Mr Dombey concluded, she must have been happy; she could not help being happy.

En/Pt → There was only one problem, and even Mr Dombey would admit it was important: they had waited a long time for their hope to come true. The Bible correctly says that delayed hope makes the heart sick. Mr Dombey would have said this in a superior way, because he respected even the Bible mainly as one part of the same great world that also contained Dombey and Son. They had been married for ten years, and until this day, while he shook his gold watch-chain beside the bed, they had had no child.

At least, no child worth mentioning. A girl had been born about six years earlier. That child had entered the room unseen and now hid timidly in a corner, where she could see her mother's face. But what value did a girl have to Dombey and Son? In the wealth and honour of the House's name, she was only a false coin that could not be invested - a bad business deal, and nothing more.

En/Pt → Mr Dombey's cup of satisfaction was so full at that moment that he felt he could spare a drop or two even for his little daughter, who stood like dust beside his path.

So he said, “Florence, you may go and look at your pretty brother if you like, I suppose. Do not touch him!”

The child looked sharply at the blue coat and stiff white neckcloth. Together with the creaking boots and loudly ticking watch, these things formed her idea of a father. But her eyes immediately returned to her mother's face, and she neither moved nor answered.

“She is as unfeeling toward a brother as she is toward everything else,” Mr Dombey said to himself. The discovery seemed to confirm an opinion he already held, and he was quite pleased by it.

The next moment, the lady opened her eyes and saw the child. The child ran to her, stood on tiptoe to hide her face more deeply in her mother's embrace, and held her with a desperate love far stronger than anyone would expect at her age.

En/Pt → “Good Lord!” said Mr Dombey, rising in irritation. “This is a very unwise and feverish action, I am sure. Please ring for Miss Florence's nurse. Really, the woman should be more care - ”

“Wait! I had better ask Doctor Peps to come upstairs again, perhaps. I will go down. I will go down. I do not need to ask you,” he added, pausing beside the sofa near the fire, “to take special care of this young gentleman, Mrs - ”

“Blockitt, sir?” the nurse suggested. She was a smiling woman whose gentle manners had faded with age. She did not dare state her name as a fact, but offered it only as a mild suggestion.

“Take special care of this young gentleman, Mrs Blockitt.”

“No, Sir, indeed. I remember when Miss Florence was born - ”

En/Pt → “Yes, yes, yes,” said Mr Dombey, leaning over the basket bed and slightly frowning. “Miss Florence was all very well, but this is different. This young gentleman has a great future to fulfil. A great future, little fellow!” Speaking to the baby, he lifted one of its hands to his lips and kissed it. Then, apparently afraid that this tender act had harmed his dignity, he walked away rather awkwardly.

Doctor Parker Peps was one of the royal doctors and was famous for helping important families have more children. He walked up and down the drawing room with his hands behind his back. The family surgeon watched him with endless admiration. For six weeks, that surgeon had told every patient, friend, and acquaintance about this case, saying that he expected to be called at any hour, day or night, to work beside Doctor Parker Peps.

“Well, sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a full, deep voice, softened for the occasion like the door knocker, “did your visit wake your dear wife at all?”

En/Pt → “Did it stimulate her, perhaps?” the family doctor added weakly. At the same time, he bowed to the famous doctor as if to say, “Please excuse me for speaking, but this family is an important connection.”

The question made Mr Dombey very uncomfortable. He had thought so little about the patient that he could not answer. He said he would be grateful if Doctor Parker Peps would go upstairs again.

“Good! We must not hide from you, sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that Her Grace the Duchess lacks strength - I beg your pardon; I have confused the names. I mean your kind wife. She shows a certain weakness and a general lack of energy that we would rather - not - ”

“See,” the family doctor interrupted, bowing again.

“Exactly,” said Doctor Parker Peps. “We would rather not see it. It appears that Lady Cankaby's system - excuse me, I mean Mrs Dombey's. I confuse the names of my cases - ”

En/Pt → “There are so many,” murmured the family doctor. “No one could expect otherwise, I am sure. It would be amazing if you did not confuse them, with Doctor Parker Peps's great West End practice.”

“Thank you,” said the doctor. “Exactly. As I was saying, our patient's body seems to have suffered a shock. She can recover only by making a great and strong - ”

“And vigorous,” murmured the family doctor.

“Exactly,” the doctor agreed. “A strong and vigorous effort. Mr Pilkins here, as this family's medical adviser - and nobody could be better qualified for that position, I am sure - ”

“Oh!” murmured the family doctor. “Such praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!”

“You are kind to say so,” Doctor Parker Peps replied. “Because of his position, Mr Pilkins knows the patient's health in normal times, which is very useful when we form an opinion on such occasions. He agrees with me that Nature must make a vigorous effort now. If our interesting friend, the Countess of Dombey - I beg your pardon, Mrs Dombey - should not be - ”

En/Pt → “Able,” said the family doctor.

“To make,” said Doctor Parker Peps.

“That effort,” said the family doctor.

“Successfully,” they both said together.

“Then,” Doctor Parker Peps added alone and very seriously, “a crisis might arise that we would both sincerely regret.”

After saying this, they looked at the floor for a few seconds. Then Doctor Parker Peps silently gave a sign, and they went upstairs. The family doctor opened the door for the famous professional and followed him with the most humble politeness.

It would be unfair to say that this news did not affect Mr Dombey in his own way. He was not a man who could properly be called surprised or shocked. Yet he did feel that, if his wife grew ill and died, he would be very sorry. It would be as if something valuable disappeared from among his silver, furniture, and other possessions - something he would truly regret losing. His regret would, of course, be calm, businesslike, gentlemanly, and controlled.

En/Pt → His thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of clothes on the stairs. Then a lady rushed into the room. She was somewhat past middle age but dressed like a much younger woman, especially in a very tight dress. She hurried to him with her face and body twisted by hidden emotion, threw her arms around his neck, and said in a choking voice:

“My dear Paul! He is completely a Dombey!”

“Well, well!” her brother replied - for Mr Dombey was her brother. “I think he looks like the family. Do not upset yourself, Louisa.”

“It is very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down and taking out her handkerchief, “but he is - he is such a perfect Dombey!”

Mr Dombey coughed.

“It is so extraordinary that it is almost ridiculous,” said Louisa, smiling through tears that were not very strong. “He belongs so completely to our family. I have never seen anything like it in my life!”

En/Pt → “But what is happening with Fanny herself?” asked Mr Dombey. “How is Fanny?”

“My dear Paul,” Louisa replied, “it is nothing at all. Trust me, it is nothing. She is certainly exhausted, but it is nothing like what I suffered with either George or Frederick. She only needs to make an effort. If dear Fanny were a Dombey! But I am sure she will manage it. Since it is her duty, of course she will make the effort. My dear Paul, I know it is weak and foolish of me to shake from head to foot, but I feel so strange that I must ask you for a glass of wine and a piece of that cake.”

Mr Dombey quickly gave her the wine and cake from a tray on the table.

“I will not drink to you, Paul,” said Louisa. “I will drink to little Dombey. Good heavens! He is the most amazing thing I have ever known, because he is such a perfect Dombey.”

En/Pt → Louisa ended this opinion with a short, nervous laugh that turned into tears. Then she raised her eyes and emptied her glass.

“I know it is weak and foolish of me,” she repeated, “to shake from head to foot and let my feelings control me so completely, but I cannot help it. When I came downstairs after seeing dear Fanny and that tiny little thing, I thought I would fall out of the staircase window.” Her final baby-talk words came from suddenly remembering the infant very clearly.

Then someone gently knocked at the door.

“Mrs Chick,” said a very gentle female voice outside, “how are you now, my dear friend?”

“My dear Paul,” Louisa said quietly as she rose, “it is Miss Tox. She is the kindest person! I could never have come here without her. Miss Tox, this is my brother, Mr Dombey. Paul, my dear, this is my very close friend, Miss Tox.”

En/Pt → The lady who was introduced was tall and thin, with such a faded appearance that she seemed to have slowly lost her original colours in the wash. Apart from this, she was the perfect picture of politeness and a wish to please. She had listened admiringly to others for so long, looking as if she were printing their images forever on her soul, that her head now permanently leaned to one side. Her hands often rose by themselves in sudden admiration, and her eyes behaved similarly. Her voice was extremely soft. Her very large, curved nose had a small bump in the middle of its bridge and pointed firmly down toward her face, as if determined never to turn up at anything.

En/Pt → Miss Tox's clothes were respectable and good, but they looked narrow, sharp, and rather small. She often wore strange, weak little flowers on her hats and caps, and unusual grasses sometimes appeared in her hair. People noticed that the two ends of every collar, frill, wristband, or other light article she wore never met without a struggle. Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth. She often carried little bags whose clasps sounded like tiny pistols when shut. When fully dressed, she wore a very plain locket showing a dull old eye with no thoughtful expression. These details made people believe that Miss Tox had only a small private income, which she used as carefully as possible. Perhaps her short, careful steps supported this belief, because she divided one normal step into two or three, as if she had learned to make the most of everything.

En/Pt → “I am sure,” said Miss Tox with a very deep curtsy, “that being introduced to Mr Dombey is an honour I have long wished for, though I hardly expected it now. My dear Mrs Chick - may I call you Louisa?”

Mrs Chick took Miss Tox's hand, rested the base of her wineglass on it, held back a tear, and said quietly, “God bless you!”

“My dear Louisa, then,” said Miss Tox, “my sweet friend, how are you now?”

“Better,” Mrs Chick replied. “Have some wine. You have been almost as anxious as I have, so I am sure you need it.”

Mr Dombey naturally served the wine. He also filled his sister's glass again while she looked away and held it straight and steady, unaware of what he was doing. Then she stared at it in surprise and said, “My dear Paul, what have you done?”

“Miss Tox, Paul,” Mrs Chick continued, still holding her hand, “knew how interested I was in today's expected event and how I shook from head to foot while waiting for it. She has been making a small gift for Fanny, which I promised to present. Miss Tox is wonderfully clever.”

En/Pt → “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox. “Please do not say that.”

“It is only a pincushion for the dressing table, Paul,” his sister continued. “Such little things naturally seem unimportant to men - we have no right to expect otherwise - but women care about them.”

“Miss Tox is very kind,” said Mr Dombey.

“And I do say, will say, and must say,” his sister continued, pressing the base of the wineglass onto Miss Tox's hand at each phrase, “that Miss Tox has very beautifully matched the message to the occasion. I personally call ‘Welcome, little Dombey’ poetry!”

“Is that the message?” her brother asked.

“That is the message,” Louisa replied.

En/Pt → “But please remember, my dear Louisa,” Miss Tox said in a quiet, serious, pleading voice, “that only the uncertainty of the result made me take such a great liberty. ‘Welcome, Master Dombey’ would have suited my feelings much better, as you know. But I hope the uncertainty connected with babies will excuse words that might otherwise seem too familiar.” As she spoke, Miss Tox bowed gracefully to Mr Dombey, and he kindly accepted it. He enjoyed even this small recognition of Dombey and Son so much that his sister, Mrs Chick, probably influenced him more than anyone else, though he pretended to think she was only a weak but kind person.

“My dear Paul,” the lady suddenly began again after silently studying his face for a few moments, “I truly do not know whether to laugh or cry when I look at you. You remind me so much of that dear baby upstairs.”

En/Pt → “Well!” said Mrs Chick with a sweet smile. “After this, I forgive Fanny for everything!”

It sounded like a truly Christian statement, and Mrs Chick felt better for saying it. In fact, she had nothing particular to forgive her sister-in-law for. Her only complaints were that Fanny had dared to marry her brother and had once given birth to a girl instead of a boy. Mrs Chick had often said that this was not what she expected and was a poor return for all the attention and honour Fanny had received.

At that moment, Mr Dombey was quickly called out of the room, leaving the two ladies alone. Miss Tox immediately began making sudden, nervous movements.

“I knew you would admire my brother. I told you so before, my dear,” said Louisa. Miss Tox's hands and eyes showed how much she admired him. “And as for his wealth, my dear!”

En/Pt → “Ah!” said Miss Tox with deep feeling.

“Enormous!”

“But his manner, my dear Louisa!” said Miss Tox. “His presence! His dignity! No portrait I have ever seen shows even half as much of those qualities. He is so grand, so firm, so broad across the chest, and so upright! He is like a Duke of York made of money, my love, and nothing less! That is how I would describe him.”

“Why, my dear Paul!” his sister cried when he returned. “You look very pale! Is something wrong?”

“I am sorry to say, Louisa, that they tell me Fanny - ”

“Now, my dear Paul,” his sister replied, rising, “do not believe it. Do not let yourself be upset without reason. Remember how important you are to society. Do not let careless words from people who should know better worry you. I am truly surprised at them.”

“I hope I know, Louisa,” Mr Dombey said stiffly, “how to behave before the world.”

En/Pt → “Nobody knows better, my dear Paul. Nobody knows half as well. Anyone who doubted it would be truly ignorant and low.”

“Truly ignorant and low!” Miss Tox softly repeated.

“But,” Louisa continued, “if you trust my experience, Paul, you may be certain that Fanny only needs to make an effort. And she must be encouraged - and, if necessary, pushed - to make that effort.” As she spoke, Louisa removed her hat and arranged her cap and gloves in a practical manner. “Now, my dear Paul, come upstairs with me.”

Mr Dombey usually followed his sister's advice for the reason already given. He also truly trusted her as an experienced and energetic married woman. Therefore, he agreed and immediately followed her to the sickroom.

The lady lay on the bed just as he had left her, holding her little daughter against her chest. The child clung to her as tightly as before. She never raised her head, moved her soft cheek away from her mother's face, looked at the people around them, spoke, moved, or shed a tear.

En/Pt → “She is restless without the little girl,” the Doctor whispered to Mr Dombey. “We thought it best to bring her back in.”

“Can nothing be done?” asked Mr Dombey.

The Doctor shook his head. “We can do nothing more.”

The windows were open, and twilight was gathering outside.

The sharp smell of the medicines they had tried filled the room, but brought no freshness to the heavy, weak air the lady breathed.

There was a solemn silence around the bed. The two doctors looked at the still body with so much pity and so little hope that, for a moment, Mrs Chick forgot what she meant to do. Soon, however, she gathered her courage and what she called her presence of mind. She sat beside the bed and spoke in the low, careful voice of someone trying to wake a sleeper:

“Fanny! Fanny!”

The only answer was the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch. In the silence, they seemed to be racing each other.

En/Pt → “Fanny, my dear,” said Mrs Chick, pretending to sound cheerful, “Mr Dombey has come to see you. Won’t you speak to him? They want to put your little boy - the baby, Fanny; you have hardly seen him yet, I think - in the bed. But they cannot do it until you wake yourself a little. Don’t you think it is time to wake yourself a little? Eh?”

She bent her ear toward the bed and listened. At the same time, she looked around at the others and held up one finger.

“Eh?” she repeated. “What did you say, Fanny? I did not hear you.”

There was no word or sound in answer. Mr Dombey’s watch and Dr Parker Peps’s watch seemed to race even faster.

En/Pt → “Now, truly, my dear Fanny,” said her sister-in-law, changing her position and, despite herself, speaking with less confidence and more seriousness, “I shall have to be quite angry with you if you do not wake yourself. You must make an effort, perhaps a very great and painful effort that you do not feel able to make. But this is a world of effort, Fanny, and we must never give up when so much depends on us. Come! Try! I really must scold you if you do not!”

During the pause that followed, the race was fierce and furious. The watches seemed to push against each other and make each other stumble.

“Fanny!” said Louisa, looking around as her fear grew. “Only look at me. Just open your eyes to show me that you hear and understand me, will you? Good Heaven, gentlemen, what can be done?”

The two doctors exchanged a look across the bed. Then the Physician bent down and whispered in the child’s ear. The little girl did not understand what he meant, so she turned her completely pale face and deep dark eyes toward him, without loosening her hold at all.

En/Pt → He repeated the whisper.

“Mama!” said the child.

Even at that lowest point, the small, familiar, dearly loved voice brought a sign of awareness. For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared.

“Mama!” cried the child, sobbing aloud. “Oh, dear Mama! Oh, dear Mama!”

The Doctor gently moved the child’s loose curls away from the mother’s face and mouth. Sadly, how still they lay there, and how little breath there was to move them!

And so, holding tightly to that small piece of safety in her arms, the mother drifted out onto the dark, unknown sea that surrounds the whole world.

CHAPTER II. In which Timely Provision is made for an Emergency that will sometimes arise in the best-regulated Families.

En/Pt → “I shall never stop congratulating myself,” said Mrs Chick, “for saying, when I had no idea what awaited us - as if something had inspired me - that I forgave poor dear Fanny for everything. Whatever happens, that must always comfort me!”

Mrs Chick made this important remark in the drawing room after coming down from inspecting the dressmakers upstairs, who were preparing the family’s mourning clothes. She said it for Mr Chick’s benefit. He was a heavy, bald gentleman with a very large face and his hands always in his pockets. He naturally tended to whistle and hum tunes, but he knew such sounds were improper in a grieving house and was now making an effort to hold them back.

“Do not tire yourself too much, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you will become ill with spasms, I can see. Right tol loor rul! Bless my soul, I forgot! We are here one day and gone the next!”

En/Pt → Mrs Chick answered only with a disapproving look, then continued what she had been saying.

“I sincerely hope,” she said, “that this heartbreaking event will warn us all to learn to wake ourselves and make an effort in time when it is required. There is a moral lesson in everything, if only we choose to use it. It will be our own fault if we forget this one.”

Mr Chick broke the serious silence after this remark by humming the strangely unsuitable tune “There Was a Cobbler.” He stopped in some embarrassment and said that it was certainly our own fault if we did not learn from sad occasions like this one.

“I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn.

En/Pt → “It is only a habit, my dear,” Mr Chick pleaded.

“Nonsense! A habit!” his wife replied. “If you are a reasonable person, do not make such ridiculous excuses. A habit! If I got into the habit, as you call it, of walking on the ceiling like the flies, I suppose I would hear plenty about it.”

Such a habit would probably attract some attention, so Mr Chick did not dare to disagree.

“Bow-wow-wow!” Mrs Chick repeated, putting terrible contempt on the final sound. “You sound more like a professional singer with rabies than a man in your position!”

“How is the Baby, Loo?” asked Mr Chick, changing the subject.

“Which baby do you mean?” Mrs Chick answered.

“The poor little baby who has lost his mother,” said Mr Chick. “I do not know of any other one, my dear.”

“You do not know of any other one,” Mrs Chick replied sharply. “I was about to say that you should be ashamed.”

En/Pt → Mr Chick looked surprised.

“No sensible person would believe what a morning I have had, with that dining room downstairs filled with one great mass of babies.”

“A mass of babies!” Mr Chick repeated, looking around in alarm.

“Most men would have realized,” said Mrs Chick, “that since poor dear Fanny is no longer with us - those words of mine will always comfort and soothe me,” and here she dried her eyes, “we must find a nurse.”

“Oh! Ah!” said Mr Chick. “Toor-ru! - that is life, I mean. I hope you have found someone suitable, my dear.”

“Indeed, I have not,” said Mrs Chick, “and as far as I can see, I am not likely to. Meanwhile, the poor child may starve to death. Paul is very particular - naturally, of course, because he has put all his hopes in this one boy. He finds so many faults with everyone who offers that I see no chance of reaching an agreement. Meanwhile, of course, the child is - ”

En/Pt → “Going to the Devil,” said Mr Chick thoughtfully. “Certainly.”

However, Mrs Chick’s angry expression at the thought of a Dombey going there warned him that he had said the wrong thing. Trying to correct his mistake with a clever suggestion, he added:

“Could you not use a teapot for a while?”

If he had wanted to end the subject at once, he could not have done it better. After looking at him silently for several moments, Mrs Chick said she hoped he had not spoken merely to annoy her, because that would bring little honor to his heart. She also hoped he had not spoken seriously, because that would bring little honor to his head. Since, however hopeful he was, he could never make a remark more insulting to human nature in general, she asked to end the discussion there.

En/Pt → Mrs Chick then walked grandly to the window and looked through the blind, drawn by the sound of wheels. Mr Chick saw that fate was against him for the moment, so he said no more and left. But Mr Chick did not always lose. He often gained the advantage himself, and at those times he punished Louisa severely. In their married quarrels, they were generally a well-matched, evenly balanced couple who gave as much as they received. It was usually very hard to guess who would win. Often, when Mr Chick seemed defeated, he would suddenly recover, turn the situation around, figuratively knock the tables against Mrs Chick’s ears, and sweep everything before him. Since Mrs Chick could surprise him with similar checks, their small battles were usually uncertain and therefore very lively.

Miss Tox had arrived in the carriage whose wheels they had just heard, and she ran into the room, breathless.

En/Pt → “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “is the position still empty?”

“You kind soul, yes,” said Mrs Chick.

“Then, my dear Louisa,” Miss Tox replied, “I hope and believe - but wait one moment, my dear, and I will introduce the people.”

Miss Tox ran downstairs again as quickly as she had run up. She helped the people out of the hired carriage and soon brought them into the room.

It then became clear that she had not used the word “people” in its legal or business sense, where it can mean one person, but as a word for a whole group. Miss Tox led in a plump, healthy young woman with rosy cheeks and an apple-shaped face, carrying a baby. A younger woman, less plump but also apple-faced, held the hands of two plump, apple-faced children. Another plump, apple-faced boy walked alone. Last came a plump, apple-faced man carrying one more plump, apple-faced boy. He put the boy on the floor and told him in a rough whisper to “take hold of his brother Johnny.”

En/Pt → [Illustration]

“My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “I knew how anxious you were and wanted to help, so I hurried to the Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females, which you had forgotten, and asked whether they knew anyone suitable. They said no. I assure you, my dear, their answer almost made me despair for you. But one of the Royal Married Females heard my question and reminded the matron about another woman who had returned home and would probably be completely satisfactory. As soon as I heard this and the matron confirmed it - excellent references and perfect character - I took the address, my dear, and hurried away again.”

“That is just like the dear, good Tox you are!” said Louisa.

En/Pt → “Not at all,” Miss Tox replied. “Do not say that. When I arrived at the house - the cleanest place, my dear! You could eat your dinner from the floor - I found the whole family sitting at the table. I felt that no description of them could satisfy you and Mr Dombey as much as seeing them all together, so I brought them all here. This gentleman,” said Miss Tox, pointing to the apple-faced man, “is the father. Would you kindly step forward, Sir?”

The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning.

“This is his wife, of course,” said Miss Tox, pointing out the young woman with the baby. “How are you, Polly?”

“I am quite well, thank you, Ma’am,” said Polly.

To help Polly speak naturally, Miss Tox asked the question in the friendly but superior manner she might use with an old acquaintance she had not seen for two weeks.

En/Pt → “I am glad to hear that,” said Miss Tox. “The other young woman is her unmarried sister. She lives with them and would care for her children. Her name is Jemima. How are you, Jemima?”

“I am quite well, thank you, Ma’am,” Jemima replied.

“I am very glad to hear it,” said Miss Tox. “I hope you remain well. Five children. The youngest is six weeks old. The fine little boy with the sore place on his nose is the eldest. I believe,” Miss Tox said, looking around at the family, “that the sore place is not a natural illness, but was caused by an accident?”

The apple-faced man seemed to growl, “Flat iron.”

“I beg your pardon, Sir,” said Miss Tox. “Did you say - ”

“Flat iron,” he repeated.

“Oh yes,” said Miss Tox. “Yes! That is true. I forgot. While his mother was away, the little child smelled a warm flat iron. You are quite right, Sir. When we reached the door, you were kindly going to tell me that your work is - ”

En/Pt → “Stoker,” said the man.

“A choker!” said Miss Tox, completely shocked.

“Stoker,” said the man. “Steam engine.”

“Oh! Yes!” Miss Tox replied, looking at him thoughtfully, though she still seemed to understand his meaning only partly.

“And how do you like it, Sir?”

“Like what, Ma’am?” said the man.

“That,” Miss Tox replied. “Your work.”

“Oh! Quite well, Ma’am. The ashes sometimes get in here,” he said, touching his chest, “and make a man speak roughly, as I do now. But it is the ashes, Ma’am, not bad temper.”

Miss Tox understood so little from this answer that she found it hard to continue the subject. But Mrs Chick helped her by questioning Polly closely and privately about herself, her children, her marriage certificate, her references, and other matters. Polly passed this test without any problem. Mrs Chick then went to report to her brother’s room, taking the two rosiest little Toodles with her as strong proof of her report. Toodle was the family name of the apple-faced group.

En/Pt → Since his wife’s death, Mr Dombey had stayed in his own room, lost in dreams about his baby son’s youth, education, and future. Something colder and heavier than usual lay at the bottom of his cold heart. Yet it was more a feeling of the child’s loss than his own, and it woke an almost angry sorrow in him. He had built such hopes on this life and its progress, but now it was in danger from the very beginning because of such a common need. The idea that Dombey and Son could fall because it lacked a nurse was deeply humiliating. Still, in his pride and jealousy, he bitterly hated the thought that the first step toward his greatest wish depended on a hired servant. For a time, she would be everything to the child that even marriage to Mr Dombey had made his wife. So every time he rejected a new candidate, he felt a secret pleasure. Now, however, he could no longer remain divided between these two feelings. This was especially true because Polly Toodle seemed to have no fault after his sister described her qualifications and warmly praised Miss Tox’s tireless friendship.

En/Pt → “These children look healthy,” said Mr Dombey. “But my God, imagine them claiming some kind of relationship with Paul one day!”

“But what relationship is there?” Louisa began.

“Is there?” repeated Mr Dombey, who had not meant his sister to share the thought he had spoken without realizing it. “Did you ask if there is, Louisa?”

“I mean, can there be - ”

“Of course there is none,” said Mr Dombey sternly. “I suppose the whole world knows that. Grief has not made me foolish, Louisa. Take them away! Let me see this woman and her husband.”

Mrs Chick carried away the gentle pair of Toodle children and soon returned with the tougher adult couple her brother had ordered her to bring.

En/Pt → “My good woman,” said Mr Dombey, turning in his easy chair as one solid piece rather than a man with arms, legs, and joints, “I understand that you are poor and wish to earn money by nursing the little boy, my son, who has lost far too early what can never be replaced. I do not object to your improving your family’s comfort in that way. As far as I can tell, you seem worthy of help. But before you enter my house in that role, I must give you one or two conditions. While you are here, you must always be known as - let us say Richards - a common and useful name. Do you object to being called Richards? You had better ask your husband.”

“Well?” said Mr Dombey after a fairly long pause. “What does your husband say about your being called Richards?”

En/Pt → Her husband only chuckled and grinned, continually drawing his right hand across his mouth and wetting his palm. Mrs Toodle pushed him with her elbow two or three times, but it did no good. She then made a respectful bow and answered that perhaps, if she had to be called by another name, this should be considered in her wages.

“Oh, of course,” said Mr Dombey. “I want this to be entirely a matter of wages. Now, Richards, if you nurse my motherless child, I want you always to remember this. You will receive generous pay in return for performing certain duties. While doing them, I want you to see as little of your family as possible. When those duties are no longer needed or performed, and the pay stops, every connection between us ends. Do you understand me?”

Mrs Toodle seemed uncertain whether she understood. As for Toodle himself, there was clearly no doubt that he was completely confused.

En/Pt → “You have children of your own,” said Mr Dombey. “Our agreement does not require you to become fond of my child, or my child to become fond of you. I neither expect nor want anything like that. Quite the opposite. When you leave here, you will have completed something that is only a business agreement, a matter of hiring and being hired, and you will stay away. The child will stop remembering you, and you may stop remembering the child.”

Mrs Toodle, with a little more color in her cheeks than before, said that she hoped she knew her place.

“I hope you do, Richards,” said Mr Dombey. “I have no doubt that you know it very well. It is so plain and clear that it could hardly be otherwise. Louisa, my dear, agree with Richards about the money and let her receive it whenever and however she wishes. Mr - whatever your name is - I would like a word with you.”

En/Pt → Toodle had been following his wife out of the room, but these words stopped him at the door. He returned and stood alone before Mr Dombey. He was a strong, loosely built, round-shouldered man who walked heavily and had a rough, hairy appearance. His clothes hung carelessly on him. He had plenty of hair and whiskers, perhaps darkened by smoke and coal dust, hard, knotted hands, and a square forehead as rough as oak bark. In every way he was the opposite of Mr Dombey. Mr Dombey belonged to the clean-shaven, neatly cut class of rich gentlemen who look smooth and fresh like new banknotes, and who seem to be held stiff and tight by showers of gold.

“You have a son, I believe?” said Mr Dombey.

“Four of them, Sir. Four boys and one girl. All alive!”

“Why, you can barely afford to support them!” said Mr Dombey.

En/Pt → “There is only one thing in the world I could afford even less, Sir.”

“What is that?”

“To lose them, sir.”

“Can you read?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Well, not particularly, sir.”

“Can you write?”

“With chalk, sir?”

“With anything?”

“I think I could manage to write a little with chalk if I had to,” said Toodle after thinking for a moment.

“And yet,” said Mr Dombey, “you are about thirty-two or thirty-three, I suppose?”

“About that, I suppose, sir,” Toodle answered after thinking some more.

“Then why don't you learn?” asked Mr Dombey.

“I am going to, sir. One of my little boys will teach me when he is old enough and has been to school himself.”

“Well,” said Mr Dombey. He looked closely and rather coldly at Toodle, who stood looking around the room, mostly at the ceiling, while still rubbing his hand across his mouth. “You heard what I just said to your wife?”

En/Pt → “Polly heard it,” said Toodle, tossing his hat over his shoulder toward the door with complete confidence in his wife. “It is all right.”

“But I am asking whether you heard it. I suppose you did, and that you understood it?” Mr Dombey continued.

“I heard it,” said Toodle, “but I don't know if I understood it properly, sir, because I am not educated and the words were - begging your pardon - rather grand. But Polly heard it. It is all right.”

“Since you seem to leave everything to her,” said Mr Dombey, frustrated in his plan to explain his views more firmly to the husband as the stronger person, “I suppose there is no point in my saying anything to you.”

“Not at all,” said Toodle. “Polly heard it. She is alert, sir.”

“Then I will not keep you any longer,” replied Mr Dombey, disappointed. “Where have you worked all your life?”

En/Pt → “Mostly underground, sir, until I got married. Then I came up to ground level. I am going to work on one of these railways when they are fully running.”

Then he added in one of his rough whispers, “We plan to raise little Biler for that kind of work.” Mr Dombey haughtily asked who little Biler was.

“The eldest of them, sir,” said Toodle with a smile. “It is not a common name. So much so that when he was taken to church, the gentleman said it was not a Christian name and he could not give it to him. But we still always call him Biler, because we mean no harm. No, we don't.”

“Do you mean to tell me, man,” asked Mr Dombey, looking at him with clear displeasure, “that you named a child after a boiler?”

“No, no, sir,” replied Toodle, kindly correcting his mistake. “I should hope not! No, sir. After a BILER, sir. The steam engine was almost as good as a godfather to him, so we called him Biler, don't you see?”

En/Pt → Just as the last straw breaks the overloaded camel's back, this news crushed Mr Dombey's already sinking spirits. He waved the child's foster father toward the door, and the man left quite willingly. Then Mr Dombey locked the door and paced up and down the room in lonely misery.

It would be cruel, and perhaps not entirely true, to say that these injuries to his pride hurt him more than his wife's death. Yet they certainly made him feel her death with new force and added weight and bitterness to it. It deeply offended his sense that the child belonged to him when these people - mere dust of the earth, as he considered them - became necessary to him. Naturally, the more this troubled him, the more he regretted the event that had made them necessary. Despite all his stiff, unreadable dignity and calm, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced the room. Often, with an emotion he would never have allowed anyone to see, he said, “Poor little fellow!”

En/Pt → Perhaps it showed Mr Dombey's pride that he pitied himself through the child. He did not say, Poor me. He did not say, Poor widower, forced to trust the wife of an ignorant working man who had spent most of his life underground, although Death had never knocked at that man's door and four sons sat daily at his poor table. Instead, he said, Poor little fellow!

With those words on his lips, a thought came to him. It showed how strongly all his hopes, fears, and thoughts were being drawn toward one centre. A great temptation was being placed before this woman. Her own baby was also a boy. Could she possibly exchange the two children?

He soon convinced himself that he had rejected the idea as fanciful and unlikely, though he could not deny it was possible. Still, he continued thinking about it and imagined what his situation would be if he discovered such a trick when he was old. Could a man in that position take away from the impostor everything built by so many years of habit, trust, and belief, and give it all to a stranger?

En/Pt → But such thoughts were useless. It could not happen. A moment later, he decided that it could happen, but that women like her were always watched and given no chance to carry out such a plan, even if they were wicked enough to form it. Then he remembered how few such cases seemed ever to have occurred. Next he wondered whether they did occur but were never discovered.

As his unusual emotion faded, these doubts gradually disappeared. Yet enough of their shadow remained for him to decide firmly to watch Richards closely himself, without seeming to do so. Now calmer, he saw the woman's low social position as an advantage because it created a wide distance between her and the child and would make their separation easy and natural. From there, his thoughts moved to the future glory of Dombey and Son. For the moment, he dismissed the memory of his wife with one or two sighs in tribute.

En/Pt → Meanwhile, Mrs Chick and Richards agreed on the terms with Miss Tox's help. With much ceremony, Richards was given the Dombey baby as if he were an official honour. With many tears and kisses, she handed her own baby to Jemima. Glasses of wine were then brought out to raise the family's low spirits. Miss Tox busily gave small tastes to the younger children and prepared them for their father's dangerous line of work with amazing speed: in fifteen seconds, she made four of them choke.

“You will have a glass yourself, won't you, sir?” said Miss Tox when Toodle appeared.

“Thank you, ma'am, since you insist,” said Toodle.

“And you are very glad to leave your dear, good wife in such a comfortable home, aren't you, sir?” said Miss Tox, secretly nodding and winking at him.

“No, ma'am,” said Toodle. “Here is to wishing her back again.”

This made Polly cry more than ever. Mrs Chick feared, as an experienced married woman, that such grief might harm little Dombey. “It might make the milk sour, indeed,” she whispered to Miss Tox, and quickly came to the rescue.

En/Pt → “Your little child will do wonderfully well with your sister Jemima, Richards,” said Mrs Chick. “You only need to make an effort - this is a world of effort, you know - to be very happy indeed. You have already been measured for your mourning clothes, haven't you, Richards?”

“Ye-es, ma'am,” Polly sobbed.

“And they will fit beautifully, I know,” said Mrs Chick, “because the same young woman has made many dresses for me. The very best materials, too!”

“Goodness, you will look so elegant,” said Miss Tox, “that your husband will not recognize you. Will you, sir?”

“I would know her,” said Toodle roughly, “however she looked and wherever she was.”

Clearly, Toodle could not be won over.

“As for your food, Richards,” Mrs Chick continued, “the very best of everything will be available to you. You will order your own little dinner every day, and I am sure anything you want will be provided as readily as if you were a lady.”

En/Pt → “Yes, certainly!” said Miss Tox, continuing with great sympathy. “And as for porter beer, she can have as much as she wants, can't she, Louisa?”

“Oh, certainly!” Mrs Chick replied in the same tone. “Though you should limit your vegetables a little, you know, my dear.”

“And perhaps pickles,” Miss Tox suggested.

“Apart from those exceptions,” said Louisa, “she may choose entirely for herself and will have no restrictions at all, my love.”

“And then, of course,” said Miss Tox, “however fond she is of her own dear little child - and I am sure, Louisa, that you do not blame her for loving it?”

“Oh no!” cried Mrs Chick kindly.

“Still,” Miss Tox continued, “she must naturally become interested in the young child in her care. She must consider it a privilege to watch a little angel from the higher classes slowly develop day by day while feeding at the same common source. Isn't that so, Louisa?”

En/Pt → “Without any doubt!” said Mrs Chick. “You see, my love, she is already quite satisfied and comfortable. She means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima, her little darlings, and her good, honest husband with a light heart and a smile, doesn't she, my dear?”

“Oh yes!” cried Miss Tox. “Of course she does!”

Despite all this, poor Polly hugged each of them in great distress. When she finally came to her husband, she could not bring herself to leave him. At last, he gently freed himself after offering her the following symbolic advice:

“Polly, my old woman, whatever you do, my darling, keep your head up and fight low. That is the only rule I know that will carry anyone through life. You have always kept your head up and fought low, Polly. Do it now, or Bricks is not himself anymore. God bless you, Polly! Jemima and I will do our duty for you. As for your duty here, keep your head up and fight low, Polly, and you cannot go wrong!”

En/Pt → Strengthened by this golden secret, Polly finally ran away to avoid a more personal goodbye with the children. But her plan did not succeed as well as it deserved. The second-smallest boy guessed what she meant and immediately began crawling upstairs after her on his arms and legs, if we may use that strange expression. The eldest, known in the family as Biler in memory of the steam engine, beat a wild rhythm of grief with his boots, and the rest of the family joined him.

A supply of oranges and halfpennies was pushed without order into the hands of each young Toodle, calming the first violence of their sorrow. The family was soon carried home in the hired coach waiting for them. Under Jemima's care, the children crowded the window and dropped oranges and halfpennies all along the road. Mr Toodle preferred to ride behind the coach among the spikes, since that was the kind of transport he knew best.

CHAPTER III. In which Mr Dombey, as a Man and a Father, is seen at the Head of the Home-Department

En/Pt → The dead lady's funeral had been performed to the complete satisfaction of both the undertaker and the whole neighbourhood. Neighbours are often critical about such matters and easily offended by anything missing or poorly done in the ceremonies. Afterward, the different members of Mr Dombey's household returned to their usual places in the home. That small world, like the great world outside, could easily forget its dead. The cook said their mistress had been a calm-tempered lady; the housekeeper said death came to everyone; the butler said no one would have expected it; the housemaid said she could hardly believe it; and the footman said it seemed exactly like a dream. Then they had used up the subject and began to think that even their mourning clothes were growing old and dull.

En/Pt → For Richards, kept upstairs in a kind of honourable prison, the beginning of her new life seemed cold and grey. Mr Dombey's large house stood on the shady side of a tall, dark, terribly fashionable street between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square. It was a corner house with wide spaces below street level. Barred windows frowned down into cellars, while crooked-looking doors stared toward the dustbins. The grand but gloomy house had a rounded back containing a whole series of drawing rooms. They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves. The summer sun reached the street only around breakfast time. It arrived with water carts, old-clothes sellers, people selling geraniums, the umbrella repairer, and the man who rang the little bell of a Dutch clock as he walked. The sun soon left and did not return that day. Bands and wandering Punch shows followed it away, leaving the street to the saddest street organs and white mice, with an occasional porcupine for variety. At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas.

En/Pt → The house was as empty and lifeless inside as it was outside. After the funeral, Mr Dombey ordered the furniture to be covered, perhaps to preserve it for the son at the centre of all his plans. He ordered the rooms stripped of decoration except those he kept for himself on the ground floor. Tables and chairs were piled in the middle of rooms and covered with great white sheets, becoming mysterious shapes. Newspaper covered bell handles, window blinds, and mirrors, showing pieces of reports about deaths and terrible murders. Every chandelier, wrapped in protective cloth, looked like a huge tear hanging from the ceiling's eye. Smells like those from vaults and damp places came from the chimneys. In her picture frame, the dead and buried lady looked frightening beneath pale wrappings. Every rising wind blew around the corner from the nearby stables pieces of the straw spread before the house during her illness. Mouldy remains still clung to the neighbourhood. Some unseen force always drew these pieces to the entrance of the dirty empty house directly opposite, where they seemed to speak sadly to Mr Dombey's windows.

En/Pt → Mr Dombey's private rooms could be reached from the hall. They included a sitting room; a library that was really a dressing room, where the smells of fine paper and several kinds of leather competed with the smell of many pairs of boots; and beyond it, a small glass breakfast room like a conservatory, with a view of the two trees and usually a few wandering cats. The three rooms opened into one another. Each morning while Mr Dombey ate breakfast in one of the first two rooms, and each afternoon when he came home for dinner, a bell called Richards to the glass room to walk back and forth with the baby. At those times, she saw Mr Dombey sitting far back in the darkness among the heavy furniture and looking toward the child. His father had lived in the house for years, and much of it was old-fashioned and grim. Richards began to imagine him in his lonely condition as a prisoner alone in a cell or a strange ghost whom no one could approach or understand. Within a few days, her simple mind gave Mr Dombey all the mystery and darkness of his house. While she walked through the glass room or sat there calming the baby, often for hours as evening fell, she sometimes tried to see into the darkness beyond and discover how he looked and what he was doing. Yet she knew he could see her clearly, so she dared to look toward him only secretly and for a moment. As a result, she learned nothing, and Mr Dombey remained a mere shadow in his den.

En/Pt → Little Paul Dombey's foster mother had lived this life and carried him through it for several weeks. One day she returned upstairs after a sad walk through the gloomy formal rooms. She never went outside without Mrs Chick, who came on fine mornings, usually with Miss Tox, to take Richards and the baby for fresh air - or rather, to march them solemnly up and down the pavement like a moving funeral. As Richards sat in her room, the door slowly and quietly opened, and a little dark-eyed girl looked in.

“That must be Miss Florence, home from her aunt's,” thought Richards, who had never seen the child before. “I hope you are well, miss.”

“Is that my brother?” asked the child, pointing at the baby.

“Yes, my pretty one,” Richards answered. “Come and kiss him.”

But instead of coming closer, the child looked seriously into her face and said:

En/Pt → “What have you done with my Mama?”

“God bless the little creature!” cried Richards. “What a sad question! What have I done? Nothing, miss.”

“What have they done with my Mama?” the child asked, with exactly the same look and manner.

“I have never seen anything so touching in all my life!” said Richards, naturally imagining one of her own children asking about her in the same situation. “Come closer, my dear young lady! Do not be afraid of me.”

“I am not afraid of you,” said the child, coming closer. “But I want to know what they have done with my Mama.”

As she stood before the woman and looked into her eyes, the child's heart felt so full that she had to press her little hand against her chest and hold it there. Yet she had a firm purpose that kept both her thin body and her searching gaze from shaking.

En/Pt → “My darling,” said Richards, “you are wearing that pretty black dress to remember your Mama.”

“I can remember my Mama,” the child replied, as tears filled her eyes, “in any dress.”

“But people wear black to remember those who are gone.”

“Gone where?” asked the child.

“Come and sit beside me,” said Richards, “and I will tell you a story.”

Little Florence quickly understood that the story would answer her question. She put down the bonnet she had held until then and sat on a stool at the nurse's feet, looking up into her face.

“Once upon a time,” said Richards, “there was a lady - a very good lady - and her little daughter loved her dearly.”

“A very good lady, and her little daughter loved her dearly,” the child repeated.

“When God decided the right time had come, the lady became ill and died.”

The child shivered.

“She died and could never again be seen by anyone on earth. She was buried in the ground where the trees grow.”

En/Pt → “The cold ground?” said the child, shivering again.

“No! The warm ground,” Polly replied, taking advantage of the moment, “where ugly little seeds become beautiful flowers, grass, corn, and many other things. It is where good people become bright angels and fly away to Heaven!”

The child had lowered her head, but now she raised it again and sat looking closely at Polly.

“So, let me see,” said Polly. She was rather confused by the child's serious gaze, her own wish to comfort her, her sudden success, and her lack of confidence in her abilities. “So, when this lady died, wherever they took her or placed her, she went to GOD! And this lady prayed to Him,” Polly continued, deeply moved because she truly meant every word, “to teach her little daughter to feel certain of that in her heart, to know that her mother was happy there and still loved her, and to hope and try - oh, throughout her whole life - to meet her there one day and never, never, never part again.”

En/Pt → “It was my Mama!” cried the child, jumping up and throwing her arms around Polly's neck.

“And the child's heart,” said Polly, drawing Florence to her chest, “the little daughter's heart was so full of this truth that even when she heard it from a strange nurse who could not tell it properly, but who was a poor mother herself and nothing more, she found comfort in it. She did not feel so lonely. She sobbed and cried against the nurse's chest, became fond of the baby lying in her lap, and - there, there, there!” Polly said, smoothing the child's curls and dropping tears onto them. “There, poor dear!”

“Well, Miss Floy! Won't your father be angry!” cried a quick voice at the door. It belonged to a short, brown-haired, very grown-up girl of fourteen, with a small turned-up nose and black eyes like shiny beads. “When you were especially told not to go and bother the wet nurse!”

En/Pt → “She does not bother me,” Polly replied in surprise. “I am very fond of children.”

“Oh, but excuse me, Mrs Richards, that does not matter, you know,” replied the black-eyed girl. She was so extremely sharp and biting that she seemed to make people's eyes water. “I may be very fond of sea snails, Mrs Richards, but that does not mean I should have them for tea.”

“Well, it does not matter,” said Polly.

“Oh, thank you, Mrs Richards. It doesn't?” the sharp girl replied. “But please remember that Miss Floy is in my care, while Master Paul is in yours.”

“But we do not need to quarrel,” said Polly.

“Oh no, Mrs Richards,” replied the fiery girl. “Not at all, I do not want that, we do not need to deal with each other in that way, since Miss Floy is permanent and Master Paul is temporary.” The fiery girl used only brief comma-like pauses. Whenever possible, she fired out everything she had to say in one sentence and one breath.

En/Pt → “Miss Florence has just come home, hasn't she?” Polly asked.

“Yes, Mrs Richards, she has just arrived. And here you are, Miss Floy, before you have been home for fifteen minutes, rubbing your wet face against the expensive mourning clothes Mrs Richards is wearing for your mother!” With this complaint, the young fiery girl, whose real name was Susan Nipper, pulled the child away from her new friend as sharply as if she were pulling a tooth. Yet she seemed to act more from an extremely strict performance of her duties than from any planned cruelty.

“She will be quite happy now that she is home again,” said Polly, nodding at Florence with an encouraging smile on her healthy face. “And she will be so pleased to see her dear Papa tonight.”

“Goodness, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, sharply interrupting her. “Don't say that. See her dear Papa, indeed! I would like to see her manage it!”

En/Pt → “Won’t she?” asked Polly.

“Goodness, no, Mrs Richards. Her father cares far too much about someone else. Even before that someone existed, she was never his favorite. Girls are wasted in this house, Mrs Richards, I assure you.”

The child looked quickly from one nurse to the other, as if she understood and felt what they had said.

“You surprise me!” cried Polly. “Hasn’t Mr Dombey seen her since - ”

“No,” Susan Nipper interrupted. “Not once since then. For months and months before that, he had hardly looked at her. I do not think he would have known she was his own child if he had met her in the street, and I do not think he would know her if he met her there tomorrow. As for me,” said the little Spitfire with a giggle, “I doubt that he even knows I exist.”

“Pretty dear!” said Richards, meaning little Florence, not Miss Nipper.

En/Pt → “Oh! I can tell you there is a fierce person within a hundred miles of where we are talking, Mrs Richards - always excepting present company,” said Susan Nipper. “Good morning, Mrs Richards. Now, Miss Floy, come with me. Do not hang back like a naughty, wicked child who learns nothing from punishment. Come!”

Despite this command, and despite Susan Nipper pulling hard enough to almost separate the girl’s right shoulder, little Florence broke free and kissed her new friend warmly.

“Oh dear! Even after they said so clearly that no one should become too familiar with Mrs Richards!” Susan cried. “Very well, Miss Floy!”

“God bless the sweet child!” said Richards. “Goodbye, dear!”

“Goodbye!” the child answered. “God bless you! I shall come to see you again soon, and you will come to see me, won’t you? Susan will allow us. Won’t you, Susan?”

En/Pt → The little Spitfire was generally good-natured, although she followed a school of child training which believed that childhood, like money, must be shaken, rattled, and pushed around a great deal to keep it bright. When Florence appealed to her with loving gestures and caresses, Susan folded her small arms, shook her head, and let a softer expression enter her very wide-open black eyes.

“It is not right for you to ask, Miss Floy, because you know I cannot refuse you. But Mrs Richards and I will see what can be done, if Mrs Richards agrees. You see, Mrs Richards, I may wish to sail to China, but I may not know how to leave the London Docks.”

Richards agreed with this idea.

“This house is not exactly full of laughter and celebration,” said Miss Nipper, “so there is no need to be lonelier than necessary. Your Toxes and Chickses may pull out my two double front teeth, Mrs Richards, but that is no reason for me to offer them the whole set.”

En/Pt → Richards also agreed with this clearly sensible idea.

“So I am certainly willing,” said Susan Nipper, “to be friendly with you, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul remains a permanent member of the house, if we can plan a way without openly disobeying orders. But goodness gracious, Miss Floy, you have not taken off your outdoor clothes yet, you naughty child! Come along!”

With these words, Susan Nipper rushed at the girl in a burst of force and swept her out of the room.

In her grief and neglect, the child was so gentle, quiet, and patient. She had so much love that no one seemed to want, and such sad understanding that no one seemed to care about hurting, that Polly’s heart ached when she was alone again. During that simple meeting between Polly and the motherless little girl, Polly’s motherly heart had been touched as deeply as the child’s. Like Florence, she felt that from that moment they shared trust and concern for each other.

En/Pt → Although Mr Toodle trusted Polly greatly, she was probably only a little more educated and socially polished than he was. She had spent her whole life working hard with good humor. She was a sensible, steady person with practical ideas about the butcher, the baker, and how many farthings made a penny. But she was a good, simple example of a nature that, as a whole, is better, truer, higher, and nobler than men’s nature - quicker to feel tenderness, pity, self-denial, and devotion, and far more faithful in keeping them. Though she had little education, perhaps even then she could have taught Mr Dombey a first lesson that would not have struck him like lightning at the end.

But this takes us away from the story. At that time, Polly only thought about building on her success in winning Miss Nipper’s favor. She tried to find a lawful way for little Florence to help her, without disobeying anyone. An opportunity appeared that very night.

En/Pt → As usual, someone rang for Polly to come down to the glass room. She had walked around it for a long time with the baby in her arms when, to her great surprise and alarm, Mr Dombey suddenly came out and stopped before her. At first, she had seen him leaning on his elbow at the table. Later, he had walked up and down the middle room, coming a little closer to the open folding doors each time, or so she thought.

“Good evening, Richards.”

He was exactly the same strict, stiff gentleman he had seemed on her first day. He looked so hard that she lowered her eyes and made a curtsey without meaning to.

“How is Master Paul, Richards?”

“Growing very well, Sir, and healthy.”

“He looks healthy,” said Mr Dombey. He looked with great interest at the tiny face she uncovered for him, though he pretended not to care very much. “They give you everything you need, I hope?”

En/Pt → “Oh yes, thank you, Sir.”

However, she added such a clear hesitation to her answer that Mr Dombey, who had turned away, stopped and turned back with a questioning look.

“If you please, Sir, the child is very ready to notice things,” said Richards, making another curtsey, “and perhaps it is a little dull for him upstairs, Sir.”

“I asked them to take you outside for fresh air regularly,” said Mr Dombey. “Very well! You shall go out more often. You were right to mention it.”

“Please forgive me, Sir,” Polly said uncertainly, “but we already go out quite often, Sir, thank you.”

“Then what do you want?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Truly, Sir, I do not exactly know,” said Polly, “unless - ”

“Yes?”

“I believe nothing makes children so lively and cheerful as seeing other children play around them, Sir,” Polly said, growing braver.

“I think I told you when you came here, Richards,” said Mr Dombey with a frown, “that I wanted you to see as little of your family as possible.”

En/Pt → “Oh, certainly, Sir. I was not thinking about that at all.”

“I am glad to hear it,” said Mr Dombey quickly. “You may continue walking if you wish.”

Then he disappeared into his inner room. Polly had the satisfaction of feeling that he had completely misunderstood her purpose and that she had lost his favor without making the least progress toward her goal.

The next night, she found him walking around the conservatory when she came down. She stopped at the door, surprised by this unusual sight and unsure whether to enter or go back, but he called her in. It soon became clear that his mind was too focused on Dombey and Son for him to have forgotten her suggestion.

“If you truly think that kind of company is good for the child,” he said sharply, as if no time had passed since her suggestion, “where is Miss Florence?”

En/Pt → “Nothing could be better than Miss Florence, Sir,” said Polly eagerly, “but I understood from her maid that they were not supposed to - ”

Mr Dombey rang the bell and continued walking until someone answered it.

“Tell everyone always to let Miss Florence stay with Richards when she wishes, and to let her go out with Richards, and so on. Tell them to let the children be together whenever Richards wants it.”

The iron was hot now, and Richards struck it boldly. Her cause was good, and that made her brave, although she was naturally afraid of Mr Dombey. She asked for Miss Florence to be sent down immediately to become friends with her little brother.

As the servant left to carry out this request, Polly pretended to be playing with the baby. Yet she thought she saw Mr Dombey change color and his expression change completely. He turned quickly as if he meant to take back what he had said, what she had said, or both, and only shame prevented him.

En/Pt → And she was right. The last time he had seen his neglected child, the sad embrace between Florence and her dying mother had shown him a truth and blamed him at the same time. No matter how completely he focused on the Son on whom he placed such great hopes, he could not forget that final scene. He could not forget that he had no part in it. At the bottom of its clear depths of love and truth were those two figures holding each other, while he stood on the bank above, looking down only as an observer. He did not share their feeling and was completely shut out.

En/Pt → He could not remove these memories from his mind. Through the fog of his pride, he could partly see what they meant, although their meaning appeared only in imperfect forms. His former indifference toward little Florence changed into a strange uneasiness. She was very young and, to everyone except him - and perhaps even to him - she had more than the usual childhood innocence and trust. Yet he almost felt that she watched him and did not trust him. It was as if she held the clue to a secret in his heart whose nature even he hardly understood. It was as if she naturally knew about one harsh, discordant string inside him, and her very breath could make it sound.

En/Pt → From Florence’s birth, his feeling toward her had simply been an absence of feeling. He had never actually disliked her; she had not seemed important enough, and he had not felt that way. She had never been truly unpleasant to him. But now she made him uncomfortable and disturbed his peace. He would have preferred to remove every thought of her, if he had known how. Perhaps - who can explain such mysteries? - he feared that he might begin to hate her.

When little Florence appeared timidly, Mr Dombey stopped walking and looked at her. If he had looked with greater interest and with a father’s eyes, he might have read in her sharp glance all the wishes and fears that made her hesitate. She passionately wanted to run to him, hold him, hide her face in his arms, and cry, “Oh, Father, try to love me! I have no one else!” But she feared that he would reject her. She feared being too bold and making him angry. She deeply needed some sign of love and encouragement, and her young heart, filled beyond its limit, was searching for a natural resting place for its grief and affection.

En/Pt → But he saw none of this. He saw her pause uncertainly at the door and look toward him, and he saw no more.

“Come in,” he said. “Come in. What is the child afraid of?”

She entered. After looking around uncertainly for a moment, she stood close to the door, pressing her small hands tightly together.

“Come here, Florence,” her father said coldly. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Have you nothing to say to me?”

Tears filled her eyes as she quickly raised them toward his face, but his expression froze them there. She looked down again and held out her trembling hand.

Mr Dombey held it loosely in his own hand and looked down at her for a moment, as if he knew as little as the child about what to say or do.

“There! Be a good girl,” he said, patting her head. He secretly watched her with a troubled, uncertain look. “Go to Richards! Go!”

En/Pt → His little daughter hesitated for one more moment, as if she still wanted to put her arms around him or still hoped he would lift her, hold her, and kiss her. She looked up into his face once again. He thought her expression looked just as it had when she turned toward the Doctor that night. Without thinking, he dropped her hand and turned away.

It was easy to see that Florence was at a great disadvantage near her father. His presence did not only limit the child’s thoughts; it also limited the natural grace and freedom of her movements. As she played around her baby brother that night, she was rarely as charming and pretty as she normally was. Sometimes, while Mr Dombey walked back and forth, he came near her when she had perhaps forgotten him for a moment. At once her manner changed and became unnatural and embarrassed.

En/Pt → Still, this only made Polly more determined to continue. Judging Mr Dombey by her own feelings, she had great faith in the silent appeal of poor little Florence’s mourning dress. “It is truly hard,” Polly thought, “if he only cares for one motherless child when another one, a girl, is right before his eyes.”

So Polly kept Florence before his eyes as long as possible. She managed little Paul so well that it became very clear he was much livelier with his sister near him. When it was time to go upstairs again, Polly wanted to send Florence into the inner room to say goodnight to her father. But the child was frightened and drew back. When Polly urged her again, Florence spread her hands before her eyes as if to hide her own unworthiness and said, “Oh no, no! He does not want me. He does not want me!”

En/Pt → [Illustration]

Their small disagreement caught Mr Dombey’s attention. Sitting at the table with his wine, he asked what was wrong.

“Miss Florence was afraid she would disturb you, Sir, if she came in to say goodnight,” said Richards.

“It does not matter,” Mr Dombey replied. “You may let her come and go without thinking about me.”

The child drew back when she heard him and was gone before her humble friend looked around again.

However, Polly felt very pleased by the success of her kind plan and by the skill with which she had carried it out. Once she was safely upstairs again, she told the little Spitfire the entire story. Miss Nipper received both this sign of trust and the hope that they could freely spend time together in the future rather coldly. She showed very little excitement or joy.

“I thought you would be pleased,” said Polly.

“Oh yes, Mrs Richards, I am very pleased, thank you,” Susan replied. She had suddenly become so straight and stiff that she seemed to have added an extra bone to her corset.

En/Pt → “You do not show it,” said Polly.

“Oh! Since I am only permanent, no one could expect me to show it like a temporary person,” said Susan Nipper. “I see that temporary people sweep everything before them here. But even though there is an excellent strong wall between this house and the next, I may not exactly wish to go there, Mrs Richards!”

CHAPTER IV. In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these Adventures

En/Pt → The offices of Dombey and Son stood inside the boundaries of the City of London. They were close enough to hear Bow Bells when the noise of the streets did not cover their clashing voices. Yet some nearby sights suggested adventurous and romantic stories. Gog and Magog stood in their greatness only ten minutes away. The Royal Exchange was close, and the Bank of England, with its underground rooms full of gold and silver “down among the dead men,” was their splendid neighbor. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Everywhere nearby, one could see pictures of ships sailing at full speed to every part of the world, stores ready to equip and send anyone anywhere within half an hour, and small wooden midshipmen in old-fashioned naval uniforms. Outside the doors of nautical instrument shops, these figures were forever taking observations of the hired carriages.

En/Pt → An elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig was the only owner of one of these figures - the one that could easily be called the most wooden. It leaned out over the pavement with its right leg forward and with an unbearable smooth manner. Its shoe buckles and wide waistcoat made very little sense, and at its right eye it held a piece of machinery far too large for its body. The old gentleman owned that Midshipman and was proud of him. For more years than many real, fully grown midshipmen had lived, he had paid rent, taxes, rates, and charges there. And some real midshipmen in the English Navy had certainly reached a fine old age.

En/Pt → The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. His drawers and shelves held objects of brass and glass whose top, purpose, and proper place in their mahogany cases only experts could understand. Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm. Every object was made extremely compact to save room. So much practical navigation was fitted, cushioned, and screwed into every box - whether the box was only a flat board, or shaped like something between a three-cornered hat and a starfish, and those were simple boxes compared with others - that the shop itself seemed affected. It almost became a neat, seaworthy vessel that needed only enough open water, if it were suddenly launched, to sail safely to any desert island in the world.

En/Pt → Many small details of the home life of the maker of ships’ instruments, who was proud of his little Midshipman, supported this idea. Most of his friends were suppliers to ships and similar people, so real ship’s biscuit was always on his table. Dried meat and tongues, with a strange taste of rope, were also familiar there. Pickles appeared in large wholesale jars labeled “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions.” Strong drinks were served in square bottles without necks. Old prints of ships, with letters pointing to their different mysteries, hung in frames on the walls. The plates showed the frigate Tartar sailing. Strange shells, seaweed, and moss decorated the mantelpiece. A skylight lit the small, wooden-paneled back room like a ship’s cabin.

En/Pt → He also lived there like a captain, alone with his nephew Walter, a fourteen-year-old boy who looked enough like a midshipman to support the general idea. But the likeness ended there, because Solomon Gills himself, usually called old Sol, did not look like a sailor. His Welsh wig was the plainest and most stubborn Welsh wig ever worn, and it made him look like anything except a sea adventurer. He was a slow, quiet, thoughtful old man. His eyes were as red as two small suns seen through fog, and he always seemed newly awake. Perhaps this came from looking through every optical instrument in his shop for three or four days and suddenly returning to find the world green. His appearance changed only between a complete, square-cut coffee-colored suit with bright buttons and the same suit with pale yellow trousers. He wore a very neat shirt frill and kept excellent spectacles on his forehead. A huge chronometer rested in his watch pocket. Rather than doubt that precious instrument, he would have believed that every clock and watch in the City, and even the Sun itself, had joined a plot against it. For many years he had lived like this in the shop and back room behind the little Midshipman. Every night he regularly went upstairs to bed in a noisy attic far from his lodgers. There, when comfortable English gentlemen below knew little or nothing about the weather, the wind often blew like great guns.

En/Pt → It is half past five on an autumn afternoon when the reader meets Solomon Gills. He is checking the time on the perfectly trustworthy chronometer. For more than an hour, the usual daily crowd has been leaving the City, and the human tide is still flowing west. As Mr Gills says, “The streets have become much emptier.” It looks likely to rain tonight. All the weather instruments in the shop give sad, low readings, and rain already shines on the three-cornered hat of the wooden Midshipman.

“Where can Walter be?” said Solomon Gills after carefully putting away the chronometer. “Dinner has been ready for half an hour, and there is no Walter!”

Mr Gills turned on his stool behind the counter and looked through the instruments in the window to see whether his nephew was crossing the road. No. Walter was not among the moving umbrellas. He was certainly not the newspaper boy in an oilskin cap who slowly moved along the brass sign outside, writing his own name over Mr Gills’s name with his finger.

En/Pt → “If I did not know he loves me too much to run away and join a ship against my wishes, I would begin to worry,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather instruments with his knuckles. “I truly would. Everything low, eh! Plenty of moisture! Well, we need it.”

“I believe,” said Mr Gills, blowing dust from the glass top of a compass case, “that you do not point more directly toward the back room than the boy’s wishes do, after all. And the room itself could not point more truly either. Due north. Not even one twentieth of a compass point to either side.”

“Hello, Uncle Sol!”

“Hello, my boy!” cried the instrument maker, turning around quickly. “What! So you are here?”

He was a cheerful, merry boy, fresh from running home through the rain, with a fair face, bright eyes, and curly hair.

“Well, Uncle, how did you manage without me all day? Is dinner ready? I am so hungry.”

En/Pt → “As for managing,” Solomon said kindly, “it would be strange if I could not manage much better without a young rascal like you than with you. As for dinner being ready, it has been ready and waiting for you for half an hour. As for being hungry, I am!”

“Then come along, Uncle!” cried the boy. “Hurrah for the admiral!”

“Forget the admiral!” Solomon Gills replied. “You mean the Lord Mayor.”

“No, I do not!” cried the boy. “Hurrah for the admiral! Hurrah for the admiral! For-ward!”

At this command, the Welsh wig and the man wearing it were carried without resistance into the back room, as if they led a group of five hundred sailors attacking a ship. Uncle Sol and his nephew were soon eating fried sole, with a steak to follow.

“The Lord Mayor forever, Wally!” said Solomon. “No more admirals. The Lord Mayor is your admiral.”

En/Pt → “Oh, is he?” said the boy, shaking his head. “Why, the Sword Bearer is better than he is. Sometimes he draws his sword.”

“And he looks very foolish when he does, for all his trouble,” his uncle replied. “Listen to me, Wally, listen to me. Look at the mantelpiece.”

“Why, who has hung my silver mug up there on a nail?” cried the boy.

“I did,” said his uncle. “No more mugs now. We must start drinking from glasses today, Walter. We are businessmen. We belong to the City. We began our working lives this morning.”

“Well, Uncle,” said the boy, “I will drink from anything you like, as long as I can drink to your health. Here is to you, Uncle Sol, and hurrah for the - ”

“Lord Mayor,” the old man interrupted.

“To the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, the Common Council, and the Livery,” said the boy. “Long life to them!”

En/Pt → His uncle nodded with great satisfaction. “And now,” he said, “tell me something about the Firm.”

“Oh, there is not much to tell about the Firm, Uncle,” said the boy as he ate. “The offices are very dark. In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs. In one web above my head, a dried-up blue fly looks as if it has hung there for years.”

“Nothing else?” asked his uncle.

“No, nothing except an old birdcage - I wonder how it got there - and a coal bucket.”

“No bank books, cheque books, bills, or other signs of wealth arriving every day?” old Sol asked. He looked hopefully at his nephew through the fog that always seemed to surround him, stressing the words with pleasure.

“Oh yes, I suppose there is plenty of that,” his nephew replied carelessly, “but such things are all in Mr Carker's room, Mr Morfin's, or Mr Dombey's.”

En/Pt → “Was Mr Dombey there today?” his uncle asked.

“Oh yes! He came and went all day.”

“I suppose he did not notice you?”

“Yes, he did. He walked to my seat - I wish he were not so serious and stiff, Uncle - and said, ‘Oh, you are the son of Mr Gills, the maker of ships' instruments.’ ‘His nephew, sir,’ I said. ‘I said nephew, boy,’ he replied. But I could swear he said son, Uncle.”

“You are probably mistaken. It does not matter.”

“No, it does not matter, but I thought he did not need to be so sharp. There was no harm even if he did say son. Then he told me you had spoken to him about me, so he had found me work in the House. He said I must be attentive and punctual, and then he left. I thought he did not like me very much.”

En/Pt → “I suppose you mean,” the instrument-maker said, “that you did not like him very much?”

“Well, Uncle,” the boy replied, laughing, “perhaps that is true. I never thought of it.”

Solomon looked more serious as he finished dinner and sometimes glanced at the boy's bright face. After the meal, when the food from a nearby eating-house had been cleared away, he lit a candle and went into a small cellar. His nephew stood on the mouldy stairs and dutifully held the light. After searching in the dark, Solomon returned with a very old bottle covered in dust and dirt.

“Why, Uncle Sol!” said the boy. “What are you doing? That is the wonderful Madeira! There is only one other bottle!”

Uncle Sol nodded to show that he knew exactly what he was doing. In serious silence, he pulled out the cork, filled two glasses, and placed the bottle and a third clean glass on the table.

En/Pt → “You will drink the other bottle, Wally,” he said, “when good fortune comes to you - when you are successful, respected, and happy. We will drink it when the beginning you made today has led you, as I pray Heaven it will, to an easier part of life's road, my child. I drink to you!”

Some of the fog around old Sol seemed to enter his throat, for his voice was rough. His hand also shook as he touched his glass to his nephew's. But once the wine reached his lips, he drank it bravely and smacked his lips afterward.

“Dear Uncle,” said the boy, pretending the moment was not serious although his eyes were full of tears, “I thank you for the honour, and so on. Now I propose three times three cheers, and one more, for Mr Solomon Gills. Hurrah! You will thank us when we drink the last bottle together, won't you, Uncle?”

En/Pt → They touched glasses again. Walter was saving his wine, so he took only a sip and held the glass to his eye with the most expert expression he could manage.

His uncle watched him silently for some time. When their eyes finally met, he continued aloud the subject that filled his thoughts, as if he had been speaking all along.

“You see, Walter,” he said, “this business is really only a habit for me. I am so used to it that I could hardly live without it, but there is no trade - none at all. When that uniform outside was worn, people could make fortunes, and they did. But competition, new inventions, and constant changes have left me behind. I hardly know where I am, much less where my customers are.”

“Never mind them, Uncle!”

“Since you came home from your weekly boarding school in Peckham - and that was ten days ago,” said Solomon, “I remember only one person entering the shop.”

En/Pt → “Two, Uncle, don't you remember? There was the man who asked for change for a gold coin - ”

“That is the one,” said Solomon.

“Why, Uncle! Doesn't the woman who asked the way to Mile End Turnpike count as someone?”

“Oh, that is true,” said Solomon. “I forgot her. Two people.”

“Of course, they did not buy anything,” cried the boy.

“No. They did not buy anything,” Solomon said quietly.

“And they did not want anything,” cried the boy.

“No. If they had wanted something, they would have gone to another shop,” Solomon said in the same tone.

“But there were two of them, Uncle,” cried the boy as if this were a great victory. “You said there was only one.”

En/Pt → After a pause, the old man continued, “Well, Wally, we are not like the people on Robinson Crusoe's island, so we cannot live on a man who asks for change and a woman who asks for directions. As I said, the world has passed me by. I do not blame it, but I no longer understand it. Shopkeepers, apprentices, business, and goods are not what they were. Seven-eighths of my stock is old-fashioned. I am an old-fashioned man in an old-fashioned shop, on a street that has changed. I have fallen behind the times and am too old to catch up. Even the distant noise of the world ahead confuses me.”

Walter was about to speak, but his uncle raised his hand.

En/Pt → “That is why, Wally, I want you to enter the busy world early and follow its path. I am only the ghost of this business; its real life disappeared long ago. When I die, even the ghost will be gone. Since this shop is clearly no inheritance for you, I used almost the last of my old connections to help you. Some people think I am rich; for your sake, I wish they were right. But whatever I leave or give you, a place in a House like Dombey's will help you use it well. Work hard, try to like your work, earn a secure independence, and be happy!”

“I will do everything I can, Uncle, to deserve your love. I truly will,” the boy said seriously.

“I know you will,” said Solomon. “I am sure of it.” He enjoyed a second glass of old Madeira even more. “As for the sea,” he continued, “it is fine in stories, Wally, but not in real life. It will not do at all. It is natural for you to think about it among all these familiar objects, but the sea will not do.”

En/Pt → Yet as Solomon Gills spoke about the sea, he rubbed his hands with secret pleasure and looked with great satisfaction at the sailor's objects around him.

“Think of this wine,” said old Sol. “It has travelled to the East Indies and back more times than I can say, and once went around the world. Think of the completely dark nights, roaring winds, and rolling seas.”

“The thunder, lightning, rain, hail, and every kind of storm,” said the boy.

“Of course,” said Solomon. “This wine passed through all of that. Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.”

“And how the men climbed high, racing to be first out on the yards to tie up the icy sails while the ship rolled and jumped like a mad thing!” cried his nephew.

“Exactly,” said Solomon. “All that happened above the old barrel that held this wine. Why, when the Charming Sally sank in the - ”

En/Pt → “In the Baltic Sea, in the middle of the night! It was twenty-five minutes past twelve when the captain's watch stopped in his pocket, as he lay dead against the main mast, on 14 February 1749!” Walter cried excitedly.

“Yes, exactly right!” cried old Sol. “There were five hundred barrels of such wine aboard. Everyone except the first mate, the first lieutenant, two sailors, and a lady in a leaking boat broke open the barrels, became drunk, and died drunk. They sang ‘Rule Britannia’ as the ship sank, ending together with one terrible scream.”

“But when the George the Second was driven onto the coast of Cornwall in a terrible storm, two hours before sunrise on 4 March 1771, it carried nearly two hundred horses. Early in the storm, the horses escaped below deck, ran wildly, and trampled one another to death. Their cries sounded so human that the crew thought the ship was full of devils. Some of the best sailors lost their courage and reason and jumped into the sea. In the end, only two survived to tell the story.”

En/Pt → “And when,” said old Sol, “when the Polyphemus - ”

“A private West Indies trading ship of 350 tons, captained by John Brown of Deptford and owned by Wiggs and Company,” cried Walter.

“That is the one,” said Sol. “When it caught fire at night, four days' sailing with a good wind from Jamaica Harbour - ”

“There were two brothers aboard,” his nephew interrupted quickly and loudly. “There was room for only one in the last boat that had not sunk, and neither brother would agree to go. At last, the older brother lifted the younger by the waist and threw him into the boat. Then the younger stood and cried, ‘Dear Edward, think of the woman waiting to marry you at home. I am only a boy, and nobody waits for me. Jump down and take my place!’ Then he threw himself into the sea.”

En/Pt → The boy had risen while speaking with deep feeling. His bright eyes and red face seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten or failed to see through his usual fog. A moment earlier, Sol had clearly planned to tell more stories. Instead, he gave a short, dry cough and said, “Well! Let us change the subject.”

The truth was that the simple uncle secretly loved wonderful adventures, partly because his trade connected him with them. He had strongly encouraged the same love in his nephew. Everything meant to warn the boy against an adventurous life had only made him want it more. This always happens: every book or story written to keep boys on land seems naturally to attract them to the ocean.

En/Pt → A new guest now joined the small group. He wore a loose blue suit and had a hook instead of a right hand, thick black eyebrows, and a heavy, knotted stick in his left hand. A loose black silk scarf surrounded his neck, and his large, rough collar looked like a small sail. The extra wineglass was clearly for him, and he knew it. He removed his rough coat and hung his hard, shiny hat on its special hook behind the door. The hat left a red circle around his forehead, as if he had worn a tight bowl. Then he brought a chair to the clean glass and sat down. People called this visitor Captain. He had been a pilot, a ship's captain, a private sailor in war, or perhaps all three, and he looked completely like a man of the sea.

His solid brown face brightened as he shook hands with uncle and nephew. But he seemed to use very few words and said only:

En/Pt → “How are things?”

“Everything is well,” said Mr Gills, pushing the bottle toward him.

He picked it up, examined it, smelled it, and asked with great expression:

“The special one?”

“The special one,” the instrument-maker replied.

At that, he whistled as he filled his glass and seemed to think they were truly celebrating.

“Walter!” he said, arranging his thin hair with his hook and then pointing it at the instrument-maker. “Look at him! Love! Honour! And obey! Search your religious lesson until you find those words, and then fold the corner of the page. Success, my boy!”

He was so pleased with both his quotation and his advice that he repeated the words quietly and said he had forgotten them for forty years.

“But whenever I needed two or three words in my life, I always knew where to find them, Gills,” he said. “That comes from not wasting words as some people do.”

En/Pt → Perhaps this thought reminded him that he should increase his supply of words. In any case, he became silent until old Sol went to light the shop. Then he turned to Walter and, without any introduction, said:

“I suppose he could make a clock if he tried?”

“I would not be surprised, Captain Cuttle,” the boy replied.

“And it would run!” said Captain Cuttle, drawing a snake shape in the air with his hook. “Lord, how that clock would run!”

For a moment, he became lost in thoughts about the speed of this imaginary clock and stared at the boy as if his face were its dial.

“But he is full of science,” he said, waving his hook toward the goods. “Look here! This is a whole collection of sciences. Earth, air, or water - it is all the same. Do you want to go up in a balloon? He can do it. Down in a diving bell? He can do it. Do you want to put the North Star on scales and weigh it? He will do that for you.”

En/Pt → These words show that Captain Cuttle deeply respected the instruments in the shop. His ideas made little or no difference between selling such instruments and inventing them.

“Ah!” he said with a sigh. “It is wonderful to understand them. Yet it is also wonderful not to understand them. I hardly know which is better. It is so pleasant to sit here and feel that you could be weighed, measured, enlarged, electrified, or magnetically changed in every possible way - and never know how.”

Only the wonderful Madeira and the special occasion, when Walter's mind should be improved, could have made the Captain give such a long speech. He seemed surprised himself that it explained the silent pleasure he had felt during Sunday dinners in that room for ten years. Now sadder and wiser, he thought quietly and said no more.

“Come!” cried the man they had been admiring, as he returned. “Before you drink your rum and water, Ned, we must finish the bottle.”

En/Pt → “Ready!” said Ned, filling his glass. “Give the boy some more.”

“No more, thank you, Uncle!”

“Yes, yes,” said Sol. “A little more. We will finish the bottle with a toast to the House, Ned - Walter's House. Perhaps one day part of it may be his. Who knows? Sir Richard Whittington married his master's daughter.”

“‘Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London, and when you are old you will never leave it,’” the Captain interrupted. “Walter! Search the book, my boy.”

“And although Mr Dombey has no daughter,” Sol began.

“Yes, yes, he does, Uncle,” said the boy, turning red and laughing.

“Does he?” cried the old man. “Actually, I think he does.”

En/Pt → “Oh, I know he does,” said the boy. “People at the office talked about her today. They say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” he continued more quietly, “that he dislikes her and leaves her unnoticed among the servants. His mind is so fixed on bringing his son into the House that, although the child is still a baby, he plans to check the accounts more often and keep the books more carefully. People have even seen him secretly walking at the docks, looking proudly at his ships and property, as if celebrating all that he and his son will own together. That is what they say. Of course, I do not know.”

“You see, he already knows everything about her,” said the instrument-maker.

“Nonsense, Uncle,” cried the boy, still turning red and laughing like a boy. “How can I avoid hearing what people tell me?”

“I am afraid the son is a small obstacle for us at present, Ned,” said the old man, continuing the joke.

En/Pt → “A very large one,” said the Captain.

“Still, we will drink to him,” Sol continued. “So here is to Dombey and Son.”

“Oh, very well, Uncle,” the boy said happily. “Since you mentioned her, connected me with her, and said I know everything about her, I will boldly improve the toast. Here is to Dombey - and Son - and Daughter!”

CHAPTER V. Paul’s Progress and Christening

En/Pt → Little Paul grew fatter and stronger every day, without any harm from the Toodles' blood. Miss Tox also loved him more each day. Mr Dombey valued her devotion and began to see her as a woman of excellent natural sense, whose feelings deserved praise and encouragement. He kindly bowed to her in a special way several times. He even sent grand messages through his sister, such as, “Please tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or, “Tell Miss Tox that I am grateful to her.” These special honours deeply affected Miss Tox.

Perhaps Miss Tox believed that, because Fate had chosen her to welcome little Dombey before his birth with a pincushion made from Kirby, Beard and Kirby's Best Mixed Pins, she must welcome him at every other early stage of life. Perhaps her great kindness made her volunteer as a kind of replacement for his dead mother. Perhaps she knew of other reasons. Only Miss Tox could have answered these questions at this point in the Firm's story. In any case, her constant attention and energy greatly troubled Richards, who grew thinner every hour under her care and was in danger of being supervised to death.

En/Pt → Miss Tox often told Mrs Chick that nothing could equal her interest in everything concerning the sweet child's development. Anyone who watched her could see this without being told. She happily supervised the young heir's innocent meals, almost as if she shared ownership of them with Richards. She enthusiastically helped with his bath and dressing. Giving the baby medicine awakened all her active sympathy. Once, she hid modestly in a cupboard when Mrs Chick brought Mr Dombey into the nursery to see his son getting ready for bed. Wearing only a short, light linen jacket, Paul took a little uphill walk over Richards's dress. Miss Tox forgot she was hidden and cried, “Is he not beautiful, Mr Dombey? Is he not a Cupid, sir?” Then she nearly fell behind the cupboard door in embarrassment, blushing deeply.

“Louisa,” Mr Dombey said to his sister one day, “I really think I should give your friend a small gift at Paul's christening. From the beginning, she has worked so warmly for the child and seems to understand her position so well - a very rare quality in this world, I am sorry to say - that I would be pleased to recognize her kindness.”

En/Pt → This does not reduce Miss Tox's good qualities, but in Mr Dombey's eyes, people understood their own position only when they properly respected his. Their great quality was not simply knowing themselves, but knowing him and bowing low before him.

“My dear Paul,” his sister replied, “you are only giving Miss Tox the justice that I knew a man of your understanding would give her. I believe that, if there are three words in English that she respects almost as sacred, they are ‘Dombey and Son.’”

“Well,” said Mr Dombey, “I believe that. It gives Miss Tox great credit.”

“As for any kind of gift, my dear Paul,” his sister continued, “I am sure that Miss Tox will guard and value anything you give her like a holy object. But if you wish, my dear Paul, there is another way to show your appreciation of Miss Tox's friendship that would please and honour her even more.”

En/Pt → “How is that?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Godfathers, of course,” Mrs Chick continued, “are important because of their connections and influence.”

“I do not know why they should be important to my son,” said Mr Dombey coldly.

“Very true, my dear Paul,” Mrs Chick replied with an unusual show of energy to hide how suddenly she had changed her opinion. “That sounds exactly like you. I should have expected nothing else. I should have known that would be your view. Perhaps,” she hesitated again, uncertain of her way, “perhaps that is a reason why you might object less to letting Miss Tox be the dear child's godmother, even if she served only as the representative of someone else. I need not tell you, Paul, that she would receive it as a great honour and distinction.”

“Louisa,” said Mr Dombey after a short pause, “it cannot be supposed - ”

“Certainly not,” cried Mrs Chick, quickly trying to prevent a refusal. “I never thought it could.”

En/Pt → Mr Dombey looked at her impatiently.

“Do not upset me, my dear Paul,” said his sister, “because it destroys me. I am far from strong. I have not been quite myself since poor dear Fanny died.”

Mr Dombey glanced at the handkerchief his sister pressed to her eyes and continued:

“It cannot be supposed, I say - ”

“And I say,” Mrs Chick murmured, “that I never thought it could.”

“Good Heaven, Louisa!” said Mr Dombey.

“No, my dear Paul,” she protested with tearful dignity, “I really must be allowed to speak. I am not as clever, logical, eloquent, or anything else as you are. I know that very well, and it is my misfortune. But even if these were my last words - and last words should be very solemn to you and me after poor dear Fanny - I would still say that I never thought it could. More than that,” Mrs Chick added with greater dignity, as if she had saved her strongest argument until now, “I never once thought it could.”

En/Pt → Mr Dombey walked to the window and back.

En/Pt → “It cannot be denied, Louisa,” he said. Mrs Chick had firmly taken her position and repeated, “I know it cannot,” but he ignored her. “If I accepted that anyone had a claim in such a matter, many people would have a stronger claim upon me than Miss Tox. But I accept no such claim. When the time comes, Paul and I will be able to defend what is ours. In other words, the House will be able to support and preserve itself and pass on its own strength without such ordinary assistance. I can afford to look down on the outside help that people commonly seek for their children, because I hope I am above needing it. I will be satisfied if Paul's infancy and childhood go well and I see him prepared, without wasting time, for his destined career. Later in life, he may make whatever powerful friends he chooses while actively preserving - and, if possible, increasing - the dignity and reputation of the Firm. Until then, I may be enough for him, perhaps everything to him. I do not want people coming between us. I would much rather show my appreciation for the kindness of a worthy person such as your friend. Therefore, let it be so. I suppose your husband and I will serve well enough as the other godparents.”

En/Pt → During this grand and majestic speech, Mr Dombey truly revealed his secret feelings. He deeply distrusted anyone who might come between him and his son. He proudly feared a rival or partner in the boy's respect and obedience. He had recently begun to suspect that his power to bend and control other people's wills was not perfect, and he jealously feared any second resistance or defeat. These feelings were then the master keys to his soul. He had never made a friend in his life. His cold, distant nature had neither looked for one nor found one. Now that all the force of that nature was fixed on his narrow plan of parental interest and ambition, its icy current did not melt and flow freely. Instead, it seemed to thaw for one moment to receive its burden and then freeze with it into one hard, unbending block.

En/Pt → Miss Tox was thus raised to the position of little Paul's godmother because she was unimportant. From that hour, she was chosen and appointed to the role. Mr Dombey also ordered that the ceremony, already long delayed, should happen without further delay. His sister had not expected such a great success and left as soon as possible to tell her best friend. Mr Dombey remained alone in his library. He had already placed his hand on the bell rope to call Richards as usual when he noticed a writing desk that had belonged to his dead wife and had been taken from a cabinet in her room. He had noticed it before. He carried its key in his pocket. After locking the room door, he brought the desk to his table and opened it with a familiar hand.

From beneath a sheet of torn and rejected scraps of paper, he took out one complete letter. He held his breath without meaning to as he opened it. His secret action reduced some of his proud manner. Then he sat down, rested his head on one hand, and read the letter.

En/Pt → He read it slowly and carefully, giving close attention to every syllable. Apart from the unnatural care he took, which perhaps showed an equally great effort, he allowed no emotion to appear. After finishing, he slowly folded and unfolded the letter several times, then carefully tore it into pieces. He stopped himself just before throwing them away and put them in his pocket, as if he did not trust even the chance that someone might join and read them. Instead of calling for little Paul as usual, he sat alone all evening in his joyless room.

En/Pt → The nursery was anything but lonely. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were spending a friendly evening there, greatly annoying Miss Susan Nipper. The young girl used every chance to make faces behind the door. Her feelings were so strong that she had to find this relief even without anyone to watch or sympathize. Long ago, wandering knights eased their feelings by carving their ladies' names in deserts and wild places where nobody was likely to read them. In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage.

The two visitors knew nothing of the young girl's feelings. Happily, they watched little Paul safely pass through every stage of undressing, light exercise, supper, and bed. Then they sat down for tea before the fire. Thanks to Polly, the two children now slept in the same room. Only after the ladies had settled at the tea table and happened to look toward the little beds did they think of Florence.

En/Pt → “How deeply she sleeps!” said Miss Tox.

“Well, my dear, she gets a great deal of exercise during the day,” Mrs Chick replied, “because she plays around little Paul so much.”

“She is a strange child,” said Miss Tox.

“My dear,” Mrs Chick replied quietly, “she is exactly like her Mama!”

“In-deed!” said Miss Tox. “Oh dear me!”

Miss Tox spoke with an unusually compassionate tone, although she had no clear idea why, except that people expected it from her.

“Florence will never, never, never be a Dombey,” said Mrs Chick, “even if she lives for a thousand years.”

Miss Tox raised her eyebrows and again looked full of pity.

“I worry and upset myself greatly about her,” said Mrs Chick, sighing at her own modest goodness. “I truly cannot see what will become of her when she grows older or what place she will have. Her Papa does not grow any fonder of her. How could anyone expect him to when she is so unlike a Dombey?”

En/Pt → Miss Tox looked as though she saw no possible answer to such a powerful argument.

“And you see,” Mrs Chick said in deep confidence, “the child has poor dear Fanny's nature. I am sure she will never make an effort later in life. Never! She will never twist and wind herself around her Papa's heart like - ”

“Like ivy?” Miss Tox suggested.

“Like ivy,” Mrs Chick agreed. “Never! She will never slide gently into the centre of her Papa's affections like the - ”

“A frightened young deer?” Miss Tox suggested.

“Like a frightened young deer,” said Mrs Chick. “Never! Poor Fanny! And yet, how I loved her!”

“You must not upset yourself, my dear,” said Miss Tox soothingly. “Truly, you must not! You feel too deeply.”

“We all have our faults,” said Mrs Chick, crying and shaking her head. “I suppose we do. I was never blind to hers. I never claimed I was. Far from it. Yet how I loved her!”

En/Pt → How satisfying it was for Mrs Chick, an ordinary and foolish woman beside whom her sister-in-law had been an angel of intelligence and gentleness, to speak down to that lady's memory and treat it with pity, exactly as she had treated her while alive. Mrs Chick fully believed her own story, deceived herself, and felt unusually comfortable because of her supposed tolerance. Tolerance must be a wonderfully pleasant virtue when we are right, since it is also so pleasant when we are wrong and completely unable to prove how we received the right to practise it.

Mrs Chick was still drying her eyes and shaking her head when Richards dared to warn her that Miss Florence was awake and sitting up in bed. The child had risen, the nurse said, and her eyelashes were wet with tears. But only Polly saw them shine. No one else bent over Florence and whispered comforting words, or stood close enough to hear her heart beating quickly.

En/Pt → “Oh, dear nurse!” said the child, looking seriously up into her face. “Let me lie beside my brother!”

“Why, my pet?” asked Richards.

“Oh, I think he loves me,” the child cried wildly. “Let me lie beside him. Please do!”

Mrs Chick interrupted with some motherly words about being a good girl and going to sleep. But Florence repeated her request with a frightened look and a voice broken by sobs and tears.

“I will not wake him,” she said, covering her face and lowering her head. “I will only touch him with my hand and go to sleep. Oh, please, please let me lie beside my brother tonight, because I believe he is fond of me!”

Without speaking, Richards picked her up and carried her to the little bed where the baby slept. She laid Florence beside him. The girl moved as close to him as she could without disturbing him. She stretched out one arm to hold his neck gently and hid her face on the other arm, while her damp, untidy hair fell loosely over it. Then she lay still.

En/Pt → “Poor little thing,” said Miss Tox. “I suppose she has been dreaming.”

Perhaps she had dreamed of loving voices now silent forever, loving eyes forever closed, and loving arms once again around her. Perhaps in that dream she relaxed behind the barrier of feelings that no words could describe. Perhaps in dreams she searched for natural comfort for a heart deeply and painfully wounded, although it belonged to such a young child. Perhaps she found that comfort in dreams, if not in the cold, solid truth of waking life. This small event had interrupted the conversation so completely that it was hard to begin again. Mrs Chick was also in low spirits after thinking so deeply about her own tolerant nature. Therefore, the two friends soon finished their tea, and a servant was sent to find a hired cab for Miss Tox. Miss Tox had great experience with hired cabs, and getting into one usually took time because she carefully followed a system of preparation.

En/Pt → “Please be kind enough, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “first to carry out a pen and ink and write down the driver's number clearly.”

“Yes, miss,” said Towlinson.

“Then, please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “be kind enough to turn over the seat cushion. It is generally damp, my dear,” she added privately to Mrs Chick.

“Yes, miss,” said Towlinson.

“I must also trouble you, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this address card and this shilling. He must drive to the address on the card and understand that he will receive no more than the shilling under any circumstances.”

“No, miss,” said Towlinson.

“And - I am sorry to give you so much trouble, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him.

“Not at all, miss,” said Towlinson.

“Then please tell the man, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady's uncle is a magistrate and that if he behaves rudely to her, he will be punished terribly. You may pretend to mention this in a friendly way because you know it happened to another driver, who died.”

En/Pt → “Certainly, miss,” said Towlinson.

“And now good night to my sweet, sweet, sweet godson,” said Miss Tox, giving him a gentle shower of kisses with each repetition of the word. “And Louisa, my dear friend, promise me that you will have something warm before bed and will not upset yourself!”

At this difficult moment, black-eyed Nipper watched steadily and could hardly control herself. She continued to struggle until Mrs Chick later left. But when the nursery was finally free of visitors, Nipper rewarded herself for having remained silent so long.

“You could keep me in a straitjacket for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got free, I would only be angrier. Who has ever heard anything like those two griffins, Mrs Richards?”

“And then they said the poor dear child had been dreaming!” said Polly.

“Oh, you lovely creatures!” cried Susan Nipper, pretending to greet the door through which the ladies had left. “She will never be a Dombey, won't she? Let us hope she won't. We do not need any more of them. One is enough.”

En/Pt → “Do not wake the children, dear Susan,” said Polly.

“I am very grateful to you, Mrs Richards,” said Susan, who was not careful about whom she attacked when angry. “I truly consider it an honour to receive your orders, since I am a black slave and a mixed-race servant. Mrs Richards, if you have any other commands for me, please mention them.”

“Nonsense! Orders indeed,” said Polly.

“Oh, bless you, Mrs Richards,” cried Susan. “Temporary people always give orders to permanent people here. Did you not know that? Where were you born, Mrs Richards? But wherever, whenever, and however you were born - which you know best - please remember that giving orders is one thing and obeying them is quite another. One person may tell another to dive headfirst from a bridge into forty-five feet of water, Mrs Richards, but that second person may be very far from diving.”

En/Pt → “There now,” said Polly. “You are angry because you are a good little person who loves Miss Florence. Yet you attack me because there is nobody else here.”

“It is very easy for some people to remain calm and speak gently, Mrs Richards,” Susan replied, a little less angry, “when their child is treated like a prince and is loved and petted until it wishes its friends would go away. But when a sweet, young, pretty innocent who should never hear an unkind word said to her or about her is criticized, the situation is completely different. Good heavens, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you do not close your eyes this instant, I will call the goblins who live in the attic to come and eat you alive!”

Miss Nipper then made a terrible deep sound, supposedly coming from a dutiful bull-like goblin eager to carry out the harsh duty of his position. To calm the child further, she covered Florence's head with the bedclothes and struck the pillow angrily three or four times. Then she folded her arms, tightened her mouth, and sat staring at the fire for the rest of the evening.

En/Pt → Although people in the nursery said little Paul noticed a great deal for his age, he paid as little attention to all this as he did to the preparations for his christening two days later. Yet everyone around him worked actively to prepare his clothes and those of his sister and the two nurses. When the appointed morning came, he showed no understanding of its importance. Instead, he was unusually sleepy and unusually offended that his attendants dressed him to go out.

It was an iron-grey autumn day with a sharp east wind, a day that suited the event. Mr Dombey himself represented the wind, shadow, and autumn of the christening. He stood in his library to receive the guests, as hard and cold as the weather. When he looked through the glass room at the trees in the little garden, their brown and yellow leaves fell around as if his gaze had killed them.

En/Pt → Ugh! They were black, cold rooms and seemed to be in mourning like the people in the house. The books were exactly matched by size and stood in lines like soldiers. In their cold, hard, smooth uniforms, they looked as if they shared only one idea: freezing people. The glass-fronted, locked bookcase rejected all friendly contact. A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor. At each high corner, a dusty ancient funeral urn preached loneliness and decay from its own pulpit. The mirror above the fireplace reflected Mr Dombey and his portrait together and seemed full of sad thoughts.

The stiff, lifeless fireplace tools seemed more closely related to Mr Dombey than anything else in the room. He wore a buttoned coat, a white neckcloth, a heavy gold watch chain, and creaking boots. But this was before the arrival of his true relatives, Mr and Mrs Chick, who soon appeared.

En/Pt → “My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured as she embraced him, “I hope this is the beginning of many joyful days!”

“Thank you, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey grimly. “How are you, Mr John?”

“How are you, sir?” said Chick.

He offered Mr Dombey his hand as if he feared it might give him an electric shock. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, seaweed, or some other wet and unpleasant object. Then he immediately returned it with proud politeness.

“Perhaps, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, turning his head slightly inside his neckcloth as if it were fixed in a socket, “you would have preferred a fire?”

“Oh no, my dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, struggling to keep her teeth from shaking. “Not for me.”

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, “you do not feel any cold?”

Mr John had already pushed both hands deep into his pockets past the wrists. He was about to begin the same dog-like song that had offended Mrs Chick before, but he insisted that he was perfectly comfortable.

En/Pt → In a low voice he added, “With my tiddle tol toor rul,” but fortunately Towlinson stopped him by announcing:

“Miss Tox!”

The fair lady entered with a blue nose and an extremely frozen face. She was dressed very lightly in a confusing collection of thin, fluttering pieces to honour the ceremony.

“How are you, Miss Tox?” said Mr Dombey.

Surrounded by her spreading gauze, Miss Tox folded down like a closing opera glass. She curtsied very low because Mr Dombey had taken one or two steps forward to meet her.

“I can never forget this occasion, sir,” said Miss Tox softly. “It is impossible. My dear Louisa, I can hardly believe my own senses.”

If Miss Tox could believe one of her senses, she knew it was a very cold day. That was perfectly clear. She soon found a chance to improve the blood flow at the end of her nose by secretly rubbing it with her handkerchief. Otherwise, its very low temperature might unpleasantly surprise the baby when she kissed him.

En/Pt → The baby soon appeared, carried proudly by Richards. Florence followed at the rear under the guard of that active young officer, Susan Nipper. Although everyone from the nursery now wore lighter mourning clothes than before, the sad appearance of the children did nothing to brighten the day. The baby also began to cry, perhaps because of Miss Tox's nose. This prevented Mr Chick from carrying out an awkward but honest plan: he had meant to show Florence affection. Mr Chick did not recognize the higher claim of a perfect Dombey, perhaps because he was married to one and knew such excellence well. He truly liked Florence and showed it. He was about to show it in his own way when Paul cried and Mrs Chick quickly stopped him.

“Now, Florence, child!” said her aunt quickly. “What are you doing, my love? Show yourself to him. Attract his attention, my dear!”

En/Pt → The air became, or might have become, colder and colder as Mr Dombey watched his little daughter without warmth. Florence clapped her hands and stood on tiptoe before the throne of his son and heir, tempting the baby to bend down from his high position and look at her. Some honest action by Richards may have helped, but he did look down and became quiet. When his sister hid behind the nurse, his eyes followed her. When she looked out and gave him a cheerful cry, he jumped up and made happy baby sounds. He laughed aloud when she rushed toward him and seemed to stroke her curls with his tiny hands while she covered him with kisses.

Was Mr Dombey pleased to see this? Not one muscle relaxed to show pleasure, although he rarely showed any outward sign of feeling. If a ray of sunlight entered the room to shine on the playing children, it never reached his face. He watched so steadily and coldly that even the warm light disappeared from little Florence's laughing eyes when they finally met his.

En/Pt → It was truly a dull, grey autumn day. During a brief pause and silence, the leaves fell sadly.

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, checking his watch and putting on his hat and gloves, “please take my sister. Today I will give my arm to Miss Tox. You had better go first with Master Paul, Richards. Be very careful.”

Mr Dombey's carriage held Dombey and Son, Miss Tox, Mrs Chick, Richards, and Florence. A smaller carriage followed with Susan Nipper and its owner, Mr Chick. Susan looked continuously out the window to avoid the embarrassment of facing that gentleman's large face. Whenever something rattled, she imagined he was wrapping an appropriate money gift for her in paper.

On the way to church, Mr Dombey clapped his hands to entertain his son. Miss Tox was delighted by this example of fatherly enthusiasm. Apart from this incident, the main difference between the christening group and a funeral party was the colour of the carriage and horses.

En/Pt → At the church steps, an impressive church official received them. Mr Dombey got out first to help the ladies and stood near the official at the church door. He looked like another official, less splendid but more frightening: the official of private life, the official of our business and our hearts.

Miss Tox's hand trembled as she placed it through Mr Dombey's arm and felt him guide her up the steps behind a formal hat and an enormous collar. For a moment, it seemed like another solemn ceremony. “Will you take this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.”

“Please bring the child inside quickly, out of this air,” whispered the church official, holding open the inner church door.

En/Pt → Little Paul might have asked with Hamlet, “Into my grave?” because the place was so cold and earthy. The tall pulpit and reading desk were covered. Empty pews stretched sadly beneath the galleries, while empty benches rose toward the roof and disappeared in the shadow of the great, grim organ. There were dusty mats, cold stone floors, frightening free seats in the aisles, and a damp corner by the bell rope. Black funeral stands were stored there with shovels, baskets, and coils of deadly-looking rope. The strange, unpleasant smell and the pale, deathly light matched everything else. It was a cold and miserable scene.

[Illustration]

“There is a wedding taking place, Sir,” said the church officer, “but it will finish very soon, if you will step into the vestry here.”

Before turning to lead the way, he bowed to Mr Dombey and gave him half a smile of recognition. It seemed to say that the officer remembered the pleasure of helping him bury his wife and hoped he had enjoyed himself since then.

En/Pt → Even the wedding looked gloomy as they passed before the altar. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young. An elderly fashionable gentleman with one eye, and an eyeglass stuck where the other eye should have been, was giving the bride away while the friends shivered. In the vestry, the fire smoked. An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series. Above the fireplace was a plan of the burial rooms under the church. Trying to entertain the group, Mr Chick read its written information aloud and accidentally read the full reference to Mrs Dombey’s tomb before he could stop himself.

En/Pt → After another cold wait, a small, breathless church attendant with asthma - suitable for the churchyard, if not the church - called them to the font. It was a stiff marble bowl that looked as if it had been playing cup and ball with its plain stand in the churchyard and had just been caught on top of it. They waited there while the wedding party signed the register. Meanwhile, partly because of her illness and partly so the wedding party would not forget her, the little attendant walked around the church coughing like a sea monster.

En/Pt → Soon the clerk came with a jug of warm water. He was the only cheerful-looking object there, and he was an undertaker. As he poured the water into the font, he said it would remove the chill. Millions of gallons of boiling water could not have warmed that occasion. Then the clergyman appeared, a kind, gentle-looking young curate who was clearly afraid of the baby. Like the main figure in a ghost story, he was “a tall figure all in white.” At the sight of him, Paul filled the air with screams and did not stop until they carried him outside, black in the face.

Even after Paul was taken outside, to everyone’s great relief, they heard him under the entrance during the rest of the ceremony. His cries grew softer, then louder, then stopped, then burst out again because he could not accept the wrong done to him. This distracted the two ladies so much that Mrs Chick kept marching into the center aisle to send messages through the church attendant. Miss Tox kept her prayer book open at the service for the Gunpowder Plot and sometimes answered with words from that service.

En/Pt → Throughout these events, Mr Dombey remained as calm and gentlemanly as ever. Perhaps he helped make the church so cold that mist came from the young curate’s mouth as he read. Mr Dombey changed his expression only once. At the end, the clergyman spoke simply about the sponsors examining the child in the future and happened to look at Mr Chick. Then Mr Dombey’s grand look clearly said that he would like to catch Mr Chick attempting it.

It might have been better for Mr Dombey if he had thought a little less about his own importance and a little more about the great origin and purpose of the ceremony in which he took such a formal, stiff part. His pride contrasted strangely with its history.

En/Pt → When it ended, he again offered his arm to Miss Tox and led her to the vestry. There he told the clergyman how pleased he would have been to invite him to dinner, if not for the unhappy condition of his household. They signed the register and paid the fees. They remembered the coughing church attendant, rewarded the officer, and did not forget the grave digger, who happened to be standing on the steps with great interest in the weather. Then they returned to the carriage and drove home together in the same cold mood.

At home they found Mr Pitt looking with dislike at a cold meal arranged with cold ceremony in glass and silver. It looked more like a dead dinner lying in honor than friendly food. When they arrived, Miss Tox gave her godson a mug, and Mr Chick gave him a knife, fork, and spoon in a case. Mr Dombey gave Miss Tox a bracelet, and this gift moved her deeply.

En/Pt → “Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, “will you sit at the far end of the table, please? What do you have there, Mr John?”

“I have a cold piece of veal here, Sir,” Mr Chick replied, rubbing his numb hands hard together. “What do you have there, Sir?”

“This,” Mr Dombey replied, “is some cold dish made from a calf’s head, I think. I see cold chickens, ham, pies, salad, and lobster. Will Miss Tox honor me by drinking some wine? Champagne for Miss Tox.”

Everything felt like a toothache. The wine was so bitterly cold that Miss Tox gave a little cry, which she had great difficulty changing into a cough. The veal had come from such a cold, open pantry that its first taste sent a feeling like cold lead into Mr Chick’s arms and legs. Only Mr Dombey remained unmoved. He could have been displayed for sale at a Russian fair as an example of a frozen gentleman.

En/Pt → The cold influence was too strong even for his sister. She made no effort to flatter anyone or make polite conversation and used all her energy to look as warm as possible.

“Well, Sir,” said Mr Chick, making a desperate effort after a long silence and filling a glass with sherry, “if you permit me, I shall drink this to little Paul.”

“Bless him!” Miss Tox murmured, taking a sip of wine.

“Dear little Dombey!” Mrs Chick murmured.

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey with severe seriousness, “I have no doubt that my son would feel and express gratitude to you if he could understand the honor you have given him. In the future, I trust that he will prove equal to every responsibility that the kindness of his family and friends may place on him in private, or that the heavy nature of our public position may place on him.”

En/Pt → His tone allowed no further reply, so Mr Chick returned to sadness and silence. But Miss Tox did not. She had listened to Mr Dombey even more closely than usual, with her head leaning even more clearly to one side. Now she leaned across the table and softly said to Mrs Chick:

“Louisa!”

“My dear,” said Mrs Chick.

“The heavy nature of our public position may - I have forgotten the exact word.”

“Expose him to it,” said Mrs Chick.

“Forgive me, my dear,” Miss Tox replied, “I do not think so. It sounded more complete and smooth. The kindness of family and friends in private, or the heavy nature of our public position - may - place on him!”

“Place on him, of course,” said Mrs Chick.

Miss Tox lightly brought her delicate hands together in victory and, raising her eyes, added, “True eloquence!”

En/Pt → Meanwhile, Mr Dombey had ordered Richards to come. She entered, making curtseys but without the baby, because Paul was asleep after the tiring morning. Mr Dombey gave this servant a glass of wine and addressed her with the following words. First, Miss Tox carefully placed her head to one side and made other small preparations to engrave those words on her heart.

“During the six months or so that you have lived in this house, Richards, you have done your duty. I wanted to connect some small service to you with this occasion, so I considered the best way to do it. I also asked the advice of my sister, Mrs - ”

“Chick,” the gentleman with that name added.

“Oh, please be quiet!” said Miss Tox.

“I was going to tell you, Richards,” Mr Dombey continued, giving Mr John a frightening look, “that my decision was also helped by remembering a conversation I had with your husband in this room when you were hired. He then told me the sad fact that your whole family, with himself at its head, was deeply buried in ignorance.”

En/Pt → Richards trembled under the greatness of this criticism.

“I am far from supporting,” Mr Dombey continued, “what people with equalizing ideas call education for everyone. But the lower classes must continue to be taught to know their position and behave properly. To that extent, I approve of schools. I have the right to name a child for free support at an old institution called the Charitable Grinders, after a respected company. There, the students receive not only a proper education but also a uniform and badge. After first contacting your family through Mrs Chick, I named your eldest son for an open place, and I am told he put on the uniform today. Her son’s number, I believe,” said Mr Dombey, turning to his sister and speaking of the child as if he were a hired carriage, “is one hundred and forty-seven. Louisa, you can tell her.”

“One hundred and forty-seven,” said Mrs Chick. “The uniform, Richards, is a nice, warm blue wool coat with tails and a cap, both edged in orange, red wool stockings, and very strong leather knee-breeches. One might wear the clothes oneself,” Mrs Chick added with enthusiasm, “and feel grateful.”

En/Pt → “There, Richards!” said Miss Tox. “Now you may truly be proud. The Charitable Grinders!”

“I am certainly very grateful, Sir,” Richards answered weakly, “and it is very kind of you to remember my little children.” At the same time, Richards imagined Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very short legs inside the practical clothes Mrs Chick had described. The picture floated before her eyes and filled them with tears.

“I am very glad to see that you have so much feeling, Richards,” said Miss Tox.

“It almost gives one hope, it truly does,” said Mrs Chick, who was proud of her trusting view of human nature, “that there may still be a weak spark of gratitude and proper feeling in the world.”

Richards accepted these compliments by making curtseys and murmuring thanks. But the image of her son in those early leather breeches had upset her so much that she could not recover her good spirits. She slowly moved toward the door and felt deeply relieved when she escaped through it.

En/Pt → Any small, temporary signs of warmth that had appeared with Richards disappeared with her, and the frost returned as cold and hard as ever. Twice, Mr Chick was heard humming at the far end of the table, but both times it was part of the Dead March from Saul. The group seemed to become colder and colder, slowly freezing into a hard, solid state like the meal around which they sat. At last Mrs Chick looked at Miss Tox, Miss Tox returned the look, and both stood and said it was truly time to leave. Mr Dombey accepted this with perfect calm. They said goodbye and soon left under Mr Chick’s protection. Once their backs were turned on the house and its master was alone as usual, Mr Chick put his hands in his pockets, leaned back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” for the whole journey. His face showed such dark and terrible defiance that Mrs Chick did not dare protest or disturb him in any way.

En/Pt → Although Richards had little Paul on her lap, she could not forget her own first child. She felt ungrateful, but the day’s influence even touched the Charitable Grinders. She could hardly avoid seeing Biler’s metal badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as part of the day’s formality and strictness. In the nursery she also spoke of his “blessed legs” and was again troubled by the ghostly image of him in uniform.

“I do not know what I would not give,” said Polly, “to see the poor little dear before he becomes used to those clothes.”

“Then I will tell you what to do, Mrs Richards,” Nipper replied. Polly had trusted her with the secret. “See him and put your mind at rest.”

“Mr Dombey would not like it,” said Polly.

“Oh, wouldn’t he, Mrs Richards!” Nipper answered. “I think he would like it very much when someone asked him.”

En/Pt → “I suppose you would not ask him at all?” said Polly.

“No, Mrs Richards, quite the opposite,” Susan replied. “I heard those two inspectors, Tox and Chick, say they will not be on duty tomorrow. So Miss Floy and I will gladly go with you tomorrow morning, if you like. We might as well walk there as walk up and down a street, and it would be better too.”

At first, Polly firmly rejected the idea. But little by little she began to consider it as the forbidden pictures of her children and home became clearer in her mind. At last she reasoned that there could be no great harm in stopping at the door for one moment, and she accepted Nipper’s plan.

Once they settled the matter, little Paul began to cry terribly, as if he knew that nothing good would come from it.

“What is wrong with the child?” asked Susan.

En/Pt → “I think he is cold,” said Polly, walking back and forth with him and calming him.

It truly was a cold autumn afternoon. As Polly walked and calmed him, she looked through the gloomy windows and held the little boy closer to her chest while the dry leaves fell like rain.

CHAPTER VI. Paul’s Second Deprivation

En/Pt → In the morning, Polly had so many doubts that she would have canceled the whole trip without the constant urging of her black-eyed companion. She would have formally asked permission to see number one hundred and forty-seven under the terrible shadow of Mr Dombey’s roof. But Susan personally wanted the outing. Like Tony Lumpkin, she could bear other people’s disappointment fairly well, but could not bear to disappoint herself. She raised many clever doubts about Polly’s second idea and supported the original plan with so many clever arguments that, almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s grand back was turned and he began his daily journey to the City, his unsuspecting son was traveling toward Staggs’s Gardens.

This pleasant-sounding place was in a suburb whose residents called it Camberling Town. The Strangers’ Map of London, printed on pocket handkerchiefs for easy and pleasant use, shortened this name with some reason to Camden Town. The two nurses walked there with the children. Richards naturally carried Paul, while Susan led little Florence by the hand and sometimes gave her the pulls and pushes that Susan considered healthy.

En/Pt → At that time, the first shock of a great earthquake seemed to have torn the whole neighborhood apart. Signs of its path appeared everywhere. Houses had fallen, streets were cut open and blocked, deep holes and trenches were dug, and huge piles of earth and clay rose from the ground. Great wooden beams supported buildings whose foundations had been cut away and which now shook. In one place, a confused mass of overturned carts lay at the bottom of a steep, unnatural hill. In another, pieces of iron lay soaking and rusting in something that had accidentally become a pond. There were bridges leading nowhere, completely blocked roads, towers of chimneys missing half their height, and temporary wooden buildings and fences in the strangest places. Broken buildings, unfinished walls and arches, piles of scaffolding, deserts of bricks, huge cranes, and three-legged frames stood over nothing. A hundred thousand unfinished shapes and materials were mixed wildly out of place: upside down, digging into the earth, rising in the air, decaying in water, and as impossible to understand as a dream. Hot springs and fiery eruptions, the usual companions of earthquakes, added to the confusion. Boiling water hissed and rose inside ruined walls, from which the light and roar of flames also came. Heaps of ashes blocked public paths and completely changed the neighborhood’s laws and habits.

En/Pt → In short, the still unfinished and unopened railway was being built. From the center of all this terrible disorder, it stretched smoothly away on its great course of civilization and improvement.

En/Pt → But the neighborhood was not yet willing to accept the railway. One or two brave investors had planned streets, and one had built a little before stopping among the mud and ashes to think again. A brand-new tavern, smelling of fresh mortar and glue and facing nothing at all, had named itself The Railway Arms. But that might only be a risky business hoping to sell drinks to the workers. In the same way, the Excavators’ House of Call had grown from a beer shop, and the old Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, serving roast pork every day for immediate profit and popularity. Owners of lodging houses also supported the railway for similar reasons and could not be trusted. Most people were slow to believe in it. Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door. Small hills of oyster shells in oyster season, lobster shells in lobster season, and broken dishes and old cabbage leaves in every season spread over its high places. Posts, rails, old warnings against trespassers, the backs of poor houses, and patches of miserable plants seemed to stare it down. Nothing had improved because of it or expected to improve. If the poor empty ground nearby could have laughed, it would have laughed at the railway, like many of its poor neighbors.

En/Pt → Staggs’s Gardens especially refused to believe in the railway. It was a short row of houses with small, dirty pieces of ground in front, fenced with old doors, barrel wood, pieces of canvas, and dead bushes. Kettles without bottoms and worn-out iron fire guards filled the gaps. Here the gardeners grew red beans, kept chickens and rabbits, built rotten summer houses - one was an old boat - dried clothes, and smoked pipes. Some believed the place was named after a dead rich man called Mr Staggs, who had built it for his pleasure. Others, who naturally loved the countryside, believed the name came from old country days when groups of deer, commonly called Staggses, visited its shady spaces. Whatever the truth, its residents considered Staggs’s Gardens a sacred wood that no railway could destroy. They were so sure it would live longer than such a foolish invention that the master chimney sweep at the corner, a leader in local politics, publicly promised that if the railway ever opened, two of his boys would climb his chimneys and mock its failure from the chimney pots.

En/Pt → Fate and Richards were now carrying little Paul to this unholy place, whose very name Mr Dombey’s sister had carefully hidden from him until then.

“That is my house, Susan,” said Polly, pointing to it.

“Is it really, Mrs Richards?” said Susan in a superior manner.

“And I declare that my sister Jemima is at the door,” cried Polly, “with my own sweet, precious baby in her arms!”

The sight gave wings to Polly’s impatience. She ran down the Gardens, rushed upon Jemima, and exchanged babies with her in an instant. The young woman was completely amazed when the heir of the Dombeys seemed to fall into her arms from the sky.

“Why, Polly!” cried Jemima. “You! What a shock you gave me! Who would have imagined it? Come inside, Polly! You look so well! The children will become half wild when they see you, Polly. They truly will.”

En/Pt → And they did, judging from their noise and the way they rushed at Polly and pulled her to a low chair by the fireplace. Her honest, apple-shaped face immediately became the center of a group of smaller apples. They all pressed their rosy cheeks close to hers and clearly grew from the same tree. Polly was as noisy and excited as the children. The confusion paused only when she was completely out of breath, her hair hung around her red face, and her new christening clothes were badly untidy. Even then, the second-smallest Toodle remained on her lap with both arms tight around her neck. The third-smallest climbed onto the back of the chair and, with one leg in the air, made desperate efforts to reach around and kiss her.

“Look! A pretty little lady has come to see you,” said Polly. “See how quiet she is! Isn’t she a beautiful little lady?”

En/Pt → Polly meant Florence, who had been standing by the door and watching everything. Her words turned the younger children’s attention toward Florence. They also had the happy effect of leading to a formal welcome for Miss Nipper, who had begun to worry that they had already ignored her.

“Oh, please come in and sit down for a moment, Susan,” said Polly. “This is my sister Jemima. Jemima, I do not know what I would do without Susan Nipper. I would not be here now if it were not for her.”

“Oh, please sit down, Miss Nipper,” said Jemima.

Susan sat on the very edge of a chair with a grand, formal expression.

“I have never been so glad to see anyone in my whole life. Truly, I never have, Miss Nipper,” said Jemima.

Susan relaxed, occupied a little more of the chair, and smiled kindly.

“Please untie your bonnet and make yourself comfortable, Miss Nipper,” Jemima begged. “I am afraid this place is poorer than what you are used to, but I am sure you will understand.”

En/Pt → Jemima’s respectful behavior softened the black-eyed girl so much that Susan picked up little Miss Toodle as she ran past and immediately bounced her on an imaginary ride to Banbury Cross.

“But where is my pretty boy?” said Polly. “My poor child? I came all this way to see him in his new clothes.”

“Oh, what a pity!” cried Jemima. “His heart will break when he hears his mother was here. He is at school, Polly.”

“Has he gone already?”

“Yes. He went for the first time yesterday so that he would not lose any learning. But today is a half holiday, Polly. If only you could stay until he comes home - you and Miss Nipper, at least,” Jemima added, remembering the black-eyed girl’s importance in time.

“And how does he look, Jemima? Bless him!” Polly asked weakly.

“Well, truly, he does not look as bad as you might imagine,” Jemima replied.

En/Pt → “Ah!” said Polly with emotion. “I knew his legs must be too short.”

“His legs are short,” Jemima replied, “especially at the back. But they will grow longer every day, Polly.”

This comfort depended on slow future improvement. It had little value by itself, but Jemima’s cheerfulness and kindness made it more helpful. After a moment of silence, Polly asked more brightly:

“And where is Father, dear Jemima?” Mr Toodle was generally known in the family by that fatherly title.

“There again!” said Jemima. “What a pity! Father took his dinner with him this morning and will not return until tonight. But he is always talking about you, Polly, and telling the children about you. He is the most peaceful, patient, good-tempered person in the world, as he always was and always will be!”

“Thank you, Jemima,” cried simple Polly, delighted by the speech and disappointed by his absence.

En/Pt → “Oh, you do not need to thank me, Polly,” said her sister. She gave Polly a loud kiss on the cheek and then happily bounced little Paul. “Sometimes I say the same about you, and I believe it too.”

En/Pt → Despite the two disappointments, a visit welcomed so warmly could not be called a failure. The sisters spoke hopefully about the family, Biler, and all his brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth. The people of Staggs’s Gardens considered these kittens wonders of realistic art. Soon everyone joined the conversation so that the black-eyed girl would not become angry and sarcastic. Susan gave Jemima a summary of everything she knew about Mr Dombey - his future, family, activities, and character. She also listed every item in her own wardrobe and described her main relatives and friends. Having freed her mind with these facts, she ate shrimp, drank porter, and seemed ready to promise eternal friendship.

En/Pt → Little Florence also made good use of the visit. The young Toodles took her outside to see some mushrooms and other wonders of the Gardens. She joined them completely in building a temporary wall across a small green pool in a corner. She was still working hard when Susan found her. Even under the kind influence of shrimp, Susan’s sense of duty made her give Florence a moral lecture, marked by blows, while washing her face and hands. She predicted that Florence’s bad nature would bring all her family’s gray hairs sadly to the grave. After a delay caused by a long, private conversation upstairs between Polly and Jemima about money, they exchanged babies again. Polly had held her own child all this time, while Jemima held little Paul. Then the visitors said goodbye.

But first, the young Toodles became victims of a kindly trick. They were persuaded to go together to a nearby general shop, apparently to spend a penny. When the way was completely clear, Polly escaped. Jemima called after her that if they walked toward City Road on their way back, they would certainly meet little Biler returning from school.

En/Pt → “Do you think we could find time to go a little in that direction, Susan?” Polly asked when they stopped to catch their breath.

“Why not, Mrs Richards?” Susan replied.

“You know it is getting close to our dinner time,” said Polly.

But lunch had made Susan completely unconcerned about this serious point, so she gave it no importance. They decided to go “a little way around.”

En/Pt → Since the previous morning, poor Biler’s life had become miserable because of the Charitable Grinders’ uniform. The young people in the streets could not bear it. No young street boy could look at it for even a moment without attacking its innocent wearer and hurting him. His social life had been more like that of an early Christian than that of an innocent nineteenth-century child. People had thrown stones at him in the streets, knocked him into gutters, covered him with mud, and violently pressed him flat against posts. Complete strangers had lifted the yellow cap from his head and thrown it into the wind. People had not only criticized and insulted his legs but had touched and pinched them. That very morning, someone had given him a black eye for no reason while he walked to the Grinders’ school. Then the master punished him for it. The master was an old former Grinder with a cruel nature who had been made a teacher because he knew nothing and was fit for nothing. His cruel cane felt a special attraction toward every round little boy.

En/Pt → Therefore, on his way home, Biler chose quiet paths and moved secretly through narrow passages and back streets to avoid those who tormented him. But he had to enter the main road, and bad luck finally brought him to a small group of boys. A fierce young butcher led them, and they were waiting for any chance of enjoyable excitement. When they found a Charitable Grinder among them, as if he had strangely been delivered into their hands, they gave a general yell and rushed at him.

At the same time, after walking for a full hour and looking hopelessly down the road, Polly said there was no use going farther. Then she suddenly saw the scene. With a quick cry, she handed Master Dombey to the black-eyed woman and rushed to rescue her unhappy little son.

Surprises, like troubles, rarely come alone. Before they understood what had happened, people nearby pulled the amazed Susan Nipper and the two children away from the wheels of a passing carriage. At that very moment, since it was market day, a loud warning rose: “Mad bull!”

En/Pt → Florence saw wild confusion: people ran and shouted, wheels seemed to roll over them, boys fought, mad bulls approached, and the nurse seemed about to be torn apart among all these dangers. Florence screamed and ran, urging Susan to follow. She ran until she was exhausted. Then she stopped, wringing her hands as she remembered the other nurse, and discovered with terrible fear that she was completely alone.

[Illustration]

“Susan! Susan!” cried Florence, clapping her hands in extreme fear. “Oh, where are they? Where are they?”

“Where are they?” said an old woman, hurrying across from the other side of the road as fast as she could. “Why did you run away from them?”

“I was frightened,” Florence answered. “I did not know what I was doing. I thought they were with me. Where are they?”

The old woman took her by the wrist and said, “I will show you.”

En/Pt → She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims around her eyes and a mouth that moved and chattered by itself even when she was silent. She wore miserable clothes and carried animal skins over one arm. She seemed to have followed Florence for some distance because she was out of breath. As she stood trying to breathe normally, twisting her thin yellow face and throat into many shapes, she looked uglier than ever.

Florence was afraid of her and looked uncertainly up the street, whose end she had almost reached. It was a lonely place, more like a back road than a street, and no one was there except Florence and the old woman.

“You do not need to be frightened now,” said the old woman, still holding her tightly. “Come with me.”

“I - I do not know you. What is your name?” Florence asked.

“Mrs Brown,” said the old woman. “Good Mrs Brown.”

En/Pt → “Are they near here?” Florence asked as the woman began leading her away.

“Susan is not far away,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and the others are close to her.”

“Is anyone hurt?” cried Florence.

“Not at all,” said Good Mrs Brown.

The child cried with happiness on hearing this and willingly went with the old woman. Still, as they walked, she could not stop looking at the woman's face, especially at her constantly moving mouth, and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown, if such a person existed, looked anything like her.

They did not go far, but they passed unpleasant places such as brickfields and tile yards. Then the old woman turned into a dirty lane where deep black tracks filled the muddy road. She stopped before a shabby little house, shut as tightly as a house full of cracks could be. Taking a key from her bonnet, she opened the door and pushed Florence into a back room. On the floor lay a large pile of colored rags, a pile of bones, and a pile of sifted dust or ashes. There was no furniture, and the walls and ceiling were completely black.

En/Pt → The child became so terrified that she could not speak and looked ready to faint.

“Do not behave like a stubborn little mule,” said Good Mrs Brown, shaking her awake. “I am not going to hurt you. Sit on the rags.”

Florence obeyed, holding out her folded hands in silent appeal.

“I am not even going to keep you for more than an hour,” said Mrs Brown. “Do you understand me?”

With great difficulty, the child answered, “Yes.”

“Then do not make me angry,” said Good Mrs Brown, sitting on the bones. “If you behave, I promise not to hurt you. But if you do not, I will kill you. I could have you killed at any time, even in your own bed at home. Now tell me who and what you are, and everything about yourself.”

The old woman's threats and promises, Florence's fear of upsetting her, and the child's unusual habit of staying quiet and hiding what she felt, feared, and hoped helped her obey. She told her short life story, or as much as she knew of it. Mrs Brown listened closely until she finished.

En/Pt → “So your name is Dombey, is it?” said Mrs Brown.

“I want that pretty dress, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, one or two petticoats, and anything else you can spare. Come, take them off.”

Florence obeyed as quickly as her trembling hands allowed, keeping a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. After Florence removed all the clothes the woman had named, Mrs Brown examined them slowly and seemed fairly pleased with their quality and value.

“Hmm,” she said, looking over the child's thin figure. “I see nothing else except the shoes. I must have the shoes, Miss Dombey.”

Poor Florence removed them just as quickly, glad to have another way to please the woman. From the bottom of the rag pile, the old woman found some miserable shoes, a girl's very old and worn-out cloak, and the crushed remains of a bonnet probably taken from a ditch or rubbish heap. She ordered Florence to put on these fine clothes. Since this change seemed to promise her release, the child obeyed even more eagerly.

En/Pt → While quickly putting on the bonnet, if that thing could be called a bonnet, since it looked more like a pad for carrying loads, Florence caught it in her thick hair and could not free it at once. Good Mrs Brown pulled out a large pair of scissors and became strangely excited.

“Why could you not leave me alone when I was satisfied?” said Mrs Brown. “You little fool!”

“Please forgive me. I do not know what I have done,” Florence said breathlessly. “I could not help it.”

“Could not help it!” cried Mrs Brown. “How do you expect me to help it? Good Lord! Anyone except me would have cut all these curls off first,” said the old woman, handling Florence's curls with fierce delight.

Florence was so relieved to learn that Mrs Brown wanted only her hair and not her head that she did not resist or beg. She simply raised her gentle eyes toward the good woman's face.

En/Pt → “If I had not once had a girl of my own, now overseas, who was proud of her hair,” said Mrs Brown, “I would take every curl. She is far away, far away! Oh! Oh!”

Mrs Brown's cry was not musical, but as she wildly threw up her thin arms, it showed deep sorrow. It touched Florence's heart and frightened her more than ever. Perhaps the cry helped save her curls. After circling Florence for several moments with the scissors like a strange butterfly, Mrs Brown ordered her to hide her hair under the bonnet so no curl would tempt her. Having won this struggle with herself, she sat again on the bones and smoked a very short black pipe, making faces and chewing at the stem as she did so.

En/Pt → When the pipe was finished, Mrs Brown gave Florence a rabbit skin to carry so she would look more like the woman's usual companion. She said she would lead her to a public street where she could ask the way to her friends. But with threats of quick and deadly revenge, she warned Florence not to speak to strangers or return home, perhaps because the house was too close for Mrs Brown's safety. Instead, Florence must go to her father's City office and wait at the corner where she was left until the clock struck three. Mrs Brown claimed powerful eyes and ears would watch everything she did, and Florence sincerely promised to obey.

En/Pt → At last Mrs Brown came out and led her changed, ragged little companion through a maze of narrow streets, lanes, and alleys. After a long time, they reached a stable yard with a gateway at the end, beyond which Florence could hear the roar of a busy main road. Mrs Brown pointed to the gateway and told her to turn left when the clocks struck three. After one last grab at Florence's hair, which seemed beyond her control, she said Florence knew what to do and ordered her to do it, remembering that she was watched.

With a lighter heart, though still very afraid, Florence felt herself released and hurried to the corner. Looking back, she saw Good Mrs Brown's head peeping from the low wooden passage where the woman had given her final orders. She also saw Good Mrs Brown shaking her fist. Florence looked back many times afterward, at least once every minute because she was so nervous, but she did not see the woman again.

En/Pt → Florence stayed there, watching the busy street and becoming more confused, while the clocks seemed determined never to strike three again. At last the church towers rang three o'clock. One was very near, so she could not be wrong. After repeatedly looking over her shoulder, walking a little way, and returning in case Mrs Brown's powerful spies became angry, she hurried off as fast as her loose shoes allowed, holding the rabbit skin tightly.

All Florence knew about her father's offices was that they belonged to Dombey and Son, a great power in the City. Therefore, she could only ask the way to Dombey and Son in the City. Since she usually asked children because she feared adults, she received almost no useful help. After some time, she began asking only for the way to the City. By doing so, she slowly moved toward the heart of that great area ruled by the terrible Lord Mayor.

En/Pt → Florence continued her tiring journey with tearful eyes. She was exhausted from walking, rejected and pushed around, confused by the noise, worried about her brother and the nurses, frightened by all she had suffered, and afraid to meet her angry father in such changed clothes. Troubled by the past, the present, and what still lay ahead, she sometimes had to stop and cry bitterly. Few people noticed a child dressed as she was, and those who did thought she had been taught to ask for pity and walked on. Yet Florence called on the courage and independence that her sad experiences had formed too early. Keeping her goal firmly in mind, she continued steadily.

It was two full hours later when Florence escaped the crashing noise of a narrow street filled with carts and wagons. She looked into a riverside wharf where many packages, barrels, and boxes lay scattered around. There was a large wooden scale and a small wooden hut on wheels. Outside it, a stout man stood whistling, watching the nearby masts and boats. With a pen behind his ear and his hands in his pockets, he looked as if his day's work was almost over.

En/Pt → “Now then!” said the man when he happened to turn around. “We have nothing for you, little girl. Go away!”

“Please, is this the City?” asked the trembling daughter of the Dombeys.

“Yes, it is the City. I am sure you know that well enough. Go away! We have nothing for you.”

“I do not want anything, thank you,” she answered timidly. “I only want to know the way to Dombey and Son.”

The man had been walking carelessly toward her, but her answer surprised him. Looking carefully at her face, he replied:

“Why, what could you want at Dombey and Son?”

“Only to know the way there, please.”

The man looked at her even more curiously and rubbed the back of his head so hard in surprise that he knocked off his own hat.

“Joe!” he called to another man, a laborer, as he picked up his hat and put it on again.

En/Pt → “Here I am!” said Joe.

“Where is that young fellow from Dombey's who was watching those goods being loaded?”

“He just left through the other gate,” said Joe.

“Call him back for a moment.”

Joe ran up an archway, shouting as he went, and soon returned with a cheerful-looking boy.

“You are Dombey's young helper, are you not?” said the first man.

“I work in Dombey's firm, Mr Clark,” the boy answered.

“Then look here,” said Mr Clark.

Following Mr Clark's gesture, the boy approached Florence, naturally wondering what he had to do with her. Florence had heard their words. Besides feeling relieved to be safe at the end of her journey, his lively young face and manner comforted her greatly. She eagerly ran to him, leaving one loose shoe on the ground, and held his hand in both of hers.

“I am lost, please!” said Florence.

“Lost!” cried the boy.

En/Pt → “Yes. I was lost this morning, far from here. Since then, someone took my clothes, and these are not my own. My name is Florence Dombey, and I am my little brother's only sister. Oh, please take care of me!” Florence sobbed. At last she released the childish feelings she had hidden for so long and burst into tears. Her miserable bonnet fell off and her hair tumbled around her face. Young Walter, nephew of Solomon Gills, the maker of ships' instruments, stared at her with silent wonder and pity.

Mr Clark stood frozen in amazement, quietly saying that he had never seen such a surprise on that wharf. Walter picked up Florence's shoe and placed it on her little foot as the prince in the story fitted Cinderella's slipper. He hung the rabbit skin over his left arm and gave Florence his right. He felt not merely like Richard Whittington, which was too weak a comparison, but like Saint George of England with the dead dragon before him.

En/Pt → “Do not cry, Miss Dombey,” said Walter with great excitement. “How wonderful that I am here! You are as safe now as if a whole crew of chosen men from a warship guarded you. Oh, do not cry.”

“I will not cry anymore,” said Florence. “I am only crying from happiness.”

“Crying from happiness, and I am the cause!” Walter thought. “Come with me, Miss Dombey. Now the other shoe has fallen off! Take mine, Miss Dombey.”

“No, no, no,” said Florence, stopping him as he quickly began taking off his own shoes. “These are better. They are quite good enough.”

“Of course,” said Walter, looking at her foot. “Mine are far too large. What was I thinking? You could never walk in them! Come along, Miss Dombey. I would like to see the villain who dares trouble you now.”

Looking very fierce, Walter led Florence away, and she looked very happy. They walked arm in arm through the streets, completely unconcerned by the surprise their appearance caused along the way.

En/Pt → It was becoming dark and foggy, and rain was starting, but they did not care. Both were completely absorbed in Florence's recent adventures, which she described with the innocent honesty and trust of a child. Walter listened as if they were not in the mud and grease of Thames Street but walking alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of a tropical desert island, which he probably imagined for a time.

“Do we have far to go?” Florence asked at last, raising her eyes to her companion's face.

“Oh, by the way,” said Walter, stopping. “Let me see. Where are we? Oh, I know. But the offices are closed now, Miss Dombey. No one is there, and Mr Dombey went home long ago. I suppose we must go home too. Or wait - perhaps I should take you to my uncle's house, where I live. It is very near. Then I can take a coach to your home, tell them you are safe, and bring back some clothes. Would that not be best?”

En/Pt → “I think so,” Florence answered. “Do you not? What do you think?”

While they stood discussing this in the street, a man passed and looked quickly at Walter as if he knew him. Then, seeming to decide he was mistaken, the man continued without stopping.

“Why, I think that is Mr Carker,” said Walter. “Carker from our firm. Not Carker our Manager, Miss Dombey - the other Carker, the Junior. Hello, Mr Carker!”

“Is that Walter Gay?” said the man, stopping and returning. “I could not believe it because you have such a strange companion.”

En/Pt → Standing near a lamp and listening with surprise to Walter's quick explanation, the man strongly contrasted with the two young figures before him. He was not old, but his hair was white, and his body bent as if under some great sorrow. Deep lines marked his tired, sad face. The fire in his eyes, his expression, and even his voice were all weak and quiet, as if his spirit had burned down to ashes. He wore respectable but very plain black clothes. They seemed to share the sadness of his figure and his silent request, from head to foot, to be unnoticed and left alone in his humble position.

Yet his interest in youth and hope had not died with the other fires of his soul. He watched the boy's serious face with unusual sympathy as Walter spoke. However, a strange look of trouble and pity escaped into his face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. When Walter finally asked him the same question he had asked Florence, the man continued looking at him in this way, as if he had read a sad fate in the boy's face that did not match its present brightness.

En/Pt → “What do you advise, Mr Carker?” said Walter, smiling. “You always give me good advice when you speak to me, you know, though that is not often.”

“I think your own idea is best,” he answered, looking from Florence to Walter and back again.

“Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous idea, “here is an opportunity for you. Go to Mr Dombey and bring him the good news. It may help you, sir. I will stay at home. You should go.”

“Me?” replied the other man.

“Yes. Why not, Mr Carker?” said the boy.

In answer, Mr Carker only shook Walter's hand. He seemed almost ashamed and afraid even to do that. Then he said good night, advised Walter to hurry, and walked away.

“Come, Miss Dombey,” said Walter, looking after Mr Carker as they too turned away. “We will go to my uncle's as quickly as possible. Have you ever heard Mr Dombey speak of Mr Carker the Junior, Miss Florence?”

En/Pt → “No,” the child answered gently. “I do not often hear Papa speak.”

“True, and more shame on him,” Walter thought. After a minute of looking down at the gentle, patient little face beside him, he said, “Mr Carker the Junior is the strangest man you could imagine, Miss Florence. You would be as confused as I am if you understood what an unusual interest he takes in me, although he avoids me; what a low position he holds in our office; and how he is never promoted and never complains. Every year he sees younger men rise above him, while his own younger brother is our head Manager.”

En/Pt → Florence could hardly be expected to understand much of this, so Walter used his usual boyish energy to change the subject. When one of her unlucky shoes fell off again at just the right time, he offered to carry her to his uncle's house. Though very tired, Florence laughingly refused because he might drop her. They were already near the wooden Midshipman. Walter continued giving examples from shipwrecks and other exciting accidents in which boys younger than he had bravely rescued and carried girls older than Florence. They were still talking about this when they reached the instrument maker's door.

“Hello, Uncle Sol!” cried Walter, bursting into the shop. From then on, he spoke without order and without breath for the rest of the evening. “Here is a wonderful adventure! Mr Dombey's daughter was lost in the streets and robbed of her clothes by an old witch. I found her and brought her home to rest in our sitting room. Look here!”

En/Pt → “Good Heaven!” said Uncle Sol, jumping back against his favorite compass case. “It cannot be! Well, I - ”

“No, and no one else would believe it either,” said Walter, finishing the thought for him. “No one would or could, you know. Here, help me move the little sofa near the fire, Uncle Sol. Be careful with the plates. Cut some dinner for her, Uncle. Throw those shoes under the grate. Miss Florence, put your feet on the fender to dry. How wet they are! What an adventure, Uncle! Good heavens, how hot I am!”

Solomon Gills became just as hot from sympathy and total confusion. He patted Florence's head, urged her to eat and drink, and rubbed the bottoms of her feet with his handkerchief after warming it at the fire. His eyes and ears followed his constantly moving nephew. He understood nothing clearly except that the excited young man kept running into him and knocking him over while rushing around the room, trying to do twenty things at once and completing none.

En/Pt → “Here, wait a moment, Uncle,” Walter continued, picking up a candle. “I will run upstairs, put on another jacket, and then leave. I say, Uncle, is this not an adventure?”

“My dear boy,” said Solomon, with his glasses on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, moving constantly between Florence on the sofa and his nephew everywhere in the room, “it is the most extraordinary - ”

“No, but please do it, Uncle. Please eat, Miss Florence. Dinner, you know, Uncle.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” cried Solomon, immediately cutting into a leg of lamb as if he were feeding a giant. “I will take care of her, Wally! I understand. Poor dear! She must be starving. Go and get ready. Good Lord! Sir Richard Whittington, three times Lord Mayor of London!”

Walter quickly climbed to his high attic and came down again. Meanwhile, Florence, overcome by tiredness, had fallen asleep before the fire. Those few quiet minutes gave Solomon Gills enough time to recover his senses, arrange some comforts for her, darken the room, and protect her from the bright flames. When Walter returned, she was sleeping peacefully.

En/Pt → “That is excellent!” he whispered, hugging Solomon so tightly that a new expression appeared on the old man's face. “Now I am going. I will take a piece of bread because I am very hungry - and do not wake her, Uncle Sol.”

“No, no,” said Solomon. “Pretty child.”

“Pretty indeed!” cried Walter. “I have never seen such a face, Uncle Sol. Now I am going.”

“That is right,” said Solomon, greatly relieved.

“I say, Uncle Sol,” cried Walter, putting his face through the doorway.

“Here he is again,” said Solomon.

“How does she look now?”

“Quite happy,” said Solomon.

“That is wonderful! Now I am going.”

“I hope you are,” Solomon said to himself.

“I say, Uncle Sol,” cried Walter, appearing at the door again.

“Here he is again!” said Solomon.

“We met the younger Mr Carker in the street, stranger than ever. He said goodbye to me but followed us here. That was odd! When we reached the shop door, I looked back and saw him quietly walking away, like a servant who had brought me safely home or a faithful dog. How does she look now, Uncle?”

En/Pt → “Almost the same as before, Wally,” Uncle Sol replied.

“That is good. Now I am going!”

This time Walter truly left. Solomon Gills had no desire for dinner and sat across the fire, watching Florence sleep and building many imaginary castles of the most fantastic design. In the dim light, surrounded closely by all his instruments, he looked like a magician disguised in a Welsh wig and coffee-coloured clothes, keeping the child in an enchanted sleep.

Meanwhile, Walter travelled toward Mr Dombey's house faster than a hired horse usually managed. Even so, every two or three minutes he put his head out the window and impatiently protested to the driver. At his destination, he jumped out, breathlessly told the servant his purpose, and followed him straight into the library. Many people were speaking in confusion there: Mr Dombey, his sister, Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper had all gathered together.

En/Pt → “Oh, excuse me, sir,” said Walter, rushing toward him, “but I am happy to say that everything is all right. Miss Dombey has been found!”

The boy's open face, flowing hair, bright eyes, and breathless pleasure and excitement formed a wonderful contrast to Mr Dombey, who sat facing him in his library chair.

“I told you, Louisa, that she would certainly be found,” said Mr Dombey, looking slightly over his shoulder at his sister, who was crying with Miss Tox. “Tell the servants that no further action is needed. The boy who brought the news is young Gay from the office. How was my daughter found, sir? I know how she was lost.” Here he looked grandly at Richards. “But how was she found? Who found her?”

“Well, I believe I found Miss Dombey, sir,” said Walter modestly. “At least, I do not know whether I can claim the honour of exactly finding her, but I was the fortunate means by which - ”

En/Pt → “What do you mean, sir,” Mr Dombey interrupted. He naturally disliked the boy's clear pride and pleasure in his part in the event. “What do you mean by saying you did not exactly find my daughter and were a fortunate means? Please speak plainly and clearly.”

Walter could not possibly speak clearly in his breathless condition. Still, he explained as well as he could and told them why he had come alone.

“You hear this, girl?” Mr Dombey said sternly to the black-eyed maid. “Take what you need and return immediately with this young man to bring Miss Florence home. Gay, you will be rewarded tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank you, sir,” said Walter. “You are very kind. I truly was not thinking about any reward, sir.”

“You are a boy,” said Mr Dombey suddenly and almost fiercely, “and what you think, or pretend to think, matters little. You have done well, sir. Do not spoil it. Louisa, please give the boy some wine.”

En/Pt → Mr Dombey watched Walter Gay leave under Mrs Chick's guidance with sharp dislike. Perhaps his mind followed the boy with no greater pleasure as Walter rode back to his uncle's shop with Miss Susan Nipper.

They found Florence greatly refreshed by sleep. She had eaten dinner and had become much better acquainted with Solomon Gills, with whom she now felt completely confident and comfortable. The black-eyed maid had cried so much that she could now be called red-eyed. Silent and miserable, she caught Florence in her arms without blame or criticism and greeted her with great emotion. Then she temporarily turned the parlour into a private dressing room and carefully dressed Florence in proper clothes. Soon she led the girl out looking as much like a Dombey as her natural limitations allowed.

“Good night!” said Florence, running to Solomon. “You have been very good to me.”

Old Sol was delighted and kissed her like a grandfather.

En/Pt → “Good night, Walter! Goodbye!” said Florence.

“Goodbye!” said Walter, offering both hands.

“I will never forget you,” Florence continued. “No, truly, I never will. Goodbye, Walter!”

With the innocent gratitude of her heart, the child lifted her face toward his. Walter bent his own face down and raised it again, red and burning. Then he looked shyly at Uncle Sol.

“Where is Walter?” “Good night, Walter!” “Goodbye, Walter!” “Shake hands once more, Walter!” Florence continued calling even after she and her little maid were shut inside the coach. When it finally moved away, Walter stood cheerfully on the doorstep and waved back at her handkerchief. Behind him, the wooden Midshipman also seemed interested only in that coach and ignored all the other coaches passing by.

They soon reached Mr Dombey's mansion, and once again many voices filled the library. The coach was also ordered to wait again. “For Mrs Richards,” one of Susan's fellow servants whispered darkly as Susan passed with Florence.

En/Pt → The lost child's entrance caused a little excitement, but not much. Mr Dombey, who had never found her himself, kissed her once on the forehead and warned her not to run away again or wander with untrustworthy attendants. Mrs Chick paused in her complaints about the corruption of human nature, even when a charity school offered a path to goodness, and welcomed Florence with less warmth than a perfect Dombey deserved. Miss Tox copied the feelings shown by the others. Only guilty Richards poured out her heart in broken words of welcome and bent over the little wandering head as if she truly loved it.

“Ah, Richards!” said Mrs Chick with a sigh. “Those who wish to think well of other people would have been much more satisfied, and it would have suited you much better, if you had shown proper concern earlier for the little child who will now lose his natural food too soon.”

En/Pt → “Cut off,” Miss Tox whispered sadly, “from the one common source!”

“If I were in your ungrateful position,” said Mrs Chick solemnly, “and had your thoughts, Richards, I would feel that the charity school's uniform would destroy my child and its education would choke him.”

In fact, although Mrs Chick did not know it, the uniform had already harmed the boy quite badly. As for the education, its punishment might also arrive in time, because it was a storm of sobs and blows.

En/Pt → “Louisa!” said Mr Dombey. “There is no need to continue these comments. The woman has been dismissed and paid. You are leaving this house, Richards, because you took my son - my son,” he repeated strongly, “into places and company that one cannot imagine without horror. I consider the accident that happened to Miss Florence this morning fortunate in one important way. Without it, I would never have learned, and from your own lips, what you had done. Louisa, I think the other nurse, the young person” - Miss Nipper sobbed loudly - “may stay because she is much younger and was naturally influenced by Paul's nurse. Please arrange for this woman's coach fare to be paid to - ” Mr Dombey stopped and showed pain. “To Staggs's Gardens.”

En/Pt → Polly moved toward the door while Florence held tightly to her dress and begged her with heartbreaking cries not to leave. Seeing his own flesh and blood clinging to this unknown, unimportant woman while he sat nearby was a knife in the proud father's heart and an arrow in his brain. It was not that he cared whom his daughter loved or rejected. The sudden sharp pain struck him because he imagined his son doing the same thing.

At least his son cried loudly that night. In truth, poor Paul had better reason for his tears than boys of that age usually had. He had lost his second mother - the first mother he had ever known - through a blow as sudden as the natural sorrow that had darkened the beginning of his life. With the same blow, his sister, who cried herself sadly to sleep, had also lost a good and faithful friend. But that is beside the question. Let us waste no words on it.

CHAPTER VII. A Bird’s-eye Glimpse of Miss Tox’s Dwelling-place: also of the State of Miss Tox’s Affections

En/Pt → Miss Tox lived in a dark little house that had somehow been squeezed long ago into a fashionable neighbourhood in the west of London. It stood in the shadow like a poor relative of the great street around the corner, looked down upon coldly by powerful mansions. It was not exactly in a court or a yard, but in the dullest dead-end street, made nervous and tired by distant double knocks at doors. This quiet place, where grass grew between the paving stones, was called Princess's Place. It contained Princess's Chapel, with a thin-sounding bell, where sometimes as many as twenty-five people attended Sunday service. The Princess's Arms public house was also there and was popular with splendid footmen. A sedan chair stood behind the railings in front of it but had never moved in living memory. On fine mornings, a pewter beer pot decorated the top of each of the forty-eight rails, as Miss Tox had often counted.

En/Pt → Besides Miss Tox's home, Princess's Place contained one other private house. It also had a huge pair of gates with enormous lion-headed knockers. They were never opened and were believed to be an unused entrance to someone's stables. Indeed, Princess's Place smelled slightly of stables. Miss Tox's rear bedroom looked along a row of stable buildings where stablemen constantly added lively noises to whatever work they did. The most private clothes of coachmen, their wives, and their families usually hung on the outside walls like Macbeth's banners.

The other private house in Princess's Place belonged to a retired butler married to a former housekeeper. They rented furnished rooms to a single gentleman: a wooden-faced, blue-skinned Major whose eyes seemed to jump from his head. Miss Tox said there was something truly military about him. From time to time, they exchanged newspapers, pamphlets, and mild signs of romantic interest through the Major's dark-skinned servant. Miss Tox was satisfied to call the man a native without connecting him to any particular place in the world.

En/Pt → Perhaps no entrance and staircase were ever smaller than those in Miss Tox's house. From top to bottom, it may have been the most inconvenient and crooked little house in England. But Miss Tox always praised its location. In winter, there was very little daylight, and there was never any sun. Fresh air was impossible, and walls kept traffic away. Still, Miss Tox said, think of the location! The blue-faced, wide-eyed Major said the same. He was proud of Princess's Place and liked to turn conversations at his club toward the great people in the great street around the corner so that he could proudly call them his neighbours.

In short, Miss Tox and the blue-faced Major believed that Princess's Place only needed good connections and noble blood, just as a small part of society thinks this is enough for many unimportant followers of great people. The place could be poor, mean, worn, stupid, and dull. That did not matter. The great street around the corner continued into Princess's Place. A sharp criticism that would be acceptable about ordinary High Holborn became terrible blasphemy when said about Princess's Place.

En/Pt → The dark house where Miss Tox lived belonged to her. The dead owner of the fish-like eye shown in her locket had left it to her. A small portrait of him with powdered hair and a pigtail hung on one side of the parlour fireplace, balancing a kettle holder on the other. Most furniture came from the same old period. It included a plate warmer that always stretched its four thin, curved legs into someone's way and an old-fashioned harpsichord decorated around the maker's name with a painted circle of sweet peas. Visitors usually noticed a musty smell everywhere in the house. In warm weather, Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in cracks in the wooden walls with the wrong end of a pen dipped in turpentine.

En/Pt → Major Bagstock had reached what polite books call the highest point of life and was travelling downhill. He had almost no neck, very stiff jawbones, long hanging ears like an elephant, and the excited eyes and skin colour already described. Yet he was extremely proud of attracting Miss Tox's interest. He pleased his vanity with the false belief that she was a splendid woman watching him. Several times at his club, he had hinted at this while making jokes in which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, or some similar name was always the subject. The Major's safest form of light humour was treating his own name with the greatest familiarity.

“Joey B., sir,” the Major would say, waving his walking stick, “is worth twelve of you. You would all be better with a few more of the Bagstock family among you, sir. Even now, old Joe would not have to search far for a wife if he wanted one. But Joe is hard-hearted, sir. He is tough, sir, tough, and devilishly clever!” After such a statement, the Major would breathe loudly, his blue face would turn purple, and his eyes would strain and jump wildly.

En/Pt → Despite praising himself so freely, the Major was selfish. Perhaps nobody had ever been more completely selfish at heart - or at stomach, which may be more accurate, since that organ was much better developed in him than his heart. He could not imagine being ignored or treated as unimportant by anyone. Least of all could he understand being ignored and treated as unimportant by Miss Tox.

Yet Miss Tox seemed to forget him little by little. She began forgetting him soon after discovering the Toodle family. She continued forgetting him until the christening. After that, she forgot him at an even faster rate. Something or someone had replaced him as the source of her interest.

“Good morning, ma'am,” said the Major when he met Miss Tox in Princess's Place several weeks after the changes described in the last chapter.

“Good morning, sir,” said Miss Tox very coldly.

“Joe Bagstock, ma'am,” the Major said with his usual charm, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window for a long time. Joe has been treated badly, ma'am. His sun has been behind a cloud.”

En/Pt → Miss Tox lowered her head, but with great coldness.

“Perhaps Joe's bright star has been out of town, ma'am?” asked the Major.

“I? Out of town? Oh no, I have not been out of town,” said Miss Tox. “I have been very busy recently. Almost all my time is given to some very close friends. I am afraid I have no free time even now. Good morning, sir!”

Miss Tox walked away from Princess's Place with her most attractive step and manner. The Major stood watching her with a face bluer than ever, muttering and growling comments that were not at all kind.

“Why, damn it, sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster-like eyes around Princess's Place and speaking to its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. What does this mean?”

After some thought, the Major decided it meant traps for men, plots, and snares. Miss Tox was digging hidden holes. “But you will not catch Joe, ma'am,” said the Major. “J.B. is tough, ma'am, tough, and devilishly clever!” He laughed over this thought for the rest of the day.

En/Pt → But after that day and many more days had passed, Miss Tox still paid no attention to the Major and never thought about him. Once, she had sometimes looked accidentally from one of her little dark windows and returned his greeting with a blush. Now she never gave him a chance and did not care whether he looked across the street. Other changes had also occurred. Standing in the shadow of his rooms, the Major could see that Miss Tox's house had recently become more elegant. The ancient little canary had a new cage with golden wires. Decorations cut from coloured card and paper covered the fireplace and tables. One or two plants had suddenly appeared in the windows. Miss Tox sometimes practised the harpsichord, proudly displaying its painted sweet peas beneath the Copenhagen Waltz and Bird Waltz in a music book copied in her own hand.

Besides all this, Miss Tox had long dressed with unusual care and elegance in light mourning clothes. This helped the Major solve his mystery. He decided that she had received a small inheritance and become proud.

En/Pt → The very next day after reaching this comforting decision, the Major sat at breakfast and saw such a huge and wonderful sight in Miss Tox's little drawing room that he remained frozen in his chair for some time. Then he rushed into the next room and returned with double-barrelled opera glasses, studying the sight closely for several minutes.

“It is a baby, sir,” said the Major, closing the opera glasses, “or I will pay fifty thousand pounds!”

The Major could not forget it. He could only whistle and stare so intensely that his eyes in earlier times now seemed deep and sunken by comparison. Day after day, two, three, or four times a week, the baby appeared again. The Major continued staring and whistling. In every other sense, he was alone in Princess's Place. Miss Tox no longer cared what he did. He could have been black instead of blue, and it would have made no difference to her.

En/Pt → Her determination was extraordinary. She walked out of Princess's Place to fetch the baby and his nurse, walked back with them, walked home with them again, and constantly guarded them. She held the baby, fed him, played with him, and froze his young blood with music on the harpsichord. Around the same time, she developed a passion for looking at a certain bracelet and another passion for watching the moon for long periods from her bedroom window. But whether she looked at the sun, moon, stars, or bracelet, she never looked at the Major. The Major whistled, stared, wondered, and moved secretly around his room, but could understand nothing.

“You will completely win my brother Paul's heart, and that is the truth, my dear,” said Mrs Chick one day.

Miss Tox turned pale.

“He becomes more like Paul every day,” said Mrs Chick.

Miss Tox gave no spoken answer. She took little Paul in her arms and pressed his decorative ribbon completely flat and soft with her hugs.

En/Pt → “His mother, my dear,” said Miss Tox, “whom I was going to meet through you - does he look at all like her?”

“Not at all,” Louisa replied.

“She was - she was pretty, I believe?” Miss Tox asked hesitantly.

“Well, poor dear Fanny was interesting,” said Mrs Chick after judging the matter carefully. “Certainly interesting. She did not have the commanding air of superiority that one would naturally expect in my brother's wife. Nor did she have the strength and energy of mind that such a man requires.”

Miss Tox gave a deep sigh.

“But she was pleasant,” said Mrs Chick. “Extremely pleasant. And she meant well! Oh dear, how well poor Fanny meant!”

“You angel!” cried Miss Tox to little Paul. “You perfect picture of your own Papa!”

If the Major had known how many hopes and risks, plans and guesses rested on that baby's head, and had seen them all flying in mixed confusion around little Paul's wrinkled cap, he would truly have stared. Among them, he would have recognized a few ambitious hopes belonging to Miss Tox. Then he might have understood the nature of that lady's uncertain investment in the Dombey Firm.

En/Pt → If the child himself had awakened at night and seen faint reflections of other people's dreams about him gathered around the curtains of his cradle, they might reasonably have frightened him. But he continued sleeping, unaware of Miss Tox's kind intentions, the Major's wonder, his sister's early sorrows, and his father's stern visions. He did not know that any place on earth contained a Dombey or a Son.

CHAPTER VIII. Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character

En/Pt → Under the watchful eyes of Time, another kind of Major, Paul's sleep gradually changed. More light entered it. Clearer dreams disturbed it. A growing crowd of objects and impressions gathered around his rest. In this way, he passed from babyhood into childhood and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey.

After Richards was removed and sent away, the nursery was managed by a committee, as sometimes happens to a government department when no single strong person can support it. The committee members were naturally Mrs Chick and Miss Tox. They worked with such amazing energy that Major Bagstock received a new reminder every day that he had been abandoned. Meanwhile, Mr Chick, free from control at home, threw himself into fashionable life. He ate at clubs and coffee houses, smelled of smoke on three occasions, went alone to the theatre, and, as Mrs Chick once told him, broke every social bond and moral duty.

En/Pt → Despite his early promise, all this watchfulness and care could not make little Paul strong. Perhaps naturally delicate, he grew weak and thin after his nurse was dismissed. For a long time, he seemed only to wait for a chance to slip through their hands and search for his lost mother. After passing this dangerous part of his race toward manhood, he still found the road extremely rough and full of obstacles. Every new tooth was a deadly fence, and every measles spot was a stone wall. Each attack of whooping cough knocked him down, and a whole crowd of small illnesses ran over and crushed him one after another, preventing him from rising. Instead of ordinary thrush, some bird of prey seemed to enter his throat. Even the chickens seemed to turn wild and attack him like tigers, if they had anything to do with the childhood disease bearing their name.

En/Pt → Perhaps the cold of Paul's christening had reached a sensitive part of his nature that could not recover in his father's cold shadow. From that day, he was an unfortunate child. Mrs Wickam often said she had never seen a dear child treated so badly by life.

Mrs Wickam was a waiter's wife, a position almost equal to being any other man's widow. Her request to work for Mr Dombey had been accepted because it seemed impossible that she had any admirers or anyone likely to visit her. One or two days after Paul was suddenly taken from the breast, she became his nurse. Mrs Wickam was a gentle, fair-skinned woman whose eyebrows were always raised and whose head always hung down. She was always ready to pity herself, receive another person's pity, or pity anyone else. She had an amazing natural ability to see every subject in the saddest possible way, find terrible earlier examples, and gain the greatest comfort from using this talent.

En/Pt → Of course, Mr Dombey's magnificent knowledge never received even a hint of this gloomy quality. That would have been remarkable because nobody in the house, not even Mrs Chick or Miss Tox, ever dared whisper to him that there had been the slightest reason to worry about little Paul. He had decided that the child must naturally pass through a regular series of small illnesses and that the sooner he did so, the better. He would gladly have paid generous terms to free Paul from them or provide another person to suffer in his place, as someone might escape an unlucky military selection. Since that was impossible, he only wondered proudly from time to time what Nature meant by it. He comforted himself by thinking another milestone had been passed and the great end of the journey was closer. His strongest feeling, which constantly grew as Paul became older, was impatience: impatience for the future when his dreams of their shared importance and greatness would triumphantly come true.

En/Pt → Some philosophers say selfishness lies at the root of our best love and affection. From the beginning, Mr Dombey's young child clearly mattered to him as part of his own greatness, which was the same as the greatness of Dombey and Son. Therefore, his fatherly love could easily be traced, like many beautiful and famous buildings, to a very low foundation. Yet he loved his son with all the love he possessed. If any warm place existed in his frozen heart, his son filled it. If its hard surface could receive any image, his son's image was there - not mainly as a baby or boy, but as a grown man, the Son of the Firm. Therefore, Mr Dombey impatiently wanted to enter the future and hurry through the middle parts of the boy's life. Despite his love, he felt little or no anxiety about them. He believed the boy's life was protected by magic and that he must become the man with whom Mr Dombey constantly spoke in his thoughts and for whom he made daily plans as if he already existed.

En/Pt → Paul grew until he was almost five years old. He was a pretty little boy, although his small face looked pale and sadly thoughtful. This made Mrs Wickam shake her head meaningfully and draw many long breaths. His temper promised that he would be commanding as an adult. He also showed a hopeful understanding of his own importance and of the proper duty of all other people and things to serve him. At times, he was playful and childish and was not naturally unfriendly. At other times, however, he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful habit of sitting silently in his tiny armchair. Then he looked and spoke like one of those frightening little creatures in fairy tales who are one hundred and fifty or two hundred years old but strangely replace the human children taken away. This early seriousness often struck him upstairs in the nursery. Sometimes he suddenly fell into it while playing with Florence or pretending to drive Miss Tox like a single horse, saying he was tired. But it happened most surely when his little chair was carried into his father's room and he sat with him by the fire after dinner. They were the strangest pair ever lit by firelight. Mr Dombey sat straight and solemn, staring at the flames. His little copy, with an ancient face, looked into the red distance with the fixed attention of a wise man. Mr Dombey considered complicated business plans, while the little copy considered only Heaven knew what strange ideas, half-formed thoughts, and wandering questions. Mr Dombey was stiff with fine clothing and pride; the little copy was stiff through inheritance and unconscious imitation. They were extremely similar and yet completely different.

En/Pt → On one of these occasions, they had both been completely silent for a long time. Mr Dombey knew the child was awake only because he sometimes glanced at Paul's eye, where the bright fire shone like a jewel. Then little Paul broke the silence:

“Papa! What is money?”

The sudden question referred so directly to what Mr Dombey had been thinking that it completely confused him.

“What is money, Paul?” he answered. “Money?”

“Yes,” said the child, placing his hands on the arms of his little chair and turning his old-looking face toward Mr Dombey. “What is money?”

Mr Dombey found the question difficult. He wanted to give an explanation using terms such as medium of exchange, currency, loss of currency value, paper money, gold and silver bars, exchange rates, market value of precious metals, and so on. But he looked down at the little chair and saw how far below him it was. So he answered, “Gold, silver, and copper. Guineas, shillings, and halfpennies. You know what those are?”

En/Pt → “Oh yes, I know what those are,” said Paul. “That is not what I mean, Papa. I mean, what is money really?”

Heaven and earth, how old his face looked when he raised it toward his father again!

“What is money, after all?” said Mr Dombey. He moved his chair back a little so that he could stare in pure amazement at the bold little creature who had asked such a question.

“I mean, Papa, what can it do?” Paul replied. He folded his arms, though they were hardly long enough, and looked at the fire, then up at his father, then at the fire and at him again.

Mr Dombey moved his chair back to its old place and patted Paul’s head. “You will understand better later, my boy,” he said. “Money, Paul, can do anything.” As he spoke, he took the little hand and gently tapped it against one of his own.

En/Pt → But Paul freed his hand as soon as he could. He rubbed it gently back and forth on the arm of his chair, as if his intelligence were in his palm and he were sharpening it. Then he looked at the fire again, as though it had advised and prompted him, and after a short pause he repeated:

“Anything, Papa?”

“Yes. Almost anything,” said Mr Dombey.

“Anything means everything, doesn’t it, Papa?” his son asked, not noticing or perhaps not understanding the qualification.

“It includes everything, yes,” said Mr Dombey.

“Then why didn’t money save my Mama?” the child replied. “It isn’t cruel, is it?”

“Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, adjusting his neckcloth and seeming offended by the idea. “No. A good thing cannot be cruel.”

“If it is a good thing and can do anything,” said the little boy thoughtfully, looking back at the fire, “I wonder why it didn’t save my Mama.”

En/Pt → This time he did not ask his father the question. Perhaps, with a child’s quick perception, he had seen that it had already made his father uncomfortable. But he repeated the thought aloud as if it were an old one that had troubled him greatly. He sat with his chin on his hand, still thinking and searching for an explanation in the fire.

En/Pt → Mr Dombey recovered from his surprise, and even alarm, because this was the first time the child had ever mentioned his mother to him, although they had sat together this way evening after evening. He explained that money was a very powerful force and should never be spoken badly of, but it could not keep people alive when their time to die had come. Unfortunately, everyone must die, even in the City and no matter how rich they were. But money made people honour, fear, respect, seek, and admire us, and made us powerful and glorious in everyone’s eyes. It could also often delay death for a long time. For example, it had obtained Mr Pilkins’s services for Paul’s Mama, and Paul himself had often benefited from them, as well as the services of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom Paul had never met. Money could do everything that could possibly be done. Mr Dombey taught his son this and much more of the same kind. Paul listened carefully and seemed to understand most of it.

En/Pt → “It cannot make me strong and completely well either, Papa, can it?” Paul asked after a short silence, rubbing his tiny hands.

“But you are strong and completely well,” Mr Dombey replied. “Aren’t you?”

Oh, how old the face looked when it turned up again, with an expression that was half sad and half sly!

“You are as strong and healthy as little people usually are, aren’t you?” said Mr Dombey.

“Florence is older than I am, but I know I am not as strong and healthy as Florence,” the child replied. “And I believe that when Florence was as little as I am, she could play much longer without getting tired. Sometimes I am so tired,” little Paul said, warming his hands and looking between the bars of the grate as if a ghostly puppet show were taking place there, “and my bones ache so much - Wickam says it is my bones - that I do not know what to do.”

En/Pt → “Ah, but that is at night,” said Mr Dombey, moving his chair closer to his son’s and gently placing his hand on the boy’s back. “Little people should be tired at night, because then they sleep well.”

“Oh, it is not at night, Papa,” the child replied. “It is during the day. I lie down in Florence’s lap, and she sings to me. At night I dream about such cu-ri-ous things!”

Then he continued warming his hands and thinking about those dreams, like an old man or a young goblin.

Mr Dombey was so astonished, uncomfortable, and uncertain about how to continue the conversation that he could only sit and look at his son in the firelight, with his hand resting on the boy’s back as if held there by a magnetic force. Once he reached out with his other hand and turned the thoughtful face toward his own for a moment. But as soon as he released it, the face turned back to the fire and remained directed at the flickering flames until the nurse appeared to call Paul to bed.

En/Pt → “I want Florence to come for me,” said Paul.

“Won’t you come with your poor Nurse Wickam, Master Paul?” the nurse asked with great sadness.

“No, I will not,” Paul replied, settling back into his armchair like the master of the house.

Mrs Wickam called down a blessing on his innocence and withdrew. Soon Florence appeared in her place. The child immediately sprang up with sudden energy and liveliness. As he raised his face to say good night to his father, it looked so much brighter, younger, and more childlike that Mr Dombey felt greatly reassured by the change and was also amazed by it.

En/Pt → After they left the room together, Mr Dombey thought he heard a soft voice singing. Remembering that Paul had said his sister sang to him, he became curious, opened the door, and listened and watched them. Florence was struggling up the great, wide, empty staircase with Paul in her arms. His head lay on her shoulder, and one arm rested loosely around her neck. They continued slowly upward while she sang all the way and Paul sometimes hummed a weak accompaniment. Mr Dombey watched until they reached the top - not without stopping to rest - and disappeared from view. He kept staring upward until the dull moonlight, shining sadly through the dim skylight, sent him back to his room.

Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were called to a council at dinner the next day. When the table was cleared, Mr Dombey opened the discussion by demanding to know, plainly and without hiding anything, whether something was wrong with Paul and what Mr Pilkins had said about him.

En/Pt → “For the child is hardly as strong as I would like,” said Mr Dombey.

“My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick replied, “with your usual excellent judgment, which I am weak enough to envy every time I am with you - and I believe Miss Tox does too - ”

“Oh, my dear!” Miss Tox said softly. “How could it be otherwise? Though it is bold to hope to reach such a level, if the bird of night may - but I will not trouble Mr Dombey with the thought. It only concerns the bulbul.”

Mr Dombey bowed his head with formal respect, recognizing the bulbuls as a long-established body.

“With your usual excellent judgment, my dear Paul,” Mrs Chick continued, “you have immediately found the main point. Our darling is as strong as we could wish. The truth is that his mind is too much for him. His soul is far too large for his body. And the way that dear child talks!” Mrs Chick said, shaking her head. “No one would believe it. Lucretia, think of what he said only yesterday about funerals!”

En/Pt → “I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her irritably, “that some of those people upstairs suggest unsuitable subjects to the child. Last night he spoke to me about his - about his bones,” Mr Dombey said, stressing the word angrily. “What business does anyone have with my son’s - his - bones? He is not a living skeleton, I suppose.”

“Very far from it,” said Mrs Chick with an indescribable expression.

“I hope so,” her brother replied. “And funerals again! Who talks to the child about funerals? We are not undertakers, funeral attendants, or grave-diggers, I believe.”

“Very far from it,” Mrs Chick interrupted, with the same deep expression as before.

“Then who puts such ideas into his head?” said Mr Dombey. “I was truly shocked and alarmed last night. Who puts such things into his head, Louisa?”

“My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick after a moment’s silence, “there is no use asking. I will honestly tell you that I do not consider Wickam a person of very cheerful spirit, or what one might call a - ”

En/Pt → “A daughter of Momus,” Miss Tox suggested softly.

“Exactly,” said Mrs Chick. “But she is extremely attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous. In fact, I have never seen a more obedient woman. I would say that for her even if I were on trial before a court.”

“Well, Louisa, you are not on trial before a court at present,” Mr Dombey replied irritably, “so it does not matter.”

“My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick in a warning voice, “you must speak kindly to me, or I shall be finished.” At the same time, a warning redness appeared in Mrs Chick’s eyelids, which always meant rain unless the weather changed immediately.

“I was asking, Louisa,” Mr Dombey said in a changed voice after a proper pause, “about Paul’s health and true condition.”

En/Pt → “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of someone summarizing what everyone had already agreed, though she was saying it for the first time, “has been somewhat weakened by his last illness and is not in the vigorous health we would wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his body and sometimes seems about to lose, for a moment, the use of his - ”

Mrs Chick was afraid to say “limbs” after Mr Dombey’s recent objection to “bones,” so she waited for a suggestion from Miss Tox. Faithful to her role, Miss Tox risked saying, “members.”

“Members!” Mr Dombey repeated.

“I believe the doctor mentioned legs this morning, my dear Louisa, didn’t he?” said Miss Tox.

En/Pt → “Of course he did, my dear,” Mrs Chick replied with gentle reproach. “How can you ask me? You heard him. I say that if our dear Paul should temporarily lose the use of his legs, such accidents are common to many children at his age and cannot be prevented by any care or caution. The sooner you understand and admit that, Paul, the better. If you have any doubt about the amount of care, caution, affection, and self-sacrifice given to little Paul, I would like the matter referred to your doctor or any of your servants in this house. Call Towlinson,” said Mrs Chick. “I believe he is not biased in our favour - quite the opposite. I should like to hear what accusation Towlinson can make!”

“Surely you know, Louisa,” Mr Dombey said, “that I do not question your natural devotion to and affection for the future head of my family.”

En/Pt → “I am glad to hear it, Paul,” said Mrs Chick. “But you really are very odd and sometimes speak very strangely, though I know you do not mean to. If your dear boy’s soul is too much for his body, Paul, you should remember whose fault that is - I mean whom he resembles - and accept it as best you can. He is as much like his Papa as possible. People have noticed it in the streets. I am told that even the parish officer noticed it as long ago as his christening. He is a very respectable man with children of his own. He should know.”

“Mr Pilkins saw Paul this morning, I believe?” said Mr Dombey.

“Yes, he did,” his sister replied. “Miss Tox and I were present. We are always present and make a point of it. Mr Pilkins has seen Paul for several days, and I believe him to be a very clever man. He says it is nothing worth mentioning, which I can confirm if that comforts you. But today he recommended sea air. Very wisely, Paul, I am sure.”

En/Pt → “Sea air,” Mr Dombey repeated, looking at his sister.

“There is nothing alarming in that,” said Mrs Chick. “My George and Frederick were both prescribed sea air when they were about his age, and I have been prescribed it myself many times. I completely agree with you, Paul, that subjects may be carelessly discussed upstairs in front of him which it would be better for his little mind not to explore. But with a child as quick as he is, I truly do not see how it can be prevented. If he were an ordinary child, it would mean nothing. Like Miss Tox, I think that a short time away from this house, the air of Brighton, and the physical and mental training of a sensible person such as Mrs Pipchin, for example - ”

“Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?” Mr Dombey asked, horrified by the familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before.

En/Pt → “Mrs Pipchin, my dear Paul,” his sister replied, “is an elderly lady - Miss Tox knows her whole history - who has for some time devoted all her mental energy, with the greatest success, to studying and caring for infants, and who has had excellent social connections. Her husband broke his heart in - how did you say her husband broke his heart, my dear? I forget the exact circumstances.”

“While pumping water out of the Peruvian mines,” Miss Tox replied.

“Of course, he was not a pump operator himself,” said Mrs Chick, glancing at her brother. The explanation really seemed necessary because Miss Tox had spoken as if he had died at the pump handle. “But he invested money in the project, which failed. I believe Mrs Pipchin’s management of children is astonishing. I have heard it praised in private circles ever since I was - goodness - this high!” Mrs Chick’s eyes wandered around the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, about ten feet above the floor.

En/Pt → “Perhaps I should say, my dear sir,” Miss Tox observed with an innocent blush, “since Mrs Pipchin’s history has been so directly referred to me, that the praise your sweet sister has given her is fully deserved. Many ladies and gentlemen who are now interesting members of society owe much to her care. The humble person speaking to you was once in her charge. I believe even young members of the nobility are familiar with her establishment.”

“Am I to understand that this respectable lady runs an establishment, Miss Tox?” asked Mr Dombey condescendingly.

“I truly do not know,” the lady replied, “whether I have the right to call it that. It is certainly not a preparatory school. Would I express myself correctly,” said Miss Tox with special sweetness, “if I called it a very select boarding house for young children?”

“On an extremely limited and particular scale,” Mrs Chick suggested, glancing at her brother.

En/Pt → “Oh! It is exclusiveness itself!” said Miss Tox.

There was some value in this. The fact that Mrs Pipchin’s husband had broken his heart over the Peruvian mines sounded impressive and respectable. Besides, Mr Dombey was nearly terrified by the thought of Paul remaining where he was for even one hour after the doctor had recommended moving him. Such a delay would interrupt the road the child had to travel, slowly even in the best conditions, before reaching the goal. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox’s recommendation of Mrs Pipchin had great influence on him, because he knew they were jealous of anyone interfering with the child in their care. He never considered that they might simply want to share a responsibility about which he had his own firm opinions, as he had just shown. Mr Dombey thought again about the husband breaking his heart over the Peruvian mines. Well, it was a very respectable way to do it.

En/Pt → “Suppose that, after making inquiries tomorrow, we decide to send Paul to Brighton to this lady. Who would go with him?” Mr Dombey asked after some thought.

“I do not think you could send the child anywhere at present without Florence, my dear Paul,” his sister replied hesitantly. “He has a complete obsession with her. He is very young, you know, and has his little wishes.”

Mr Dombey turned his head away, walked slowly to the bookcase, unlocked it, and brought back a book to read.

“Anyone else, Louisa?” he asked without looking up as he turned the pages.

“Wickam, of course. I would say Wickam would be quite enough,” his sister replied. “With Paul in Mrs Pipchin’s care, you could hardly send anyone who might place further limits on her. Naturally, you would go there yourself at least once a week.”

“Of course,” said Mr Dombey. Then he sat looking at a single page for an hour without reading one word.

En/Pt → The famous Mrs Pipchin was a remarkably ugly and unpleasant old lady. She had a bent figure, a spotted face like bad marble, a hooked nose, and a hard grey eye that looked as if it could be hammered on an anvil without damage. At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles. People usually called her “a great manager” of children. Her secret was to give them everything they disliked and nothing they liked, a method believed to improve their tempers greatly. She was such a bitter old lady that one might believe the Peruvian machinery had been used incorrectly and had pumped every drop of joy and human kindness out of her instead of pumping out the mines.

En/Pt → The castle of this ogress and child-tamer stood on a steep side street in Brighton. There the soil was unusually chalky, stony, and barren, and the houses unusually fragile and thin. The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate. In winter, the air could not be driven out of the Castle, and in summer it could not be brought in. Wind echoed through it continually, making it sound like a large shell that the residents had to hold to their ears day and night whether they wanted to or not. Naturally, the house did not smell fresh. In the front parlour window, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept potted plants that added their own earthy smell. These were also excellent examples of plants suited to surrounding Mrs Pipchin. Half a dozen cactuses twisted around pieces of wood like hairy snakes; another plant stretched out broad claws like a green lobster; several creeping plants had sticky leaves; and one uncomfortable flowerpot hung from the ceiling. It looked as if it had boiled over and, by tickling people below with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders. Mrs Pipchin’s house had an extraordinary number of spiders, though in season it was perhaps even more proud of its earwigs.

En/Pt → Mrs Pipchin charged high fees to everyone who could afford them and rarely softened her steady bitterness for anyone. Therefore, people considered her “an old lady of remarkable firmness who had scientific knowledge of children’s character.” Using this reputation and the story of Mr Pipchin’s broken heart, she had managed to earn a reasonably sufficient living year after year since her husband’s death. Within three days of Mrs Chick first mentioning her, this excellent old lady happily expected a fine addition to her income from Mr Dombey’s pocket and welcomed Florence and her little brother Paul as residents of the Castle.

En/Pt → Mrs Chick and Miss Tox had brought the children down the previous night, which they all spent at a hotel, and had just driven away to return home. Mrs Pipchin stood with her back to the fire, inspecting the newcomers like an old soldier. Her middle-aged niece was her good-natured and devoted slave, though she had a thin, hard appearance and suffered badly from boils on her nose. She was removing the clean collar that Master Bitherstone had worn for inspection. Miss Pankey, the only other young boarder at that time, had just been sent to the Castle Dungeon - an empty room at the back used for punishment - because she had sniffed three times in front of visitors.

“Well, sir,” Mrs Pipchin said to Paul, “how do you think you will like me?”

“I do not think I will like you at all,” Paul replied. “I want to go away. This is not my house.”

En/Pt → “No. It is mine,” Mrs Pipchin answered.

“It is a very nasty house,” said Paul.

“There is an even worse place in it,” said Mrs Pipchin, “where we lock up our bad boys.”

“Has he ever been there?” Paul asked, pointing to Master Bitherstone.

Mrs Pipchin nodded yes. For the rest of the day, Paul was busy examining Master Bitherstone from head to foot and watching every change in his face with the interest inspired by a boy who had undergone mysterious and terrible experiences.

En/Pt → At one o’clock they had a meal made mostly of grain and vegetables. Miss Pankey, a gentle little piece of a child with blue eyes, who was vigorously rubbed every morning and seemed in danger of being rubbed away completely, was brought from confinement by the ogress herself. Mrs Pipchin taught her that no one who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. After this great truth had been firmly taught, Miss Pankey was rewarded with rice. Later she repeated the Castle’s usual prayer of thanks, which included a special sentence thanking Mrs Pipchin for a good dinner. Mrs Pipchin’s niece, Berinthia, ate cold pork. Mrs Pipchin’s health required warm food, so she had a special meal of mutton chops, brought in very hot between two plates and smelling delicious.

En/Pt → It rained after dinner, so they could not walk on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s health required her to rest after eating chops. Therefore, the children went with Berry - another name for Berinthia - to the Dungeon. It was an empty room overlooking a chalk wall and a water barrel, made frightening by a broken fireplace with no stove. With company, however, it was the best place in the house. Berry played with them there and seemed to enjoy their rough games as much as they did. When Mrs Pipchin angrily knocked on the wall like the revived Cock Lane Ghost, they stopped, and Berry whispered stories to them until twilight.

At tea there was plenty of milk mixed with water, bread and butter, a small black teapot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and unlimited buttered toast for Mrs Pipchin, brought in very hot like the chops. Although Mrs Pipchin became very greasy on the outside while eating it, it did not soften her inside at all. She remained as fierce as ever, and her hard grey eye did not grow gentler.

En/Pt → After tea, Berry took out a small sewing box with the Royal Pavilion pictured on its lid and began working busily. Mrs Pipchin put on her spectacles, opened a large book covered in green cloth, and began to fall asleep. Whenever she caught herself leaning forward toward the fire and woke up, she flicked Master Bitherstone on the nose for falling asleep too.

At last it was the children’s bedtime, and after prayers they went to bed. Little Miss Pankey was afraid to sleep alone in the dark, so Mrs Pipchin always made a point of driving her upstairs herself like a sheep. It was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning for a long time afterward in the worst bedroom, while Mrs Pipchin occasionally went in to shake her. At about half past nine, the smell of a warm sweetbread - Mrs Pipchin’s health would not allow her to sleep without one - mixed with the usual smell of the house, which Mrs Wickam called “the smell of a building.” Soon afterward, sleep fell over the Castle.

En/Pt → Breakfast the next morning was like the previous night’s tea, except that Mrs Pipchin ate a roll instead of toast and seemed a little angrier when it was finished. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the others a family line from Genesis, wisely chosen by Mrs Pipchin, and passed through the names with the ease and clarity of someone stumbling up a treadmill. After that, Miss Pankey was carried away to be rubbed, and Master Bitherstone was taken to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and sad. Meanwhile, Paul and Florence went to the beach with Wickam, who was always crying. At about noon, Mrs Pipchin directed some Early Readings. Her system did not encourage a child’s mind to grow and open like a young flower; instead, she forced it open like an oyster. Therefore, the moral lessons were usually violent and shocking. Even in the mildest ending, the hero - a naughty boy - was rarely killed by anything less than a lion or a bear.

En/Pt → This was life at Mrs Pipchin’s. Mr Dombey came down on Saturdays, and Florence and Paul went to his hotel for tea. They spent all Sunday with him and usually went riding before dinner. On these occasions, Mr Dombey seemed to multiply like Falstaff’s attackers: instead of being one man in buckram, he became twelve. Sunday evening was the saddest evening of the week because Mrs Pipchin always made a point of being especially cross on Sunday nights. Miss Pankey usually returned in great distress from visiting an aunt at Rottingdean. Master Bitherstone’s relatives were all in India, and between church services he was required to sit perfectly straight with his head against the parlour wall, moving neither hand nor foot. His young spirits suffered so badly that one Sunday night he asked Florence whether she knew any way back to Bengal.

En/Pt → People generally said that Mrs Pipchin used a system with children, and no doubt she did. Certainly, the wild children returned home tame enough after spending a few months under her welcoming roof. People also said it was highly admirable that Mrs Pipchin had devoted herself to this life, sacrificed her feelings, and firmly resisted her troubles after Mr Pipchin broke his heart over the Peruvian mines.

Paul could sit in his little armchair by the fire and stare at this admirable old lady for any length of time. He never seemed to grow tired while looking steadily at Mrs Pipchin. He did not like her and was not afraid of her, but in his old, serious moods she seemed strangely fascinating to him. He would sit there, looking at her and warming his hands, then looking at her again, until he sometimes confused even the ogress Mrs Pipchin. Once, when they were alone, she asked what he was thinking about.

En/Pt → [Illustration]

“About you,” said Paul without the slightest hesitation.

“And what are you thinking about me?” Mrs Pipchin asked.

“I am thinking about how old you must be,” said Paul.

“You must not say things like that, young gentleman,” the old lady replied. “That will never do.”

“Why not?” Paul asked.

“Because it is not polite,” Mrs Pipchin said sharply.

“Not polite?” said Paul.

"No."

"It is not polite," Paul said innocently. "Wickam says you eat all the mutton chops and toast."

"Wickam," Mrs Pipchin replied, turning red, "is a wicked, rude, shameless girl."

"What does that mean?" Paul asked.

"Never mind, sir," Mrs Pipchin replied. "Remember the little boy who was gored to death by a mad bull because he asked questions."

"If the bull was mad," Paul said, "how did it know the boy had asked questions? No one can whisper secrets to a mad bull. I do not believe that story."

En/Pt → "You do not believe it, sir?" Mrs Pipchin repeated in amazement.

"No," Paul said.

"Not even if it happened to be a tame bull, you little unbeliever?" Mrs Pipchin asked.

Paul had not considered the story that way. His conclusion depended on the bull being mad, so for the moment he accepted defeat. But he clearly kept thinking about it and intended to trap Mrs Pipchin later. Even that tough old lady thought it wise to withdraw until he forgot the subject.

En/Pt → From then on, Mrs Pipchin seemed to feel the same strange attraction toward Paul that he felt toward her. She made him move his chair beside her at the fire. He sat between her and the fender, his bright little face nearly lost against her black dress, studying every line and wrinkle of her face and staring into her hard gray eye until she sometimes closed it and pretended to doze. Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks. Without disrespect, the old lady might have been a witch, with Paul and the cat as her two spirits. As they sat together by the fire, it would have suited the scene if all three had flown up the chimney in a strong wind one night and never been heard from again.

En/Pt → That never happened, however. After dark, the cat, Paul, and Mrs Pipchin were always in their usual places. Avoiding Master Bitherstone, Paul continued night after night to study Mrs Pipchin, the cat, and the fire as if they were a three-volume book of magic.

Mrs Wickam formed her own explanation for Paul's strange behavior. Her low spirits grew worse because of the confusing view of chimneys from her room, the sound of the wind, and the general gloom - or ghastliness, as she strongly called it - of her present life. From all this she drew the darkest conclusions. Mrs Pipchin tried to prevent her own 'young hussy,' her usual name for a maid, from speaking with Mrs Wickam. She spent much time hiding behind doors and jumping out whenever the girl approached Mrs Wickam's room. But Berry could talk there whenever her endless duties allowed, and Mrs Wickam told Berry all her worries.

En/Pt → "What a pretty little fellow he is when he is asleep!" Berry said one night, stopping to look at Paul in bed as she brought up Mrs Wickam's supper.

"Ah!" Mrs Wickam sighed. "He needs to be."

"He is not ugly when he is awake," Berry observed.

"No, ma'am. Oh, no. Neither was my uncle's Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said.

Berry looked as if she wanted to understand the connection between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam's uncle's Betsey Jane.

"My uncle's wife," Mrs Wickam continued, "died just like his mother. My uncle's child behaved just as Master Paul does."

"Behaved so? You surely do not think he grieves for his mother?" Berry argued, sitting on the side of the bed. "He cannot remember anything about her, Mrs Wickam. It is impossible."

"No, ma'am," Mrs Wickam said. "Neither could my uncle's child. But she sometimes said very strange things, looked very strange, acted very strangely, and was strange in every way. Sometimes my uncle's child made people's blood run cold!"

En/Pt → "How?" Berry asked.

"I would not have stayed up alone with Betsey Jane all night," Mrs Wickam said, "not even if you had set Wickam up in his own business the next morning. I could not have done it, Miss Berry."

Miss Berry naturally asked why. But, as some ladies in her condition often do, Mrs Wickam continued along her own line of thought without concern.

"Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said, "was as sweet a child as anyone could wish to see. I could not wish for a sweeter one. She had survived every illness a child could have. Cramps were as common to her," Mrs Wickam added, "as boils are to you, Miss Berry." Miss Berry wrinkled her nose without meaning to.

"But Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said, lowering her voice and looking around the room and toward Paul in bed, "had been watched in her cradle by her dead mother. I cannot say how or when, or whether the dear child knew it, but her mother watched over Betsey Jane, Miss Berry!" With a pale face, watery eyes, and a shaking voice, Mrs Wickam again looked fearfully around the room and toward Paul.

En/Pt → "Nonsense!" Miss Berry cried, somewhat offended by the idea.

"You may call it nonsense! I am not offended, miss. I hope your conscience lets you believe it is nonsense; your spirits will be better for it in this - excuse my freedom - this burial ground of a place, which is wearing me down. Master Paul is a little restless in his sleep. Please pat his back."

"Of course you think his mother has nursed him too?" Berry asked, gently doing as requested.

"Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam answered in her most solemn voice, "was burdened as that child has been, and changed as he has changed. Many times I saw her sit thinking and thinking, like him. Many times I saw her look old, old, old, like him. I often heard her talk just like him. I consider that child and Betsey Jane exactly alike, Miss Berry."

"Is your uncle's child alive?" Berry asked.

En/Pt → "Yes, miss, she is alive," Mrs Wickam answered triumphantly, because Miss Berry had clearly expected the opposite. "And she is married to a silver engraver. Oh yes, miss, SHE is alive," Mrs Wickam said, strongly stressing the word.

Since someone was clearly dead, Mrs Pipchin's niece asked who it was.

"I would not want to make you uneasy," Mrs Wickam replied, continuing her supper. "Do not ask me."

That was the surest way to make Berry ask again. So Miss Berry repeated her question. After some resistance and reluctance, Mrs Wickam put down her knife, looked around the room and toward Paul in bed again, and answered:

"She became attached to people. Some attachments were strange; others were the kind you might expect, only stronger than usual. They all died."

This was so unexpected and terrible to Mrs Pipchin's niece that she sat upright on the hard edge of the bed, breathing quickly and staring at Mrs Wickam with open alarm.

En/Pt → Mrs Wickam secretly shook her left forefinger toward the bed where Florence lay. Then she pointed it downward several times toward the floor, directly below which was the parlor where Mrs Pipchin regularly ate her toast.

"Remember my words, Miss Berry," Mrs Wickam said, "and be thankful Master Paul is not too fond of you. I am thankful he is not too fond of me, I assure you, although there is not much to live for - excuse my freedom - in this prison of a house!"

In her emotion, Miss Berry might have patted Paul too hard or stopped the steady soothing motion. Just then he turned in bed and soon awoke. He sat up, his hair hot and wet from a childish dream, and asked for Florence.

At the first sound of his voice, Florence left her bed. She immediately bent over his pillow and sang him to sleep again. Mrs Wickam shook her head, shed several tears, pointed out the little group to Berry, and raised her eyes to the ceiling.

En/Pt → "He is asleep now, my dear," Mrs Wickam said after a pause. "You had better return to bed. Do you not feel cold?"

"No, nurse," Florence said, laughing. "Not at all."

"Ah!" Mrs Wickam sighed. She shook her head again and silently suggested to the watchful Berry, "Some of us will be cold enough before long!"

Berry took the simple supper tray, which Mrs Wickam had finished with, and wished her good night.

"Good night, miss!" Wickam replied softly. "Good night! Your aunt is an old lady, Miss Berry, and you must often have expected it."

Mrs Wickam gave this comforting farewell with a look of deep sorrow. Left alone with the two children again, she noticed the wind blowing sadly and enjoyed melancholy - the cheapest and easiest luxury to obtain - until sleep overcame her.

En/Pt → Mrs Pipchin's niece did not really expect to find that admirable dragon lying dead on the hearthrug when she went downstairs. Still, she felt relieved to find her unusually bad-tempered and severe, apparently intending to live a long time and comfort everyone who knew her. During the next week, Mrs Pipchin showed no sign of weakening. Her usual food continued to disappear regularly, although Paul studied her as closely as ever from his usual seat between her black skirts and the fender.

By the end of that week, Paul was no stronger than when he arrived, although his face looked much healthier. A small carriage was obtained so he could lie comfortably with an alphabet book and other elementary reading and be wheeled to the seaside. True to his unusual tastes, he rejected the rosy-faced boy suggested to pull it. Instead, he chose the boy's grandfather: a thin, crab-faced old man in a worn oilskin suit, made tough and stringy by years in salt water, who smelled like a weedy beach at low tide.

En/Pt → With this remarkable attendant pulling him, Florence always walking beside him, and the gloomy Wickam following behind, Paul went to the ocean's edge every day. There he sat or lay in his carriage for hours. Nothing troubled him more than the company of children, except for Florence, whom he always wanted near.

"Please go away," he would say to any child who came to keep him company. "Thank you, but I do not want you."

Perhaps a small voice near his ear would ask how he was.

"I am very well, thank you," he would answer. "But please go and play."

Then he would turn and watch the child leave. He would say to Florence, "We do not need anyone else, do we? Kiss me, Floy."

At such times, he even disliked Wickam's company and was glad when she wandered off, as she usually did, to collect shells and meet people. His favorite place was very lonely and far from most visitors. With Florence beside him sewing, reading, or talking, the wind on his face, and the water rising around the wheels of his bed, he wanted nothing else.

En/Pt → "Floy," he asked one day, "where is India, where that boy's friends live?"

"Oh, it is very, very far away," Florence said, looking up from her work.

"Weeks away?" Paul asked.

"Yes, dear. It takes many weeks of traveling, night and day."

After a minute of silence, Paul said, "If you were in India, Floy, I would - what was it that Mama did? I forget."

"Loved me!" Florence answered.

"No, no. Do I not love you now, Floy? What was it? Died. If you were in India, I would die, Floy."

She quickly put aside her work, laid her head on his pillow, and caressed him. She said she would die too if he were there. He would soon be better.

"Oh, I am much better now!" he answered. "That is not what I mean. I mean I would die because I would be so sad and lonely, Floy!"

Another time in the same place, he fell asleep and rested quietly for a long while. Suddenly he awoke, listened, sat up quickly, and continued listening.

En/Pt → Florence asked what he thought he had heard.

"I want to know what it says," he answered, looking steadily at her. "The sea, Floy. What does it keep saying?"

She told him it was only the sound of the rolling waves.

"Yes, yes," he said. "But I know they are always saying something - the same thing every time. What place is over there?" He sat up and looked eagerly toward the horizon.

She told him there was another country across the sea. But he said that was not what he meant. He meant farther away - much farther away.

Very often afterward, in the middle of their conversations, he stopped to understand what the waves were always saying. He would rise on his couch and look toward that invisible region far away.

CHAPTER IX. In which the Wooden Midshipman gets into Trouble

En/Pt → Young Walter Gay had a strong taste for romance and wonders. His guardian, old Solomon Gills, had not weakened it much with harsh practical experience. This made Florence's adventure with Good Mrs Brown unusually exciting to Walter. He carefully preserved the memory, especially the part in which he had helped her, until it became the spoiled child of his imagination and did whatever it pleased there.

En/Pt → The memory of those events and Walter's part in them may have become even more charming because of old Sol and Captain Cuttle's Sunday dreams. Almost every Sunday, one of those good friends made mysterious references to Richard Whittington. Captain Cuttle had even bought an old ballad that had long hung with many others, mostly about sailors, on a wall in Commercial Road. It told of the courtship and marriage of a promising young coal worker and 'lovely Peg,' the talented daughter of a Newcastle ship's master and part owner. Captain Cuttle saw a deep connection between this exciting story and Walter and Florence. It moved him so much that on birthdays and a few other festive weekdays he sang the whole song loudly in the back parlor, stretching the word 'Pe-e-eg' at the end of every verse to honor its heroine.

En/Pt → A frank, generous, open-hearted boy rarely analyzes his own feelings, however strong they are, and Walter would have struggled to explain his. He was very fond of the wharf where he had met Florence and even of the unattractive streets along which they had walked home. He kept in his room the shoes that had so often fallen off her feet, and in the back parlor he drew many imaginary portraits of Good Mrs Brown. Perhaps he dressed a little more carefully after that memorable day. In his free time, he certainly liked walking near Mr Dombey's house in the vague hope of passing Florence. Yet all these feelings were entirely boyish and innocent. Florence was pretty, and a pretty face was pleasant to admire. She had been weak and helpless, and Walter was proud that he had protected and helped her. She was deeply grateful, and it delighted him to see that gratitude shining in her face. She was neglected and treated coldly, and his young heart cared for the slighted child in her gloomy, grand home.

En/Pt → As a result, perhaps six times during the year, Walter took off his hat to Florence in the street, and she stopped to shake his hand. Mrs Wickam knew the story of their meeting and had grown used to this. With her usual habit of changing his name, she always called him 'Young Graves,' and paid no attention. Miss Nipper, however, watched for these meetings. Her sensitive young heart secretly favored Walter because of his good looks and believed that he returned her feelings.

En/Pt → In this way, Walter did not forget Florence; he remembered her more clearly all the time. He treated the adventurous beginning of their friendship and its special details as a pleasant story that delighted his imagination, rather than as ordinary facts involving himself. In his mind, they made Florence more remarkable, but not Walter. Sometimes he imagined how grand it would have been if he had gone to sea the day after they met, performed wonders, stayed away for years, and returned as an admiral in every color of the dolphin - or at least as a post-captain with dazzling epaulettes. He would then marry the grown and beautiful Florence despite Mr Dombey's teeth, cravat, and watch chain, and carry her triumphantly to some distant blue shore. But these dreams rarely turned the brass sign at Dombey and Son into a golden promise or made its dirty skylights shine. When Captain Cuttle and Uncle Sol spoke of Richard Whittington and masters' daughters, Walter knew that he understood his true place at Dombey and Son much better than they did.

En/Pt → So Walter continued to do his daily work with cheerfulness, care, and good humor. He saw through Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle's hopeful ideas, yet he had a thousand vague dreams of his own that were even less likely than theirs. This was his situation during the time at Mrs Pipchin's. He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira.

"Uncle Sol," Walter said, "I do not think you are well. You have eaten no breakfast. If this continues, I will bring you a doctor."

"He cannot give me what I need, my boy," Uncle Sol said. "At least, if he can, his business is doing well - and then he would not give it to me."

En/Pt → "What do you need, Uncle? Customers?"

"Yes," Solomon answered with a sigh. "Customers would help."

"Confound it, Uncle!" Walter said, setting down his cup noisily and striking the table. "When I see crowds of people going up and down the street all day and passing the shop every minute, I am almost tempted to rush out, grab someone, bring him inside, and make him buy fifty pounds' worth of instruments for cash. Why are you staring through the door?" Walter continued, silently addressing an old powdered gentleman who was studying a ship's telescope very closely. "That is no help. I could do that. Come in and buy it!"

The old gentleman satisfied his curiosity, however, and calmly walked away.

"There he goes!" Walter said. "They are all like that. But, Uncle - I say, Uncle Sol!" The old man was deep in thought and had not answered his first call. "Do not lose hope. Do not be sad, Uncle. When orders come, there will be so many that you will not be able to fill them all."

En/Pt → "I will be unable to fill them whenever they come, my boy," Solomon Gills answered. "They will never return to this shop until I am out of it."

"Uncle, you really must not talk that way!" Walter urged. "Please do not!"

Old Sol tried to look cheerful and smiled across the small table as pleasantly as he could.

"Nothing more than usual is wrong, is it, Uncle?" Walter asked. He rested his elbows on the tea tray and leaned forward to speak more privately and kindly. "If there is, be honest with me, Uncle, and tell me everything."

"No, no, no," Old Sol answered. "More than usual? No, no. Why should anything be more wrong than usual?"

Walter shook his head doubtfully. "That is what I want to know," he said, "and you ask me! I will tell you something, Uncle. When I see you like this, I almost regret living with you."

En/Pt → Old Sol opened his eyes in surprise.

"Yes. Although no one has ever been happier with you than I am and always have been, I almost regret living with you when I see that something is troubling you."

"I know I am a little gloomy at such times," Solomon said, humbly rubbing his hands.

En/Pt → "What I mean, Uncle Sol," Walter continued, leaning farther over to pat his shoulder, "is that instead of me, you should have a nice, round little wife sitting here and pouring the tea. She would be a comfortable, excellent, cozy old lady, perfectly suited to you, who knew how to manage you and keep you cheerful. I love you as much as any nephew ever did, and I certainly should, but I am only a nephew. When you are sad and troubled, I cannot be the companion she would have become years ago. I would give anything to cheer you, but whenever I see something on your mind, I am sorry you do not have someone better near you than a clumsy, rough young boy like me. I have the desire to comfort you, Uncle, but not the skill - not the skill," Walter repeated, leaning even farther to shake his uncle's hand.

En/Pt → "Wally, my dear boy," Solomon said, "if that cozy little old lady had taken her place in this parlor forty-five years ago, I could never have loved her more than I love you."

"I know that, Uncle Sol," Walter answered. "God bless you, I know it. But if she had been here, you would not have carried the full weight of painful secrets. She would have known how to help you share them, and I do not."

"Yes, yes, you do," the instrument maker answered.

"Then what is wrong, Uncle Sol?" Walter asked gently. "Come, tell me. What is wrong?"

Solomon Gills insisted that nothing was wrong. He said it so firmly that his nephew could only make a poor attempt to pretend he believed him.

"All I can say, Uncle Sol, is that if there is - "

"But there is not," said Solomon.

En/Pt → "Very well," said Walter. "Then I have nothing more to say, which is lucky because it is time for me to go to work. I will return later, when I am free, to see how you are doing, Uncle. And remember: if I discover that you have deceived me, I will never believe you again or tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior!"

Solomon Gills laughed and challenged Walter to discover any such deception. Walter went to the offices of Dombey and Son looking sadder than usual, while imagining many impossible ways to make a fortune and give the wooden Midshipman financial independence.

Original English Text

Front Matter

1. CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son

2. CHAPTER II. In which Timely Provision is made for an Emergency that will sometimes arise in the best-regulated Families.

3. CHAPTER III. In which Mr Dombey, as a Man and a Father, is seen at the Head of the Home-Department

4. CHAPTER IV. In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these Adventures

5. CHAPTER V. Paul’s Progress and Christening

6. CHAPTER VI. Paul’s Second Deprivation

7. CHAPTER VII. A Bird’s-eye Glimpse of Miss Tox’s Dwelling-place: also of the State of Miss Tox’s Affections

8. CHAPTER VIII. Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character

9. CHAPTER IX. In which the Wooden Midshipman gets into Trouble

Contents

Front Matter

Português → # Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Contents

Português → CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son CHAPTER II. In which Timely Provision is made for an Emergency that will sometimes arise in the best-regulated Families CHAPTER III. In which Mr Dombey, as a Man and a Father, is seen at the Head of the Home-Department CHAPTER IV. In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these Adventures CHAPTER V. Paul’s Progress and Christening CHAPTER VI. Paul’s Second Deprivation CHAPTER VII. A Bird’s-eye Glimpse of Miss Tox’s Dwelling-place: also of the State of Miss Tox’s Affections CHAPTER VIII. Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character CHAPTER IX. In which the Wooden Midshipman gets into Trouble CHAPTER X. Containing the Sequel of the Midshipman’s Disaster CHAPTER XI. Paul’s Introduction to a New Scene CHAPTER XII. Paul’s Education CHAPTER XIII. Shipping Intelligence and Office Business CHAPTER XIV. Paul grows more and more Old-fashioned, and goes Home for the Holidays CHAPTER XV. Amazing Artfulness of Captain Cuttle, and a new Pursuit for Walter Gay CHAPTER XVI. What the Waves were always saying CHAPTER XVII. Captain Cuttle does a little Business for the Young People CHAPTER XVIII. Father and Daughter CHAPTER XIX. Walter goes away CHAPTER XX. Mr Dombey goes upon a Journey CHAPTER XXI. New Faces CHAPTER XXII. A Trifle of Management by Mr Carker the Manager CHAPTER XXIII. Florence solitary, and the Midshipman mysterious CHAPTER XXIV. The Study of a Loving Heart CHAPTER XXV. Strange News of Uncle Sol CHAPTER XXVI. Shadows of the Past and Future CHAPTER XXVII. Deeper Shadows CHAPTER XXVIII. Alterations CHAPTER XXIX. The Opening of the Eyes of Mrs Chick CHAPTER XXX. The interval before the Marriage CHAPTER XXXI. The Wedding CHAPTER XXXII. The Wooden Midshipman goes to Pieces CHAPTER XXXIII. Contrasts CHAPTER XXXIV. Another Mother and Daughter CHAPTER XXXV. The Happy Pair CHAPTER XXXVI. Housewarming CHAPTER XXXVII. More Warnings than One CHAPTER XXXVIII. Miss Tox improves an Old Acquaintance CHAPTER XXXIX. Further Adventures of Captain Edward Cuttle, Mariner CHAPTER XL. Domestic Relations CHAPTER XLI. New Voices in the Waves CHAPTER XLII. Confidential and Accidental CHAPTER XLIII. The Watches of the Night CHAPTER XLIV. A Separation CHAPTER XLV. The Trusty Agent CHAPTER XLVI. Recognizant and Reflective CHAPTER XLVII. The Thunderbolt CHAPTER XLVIII. The Flight of Florence CHAPTER XLIX. The Midshipman makes a Discovery CHAPTER L. Mr Toots’s Complaint CHAPTER LI. Mr Dombey and the World CHAPTER LII. Secret Intelligence CHAPTER LIII. More Intelligence CHAPTER LIV. The Fugitives CHAPTER LV. Rob the Grinder loses his Place CHAPTER LVI. Several People delighted, and the Game Chicken disgusted CHAPTER LVII. Another Wedding CHAPTER LVIII. After a Lapse CHAPTER LIX. Retribution CHAPTER LX. Chiefly Matrimonial CHAPTER LXI. Relenting CHAPTER LXII. Final PREFACE OF 1848 PREFACE OF 1867

CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son

Português → Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new.

Dombey was about eight-and-forty years of age. Son about eight-and-forty minutes. Dombey was rather bald, rather red, and though a handsome well-made man, too stern and pompous in appearance, to be prepossessing. Son was very bald, and very red, and though (of course) an undeniably fine infant, somewhat crushed and spotty in his general effect, as yet. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations.

Português → Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly.

“The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be not only in name but in fact Dombey and Son;” and he added, in a tone of luxurious satisfaction, with his eyes half-closed as if he were reading the name in a device of flowers, and inhaling their fragrance at the same time; “Dom-bey and Son!”

The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs Dombey’s name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.”

A transient flush of faint surprise overspread the sick lady’s face as she raised her eyes towards him.

“He will be christened Paul, my - Mrs Dombey - of course.”

Português → She feebly echoed, “Of course,” or rather expressed it by the motion of her lips, and closed her eyes again.

“His father’s name, Mrs Dombey, and his grandfather’s! I wish his grandfather were alive this day! There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior,” said Mr Dombey, making a fictitious autograph on his knee; “but it is merely of a private and personal complexion. It doesn’t enter into the correspondence of the House. Its signature remains the same.” And again he said “Dombey and Son,” in exactly the same tone as before.

Those three words conveyed the one idea of Mr Dombey’s life. The earth was made for Dombey and Son to trade in, and the sun and moon were made to give them light. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre. Common abbreviations took new meanings in his eyes, and had sole reference to them. A. D. had no concern with Anno Domini, but stood for anno Dombei - and Son.

Português → He had risen, as his father had before him, in the course of life and death, from Son to Dombey, and for nearly twenty years had been the sole representative of the Firm. Of those years he had been married, ten - married, as some said, to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past, and who was content to bind her broken spirit to the dutiful and meek endurance of the present. Such idle talk was little likely to reach the ears of Mr Dombey, whom it nearly concerned; and probably no one in the world would have received it with such utter incredulity as he, if it had reached him. Dombey and Son had often dealt in hides, but never in hearts. They left that fancy ware to boys and girls, and boarding-schools and books. Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself _must_, in the nature of things, be gratifying and honourable to any woman of common sense. That the hope of giving birth to a new partner in such a House, could not fail to awaken a glorious and stirring ambition in the breast of the least ambitious of her sex. That Mrs Dombey had entered on that social contract of matrimony: almost necessarily part of a genteel and wealthy station, even without reference to the perpetuation of family Firms: with her eyes fully open to these advantages. That Mrs Dombey had had daily practical knowledge of his position in society. That Mrs Dombey had always sat at the head of his table, and done the honours of his house in a remarkably lady-like and becoming manner. That Mrs Dombey must have been happy. That she couldn’t help it.

Português → Or, at all events, with one drawback. Yes. That he would have allowed. With only one; but that one certainly involving much. With the drawback of hope deferred. That hope deferred, which, (as the Scripture very correctly tells us, Mr Dombey would have added in a patronising way; for his highest distinct idea even of Scripture, if examined, would have been found to be; that as forming part of a general whole, of which Dombey and Son formed another part, it was therefore to be commended and upheld) maketh the heart sick. They had been married ten years, and until this present day on which Mr Dombey sat jingling and jingling his heavy gold watch-chain in the great arm-chair by the side of the bed, had had no issue.

- To speak of; none worth mentioning. There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother’s face. But what was a girl to Dombey and Son! In the capital of the House’s name and dignity, such a child was merely a piece of base coin that couldn’t be invested - a bad Boy - nothing more.

Português → Mr Dombey’s cup of satisfaction was so full at this moment, however, that he felt he could afford a drop or two of its contents, even to sprinkle on the dust in the by-path of his little daughter.

So he said, “Florence, you may go and look at your pretty brother, if you like, I daresay. Don’t touch him!”

The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered.

“Her insensibility is as proof against a brother as against every thing else,” said Mr Dombey to himself He seemed so confirmed in a previous opinion by the discovery, as to be quite glad of it.”

Next moment, the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and, standing on tiptoe, the better to hide her face in her embrace, had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years.

Português → “Oh Lord bless me!” said Mr Dombey, rising testily. “A very ill-advised and feverish proceeding this, I am sure. Please to ring there for Miss Florence’s nurse. Really the person should be more care-”

“Wait! I - had better ask Doctor Peps if he’ll have the goodness to step upstairs again perhaps. I’ll go down. I’ll go down. I needn’t beg you,” he added, pausing for a moment at the settee before the fire, “to take particular care of this young gentleman, Mrs - - ”

“Blockitt, Sir?” suggested the nurse, a simpering piece of faded gentility, who did not presume to state her name as a fact, but merely offered it as a mild suggestion.

“Of this young gentleman, Mrs Blockitt.”

“No, Sir, indeed. I remember when Miss Florence was born - ”

Português → “Ay, ay, ay,” said Mr Dombey, bending over the basket bedstead, and slightly bending his brows at the same time. “Miss Florence was all very well, but this is another matter. This young gentleman has to accomplish a destiny. A destiny, little fellow!” As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips, and kissed it; then, seeming to fear that the action involved some compromise of his dignity, went, awkwardly enough, away.

Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep.

“Well, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a round, deep, sonorous voice, muffled for the occasion, like the knocker; “do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?”

Português → “Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.”

Mr Dombey was quite discomfited by the question. He had thought so little of the patient, that he was not in a condition to answer it. He said that it would be a satisfaction to him, if Doctor Parker Peps would walk upstairs again.

“Good! We must not disguise from you, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that there is a want of power in Her Grace the Duchess - I beg your pardon; I confound names; I should say, in your amiable lady. That there is a certain degree of languor, and a general absence of elasticity, which we would rather - not - ”

“See,” interposed the family practitioner with another inclination of the head.

“Quite so,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “which we would rather not see. It would appear that the system of Lady Cankaby - excuse me: I should say of Mrs Dombey: I confuse the names of cases - ”

Português → “So very numerous,” murmured the family practitioner - “can’t be expected I’m sure - quite wonderful if otherwise - Doctor Parker Peps’s West-End practice - ”

“Thank you,” said the Doctor, “quite so. It would appear, I was observing, that the system of our patient has sustained a shock, from which it can only hope to rally by a great and strong - ”

“And vigorous,” murmured the family practitioner.

“Quite so,” assented the Doctor - “and vigorous effort. Mr Pilkins here, who from his position of medical adviser in this family - no one better qualified to fill that position, I am sure.”

“Oh!” murmured the family practitioner. “‘Praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!’”

“You are good enough,” returned Doctor Parker Peps, “to say so. Mr Pilkins who, from his position, is best acquainted with the patient’s constitution in its normal state (an acquaintance very valuable to us in forming our opinions in these occasions), is of opinion, with me, that Nature must be called upon to make a vigorous effort in this instance; and that if our interesting friend the Countess of Dombey - I _beg_ your pardon; Mrs Dombey - should not be - ”

Português → “Able,” said the family practitioner.

“To make,” said Doctor Parker Peps.

“That effort,” said the family practitioner.

“Successfully,” said they both together.

“Then,” added Doctor Parker Peps, alone and very gravely, “a crisis might arise, which we should both sincerely deplore.”

With that, they stood for a few seconds looking at the ground. Then, on the motion - made in dumb show - of Doctor Parker Peps, they went upstairs; the family practitioner opening the room door for that distinguished professional, and following him out, with most obsequious politeness.

To record of Mr Dombey that he was not in his way affected by this intelligence, would be to do him an injustice. He was not a man of whom it could properly be said that he was ever startled, or shocked; but he certainly had a sense within him, that if his wife should sicken and decay, he would be very sorry, and that he would find a something gone from among his plate and furniture, and other household possessions, which was well worth the having, and could not be lost without sincere regret. Though it would be a cool, business-like, gentlemanly, self-possessed regret, no doubt.

Português → His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice,

“My dear Paul! He’s quite a Dombey!”

“Well, well!” returned her brother - for Mr Dombey was her brother - “I think he is like the family. Don’t agitate yourself, Louisa.”

“It’s very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down, and taking out her pocket-handkerchief, “but he’s - he’s such a perfect Dombey!”

Mr Dombey coughed.

“It’s so extraordinary,” said Louisa; smiling through her tears, which indeed were not overpowering, “as to be perfectly ridiculous. So completely our family. _I_ never saw anything like it in my life!”

Português → “But what is this about Fanny, herself?” said Mr Dombey. “How is Fanny?”

“My dear Paul,” returned Louisa, “it’s nothing whatever. Take my word, it’s nothing whatever. There is exhaustion, certainly, but nothing like what I underwent myself, either with George or Frederick. An effort is necessary. That’s all. If dear Fanny were a Dombey! - But I daresay she’ll make it; I have no doubt she’ll make it. Knowing it to be required of her, as a duty, of course she’ll make it. My dear Paul, it’s very weak and silly of me, I know, to be so trembly and shaky from head to foot; but I am so very queer that I must ask you for a glass of wine and a morsel of that cake.”

Mr Dombey promptly supplied her with these refreshments from a tray on the table.

“I shall not drink my love to you, Paul,” said Louisa: “I shall drink to the little Dombey. Good gracious me! - it’s the most astonishing thing I ever knew in all my days, he’s such a perfect Dombey.”

Português → Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears, Louisa cast up her eyes, and emptied her glass.

“I know it’s very weak and silly of me,” she repeated, “to be so trembly and shaky from head to foot, and to allow my feelings so completely to get the better of me, but I cannot help it. I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny, and that tiddy ickle sing.” These last words originated in a sudden vivid reminiscence of the baby.

They were succeeded by a gentle tap at the door.

“Mrs Chick,” said a very bland female voice outside, “how are you now, my dear friend?”

“My dear Paul,” said Louisa in a low voice, as she rose from her seat, “it’s Miss Tox. The kindest creature! I never could have got here without her! Miss Tox, my brother Mr Dombey. Paul, my dear, my very particular friend Miss Tox.”

Português → The lady thus specially presented, was a long lean figure, wearing such a faded air that she seemed not to have been made in what linen-drapers call “fast colours” originally, and to have, by little and little, washed out. But for this she might have been described as the very pink of general propitiation and politeness. From a long habit of listening admiringly to everything that was said in her presence, and looking at the speakers as if she were mentally engaged in taking off impressions of their images upon her soul, never to part with the same but with life, her head had quite settled on one side. Her hands had contracted a spasmodic habit of raising themselves of their own accord as in involuntary admiration. Her eyes were liable to a similar affection. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything.

Português → Miss Tox’s dress, though perfectly genteel and good, had a certain character of angularity and scantiness. She was accustomed to wear odd weedy little flowers in her bonnets and caps. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. She had furry articles for winter wear, as tippets, boas, and muffs, which stood up on end in rampant manner, and were not at all sleek. She was much given to the carrying about of small bags with snaps to them, that went off like little pistols when they were shut up; and when full-dressed, she wore round her neck the barrenest of lockets, representing a fishy old eye, with no approach to speculation in it. These and other appearances of a similar nature, had served to propagate the opinion, that Miss Tox was a lady of what is called a limited independence, which she turned to the best account. Possibly her mincing gait encouraged the belief, and suggested that her clipping a step of ordinary compass into two or three, originated in her habit of making the most of everything.

Português → “I am sure,” said Miss Tox, with a prodigious curtsey, “that to have the honour of being presented to Mr Dombey is a distinction which I have long sought, but very little expected at the present moment. My dear Mrs Chick - may I say Louisa!”

Mrs Chick took Miss Tox’s hand in hers, rested the foot of her wine-glass upon it, repressed a tear, and said in a low voice, “God bless you!”

“My dear Louisa then,” said Miss Tox, “my sweet friend, how are you now?”

“Better,” Mrs Chick returned. “Take some wine. You have been almost as anxious as I have been, and must want it, I am sure.”

Mr Dombey of course officiated, and also refilled his sister’s glass, which she (looking another way, and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while, and then regarded with great astonishment, saying, “My dear Paul, what have you been doing!”

“Miss Tox, Paul,” pursued Mrs Chick, still retaining her hand, “knowing how much I have been interested in the anticipation of the event of today, and how trembly and shaky I have been from head to foot in expectation of it, has been working at a little gift for Fanny, which I promised to present. Miss Tox is ingenuity itself.”

Português → “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox. “Don’t say so.”

“It is only a pincushion for the toilette table, Paul,” resumed his sister; “one of those trifles which are insignificant to your sex in general, as it’s very natural they should be - we have no business to expect they should be otherwise - but to which we attach some interest.”

“Miss Tox is very good,” said Mr Dombey.

“And I do say, and will say, and must say,” pursued his sister, pressing the foot of the wine-glass on Miss Tox’s hand, at each of the three clauses, “that Miss Tox has very prettily adapted the sentiment to the occasion. I call ‘Welcome little Dombey’ Poetry, myself!”

“Is that the device?” inquired her brother.

“That is the device,” returned Louisa.

Português → “But do me the justice to remember, my dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox in a tone of low and earnest entreaty, “that nothing but the - I have some difficulty in expressing myself - the dubiousness of the result would have induced me to take so great a liberty: ‘Welcome, Master Dombey,’ would have been much more congenial to my feelings, as I am sure you know. But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged. Even the sort of recognition of Dombey and Son, conveyed in the foregoing conversation, was so palatable to him, that his sister, Mrs Chick - though he affected to consider her a weak good-natured person - had perhaps more influence over him than anybody else.

“My dear Paul,” that lady broke out afresh, after silently contemplating his features for a few moments, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I look at you, I declare, you do so remind me of that dear baby upstairs.”

Português → “Well!” said Mrs Chick, with a sweet smile, “after this, I forgive Fanny everything!”

It was a declaration in a Christian spirit, and Mrs Chick felt that it did her good. Not that she had anything particular to forgive in her sister-in-law, nor indeed anything at all, except her having married her brother - in itself a species of audacity - and her having, in the course of events, given birth to a girl instead of a boy: which, as Mrs Chick had frequently observed, was not quite what she had expected of her, and was not a pleasant return for all the attention and distinction she had met with.

Mr Dombey being hastily summoned out of the room at this moment, the two ladies were left alone together. Miss Tox immediately became spasmodic.

“I knew you would admire my brother. I told you so beforehand, my dear,” said Louisa. Miss Tox’s hands and eyes expressed how much. “And as to his property, my dear!”

Português → “Ah!” said Miss Tox, with deep feeling.

“Im-mense!”

“But his deportment, my dear Louisa!” said Miss Tox. “His presence! His dignity! No portrait that I have ever seen of anyone has been half so replete with those qualities. Something so stately, you know: so uncompromising: so very wide across the chest: so upright! A pecuniary Duke of York, my love, and nothing short of it!” said Miss Tox. “That’s what _I_ should designate him.”

“Why, my dear Paul!” exclaimed his sister, as he returned, “you look quite pale! There’s nothing the matter?”

“I am sorry to say, Louisa, that they tell me that Fanny - ”

“Now, my dear Paul,” returned his sister rising, “don’t believe it. Do not allow yourself to receive a turn unnecessarily. Remember of what importance you are to society, and do not allow yourself to be worried by what is so very inconsiderately told you by people who ought to know better. Really I’m surprised at them.”

“I hope I know, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, stiffly, “how to bear myself before the world.”

Português → “Nobody better, my dear Paul. Nobody half so well. They would be ignorant and base indeed who doubted it.”

“Ignorant and base indeed!” echoed Miss Tox softly.

“But,” pursued Louisa, “if you have any reliance on my experience, Paul, you may rest assured that there is nothing wanting but an effort on Fanny’s part. And that effort,” she continued, taking off her bonnet, and adjusting her cap and gloves, in a business-like manner, “she must be encouraged, and really, if necessary, urged to make. Now, my dear Paul, come upstairs with me.”

Mr Dombey, who, besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned, had really faith in her as an experienced and bustling matron, acquiesced; and followed her, at once, to the sick chamber.

The lady lay upon her bed as he had left her, clasping her little daughter to her breast. The child clung close about her, with the same intensity as before, and never raised her head, or moved her soft cheek from her mother’s face, or looked on those who stood around, or spoke, or moved, or shed a tear.

Português → “Restless without the little girl,” the Doctor whispered Mr Dombey. “We found it best to have her in again.”

“Can nothing be done?” asked Mr Dombey.

The Doctor shook his head. “We can do no more.”

The windows stood open, and the twilight was gathering without.

The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room, but had no fragrance in the dull and languid air the lady breathed.

There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper:

“Fanny! Fanny!”

There was no sound in answer but the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch, which seemed in the silence to be running a race.

Português → “Fanny, my dear,” said Mrs Chick, with assumed lightness, “here’s Mr Dombey come to see you. Won’t you speak to him? They want to lay your little boy - the baby, Fanny, you know; you have hardly seen him yet, I think - in bed; but they can’t till you rouse yourself a little. Don’t you think it’s time you roused yourself a little? Eh?”

She bent her ear to the bed, and listened: at the same time looking round at the bystanders, and holding up her finger.

“Eh?” she repeated, “what was it you said, Fanny? I didn’t hear you.”

No word or sound in answer. Mr Dombey’s watch and Dr Parker Peps’s watch seemed to be racing faster.

Português → “Now, really, Fanny my dear,” said the sister-in-law, altering her position, and speaking less confidently, and more earnestly, in spite of herself, “I shall have to be quite cross with you, if you don’t rouse yourself. It’s necessary for you to make an effort, and perhaps a very great and painful effort which you are not disposed to make; but this is a world of effort you know, Fanny, and we must never yield, when so much depends upon us. Come! Try! I must really scold you if you don’t!”

The race in the ensuing pause was fierce and furious. The watches seemed to jostle, and to trip each other up.

“Fanny!” said Louisa, glancing round, with a gathering alarm. “Only look at me. Only open your eyes to show me that you hear and understand me; will you? Good Heaven, gentlemen, what is to be done!”

The two medical attendants exchanged a look across the bed; and the Physician, stooping down, whispered in the child’s ear. Not having understood the purport of his whisper, the little creature turned her perfectly colourless face and deep dark eyes towards him; but without loosening her hold in the least.

Português → The whisper was repeated.

“Mama!” said the child.

The little voice, familiar and dearly loved, awakened some show of consciousness, even at that ebb. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen.

“Mama!” cried the child sobbing aloud. “Oh dear Mama! oh dear Mama!”

The Doctor gently brushed the scattered ringlets of the child, aside from the face and mouth of the mother. Alas how calm they lay there; how little breath there was to stir them!

Thus, clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world.

CHAPTER II. In which Timely Provision is made for an Emergency that will sometimes arise in the best-regulated Families.

Português → I shall never cease to congratulate myself,” said Mrs Chick,” on having said, when I little thought what was in store for us, - really as if I was inspired by something, - that I forgave poor dear Fanny everything. Whatever happens, that must always be a comfort to me!”

Mrs Chick made this impressive observation in the drawing-room, after having descended thither from the inspection of the mantua-makers upstairs, who were busy on the family mourning. She delivered it for the behoof of Mr Chick, who was a stout bald gentleman, with a very large face, and his hands continually in his pockets, and who had a tendency in his nature to whistle and hum tunes, which, sensible of the indecorum of such sounds in a house of grief, he was at some pains to repress at present.

“Don’t you over-exert yourself, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you’ll be laid up with spasms, I see. Right tol loor rul! Bless my soul, I forgot! We’re here one day and gone the next!”

Português → Mrs Chick contented herself with a glance of reproof, and then proceeded with the thread of her discourse.

“I am sure,” she said, “I hope this heart-rending occurrence will be a warning to all of us, to accustom ourselves to rouse ourselves, and to make efforts in time where they’re required of us. There’s a moral in everything, if we would only avail ourselves of it. It will be our own faults if we lose sight of this one.”

Mr Chick invaded the grave silence which ensued on this remark with the singularly inappropriate air of “A cobbler there was;” and checking himself, in some confusion, observed, that it was undoubtedly our own faults if we didn’t improve such melancholy occasions as the present.

“Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn.

Português → “Merely habit, my dear,” pleaded Mr Chick.

“Nonsense! Habit!” returned his wife. “If you’re a rational being, don’t make such ridiculous excuses. Habit! If I was to get a habit (as you call it) of walking on the ceiling, like the flies, I should hear enough of it, I daresay.”

It appeared so probable that such a habit might be attended with some degree of notoriety, that Mr Chick didn’t venture to dispute the position.

“Bow-wow-wow!” repeated Mrs Chick with an emphasis of blighting contempt on the last syllable. “More like a professional singer with the hydrophobia, than a man in your station of life!”

“How’s the Baby, Loo?” asked Mr Chick: to change the subject.

“What Baby do you mean?” answered Mrs Chick.

“The poor bereaved little baby,” said Mr Chick. “I don’t know of any other, my dear.”

“You don’t know of any other,” retorted Mrs Chick. “More shame for you, I was going to say.”

Português → Mr Chick looked astonished.

“I am sure the morning I have had, with that dining-room downstairs, one mass of babies, no one in their senses would believe.”

“One mass of babies!” repeated Mr Chick, staring with an alarmed expression about him.

“It would have occurred to most men,” said Mrs Chick, “that poor dear Fanny being no more, - those words of mine will always be a balm and comfort to me,” here she dried her eyes; “it becomes necessary to provide a Nurse.”

“Oh! Ah!” said Mr Chick. “Toor-ru! - such is life, I mean. I hope you are suited, my dear.”

“Indeed I am not,” said Mrs Chick; “nor likely to be, so far as I can see, and in the meantime the poor child seems likely to be starved to death. Paul is so very particular - naturally so, of course, having set his whole heart on this one boy - and there are so many objections to everybody that offers, that I don’t see, myself, the least chance of an arrangement. Meanwhile, of course, the child is - ”

Português → “Going to the Devil,” said Mr Chick, thoughtfully, “to be sure.”

Admonished, however, that he had committed himself, by the indignation expressed in Mrs Chick’s countenance at the idea of a Dombey going there; and thinking to atone for his misconduct by a bright suggestion, he added:

“Couldn’t something temporary be done with a teapot?”

If he had meant to bring the subject prematurely to a close, he could not have done it more effectually. After looking at him for some moments in silent resignation, Mrs Chick said she trusted he hadn’t said it in aggravation, because that would do very little honour to his heart. She trusted he hadn’t said it seriously, because that would do very little honour to his head. As in any case, he couldn’t, however sanguine his disposition, hope to offer a remark that would be a greater outrage on human nature in general, we would beg to leave the discussion at that point.

Português → Mrs Chick then walked majestically to the window and peeped through the blind, attracted by the sound of wheels. Mr Chick, finding that his destiny was, for the time, against him, said no more, and walked off. But it was not always thus with Mr Chick. He was often in the ascendant himself, and at those times punished Louisa roundly. In their matrimonial bickerings they were, upon the whole, a well-matched, fairly-balanced, give-and-take couple. It would have been, generally speaking, very difficult to have betted on the winner. Often when Mr Chick seemed beaten, he would suddenly make a start, turn the tables, clatter them about the ears of Mrs Chick, and carry all before him. Being liable himself to similar unlooked for checks from Mrs Chick, their little contests usually possessed a character of uncertainty that was very animating.

Miss Tox had arrived on the wheels just now alluded to, and came running into the room in a breathless condition.

Português → “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “is the vacancy still unsupplied?”

“You good soul, yes,” said Mrs Chick.

“Then, my dear Louisa,” returned Miss Tox, “I hope and believe - but in one moment, my dear, I’ll introduce the party.”

Running downstairs again as fast as she had run up, Miss Tox got the party out of the hackney-coach, and soon returned with it under convoy.

It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.”

Português → [Illustration]

“My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “knowing your great anxiety, and wishing to relieve it, I posted off myself to the Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females,” which you had forgot, and put the question, Was there anybody there that they thought would suit? No, they said there was not. When they gave me that answer, I do assure you, my dear, I was almost driven to despair on your account. But it did so happen, that one of the Royal Married Females, hearing the inquiry, reminded the matron of another who had gone to her own home, and who, she said, would in all likelihood be most satisfactory. The moment I heard this, and had it corroborated by the matron - excellent references and unimpeachable character - I got the address, my dear, and posted off again.”

“Like the dear good Tox, you are!” said Louisa.

Português → “Not at all,” returned Miss Tox. “Don’t say so. Arriving at the house (the cleanest place, my dear! You might eat your dinner off the floor), I found the whole family sitting at table; and feeling that no account of them could be half so comfortable to you and Mr Dombey as the sight of them all together, I brought them all away. This gentleman,” said Miss Tox, pointing out the apple-faced man, “is the father. Will you have the goodness to come a little forward, Sir?”

The apple-faced man having sheepishly complied with this request, stood chuckling and grinning in a front row.

“This is his wife, of course,” said Miss Tox, singling out the young woman with the baby. “How do you do, Polly?”

“I’m pretty well, I thank you, Ma’am,” said Polly.

By way of bringing her out dexterously, Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn’t seen for a fortnight or so.

Português → “I’m glad to hear it,” said Miss Tox. “The other young woman is her unmarried sister who lives with them, and would take care of her children. Her name’s Jemima. How do you do, Jemima?”

“I’m pretty well, I thank you, Ma’am,” returned Jemima.

“I’m very glad indeed to hear it,” said Miss Tox. “I hope you’ll keep so. Five children. Youngest six weeks. The fine little boy with the blister on his nose is the eldest. The blister, I believe,” said Miss Tox, looking round upon the family, “is not constitutional, but accidental?”

The apple-faced man was understood to growl, “Flat iron.”

“I beg your pardon, Sir,” said Miss Tox, “did you - ”

“Flat iron,” he repeated.

“Oh yes,” said Miss Tox. “Yes! quite true. I forgot. The little creature, in his mother’s absence, smelt a warm flat iron. You’re quite right, Sir. You were going to have the goodness to inform me, when we arrived at the door that you were by trade a - ”

Português → “Stoker,” said the man.

“A choker!” said Miss Tox, quite aghast.

“Stoker,” said the man. “Steam ingine.”

“Oh-h! Yes!” returned Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him, and seeming still to have but a very imperfect understanding of his meaning.

“And how do you like it, Sir?”

“Which, Mum?” said the man.

“That,” replied Miss Tox. “Your trade.”

“Oh! Pretty well, Mum. The ashes sometimes gets in here;” touching his chest: “and makes a man speak gruff, as at the present time. But it is ashes, Mum, not crustiness.”

Miss Tox seemed to be so little enlightened by this reply, as to find a difficulty in pursuing the subject. But Mrs Chick relieved her, by entering into a close private examination of Polly, her children, her marriage certificate, testimonials, and so forth. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Toodle being the family name of the apple-faced family.

Português → Mr Dombey had remained in his own apartment since the death of his wife, absorbed in visions of the youth, education, and destination of his baby son. Something lay at the bottom of his cool heart, colder and heavier than its ordinary load; but it was more a sense of the child’s loss than his own, awakening within him an almost angry sorrow. That the life and progress on which he built such hopes, should be endangered in the outset by so mean a want; that Dombey and Son should be tottering for a nurse, was a sore humiliation. And yet in his pride and jealousy, he viewed with so much bitterness the thought of being dependent for the very first step towards the accomplishment of his soul’s desire, on a hired serving-woman who would be to the child, for the time, all that even his alliance could have made his own wife, that in every new rejection of a candidate he felt a secret pleasure. The time had now come, however, when he could no longer be divided between these two sets of feelings. The less so, as there seemed to be no flaw in the title of Polly Toodle after his sister had set it forth, with many commendations on the indefatigable friendship of Miss Tox.

Português → “These children look healthy,” said Mr Dombey. “But my God, to think of their some day claiming a sort of relationship to Paul!”

“But what relationship is there!” Louisa began -

“Is there!” echoed Mr Dombey, who had not intended his sister to participate in the thought he had unconsciously expressed. “Is there, did you say, Louisa!”

“Can there be, I mean - ”

“Why none,” said Mr Dombey, sternly. “The whole world knows that, I presume. Grief has not made me idiotic, Louisa. Take them away, Louisa! Let me see this woman and her husband.”

Mrs Chick bore off the tender pair of Toodles, and presently returned with that tougher couple whose presence her brother had commanded.

Português → “My good woman,” said Mr Dombey, turning round in his easy chair, as one piece, and not as a man with limbs and joints, “I understand you are poor, and wish to earn money by nursing the little boy, my son, who has been so prematurely deprived of what can never be replaced. I have no objection to your adding to the comforts of your family by that means. So far as I can tell, you seem to be a deserving object. But I must impose one or two conditions on you, before you enter my house in that capacity. While you are here, I must stipulate that you are always known as - say as Richards - an ordinary name, and convenient. Have you any objection to be known as Richards? You had better consult your husband.”

“Well?” said Mr Dombey, after a pretty long pause. “What does your husband say to your being called Richards?”

Português → As the husband did nothing but chuckle and grin, and continually draw his right hand across his mouth, moistening the palm, Mrs Toodle, after nudging him twice or thrice in vain, dropped a curtsey and replied “that perhaps if she was to be called out of her name, it would be considered in the wages.”

“Oh, of course,” said Mr Dombey. “I desire to make it a question of wages, altogether. Now, Richards, if you nurse my bereaved child, I wish you to remember this always. You will receive a liberal stipend in return for the discharge of certain duties, in the performance of which, I wish you to see as little of your family as possible. When those duties cease to be required and rendered, and the stipend ceases to be paid, there is an end of all relations between us. Do you understand me?”

Mrs Toodle seemed doubtful about it; and as to Toodle himself, he had evidently no doubt whatever, that he was all abroad.

Português → “You have children of your own,” said Mr Dombey. “It is not at all in this bargain that you need become attached to my child, or that my child need become attached to you. I don’t expect or desire anything of the kind. Quite the reverse. When you go away from here, you will have concluded what is a mere matter of bargain and sale, hiring and letting: and will stay away. The child will cease to remember you; and you will cease, if you please, to remember the child.”

Mrs Toodle, with a little more colour in her cheeks than she had had before, said “she hoped she knew her place.”

“I hope you do, Richards,” said Mr Dombey. “I have no doubt you know it very well. Indeed it is so plain and obvious that it could hardly be otherwise. Louisa, my dear, arrange with Richards about money, and let her have it when and how she pleases. Mr what’s-your name, a word with you, if you please!”

Português → Thus arrested on the threshold as he was following his wife out of the room, Toodle returned and confronted Mr Dombey alone. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths.

“You have a son, I believe?” said Mr Dombey.

“Four on ’em, Sir. Four hims and a her. All alive!”

“Why, it’s as much as you can afford to keep them!” said Mr Dombey.

Português → “I couldn’t hardly afford but one thing in the world less, Sir.”

“What is that?”

“To lose ’em, Sir.”

“Can you read?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Why, not partickk’ller, Sir.”

“Write?”

“With chalk, Sir?”

“With anything?”

“I could make shift to chalk a little bit, I think, if I was put to it,” said Toodle after some reflection.

“And yet,” said Mr Dombey, “you are two or three and thirty, I suppose?”

“Thereabouts, I suppose, Sir,” answered Toodle, after more reflection

“Then why don’t you learn?” asked Mr Dombey.

“So I’m a going to, Sir. One of my little boys is a going to learn me, when he’s old enough, and been to school himself.”

“Well,” said Mr Dombey, after looking at him attentively, and with no great favour, as he stood gazing round the room (principally round the ceiling) and still drawing his hand across and across his mouth. “You heard what I said to your wife just now?”

Português → “Polly heerd it,” said Toodle, jerking his hat over his shoulder in the direction of the door, with an air of perfect confidence in his better half. “It’s all right.”

“But I ask you if you heard it. You did, I suppose, and understood it?” pursued Mr Dombey.

“I heerd it,” said Toodle, “but I don’t know as I understood it rightly Sir, “account of being no scholar, and the words being - ask your pardon - rayther high. But Polly heerd it. It’s all right.”

“As you appear to leave everything to her,” said Mr Dombey, frustrated in his intention of impressing his views still more distinctly on the husband, as the stronger character, “I suppose it is of no use my saying anything to you.”

“Not a bit,” said Toodle. “Polly heerd it. She’s awake, Sir.”

“I won’t detain you any longer then,” returned Mr Dombey, disappointed. “Where have you worked all your life?”

Português → “Mostly underground, Sir, “till I got married. I come to the level then. I’m a going on one of these here railroads when they comes into full play.”

As he added in one of his hoarse whispers, “We means to bring up little Biler to that line,” Mr Dombey inquired haughtily who little Biler was.

“The eldest on ’em, Sir,” said Toodle, with a smile. “It ain’t a common name. Sermuchser that when he was took to church the gen’lm’n said, it wamm’t a chris’en one, and he couldn’t give it. But we always calls him Biler just the same. For we don’t mean no harm. Not we.”

“Do you mean to say, Man,” inquired Mr Dombey; looking at him with marked displeasure, “that you have called a child after a boiler?”

“No, no, Sir,” returned Toodle, with a tender consideration for his mistake. “I should hope not! No, Sir. Arter a BILER Sir. The Steamingine was a’most as good as a godfather to him, and so we called him Biler, don’t you see!”

Português → As the last straw breaks the laden camel’s back, this piece of information crushed the sinking spirits of Mr Dombey. He motioned his child’s foster-father to the door, who departed by no means unwillingly: and then turning the key, paced up and down the room in solitary wretchedness.

It would be harsh, and perhaps not altogether true, to say of him that he felt these rubs and gratings against his pride more keenly than he had felt his wife’s death: but certainly they impressed that event upon him with new force, and communicated to it added weight and bitterness. It was a rude shock to his sense of property in his child, that these people - the mere dust of the earth, as he thought them - should be necessary to him; and it was natural that in proportion as he felt disturbed by it, he should deplore the occurrence which had made them so. For all his starched, impenetrable dignity and composure, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced up and down his room; and often said, with an emotion of which he would not, for the world, have had a witness, “Poor little fellow!”

Português → It may have been characteristic of Mr Dombey’s pride, that he pitied himself through the child. Not poor me. Not poor widower, confiding by constraint in the wife of an ignorant Hind who has been working “mostly underground” all his life, and yet at whose door Death had never knocked, and at whose poor table four sons daily sit - but poor little fellow!

Those words being on his lips, it occurred to him - and it is an instance of the strong attraction with which his hopes and fears and all his thoughts were tending to one centre - that a great temptation was being placed in this woman’s way. Her infant was a boy too. Now, would it be possible for her to change them?

Though he was soon satisfied that he had dismissed the idea as romantic and unlikely - though possible, there was no denying - he could not help pursuing it so far as to entertain within himself a picture of what his condition would be, if he should discover such an imposture when he was grown old. Whether a man so situated would be able to pluck away the result of so many years of usage, confidence, and belief, from the impostor, and endow a stranger with it?

Português → But it was idle speculating thus. It couldn’t happen. In a moment afterwards he determined that it could, but that such women were constantly observed, and had no opportunity given them for the accomplishment of such a design, even when they were so wicked as to entertain it. In another moment, he was remembering how few such cases seemed to have ever happened. In another moment he was wondering whether they ever happened and were not found out.

As his unusual emotion subsided, these misgivings gradually melted away, though so much of their shadow remained behind, that he was constant in his resolution to look closely after Richards himself, without appearing to do so. Being now in an easier frame of mind, he regarded the woman’s station as rather an advantageous circumstance than otherwise, by placing, in itself, a broad distance between her and the child, and rendering their separation easy and natural. Thence he passed to the contemplation of the future glories of Dombey and Son, and dismissed the memory of his wife, for the time being, with a tributary sigh or two.

Português → Meanwhile terms were ratified and agreed upon between Mrs Chick and Richards, with the assistance of Miss Tox; and Richards being with much ceremony invested with the Dombey baby, as if it were an Order, resigned her own, with many tears and kisses, to Jemima. Glasses of wine were then produced, to sustain the drooping spirits of the family; and Miss Tox, busying herself in dispensing “tastes” to the younger branches, bred them up to their father’s business with such surprising expedition, that she made chokers of four of them in a quarter of a minute.

“You’ll take a glass yourself, Sir, won’t you?” said Miss Tox, as Toodle appeared.

“Thankee, Mum,” said Toodle, “since you are suppressing.”

“And you’re very glad to leave your dear good wife in such a comfortable home, ain’t you, Sir?” said Miss Tox, nodding and winking at him stealthily.

“No, Mum,” said Toodle. “Here’s wishing of her back agin.”

Polly cried more than ever at this. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue.

Português → “Your little child will thrive charmingly with your sister Jemima, Richards,” said Mrs Chick; “and you have only to make an effort - this is a world of effort, you know, Richards - to be very happy indeed. You have been already measured for your mourning, haven’t you, Richards?”

“Ye - es, Ma’am,” sobbed Polly.

“And it’ll fit beautifully. I know,” said Mrs Chick, “for the same young person has made me many dresses. The very best materials, too!”

“Lor, you’ll be so smart,” said Miss Tox, “that your husband won’t know you; will you, Sir?”

“I should know her,” said Toodle, gruffly, “anyhows and anywheres.”

Toodle was evidently not to be bought over.

“As to living, Richards, you know,” pursued Mrs Chick, “why, the very best of everything will be at your disposal. You will order your little dinner every day; and anything you take a fancy to, I’m sure will be as readily provided as if you were a Lady.”

Português → “Yes to be sure!” said Miss Tox, keeping up the ball with great sympathy. “And as to porter! - quite unlimited, will it not, Louisa?”

“Oh, certainly!” returned Mrs Chick in the same tone. “With a little abstinence, you know, my dear, in point of vegetables.”

“And pickles, perhaps,” suggested Miss Tox.

“With such exceptions,” said Louisa, “she’ll consult her choice entirely, and be under no restraint at all, my love.”

“And then, of course, you know,” said Miss Tox, “however fond she is of her own dear little child - and I’m sure, Louisa, you don’t blame her for being fond of it?”

“Oh no!” cried Mrs Chick, benignantly.

“Still,” resumed Miss Tox, “she naturally must be interested in her young charge, and must consider it a privilege to see a little cherub connected with the superior classes, gradually unfolding itself from day to day at one common fountain - is it not so, Louisa?”

Português → “Most undoubtedly!” said Mrs Chick. “You see, my love, she’s already quite contented and comfortable, and means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima and her little pets, and her good honest husband, with a light heart and a smile; don’t she, my dear?”

“Oh yes!” cried Miss Tox. “To be sure she does!”

Notwithstanding which, however, poor Polly embraced them all round in great distress, and coming to her spouse at last, could not make up her mind to part from him, until he gently disengaged himself, at the close of the following allegorical piece of consolation:

“Polly, old “ooman, whatever you do, my darling, hold up your head and fight low. That’s the only rule as I know on, that’ll carry anyone through life. You always have held up your head and fought low, Polly. Do it now, or Bricks is no longer so. God bless you, Polly! Me and J’mima will do your duty by you; and with relating to your’n, hold up your head and fight low, Polly, and you can’t go wrong!”

Português → Fortified by this golden secret, Polly finally ran away to avoid any more particular leave-taking between herself and the children. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family.

A quantity of oranges and halfpence thrust indiscriminately on each young Toodle, checked the first violence of their regret, and the family were speedily transported to their own home, by means of the hackney-coach kept in waiting for that purpose. The children, under the guardianship of Jemima, blocked up the window, and dropped out oranges and halfpence all the way along. Mr Toodle himself preferred to ride behind among the spikes, as being the mode of conveyance to which he was best accustomed.

CHAPTER III. In which Mr Dombey, as a Man and a Father, is seen at the Head of the Home-Department

Português → The funeral of the deceased lady having been “performed” to the entire satisfaction of the undertaker, as well as of the neighbourhood at large, which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point, and is prone to take offence at any omissions or short-comings in the ceremonies, the various members of Mr Dombey’s household subsided into their several places in the domestic system. That small world, like the great one out of doors, had the capacity of easily forgetting its dead; and when the cook had said she was a quiet-tempered lady, and the house-keeper had said it was the common lot, and the butler had said who’d have thought it, and the housemaid had said she couldn’t hardly believe it, and the footman had said it seemed exactly like a dream, they had quite worn the subject out, and began to think their mourning was wearing rusty too.

Português → On Richards, who was established upstairs in a state of honourable captivity, the dawn of her new life seemed to break cold and grey. Mr Dombey’s house was a large one, on the shady side of a tall, dark, dreadfully genteel street in the region between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square. It was a corner house, with great wide areas containing cellars frowned upon by barred windows, and leered at by crooked-eyed doors leading to dustbins. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. The summer sun was never on the street, but in the morning about breakfast-time, when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men, and the people with geraniums, and the umbrella-mender, and the man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas.

Português → It was as blank a house inside as outside. When the funeral was over, Mr Dombey ordered the furniture to be covered up - perhaps to preserve it for the son with whom his plans were all associated - and the rooms to be ungarnished, saving such as he retained for himself on the ground floor. Accordingly, mysterious shapes were made of tables and chairs, heaped together in the middle of rooms, and covered over with great winding-sheets. Bell-handles, window-blinds, and looking-glasses, being papered up in journals, daily and weekly, obtruded fragmentary accounts of deaths and dreadful murders. Every chandelier or lustre, muffled in holland, looked like a monstrous tear depending from the ceiling’s eye. Odours, as from vaults and damp places, came out of the chimneys. The dead and buried lady was awful in a picture-frame of ghastly bandages. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows.

Português → The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. These three rooms opened upon one another. In the morning, when Mr Dombey was at his breakfast in one or other of the two first-mentioned of them, as well as in the afternoon when he came home to dinner, a bell was rung for Richards to repair to this glass chamber, and there walk to and fro with her young charge. From the glimpses she caught of Mr Dombey at these times, sitting in the dark distance, looking out towards the infant from among the dark heavy furniture - the house had been inhabited for years by his father, and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim - she began to entertain ideas of him in his solitary state, as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell, or a strange apparition that was not to be accosted or understood. Mr Dombey came to be, in the course of a few days, invested in his own person, to her simple thinking, with all the mystery and gloom of his house. As she walked up and down the glass room, or sat hushing the baby there - which she very often did for hours together, when the dusk was closing in, too - she would sometimes try to pierce the gloom beyond, and make out how he was looking and what he was doing. Sensible that she was plainly to be seen by him, however, she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time. Consequently she made out nothing, and Mr Dombey in his den remained a very shade.

Português → Little Paul Dombey’s foster-mother had led this life herself, and had carried little Paul through it for some weeks; and had returned upstairs one day from a melancholy saunter through the dreary rooms of state (she never went out without Mrs Chick, who called on fine mornings, usually accompanied by Miss Tox, to take her and Baby for an airing - or in other words, to march them gravely up and down the pavement, like a walking funeral); when, as she was sitting in her own room, the door was slowly and quietly opened, and a dark-eyed little girl looked in.

“It’s Miss Florence come home from her aunt’s, no doubt,” thought Richards, who had never seen the child before. “Hope I see you well, Miss.”

“Is that my brother?” asked the child, pointing to the Baby.

“Yes, my pretty,” answered Richards. “Come and kiss him.”

But the child, instead of advancing, looked her earnestly in the face, and said:

Português → “What have you done with my Mama?”

“Lord bless the little creeter!” cried Richards, “what a sad question! I done? Nothing, Miss.”

“What have they done with my Mama?” inquired the child, with exactly the same look and manner.

“I never saw such a melting thing in all my life!” said Richards, who naturally substituted for this child one of her own, inquiring for herself in like circumstances. “Come nearer here, my dear Miss! Don’t be afraid of me.”

“I am not afraid of you,” said the child, drawing nearer. “But I want to know what they have done with my Mama.”

Her heart swelled so as she stood before the woman, looking into her eyes, that she was fain to press her little hand upon her breast and hold it there. Yet there was a purpose in the child that prevented both her slender figure and her searching gaze from faltering.

Português → “My darling,” said Richards, “you wear that pretty black frock in remembrance of your Mama.”

“I can remember my Mama,” returned the child, with tears springing to her eyes, “in any frock.”

“But people put on black, to remember people when they’re gone.”

“Where gone?” asked the child.

“Come and sit down by me,” said Richards, “and I’ll tell you a story.”

With a quick perception that it was intended to relate to what she had asked, little Florence laid aside the bonnet she had held in her hand until now, and sat down on a stool at the Nurse’s feet, looking up into her face.

“Once upon a time,” said Richards, “there was a lady - a very good lady, and her little daughter dearly loved her.”

“A very good lady and her little daughter dearly loved her,” repeated the child.

“Who, when God thought it right that it should be so, was taken ill and died.”

The child shuddered.

“Died, never to be seen again by anyone on earth, and was buried in the ground where the trees grow.”

Português → “The cold ground?” said the child, shuddering again.

“No! The warm ground,” returned Polly, seizing her advantage, “where the ugly little seeds turn into beautiful flowers, and into grass, and corn, and I don’t know what all besides. Where good people turn into bright angels, and fly away to Heaven!”

The child, who had dropped her head, raised it again, and sat looking at her intently.

“So; let me see,” said Polly, not a little flurried between this earnest scrutiny, her desire to comfort the child, her sudden success, and her very slight confidence in her own powers. “So, when this lady died, wherever they took her, or wherever they put her, she went to GOD! and she prayed to Him, this lady did,” said Polly, affecting herself beyond measure; being heartily in earnest, “to teach her little daughter to be sure of that in her heart: and to know that she was happy there and loved her still: and to hope and try - Oh, all her life - to meet her there one day, never, never, never to part any more.”

Português → “It was my Mama!” exclaimed the child, springing up, and clasping her round the neck.

“And the child’s heart,” said Polly, drawing her to her breast: “the little daughter’s heart was so full of the truth of this, that even when she heard it from a strange nurse that couldn’t tell it right, but was a poor mother herself and that was all, she found a comfort in it - didn’t feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap - and - there, there, there!” said Polly, smoothing the child’s curls and dropping tears upon them. “There, poor dear!”

“Oh well, Miss Floy! And won’t your Pa be angry neither!” cried a quick voice at the door, proceeding from a short, brown, womanly girl of fourteen, with a little snub nose, and black eyes like jet beads. “When it was “tickerlerly given out that you wasn’t to go and worrit the wet nurse.”

Português → “She don’t worry me,” was the surprised rejoinder of Polly. “I am very fond of children.”

“Oh! but begging your pardon, Mrs Richards, that don’t matter, you know,” returned the black-eyed girl, who was so desperately sharp and biting that she seemed to make one’s eyes water. “I may be very fond of pennywinkles, Mrs Richards, but it don’t follow that I’m to have ’em for tea.”

“Well, it don’t matter,” said Polly.

“Oh, thank’ee, Mrs Richards, don’t it!” returned the sharp girl. “Remembering, however, if you’ll be so good, that Miss Floy’s under my charge, and Master Paul’s under your’n.”

“But still we needn’t quarrel,” said Polly.

“Oh no, Mrs Richards,” rejoined Spitfire. “Not at all, I don’t wish it, we needn’t stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.” Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible.

Português → “Miss Florence has just come home, hasn’t she?” asked Polly.

“Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. But she seemed to do it, more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions, than with any deliberate unkindness.

“She’ll be quite happy, now she has come home again,” said Polly, nodding to her with an encouraging smile upon her wholesome face, “and will be so pleased to see her dear Papa tonight.”

“Lork, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, taking up her words with a jerk. “Don’t. See her dear Papa indeed! I should like to see her do it!”

Português → “Won’t she then?” asked Polly.

“Lork, Mrs Richards, no, her Pa’s a deal too wrapped up in somebody else, and before there was a somebody else to be wrapped up in she never was a favourite, girls are thrown away in this house, Mrs Richards, I assure you.”

The child looked quickly from one nurse to the other, as if she understood and felt what was said.

“You surprise me!” cried Polly. “Hasn’t Mr Dombey seen her since - ”

“No,” interrupted Susan Nipper. “Not once since, and he hadn’t hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months, and I don’t think he’d have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets, or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow, Mrs Richards, as to me,” said Spitfire, with a giggle, “I doubt if he’s aweer of my existence.”

“Pretty dear!” said Richards; meaning, not Miss Nipper, but the little Florence.

Português → “Oh! there’s a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we’re now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,” said Susan Nipper; “wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don’t go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don’t!”

In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately.

“Oh dear! after it was given out so “tickerlerly, that Mrs Richards wasn’t to be made free with!” exclaimed Susan. “Very well, Miss Floy!”

“God bless the sweet thing!” said Richards, “Good-bye, dear!”

“Good-bye!” returned the child. “God bless you! I shall come to see you again soon, and you’ll come to see me? Susan will let us. Won’t you, Susan?”

Português → Spitfire seemed to be in the main a good-natured little body, although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood, like money, must be shaken and rattled and jostled about a good deal to keep it bright. For, being thus appealed to with some endearing gestures and caresses, she folded her small arms and shook her head, and conveyed a relenting expression into her very-wide-open black eyes.

“It ain’t right of you to ask it, Miss Floy, for you know I can’t refuse you, but Mrs Richards and me will see what can be done, if Mrs Richards likes, I may wish, you see, to take a voyage to Chaney, Mrs Richards, but I mayn’t know how to leave the London Docks.”

Richards assented to the proposition.

“This house ain’t so exactly ringing with merry-making,” said Miss Nipper, “that one need be lonelier than one must be. Your Toxes and your Chickses may draw out my two front double teeth, Mrs Richards, but that’s no reason why I need offer ’em the whole set.”

Português → This proposition was also assented to by Richards, as an obvious one.

“So I’m agreeable, I’m sure,” said Susan Nipper, “to live friendly, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul continues a permanency, if the means can be planned out without going openly against orders, but goodness gracious Miss Floy, you haven’t got your things off yet, you naughty child, you haven’t, come along!”

With these words, Susan Nipper, in a transport of coercion, made a charge at her young ward, and swept her out of the room.

The child, in her grief and neglect, was so gentle, so quiet, and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have, and so much sorrowful intelligence that no one seemed to mind or think about the wounding of, that Polly’s heart was sore when she was left alone again. In the simple passage that had taken place between herself and the motherless little girl, her own motherly heart had been touched no less than the child’s; and she felt, as the child did, that there was something of confidence and interest between them from that moment.

Português → Notwithstanding Mr Toodle’s great reliance on Polly, she was perhaps in point of artificial accomplishments very little his superior. She had been good-humouredly working and drudging for her life all her life, and was a sober steady-going person, with matter-of-fact ideas about the butcher and baker, and the division of pence into farthings. But she was a good plain sample of a nature that is ever, in the mass, better, truer, higher, nobler, quicker to feel, and much more constant to retain, all tenderness and pity, self-denial and devotion, than the nature of men. And, perhaps, unlearned as she was, she could have brought a dawning knowledge home to Mr Dombey at that early day, which would not then have struck him in the end like lightning.

But this is from the purpose. Polly only thought, at that time, of improving on her successful propitiation of Miss Nipper, and devising some means of having little Florence aide her, lawfully, and without rebellion. An opening happened to present itself that very night.

Português → She had been rung down into the glass room as usual, and had walked about and about it a long time, with the baby in her arms, when, to her great surprise and dismay, Mr Dombey - whom she had seen at first leaning on his elbow at the table, and afterwards walking up and down the middle room, drawing, each time, a little nearer, she thought, to the open folding doors - came out, suddenly, and stopped before her.

“Good evening, Richards.”

Just the same austere, stiff gentleman, as he had appeared to her on that first day. Such a hard-looking gentleman, that she involuntarily dropped her eyes and her curtsey at the same time.

“How is Master Paul, Richards?”

“Quite thriving, Sir, and well.”

“He looks so,” said Mr Dombey, glancing with great interest at the tiny face she uncovered for his observation, and yet affecting to be half careless of it. “They give you everything you want, I hope?”

Português → “Oh yes, thank you, Sir.”

She suddenly appended such an obvious hesitation to this reply, however, that Mr Dombey, who had turned away; stopped, and turned round again, inquiringly.

“If you please, Sir, the child is very much disposed to take notice of things,” said Richards, with another curtsey, “and - upstairs is a little dull for him, perhaps, Sir.”

“I begged them to take you out for airings, constantly,” said Mr Dombey. “Very well! You shall go out oftener. You’re quite right to mention it.”

“I beg your pardon, Sir,” faltered Polly, “but we go out quite plenty Sir, thank you.”

“What would you have then?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Indeed Sir, I don’t exactly know,” said Polly, “unless - ”

“Yes?”

“I believe nothing is so good for making children lively and cheerful, Sir, as seeing other children playing about ’em,” observed Polly, taking courage.

“I think I mentioned to you, Richards, when you came here,” said Mr Dombey, with a frown, “that I wished you to see as little of your family as possible.”

Português → “Oh dear yes, Sir, I wasn’t so much as thinking of that.”

“I am glad of it,” said Mr Dombey hastily. “You can continue your walk if you please.”

With that, he disappeared into his inner room; and Polly had the satisfaction of feeling that he had thoroughly misunderstood her object, and that she had fallen into disgrace without the least advancement of her purpose.

Next night, she found him walking about the conservatory when she came down. As she stopped at the door, checked by this unusual sight, and uncertain whether to advance or retreat, he called her in. His mind was too much set on Dombey and Son, it soon appeared, to admit of his having forgotten her suggestion.

“If you really think that sort of society is good for the child,” he said sharply, as if there had been no interval since she proposed it, “where’s Miss Florence?”

Português → “Nothing could be better than Miss Florence, Sir,” said Polly eagerly, “but I understood from her maid that they were not to - ”

Mr Dombey rang the bell, and walked till it was answered.

“Tell them always to let Miss Florence be with Richards when she chooses, and go out with her, and so forth. Tell them to let the children be together, when Richards wishes it.”

The iron was now hot, and Richards striking on it boldly - it was a good cause and she bold in it, though instinctively afraid of Mr Dombey - requested that Miss Florence might be sent down then and there, to make friends with her little brother.

She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame.

Português → And she was right. The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him. Let him be absorbed as he would in the Son on whom he built such high hopes, he could not forget that closing scene. He could not forget that he had had no part in it. That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth lay those two figures clasped in each other’s arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out.

Português → Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Young as she was, and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence, he almost felt as if she watched and distrusted him. As if she held the clue to something secret in his breast, of the nature of which he was hardly informed himself. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it.

Português → His feeling about the child had been negative from her birth. He had never conceived an aversion to her: it had not been worth his while or in his humour. She had never been a positively disagreeable object to him. But now he was ill at ease about her. She troubled his peace. He would have preferred to put her idea aside altogether, if he had known how. Perhaps - who shall decide on such mysteries! - he was afraid that he might come to hate her.

When little Florence timidly presented herself, Mr Dombey stopped in his pacing up and down and looked towards her. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection.

Português → But he saw nothing of this. He saw her pause irresolutely at the door and look towards him; and he saw no more.

“Come in,” he said, “come in: what is the child afraid of?”

She came in; and after glancing round her for a moment with an uncertain air, stood pressing her small hands hard together, close within the door.

“Come here, Florence,” said her father, coldly. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Have you nothing to say to me?”

The tears that stood in her eyes as she raised them quickly to his face, were frozen by the expression it wore. She looked down again, and put out her trembling hand.

Mr Dombey took it loosely in his own, and stood looking down upon her for a moment, as if he knew as little as the child, what to say or do.

“There! Be a good girl,” he said, patting her on the head, and regarding her as it were by stealth with a disturbed and doubtful look. “Go to Richards! Go!”

Português → His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still, or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her. She looked up in his face once more. He thought how like her expression was then, to what it had been when she looked round at the Doctor - that night - and instinctively dropped her hand and turned away.

It was not difficult to perceive that Florence was at a great disadvantage in her father’s presence. It was not only a constraint upon the child’s mind, but even upon the natural grace and freedom of her actions. As she sported and played about her baby brother that night, her manner was seldom so winning and so pretty as it naturally was, and sometimes when in his pacing to and fro, he came near her (she had, perhaps, for the moment, forgotten him) it changed upon the instant and became forced and embarrassed.

Português → Still, Polly persevered with all the better heart for seeing this; and, judging of Mr Dombey by herself, had great confidence in the mute appeal of poor little Florence’s mourning dress. “It’s hard indeed,” thought Polly, “if he takes only to one little motherless child, when he has another, and that a girl, before his eyes.”

So, Polly kept her before his eyes, as long as she could, and managed so well with little Paul, as to make it very plain that he was all the livelier for his sister’s company. When it was time to withdraw upstairs again, she would have sent Florence into the inner room to say good-night to her father, but the child was timid and drew back; and when she urged her again, said, spreading her hands before her eyes, as if to shut out her own unworthiness, “Oh no, no! He don’t want me. He don’t want me!”

Português → [Illustration]

The little altercation between them had attracted the notice of Mr Dombey, who inquired from the table where he was sitting at his wine, what the matter was.

“Miss Florence was afraid of interrupting, Sir, if she came in to say good-night,” said Richards.

“It doesn’t matter,” returned Mr Dombey. “You can let her come and go without regarding me.”

The child shrunk as she listened - and was gone, before her humble friend looked round again.

However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Miss Nipper received that proof of her confidence, as well as the prospect of their free association for the future, rather coldly, and was anything but enthusiastic in her demonstrations of joy.

“I thought you would have been pleased,” said Polly.

“Oh yes, Mrs Richards, I’m very well pleased, thank you,” returned Susan, who had suddenly become so very upright that she seemed to have put an additional bone in her stays.

Português → “You don’t show it,” said Polly.

“Oh! Being only a permanency I couldn’t be expected to show it like a temporary,” said Susan Nipper. “Temporaries carries it all before ’em here, I find, but though there’s a excellent party-wall between this house and the next, I mayn’t exactly like to go to it, Mrs Richards, notwithstanding!”

CHAPTER IV. In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these Adventures

Português → Though the offices of Dombey and Son were within the liberties of the City of London, and within hearing of Bow Bells, when their clashing voices were not drowned by the uproar in the streets, yet were there hints of adventurous and romantic story to be observed in some of the adjacent objects. Gog and Magog held their state within ten minutes’ walk; the Royal Exchange was close at hand; the Bank of England, with its vaults of gold and silver “down among the dead men” underground, was their magnificent neighbour. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages.

Português → Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy.

Português → The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Objects in brass and glass were in his drawers and on his shelves, which none but the initiated could have found the top of, or guessed the use of, or having once examined, could have ever got back again into their mahogany nests without assistance. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world.

Português → Many minor incidents in the household life of the Ships’ Instrument-maker who was proud of his little Midshipman, assisted and bore out this fancy. His acquaintance lying chiefly among ship-chandlers and so forth, he had always plenty of the veritable ships’ biscuit on his table. It was familiar with dried meats and tongues, possessing an extraordinary flavour of rope yarn. Pickles were produced upon it, in great wholesale jars, with “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions” on the label; spirits were set forth in case bottles with no throats. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin.

Português → Here he lived too, in skipper-like state, all alone with his nephew Walter: a boy of fourteen who looked quite enough like a midshipman, to carry out the prevailing idea. But there it ended, for Solomon Gills himself (more generally called old Sol) was far from having a maritime appearance. To say nothing of his Welsh wig, which was as plain and stubborn a Welsh wig as ever was worn, and in which he looked like anything but a Rover, he was a slow, quiet-spoken, thoughtful old fellow, with eyes as red as if they had been small suns looking at you through a fog; and a newly-awakened manner, such as he might have acquired by having stared for three or four days successively through every optical instrument in his shop, and suddenly came back to the world again, to find it green. The only change ever known in his outward man, was from a complete suit of coffee-colour cut very square, and ornamented with glaring buttons, to the same suit of coffee-colour minus the inexpressibles, which were then of a pale nankeen. He wore a very precise shirt-frill, and carried a pair of first-rate spectacles on his forehead, and a tremendous chronometer in his fob, rather than doubt which precious possession, he would have believed in a conspiracy against it on part of all the clocks and watches in the City, and even of the very Sun itself. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns.

Português → It is half-past five o’clock, and an autumn afternoon, when the reader and Solomon Gills become acquainted. Solomon Gills is in the act of seeing what time it is by the unimpeachable chronometer. The usual daily clearance has been making in the City for an hour or more; and the human tide is still rolling westward. “The streets have thinned,” as Mr Gills says, “very much.” It threatens to be wet tonight. All the weatherglasses in the shop are in low spirits, and the rain already shines upon the cocked hat of the wooden Midshipman.

“Where’s Walter, I wonder!” said Solomon Gills, after he had carefully put up the chronometer again. “Here’s dinner been ready, half an hour, and no Walter!”

Turning round upon his stool behind the counter, Mr Gills looked out among the instruments in the window, to see if his nephew might be crossing the road. No. He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger.

Português → “If I didn’t know he was too fond of me to make a run of it, and go and enter himself aboard ship against my wishes, I should begin to be fidgetty,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather-glasses with his knuckles. “I really should. All in the Downs, eh! Lots of moisture! Well! it’s wanted.”

“I believe,” said Mr Gills, blowing the dust off the glass top of a compass-case, “that you don’t point more direct and due to the back parlour than the boy’s inclination does after all. And the parlour couldn’t bear straighter either. Due north. Not the twentieth part of a point either way.”

“Halloa, Uncle Sol!”

“Halloa, my boy!” cried the Instrument-maker, turning briskly round. “What! you are here, are you?”

A cheerful looking, merry boy, fresh with running home in the rain; fair-faced, bright-eyed, and curly-haired.

“Well, Uncle, how have you got on without me all day? Is dinner ready? I’m so hungry.”

Português → “As to getting on,” said Solomon good-naturedly, “it would be odd if I couldn’t get on without a young dog like you a great deal better than with you. As to dinner being ready, it’s been ready this half hour and waiting for you. As to being hungry, I am!”

“Come along then, Uncle!” cried the boy. “Hurrah for the admiral!”

“Confound the admiral!” returned Solomon Gills. “You mean the Lord Mayor.”

“No I don’t!” cried the boy. “Hurrah for the admiral! Hurrah for the admiral! For-ward!”

At this word of command, the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour, as at the head of a boarding party of five hundred men; and Uncle Sol and his nephew were speedily engaged on a fried sole with a prospect of steak to follow.

“The Lord Mayor, Wally,” said Solomon, “for ever! No more admirals. The Lord Mayor’s your admiral.”

Português → “Oh, is he though!” said the boy, shaking his head. “Why, the Sword Bearer’s better than him. He draws his sword sometimes.”

“And a pretty figure he cuts with it for his pains,” returned the Uncle. “Listen to me, Wally, listen to me. Look on the mantelshelf.”

“Why who has cocked my silver mug up there, on a nail?” exclaimed the boy.

“I have,” said his Uncle. “No more mugs now. We must begin to drink out of glasses today, Walter. We are men of business. We belong to the City. We started in life this morning.”

“Well, Uncle,” said the boy, “I’ll drink out of anything you like, so long as I can drink to you. Here’s to you, Uncle Sol, and Hurrah for the - ”

“Lord Mayor,” interrupted the old man.

“For the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Common Council, and Livery,” said the boy. “Long life to ’em!”

Português → The uncle nodded his head with great satisfaction. “And now,” he said, “let’s hear something about the Firm.”

“Oh! there’s not much to be told about the Firm, Uncle,” said the boy, plying his knife and fork. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.”

“Nothing else?” said the Uncle.

“No, nothing else, except an old birdcage (I wonder how that ever came there!) and a coal-scuttle.”

“No bankers’ books, or cheque books, or bills, or such tokens of wealth rolling in from day to day?” said old Sol, looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him, and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words.

“Oh yes, plenty of that I suppose,” returned his nephew carelessly; “but all that sort of thing’s in Mr Carker’s room, or Mr Morfin’s, or Mr Dombey’s.”

Português → “Has Mr Dombey been there today?” inquired the Uncle.

“Oh yes! In and out all day.”

“He didn’t take any notice of you, I suppose?”.

“Yes he did. He walked up to my seat, - I wish he wasn’t so solemn and stiff, Uncle, - and said, ‘Oh! you are the son of Mr Gills the Ships’ Instrument-maker.’ ‘Nephew, Sir,’ I said. ‘I said nephew, boy,’ said he. But I could take my oath he said son, Uncle.”

“You’re mistaken I daresay. It’s no matter.”

“No, it’s no matter, but he needn’t have been so sharp, I thought. There was no harm in it though he did say son. Then he told me that you had spoken to him about me, and that he had found me employment in the House accordingly, and that I was expected to be attentive and punctual, and then he went away. I thought he didn’t seem to like me much.”

Português → “You mean, I suppose,” observed the Instrument-maker, “that you didn’t seem to like him much?”

“Well, Uncle,” returned the boy, laughing. “Perhaps so; I never thought of that.”

Solomon looked a little graver as he finished his dinner, and glanced from time to time at the boy’s bright face. When dinner was done, and the cloth was cleared away (the entertainment had been brought from a neighbouring eating-house), he lighted a candle, and went down below into a little cellar, while his nephew, standing on the mouldy staircase, dutifully held the light. After a moment’s groping here and there, he presently returned with a very ancient-looking bottle, covered with dust and dirt.

“Why, Uncle Sol!” said the boy, “what are you about? that’s the wonderful Madeira! - there’s only one more bottle!”

Uncle Sol nodded his head, implying that he knew very well what he was about; and having drawn the cork in solemn silence, filled two glasses and set the bottle and a third clean glass on the table.

Português → “You shall drink the other bottle, Wally,” he said, “when you come to good fortune; when you are a thriving, respected, happy man; when the start in life you have made today shall have brought you, as I pray Heaven it may! - to a smooth part of the course you have to run, my child. My love to you!”

Some of the fog that hung about old Sol seemed to have got into his throat; for he spoke huskily. His hand shook too, as he clinked his glass against his nephew’s. But having once got the wine to his lips, he tossed it off like a man, and smacked them afterwards.

“Dear Uncle,” said the boy, affecting to make light of it, while the tears stood in his eyes, “for the honour you have done me, et cetera, et cetera. I shall now beg to propose Mr Solomon Gills with three times three and one cheer more. Hurrah! and you’ll return thanks, Uncle, when we drink the last bottle together; won’t you?”

Português → They clinked their glasses again; and Walter, who was hoarding his wine, took a sip of it, and held the glass up to his eye with as critical an air as he could possibly assume.

His Uncle sat looking at him for some time in silence. When their eyes at last met, he began at once to pursue the theme that had occupied his thoughts, aloud, as if he had been speaking all the time.

“You see, Walter,” he said, “in truth this business is merely a habit with me. I am so accustomed to the habit that I could hardly live if I relinquished it: but there’s nothing doing, nothing doing. When that uniform was worn,” pointing out towards the little Midshipman, “then indeed, fortunes were to be made, and were made. But competition, competition - new invention, new invention - alteration, alteration - the world’s gone past me. I hardly know where I am myself, much less where my customers are.”

“Never mind ’em, Uncle!”

“Since you came home from weekly boarding-school at Peckham, for instance - and that’s ten days,” said Solomon, “I don’t remember more than one person that has come into the shop.”

Português → “Two, Uncle, don’t you recollect? There was the man who came to ask for change for a sovereign - ”

“That’s the one,” said Solomon.

“Why Uncle! don’t you call the woman anybody, who came to ask the way to Mile-End Turnpike?”

“Oh! it’s true,” said Solomon, “I forgot her. Two persons.”

“To be sure, they didn’t buy anything,” cried the boy.

“No. They didn’t buy anything,” said Solomon, quietly.

“Nor want anything,” cried the boy.

“No. If they had, they’d gone to another shop,” said Solomon, in the same tone.

“But there were two of ’em, Uncle,” cried the boy, as if that were a great triumph. “You said only one.”

Português → “Well, Wally,” resumed the old man, after a short pause: “not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe’s Island, we can’t live on a man who asks for change for a sovereign, and a woman who inquires the way to Mile-End Turnpike. As I said just now, the world has gone past me. I don’t blame it; but I no longer understand it. Tradesmen are not the same as they used to be, apprentices are not the same, business is not the same, business commodities are not the same. Seven-eighths of my stock is old-fashioned. I am an old-fashioned man in an old-fashioned shop, in a street that is not the same as I remember it. I have fallen behind the time, and am too old to catch it again. Even the noise it makes a long way ahead, confuses me.”

Walter was going to speak, but his Uncle held up his hand.

Português → “Therefore, Wally - therefore it is that I am anxious you should be early in the busy world, and on the world’s track. I am only the ghost of this business - its substance vanished long ago; and when I die, its ghost will be laid. As it is clearly no inheritance for you then, I have thought it best to use for your advantage, almost the only fragment of the old connexion that stands by me, through long habit. Some people suppose me to be wealthy. I wish for your sake they were right. But whatever I leave behind me, or whatever I can give you, you in such a House as Dombey’s are in the road to use well and make the most of. Be diligent, try to like it, my dear boy, work for a steady independence, and be happy!”

“I’ll do everything I can, Uncle, to deserve your affection. Indeed I will,” said the boy, earnestly.

“I know it,” said Solomon. “I am sure of it,” and he applied himself to a second glass of the old Madeira, with increased relish. “As to the Sea,” he pursued, “that’s well enough in fiction, Wally, but it won’t do in fact: it won’t do at all. It’s natural enough that you should think about it, associating it with all these familiar things; but it won’t do, it won’t do.”

Português → Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment, as he talked of the sea, though; and looked on the seafaring objects about him with inexpressible complacency.

“Think of this wine for instance,” said old Sol, “which has been to the East Indies and back, I’m not able to say how often, and has been once round the world. Think of the pitch-dark nights, the roaring winds, and rolling seas:”

“The thunder, lightning, rain, hail, storm of all kinds,” said the boy.

“To be sure,” said Solomon, - “that this wine has passed through. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:”

“What a clambering aloft of men, vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails, while the ship rolls and pitches, like mad!” cried his nephew.

“Exactly so,” said Solomon: “has gone on, over the old cask that held this wine. Why, when the Charming Sally went down in the - ”

Português → “In the Baltic Sea, in the dead of night; five-and-twenty minutes past twelve when the captain’s watch stopped in his pocket; he lying dead against the main-mast - on the fourteenth of February, seventeen forty-nine!” cried Walter, with great animation.

“Ay, to be sure!” cried old Sol, “quite right! Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing ‘Rule Britannia’, when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.”

“But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, “seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.”

Português → “And when,” said old Sol, “when the Polyphemus - ”

“Private West India Trader, burden three hundred and fifty tons, Captain, John Brown of Deptford. Owners, Wiggs and Co.,” cried Walter.

“The same,” said Sol; “when she took fire, four days’ sail with a fair wind out of Jamaica Harbour, in the night - ”

“There were two brothers on board,” interposed his nephew, speaking very fast and loud, “and there not being room for both of them in the only boat that wasn’t swamped, neither of them would consent to go, until the elder took the younger by the waist, and flung him in. And then the younger, rising in the boat, cried out, ‘Dear Edward, think of your promised wife at home. I’m only a boy. No one waits at home for me. Leap down into my place!’ and flung himself in the sea!”

Português → The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy, who had risen from his seat in the earnestness of what he said and felt, seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten, or that his encircling mist had hitherto shut out. Instead of proceeding with any more anecdotes, as he had evidently intended but a moment before, he gave a short dry cough, and said, “Well! suppose we change the subject.”

The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it. This is invariable. It would seem as if there never was a book written, or a story told, expressly with the object of keeping boys on shore, which did not lure and charm them to the ocean, as a matter of course.

Português → But an addition to the little party now made its appearance, in the shape of a gentleman in a wide suit of blue, with a hook instead of a hand attached to his right wrist; very bushy black eyebrows; and a thick stick in his left hand, covered all over (like his nose) with knobs. He wore a loose black silk handkerchief round his neck, and such a very large coarse shirt collar, that it looked like a small sail. He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it. He was usually addressed as Captain, this visitor; and had been a pilot, or a skipper, or a privateersman, or all three perhaps; and was a very salt-looking man indeed.

His face, remarkable for a brown solidity, brightened as he shook hands with Uncle and nephew; but he seemed to be of a laconic disposition, and merely said:

Português → “How goes it?”

“All well,” said Mr Gills, pushing the bottle towards him.

He took it up, and having surveyed and smelt it, said with extraordinary expression:

“The?”

“The,” returned the Instrument-maker.

Upon that he whistled as he filled his glass, and seemed to think they were making holiday indeed.

“Wal”r!” he said, arranging his hair (which was thin) with his hook, and then pointing it at the Instrument-maker, “Look at him! Love! Honour! And Obey! Overhaul your catechism till you find that passage, and when found turn the leaf down. Success, my boy!”

He was so perfectly satisfied both with his quotation and his reference to it, that he could not help repeating the words again in a low voice, and saying he had forgotten ’em these forty year.

“But I never wanted two or three words in my life that I didn’t know where to lay my hand upon ’em, Gills,” he observed. “It comes of not wasting language as some do.”

Português → The reflection perhaps reminded him that he had better, like young Norval’s father, ‘increase his store.’ At any rate he became silent, and remained so, until old Sol went out into the shop to light it up, when he turned to Walter, and said, without any introductory remark: -

“I suppose he could make a clock if he tried?”

“I shouldn’t wonder, Captain Cuttle,” returned the boy.

“And it would go!” said Captain Cuttle, making a species of serpent in the air with his hook. “Lord, how that clock would go!”

For a moment or two he seemed quite lost in contemplating the pace of this ideal timepiece, and sat looking at the boy as if his face were the dial.

“But he’s chock-full of science,” he observed, waving his hook towards the stock-in-trade. “Look’ye here! Here’s a collection of ’em. Earth, air, or water. It’s all one. Only say where you’ll have it. Up in a balloon? There you are. Down in a bell? There you are. D’ye want to put the North Star in a pair of scales and weigh it? He’ll do it for you.”

Português → It may be gathered from these remarks that Captain Cuttle’s reverence for the stock of instruments was profound, and that his philosophy knew little or no distinction between trading in it and inventing it.

“Ah!” he said, with a sigh, “it’s a fine thing to understand ’em. And yet it’s a fine thing not to understand ’em. I hardly know which is best. It’s so comfortable to sit here and feel that you might be weighed, measured, magnified, electrified, polarized, played the very devil with: and never know how.”

Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration. He seemed quite amazed himself at the manner in which it opened up to view the sources of the taciturn delight he had had in eating Sunday dinners in that parlour for ten years. Becoming a sadder and a wiser man, he mused and held his peace.

“Come!” cried the subject of this admiration, returning. “Before you have your glass of grog, Ned, we must finish the bottle.”

Português → “Stand by!” said Ned, filling his glass. “Give the boy some more.”

“No more, thank’e, Uncle!”

“Yes, yes,” said Sol, “a little more. We’ll finish the bottle, to the House, Ned - Walter’s House. Why it may be his House one of these days, in part. Who knows? Sir Richard Whittington married his master’s daughter.”

“‘Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London, and when you are old you will never depart from it,’” interposed the Captain. “Wal”r! Overhaul the book, my lad.”

“And although Mr Dombey hasn’t a daughter,” Sol began.

“Yes, yes, he has, Uncle,” said the boy, reddening and laughing.

“Has he?” cried the old man. “Indeed I think he has too.”

Português → “Oh! I know he has,” said the boy. “Some of ’em were talking about it in the office today. And they do say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” lowering his voice, “that he’s taken a dislike to her, and that she’s left, unnoticed, among the servants, and that his mind’s so set all the while upon having his son in the House, that although he’s only a baby now, he is going to have balances struck oftener than formerly, and the books kept closer than they used to be, and has even been seen (when he thought he wasn’t) walking in the Docks, looking at his ships and property and all that, as if he was exulting like, over what he and his son will possess together. That’s what they say. Of course, I don’t know.”

“He knows all about her already, you see,” said the instrument-maker.

“Nonsense, Uncle,” cried the boy, still reddening and laughing, boy-like. “How can I help hearing what they tell me?”

“The son’s a little in our way at present, I’m afraid, Ned,” said the old man, humouring the joke.

Português → “Very much,” said the Captain.

“Nevertheless, we’ll drink him,” pursued Sol. “So, here’s to Dombey and Son.”

“Oh, very well, Uncle,” said the boy, merrily. “Since you have introduced the mention of her, and have connected me with her and have said that I know all about her, I shall make bold to amend the toast. So here’s to Dombey - and Son - and Daughter!”

CHAPTER V. Paul’s Progress and Christening

Português → Little Paul, suffering no contamination from the blood of the Toodles, grew stouter and stronger every day. Every day, too, he was more and more ardently cherished by Miss Tox, whose devotion was so far appreciated by Mr Dombey that he began to regard her as a woman of great natural good sense, whose feelings did her credit and deserved encouragement. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished.

Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death.

Português → Miss Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child; and an observer of Miss Tox’s proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir, with ineffable satisfaction, almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. At the little ceremonies of the bath and toilette, she assisted with enthusiasm. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Is he not a Cupid, Sir!” and then almost sinking behind the closet door with confusion and blushes.

“Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, one day, to his sister, “I really think I must present your friend with some little token, on the occasion of Paul’s christening. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child’s behalf from the first, and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world, I am sorry to say), that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her.”

Português → Let it be no detraction from the merits of Miss Tox, to hint that in Mr Dombey’s eyes, as in some others that occasionally see the light, they only achieved that mighty piece of knowledge, the understanding of their own position, who showed a fitting reverence for his. It was not so much their merit that they knew themselves, as that they knew him, and bowed low before him.

“My dear Paul,” returned his sister, “you do Miss Tox but justice, as a man of your penetration was sure, I knew, to do. I believe if there are three words in the English language for which she has a respect amounting almost to veneration, those words are, Dombey and Son.”

“Well,” said Mr Dombey, “I believe it. It does Miss Tox credit.”

“And as to anything in the shape of a token, my dear Paul,” pursued his sister, “all I can say is that anything you give Miss Tox will be hoarded and prized, I am sure, like a relic. But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox’s friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.”

Português → “How is that?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Godfathers, of course,” continued Mrs Chick, “are important in point of connexion and influence.”

“I don’t know why they should be, to my son,” said Mr Dombey, coldly.

“Very true, my dear Paul,” retorted Mrs Chick, with an extraordinary show of animation, to cover the suddenness of her conversion; “and spoken like yourself. I might have expected nothing else from you. I might have known that such would have been your opinion. Perhaps;” here Mrs Chick faltered again, as not quite comfortably feeling her way; “perhaps that is a reason why you might have the less objection to allowing Miss Tox to be godmother to the dear thing, if it were only as deputy and proxy for someone else. That it would be received as a great honour and distinction, Paul, I need not say.”

“Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, after a short pause, “it is not to be supposed - ”

“Certainly not,” cried Mrs Chick, hastening to anticipate a refusal, “I never thought it was.”

Português → Mr Dombey looked at her impatiently.

“Don’t flurry me, my dear Paul,” said his sister; “for that destroys me. I am far from strong. I have not been quite myself, since poor dear Fanny departed.”

Mr Dombey glanced at the pocket-handkerchief which his sister applied to her eyes, and resumed:

“It is not be supposed, I say - ”

“And I say,” murmured Mrs Chick, “that I never thought it was.”

“Good Heaven, Louisa!” said Mr Dombey.

“No, my dear Paul,” she remonstrated with tearful dignity, “I must really be allowed to speak. I am not so clever, or so reasoning, or so eloquent, or so anything, as you are. I know that very well. So much the worse for me. But if they were the last words I had to utter - and last words should be very solemn to you and me, Paul, after poor dear Fanny - I would still say I never thought it was. And what is more,” added Mrs Chick with increased dignity, as if she had withheld her crushing argument until now, “I never did think it was.”

Português → Mr Dombey walked to the window and back again.

Português → “It is not to be supposed, Louisa,” he said (Mrs Chick had nailed her colours to the mast, and repeated “I know it isn’t,” but he took no notice of it), “but that there are many persons who, supposing that I recognised any claim at all in such a case, have a claim upon me superior to Miss Tox’s. But I do not. I recognise no such thing. Paul and myself will be able, when the time comes, to hold our own - the House, in other words, will be able to hold its own, and maintain its own, and hand down its own of itself, and without any such common-place aids. The kind of foreign help which people usually seek for their children, I can afford to despise; being above it, I hope. So that Paul’s infancy and childhood pass away well, and I see him becoming qualified without waste of time for the career on which he is destined to enter, I am satisfied. He will make what powerful friends he pleases in after-life, when he is actively maintaining - and extending, if that is possible - the dignity and credit of the Firm. Until then, I am enough for him, perhaps, and all in all. I have no wish that people should step in between us. I would much rather show my sense of the obliging conduct of a deserving person like your friend. Therefore let it be so; and your husband and myself will do well enough for the other sponsors, I daresay.”

Português → In the course of these remarks, delivered with great majesty and grandeur, Mr Dombey had truly revealed the secret feelings of his breast. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. In all his life, he had never made a friend. His cold and distant nature had neither sought one, nor found one. And now, when that nature concentrated its whole force so strongly on a partial scheme of parental interest and ambition, it seemed as if its icy current, instead of being released by this influence, and running clear and free, had thawed for but an instant to admit its burden, and then frozen with it into one unyielding block.

Português → Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul, in virtue of her insignificance, Miss Tox was from that hour chosen and appointed to office; and Mr Dombey further signified his pleasure that the ceremony, already long delayed, should take place without further postponement. His sister, who had been far from anticipating so signal a success, withdrew as soon as she could, to communicate it to her best of friends; and Mr Dombey was left alone in his library. He had already laid his hand upon the bellrope to convey his usual summons to Richards, when his eye fell upon a writing-desk, belonging to his deceased wife, which had been taken, among other things, from a cabinet in her chamber. It was not the first time that his eye had lighted on it He carried the key in his pocket; and he brought it to his table and opened it now - having previously locked the room door - with a well-accustomed hand.

From beneath a leaf of torn and cancelled scraps of paper, he took one letter that remained entire. Involuntarily holding his breath as he opened this document, and “bating in the stealthy action something of his arrogant demeanour, he sat down, resting his head upon one hand, and read it through.

Português → He read it slowly and attentively, and with a nice particularity to every syllable. Otherwise than as his great deliberation seemed unnatural, and perhaps the result of an effort equally great, he allowed no sign of emotion to escape him. When he had read it through, he folded and refolded it slowly several times, and tore it carefully into fragments. Checking his hand in the act of throwing these away, he put them in his pocket, as if unwilling to trust them even to the chances of being re-united and deciphered; and instead of ringing, as usual, for little Paul, he sat solitary, all the evening, in his cheerless room.

Português → There was anything but solitude in the nursery; for there, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening, so much to the disgust of Miss Susan Nipper, that that young lady embraced every opportunity of making wry faces behind the door. Her feelings were so much excited on the occasion, that she found it indispensable to afford them this relief, even without having the comfort of any audience or sympathy whatever. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage.

The two interlopers, however, blissfully unconscious of the young lady’s sentiments, saw little Paul safe through all the stages of undressing, airy exercise, supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. The two children now lay, through the good offices of Polly, in one room; and it was not until the ladies were established at their tea-table that, happening to look towards the little beds, they thought of Florence.

Português → “How sound she sleeps!” said Miss Tox.

“Why, you know, my dear, she takes a great deal of exercise in the course of the day,” returned Mrs Chick, “playing about little Paul so much.”

“She is a curious child,” said Miss Tox.

“My dear,” retorted Mrs Chick, in a low voice: “Her Mama, all over!”

“In-deed!” said Miss Tox. “Ah dear me!”

A tone of most extraordinary compassion Miss Tox said it in, though she had no distinct idea why, except that it was expected of her.

“Florence will never, never, never be a Dombey,” said Mrs Chick, “not if she lives to be a thousand years old.”

Miss Tox elevated her eyebrows, and was again full of commiseration.

“I quite fret and worry myself about her,” said Mrs Chick, with a sigh of modest merit. “I really don’t see what is to become of her when she grows older, or what position she is to take. She don’t gain on her Papa in the least. How can one expect she should, when she is so very unlike a Dombey?”

Português → Miss Tox looked as if she saw no way out of such a cogent argument as that, at all.

“And the child, you see,” said Mrs Chick, in deep confidence, “has poor dear Fanny’s nature. She’ll never make an effort in after-life, I’ll venture to say. Never! She’ll never wind and twine herself about her Papa’s heart like - ”

“Like the ivy?” suggested Miss Tox.

“Like the ivy,” Mrs Chick assented. “Never! She’ll never glide and nestle into the bosom of her Papa’s affections like - the - ”

“Startled fawn?” suggested Miss Tox.

“Like the startled fawn,” said Mrs Chick. “Never! Poor Fanny! Yet, how I loved her!”

“You must not distress yourself, my dear,” said Miss Tox, in a soothing voice. “Now really! You have too much feeling.”

“We have all our faults,” said Mrs Chick, weeping and shaking her head. “I daresay we have. I never was blind to hers. I never said I was. Far from it. Yet how I loved her!”

Português → What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! What a mighty pleasant virtue toleration should be when we are right, to be so very pleasant when we are wrong, and quite unable to demonstrate how we come to be invested with the privilege of exercising it!

Mrs Chick was yet drying her eyes and shaking her head, when Richards made bold to caution her that Miss Florence was awake and sitting in her bed. She had risen, as the nurse said, and the lashes of her eyes were wet with tears. But no one saw them glistening save Polly. No one else leant over her, and whispered soothing words to her, or was near enough to hear the flutter of her beating heart.

Português → “Oh! dear nurse!” said the child, looking earnestly up in her face, “let me lie by my brother!”

“Why, my pet?” said Richards.

“Oh! I think he loves me,” cried the child wildly. “Let me lie by him. Pray do!”

Mrs Chick interposed with some motherly words about going to sleep like a dear, but Florence repeated her supplication, with a frightened look, and in a voice broken by sobs and tears.

“I’ll not wake him,” she said, covering her face and hanging down her head. “I’ll only touch him with my hand, and go to sleep. Oh, pray, pray, let me lie by my brother tonight, for I believe he’s fond of me!”

Richards took her without a word, and carrying her to the little bed in which the infant was sleeping, laid her down by his side. She crept as near him as she could without disturbing his rest; and stretching out one arm so that it timidly embraced his neck, and hiding her face on the other, over which her damp and scattered hair fell loose, lay motionless.

Português → “Poor little thing,” said Miss Tox; “she has been dreaming, I daresay.”

Dreaming, perhaps, of loving tones for ever silent, of loving eyes for ever closed, of loving arms again wound round her, and relaxing in that dream within the dam which no tongue can relate. Seeking, perhaps - in dreams - some natural comfort for a heart, deeply and sorely wounded, though so young a child’s: and finding it, perhaps, in dreams, if not in waking, cold, substantial truth. This trivial incident had so interrupted the current of conversation, that it was difficult of resumption; and Mrs Chick moreover had been so affected by the contemplation of her own tolerant nature, that she was not in spirits. The two friends accordingly soon made an end of their tea, and a servant was despatched to fetch a hackney cabriolet for Miss Tox. Miss Tox had great experience in hackney cabs, and her starting in one was generally a work of time, as she was systematic in the preparatory arrangements.

Português → “Have the goodness, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “first of all, to carry out a pen and ink and take his number legibly.”

“Yes, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“Then, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “have the goodness to turn the cushion. Which,” said Miss Tox apart to Mrs Chick, “is generally damp, my dear.”

“Yes, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“I’ll trouble you also, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this card and this shilling. He’s to drive to the card, and is to understand that he will not on any account have more than the shilling.”

“No, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“And - I’m sorry to give you so much trouble, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, looking at him pensively.

“Not at all, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“Mention to the man, then, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady’s uncle is a magistrate, and that if he gives her any of his impertinence he will be punished terribly. You can pretend to say that, if you please, Towlinson, in a friendly way, and because you know it was done to another man, who died.”

Português → “Certainly, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“And now good-night to my sweet, sweet, sweet, godson,” said Miss Tox, with a soft shower of kisses at each repetition of the adjective; “and Louisa, my dear friend, promise me to take a little something warm before you go to bed, and not to distress yourself!”

It was with extreme difficulty that Nipper, the black-eyed, who looked on steadfastly, contained herself at this crisis, and until the subsequent departure of Mrs Chick. But the nursery being at length free of visitors, she made herself some recompense for her late restraint.

“You might keep me in a strait-waistcoat for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got it off I’d only be more aggravated, who ever heard the like of them two Griffins, Mrs Richards?”

“And then to talk of having been dreaming, poor dear!” said Polly.

“Oh you beauties!” cried Susan Nipper, affecting to salute the door by which the ladies had departed. “Never be a Dombey won’t she? It’s to be hoped she won’t, we don’t want any more such, one’s enough.”

Português → “Don’t wake the children, Susan dear,” said Polly.

“I’m very much beholden to you, Mrs Richards,” said Susan, who was not by any means discriminating in her wrath, “and really feel it as a honour to receive your commands, being a black slave and a mulotter. Mrs Richards, if there’s any other orders, you can give me, pray mention ’em.”

“Nonsense; orders,” said Polly.

“Oh! bless your heart, Mrs Richards,” cried Susan, “temporaries always orders permanencies here, didn’t you know that, why wherever was you born, Mrs Richards? But wherever you was born, Mrs Richards,” pursued Spitfire, shaking her head resolutely, “and whenever, and however (which is best known to yourself), you may bear in mind, please, that it’s one thing to give orders, and quite another thing to take ’em. A person may tell a person to dive off a bridge head foremost into five-and-forty feet of water, Mrs Richards, but a person may be very far from diving.”

Português → “There now,” said Polly, “you’re angry because you’re a good little thing, and fond of Miss Florence; and yet you turn round on me, because there’s nobody else.”

“It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed. My goodness gracious me, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you don’t shut your eyes this minute, I’ll call in them hobgoblins that lives in the cock-loft to come and eat you up alive!”

Here Miss Nipper made a horrible lowing, supposed to issue from a conscientious goblin of the bull species, impatient to discharge the severe duty of his position. Having further composed her young charge by covering her head with the bedclothes, and making three or four angry dabs at the pillow, she folded her arms, and screwed up her mouth, and sat looking at the fire for the rest of the evening.

Português → Though little Paul was said, in nursery phrase, “to take a deal of notice for his age,” he took as little notice of all this as of the preparations for his christening on the next day but one; which nevertheless went on about him, as to his personal apparel, and that of his sister and the two nurses, with great activity. Neither did he, on the arrival of the appointed morning, show any sense of its importance; being, on the contrary, unusually inclined to sleep, and unusually inclined to take it ill in his attendants that they dressed him to go out.

It happened to be an iron-grey autumnal day, with a shrewd east wind blowing - a day in keeping with the proceedings. Mr Dombey represented in himself the wind, the shade, and the autumn of the christening. He stood in his library to receive the company, as hard and cold as the weather; and when he looked out through the glass room, at the trees in the little garden, their brown and yellow leaves came fluttering down, as if he blighted them.

Português → Ugh! They were black, cold rooms; and seemed to be in mourning, like the inmates of the house. The books precisely matched as to size, and drawn up in line, like soldiers, looked in their cold, hard, slippery uniforms, as if they had but one idea among them, and that was a freezer. The bookcase, glazed and locked, repudiated all familiarities. Mr Pitt, in bronze, on the top, with no trace of his celestial origin about him, guarded the unattainable treasure like an enchanted Moor. A dusty urn at each high corner, dug up from an ancient tomb, preached desolation and decay, as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass, reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow, seemed fraught with melancholy meditations.

The stiff and stark fire-irons appeared to claim a nearer relationship than anything else there to Mr Dombey, with his buttoned coat, his white cravat, his heavy gold watch-chain, and his creaking boots. But this was before the arrival of Mr and Mrs Chick, his lawful relatives, who soon presented themselves.

Português → “My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured, as she embraced him, “the beginning, I hope, of many joyful days!”

“Thank you, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, grimly. “How do you do, Mr John?”

“How do you do, Sir?” said Chick.

He gave Mr Dombey his hand, as if he feared it might electrify him. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, or seaweed, or some such clammy substance, and immediately returned it to him with exalted politeness.

“Perhaps, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, slightly turning his head in his cravat, as if it were a socket, “you would have preferred a fire?”

“Oh, my dear Paul, no,” said Mrs Chick, who had much ado to keep her teeth from chattering; “not for me.”

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, “you are not sensible of any chill?”

Mr John, who had already got both his hands in his pockets over the wrists, and was on the very threshold of that same canine chorus which had given Mrs Chick so much offence on a former occasion, protested that he was perfectly comfortable.

Português → He added in a low voice, “With my tiddle tol toor rul” - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson, who announced:

“Miss Tox!”

And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony.

“How do you do, Miss Tox?” said Mr Dombey.

Miss Tox, in the midst of her spreading gauzes, went down altogether like an opera-glass shutting-up; she curtseyed so low, in acknowledgment of Mr Dombey’s advancing a step or two to meet her.

“I can never forget this occasion, Sir,” said Miss Tox, softly. “’Tis impossible. My dear Louisa, I can hardly believe the evidence of my senses.”

If Miss Tox could believe the evidence of one of her senses, it was a very cold day. That was quite clear. She took an early opportunity of promoting the circulation in the tip of her nose by secretly chafing it with her pocket handkerchief, lest, by its very low temperature, it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it.

Português → The baby soon appeared, carried in great glory by Richards; while Florence, in custody of that active young constable, Susan Nipper, brought up the rear. Though the whole nursery party were dressed by this time in lighter mourning than at first, there was enough in the appearance of the bereaved children to make the day no brighter. The baby too - it might have been Miss Tox’s nose - began to cry. Thereby, as it happened, preventing Mr Chick from the awkward fulfilment of a very honest purpose he had; which was, to make much of Florence. For this gentleman, insensible to the superior claims of a perfect Dombey (perhaps on account of having the honour to be united to a Dombey himself, and being familiar with excellence), really liked her, and showed that he liked her, and was about to show it in his own way now, when Paul cried, and his helpmate stopped him short -

“Now Florence, child!” said her aunt, briskly, “what are you doing, love? Show yourself to him. Engage his attention, my dear!”

Português → The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder, when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter, who, clapping her hands, and standing on tip-toe before the throne of his son and heir, lured him to bend down from his high estate, and look at her. Some honest act of Richards’s may have aided the effect, but he did look down, and held his peace. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses.

Was Mr Dombey pleased to see this? He testified no pleasure by the relaxation of a nerve; but outward tokens of any kind of feeling were unusual with him. If any sunbeam stole into the room to light the children at their play, it never reached his face. He looked on so fixedly and coldly, that the warm light vanished even from the laughing eyes of little Florence, when, at last, they happened to meet his.

Português → It was a dull, grey, autumn day indeed, and in a minute’s pause and silence that took place, the leaves fell sorrowfully.

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, referring to his watch, and assuming his hat and gloves. “Take my sister, if you please: my arm today is Miss Tox’s. You had better go first with Master Paul, Richards. Be very careful.”

In Mr Dombey’s carriage, Dombey and Son, Miss Tox, Mrs Chick, Richards, and Florence. In a little carriage following it, Susan Nipper and the owner Mr Chick. Susan looking out of window, without intermission, as a relief from the embarrassment of confronting the large face of that gentleman, and thinking whenever anything rattled that he was putting up in paper an appropriate pecuniary compliment for herself.

Once upon the road to church, Mr Dombey clapped his hands for the amusement of his son. At which instance of parental enthusiasm Miss Tox was enchanted. But exclusive of this incident, the chief difference between the christening party and a party in a mourning coach consisted in the colours of the carriage and horses.

Português → Arrived at the church steps, they were received by a portentous beadle. Mr Dombey dismounting first to help the ladies out, and standing near him at the church door, looked like another beadle. A beadle less gorgeous but more dreadful; the beadle of private life; the beadle of our business and our bosoms.

Miss Tox’s hand trembled as she slipped it through Mr Dombey’s arm, and felt herself escorted up the steps, preceded by a cocked hat and a Babylonian collar. It seemed for a moment like that other solemn institution, “Wilt thou have this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.”

“Please to bring the child in quick out of the air there,” whispered the beadle, holding open the inner door of the church.

Português → Little Paul might have asked with Hamlet “into my grave?” so chill and earthy was the place. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. It was a cold and dismal scene.

[Illustration]

“There’s a wedding just on, Sir,” said the beadle, “but it’ll be over directly, if you’ll walk into the westry here.”

Before he turned again to lead the way, he gave Mr Dombey a bow and a half smile of recognition, importing that he (the beadle) remembered to have had the pleasure of attending on him when he buried his wife, and hoped he had enjoyed himself since.

Português → The very wedding looked dismal as they passed in front of the altar. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young, and a superannuated beau with one eye and an eyeglass stuck in its blank companion, was giving away the lady, while the friends were shivering. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Over the fireplace was a ground-plan of the vaults underneath the church; and Mr Chick, skimming the literary portion of it aloud, by way of enlivening the company, read the reference to Mrs Dombey’s tomb in full, before he could stop himself.

Português → After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. Here they waited some little time while the marriage party enrolled themselves; and meanwhile the wheezy little pew-opener - partly in consequence of her infirmity, and partly that the marriage party might not forget her - went about the building coughing like a grampus.

Português → Presently the clerk (the only cheerful-looking object there, and he was an undertaker) came up with a jug of warm water, and said something, as he poured it into the font, about taking the chill off; which millions of gallons boiling hot could not have done for the occasion. Then the clergyman, an amiable and mild-looking young curate, but obviously afraid of the baby, appeared like the principal character in a ghost-story, “a tall figure all in white;” at sight of whom Paul rent the air with his cries, and never left off again till he was taken out black in the face.

Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. This so distracted the attention of the two ladies, that Mrs Chick was constantly deploying into the centre aisle, to send out messages by the pew-opener, while Miss Tox kept her Prayer-book open at the Gunpowder Plot, and occasionally read responses from that service.

Português → During the whole of these proceedings, Mr Dombey remained as impassive and gentlemanly as ever, and perhaps assisted in making it so cold, that the young curate smoked at the mouth as he read. The only time that he unbent his visage in the least, was when the clergyman, in delivering (very unaffectedly and simply) the closing exhortation, relative to the future examination of the child by the sponsors, happened to rest his eye on Mr Chick; and then Mr Dombey might have been seen to express by a majestic look, that he would like to catch him at it.

It might have been well for Mr Dombey, if he had thought of his own dignity a little less; and had thought of the great origin and purpose of the ceremony in which he took so formal and so stiff a part, a little more. His arrogance contrasted strangely with its history.

Português → When it was all over, he again gave his arm to Miss Tox, and conducted her to the vestry, where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner, but for the unfortunate state of his household affairs. The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship.

There they found Mr Pitt turning up his nose at a cold collation, set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver, and looking more like a dead dinner lying in state than a social refreshment. On their arrival Miss Tox produced a mug for her godson, and Mr Chick a knife and fork and spoon in a case. Mr Dombey also produced a bracelet for Miss Tox; and, on the receipt of this token, Miss Tox was tenderly affected.

Português → “Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, “will you take the bottom of the table, if you please? What have you got there, Mr John?”

“I have got a cold fillet of veal here, Sir,” replied Mr Chick, rubbing his numbed hands hard together. “What have you got there, Sir?”

“This,” returned Mr Dombey, “is some cold preparation of calf’s head, I think. I see cold fowls - ham - patties - salad - lobster. Miss Tox will do me the honour of taking some wine? Champagne to Miss Tox.”

There was a toothache in everything. The wine was so bitter cold that it forced a little scream from Miss Tox, which she had great difficulty in turning into a “Hem!” The veal had come from such an airy pantry, that the first taste of it had struck a sensation as of cold lead to Mr Chick’s extremities. Mr Dombey alone remained unmoved. He might have been hung up for sale at a Russian fair as a specimen of a frozen gentleman.

Português → The prevailing influence was too much even for his sister. She made no effort at flattery or small talk, and directed all her efforts to looking as warm as she could.

“Well, Sir,” said Mr Chick, making a desperate plunge, after a long silence, and filling a glass of sherry; “I shall drink this, if you’ll allow me, Sir, to little Paul.”

“Bless him!” murmured Miss Tox, taking a sip of wine.

“Dear little Dombey!” murmured Mrs Chick.

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, with severe gravity, “my son would feel and express himself obliged to you, I have no doubt, if he could appreciate the favour you have done him. He will prove, in time to come, I trust, equal to any responsibility that the obliging disposition of his relations and friends, in private, or the onerous nature of our position, in public, may impose upon him.”

Português → The tone in which this was said admitting of nothing more, Mr Chick relapsed into low spirits and silence. Not so Miss Tox, who, having listened to Mr Dombey with even a more emphatic attention than usual, and with a more expressive tendency of her head to one side, now leant across the table, and said to Mrs Chick softly:

“Louisa!”

“My dear,” said Mrs Chick.

“Onerous nature of our position in public may - I have forgotten the exact term.”

“Expose him to,” said Mrs Chick.

“Pardon me, my dear,” returned Miss Tox, “I think not. It was more rounded and flowing. Obliging disposition of relations and friends in private, or onerous nature of position in public - may - impose upon him!”

“Impose upon him, to be sure,” said Mrs Chick.

Miss Tox struck her delicate hands together lightly, in triumph; and added, casting up her eyes, “eloquence indeed!”

Português → Mr Dombey, in the meanwhile, had issued orders for the attendance of Richards, who now entered curtseying, but without the baby; Paul being asleep after the fatigues of the morning. Mr Dombey, having delivered a glass of wine to this vassal, addressed her in the following words: Miss Tox previously settling her head on one side, and making other little arrangements for engraving them on her heart.

“During the six months or so, Richards, which have seen you an inmate of this house, you have done your duty. Desiring to connect some little service to you with this occasion, I considered how I could best effect that object, and I also advised with my sister, Mrs - ”

“Chick,” interposed the gentleman of that name.

“Oh, hush if you please!” said Miss Tox.

“I was about to say to you, Richards,” resumed Mr Dombey, with an appalling glance at Mr John, “that I was further assisted in my decision, by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room, on the occasion of your being hired, when he disclosed to me the melancholy fact that your family, himself at the head, were sunk and steeped in ignorance.”

Português → Richards quailed under the magnificence of the reproof.

“I am far from being friendly,” pursued Mr Dombey, “to what is called by persons of levelling sentiments, general education. But it is necessary that the inferior classes should continue to be taught to know their position, and to conduct themselves properly. So far I approve of schools. Having the power of nominating a child on the foundation of an ancient establishment, called (from a worshipful company) the Charitable Grinders; where not only is a wholesome education bestowed upon the scholars, but where a dress and badge is likewise provided for them; I have (first communicating, through Mrs Chick, with your family) nominated your eldest son to an existing vacancy; and he has this day, I am informed, assumed the habit. The number of her son, I believe,” said Mr Dombey, turning to his sister and speaking of the child as if he were a hackney-coach, is one hundred and forty-seven. Louisa, you can tell her.”

“One hundred and forty-seven,” said Mrs Chick “The dress, Richards, is a nice, warm, blue baize tailed coat and cap, turned up with orange coloured binding; red worsted stockings; and very strong leather small-clothes. One might wear the articles one’s self,” said Mrs Chick, with enthusiasm, “and be grateful.”

Português → “There, Richards!” said Miss Tox. “Now, indeed, you may be proud. The Charitable Grinders!”

“I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water.

“I am very glad to see you have so much feeling, Richards,” said Miss Tox.

“It makes one almost hope, it really does,” said Mrs Chick, who prided herself on taking trustful views of human nature, “that there may yet be some faint spark of gratitude and right feeling in the world.”

Richards deferred to these compliments by curtseying and murmuring her thanks; but finding it quite impossible to recover her spirits from the disorder into which they had been thrown by the image of her son in his precocious nether garments, she gradually approached the door and was heartily relieved to escape by it.

Português → Such temporary indications of a partial thaw that had appeared with her, vanished with her; and the frost set in again, as cold and hard as ever. Mr Chick was twice heard to hum a tune at the bottom of the table, but on both occasions it was a fragment of the Dead March in Saul. The party seemed to get colder and colder, and to be gradually resolving itself into a congealed and solid state, like the collation round which it was assembled. At length Mrs Chick looked at Miss Tox, and Miss Tox returned the look, and they both rose and said it was really time to go. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him.

Português → Richards, though she had little Paul on her lap, could not forget her own first-born. She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness. She spoke, too, in the nursery, of his “blessed legs,” and was again troubled by his spectre in uniform.

“I don’t know what I wouldn’t give,” said Polly, “to see the poor little dear before he gets used to ’em.”

“Why, then, I tell you what, Mrs Richards,” retorted Nipper, who had been admitted to her confidence, “see him and make your mind easy.”

“Mr Dombey wouldn’t like it,” said Polly.

“Oh, wouldn’t he, Mrs Richards!” retorted Nipper, “he’d like it very much, I think when he was asked.”

Português → “You wouldn’t ask him, I suppose, at all?” said Polly.

“No, Mrs Richards, quite contrairy,” returned Susan, “and them two inspectors Tox and Chick, not intending to be on duty tomorrow, as I heard ’em say, me and Miss Floy will go along with you tomorrow morning, and welcome, Mrs Richards, if you like, for we may as well walk there as up and down a street, and better too.”

Polly rejected the idea pretty stoutly at first; but by little and little she began to entertain it, as she entertained more and more distinctly the forbidden pictures of her children, and her own home. At length, arguing that there could be no great harm in calling for a moment at the door, she yielded to the Nipper proposition.

The matter being settled thus, little Paul began to cry most piteously, as if he had a foreboding that no good would come of it.

“What’s the matter with the child?” asked Susan.

Português → “He’s cold, I think,” said Polly, walking with him to and fro, and hushing him.

It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked, and hushed, and, glancing through the dreary windows, pressed the little fellow closer to her breast, the withered leaves came showering down.

CHAPTER VI. Paul’s Second Deprivation

Português → Polly was beset by so many misgivings in the morning, that but for the incessant promptings of her black-eyed companion, she would have abandoned all thoughts of the expedition, and formally petitioned for leave to see number one hundred and forty-seven, under the awful shadow of Mr Dombey’s roof. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens.

This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Hither the two nurses bent their steps, accompanied by their charges; Richards carrying Paul, of course, and Susan leading little Florence by the hand, and giving her such jerks and pokes from time to time, as she considered it wholesome to administer.

Português → The first shock of a great earthquake had, just at that period, rent the whole neighbourhood to its centre. Traces of its course were visible on every side. Houses were knocked down; streets broken through and stopped; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground; enormous heaps of earth and clay thrown up; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. There were a hundred thousand shapes and substances of incompleteness, wildly mingled out of their places, upside down, burrowing in the earth, aspiring in the air, mouldering in the water, and unintelligible as any dream. Hot springs and fiery eruptions, the usual attendants upon earthquakes, lent their contributions of confusion to the scene. Boiling water hissed and heaved within dilapidated walls; whence, also, the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way, and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood.

Português → In short, the yet unfinished and unopened Railroad was in progress; and, from the very core of all this dire disorder, trailed smoothly away, upon its mighty course of civilisation and improvement.

Português → But as yet, the neighbourhood was shy to own the Railroad. One or two bold speculators had projected streets; and one had built a little, but had stopped among the mud and ashes to consider farther of it. A bran-new Tavern, redolent of fresh mortar and size, and fronting nothing at all, had taken for its sign The Railway Arms; but that might be rash enterprise - and then it hoped to sell drink to the workmen. So, the Excavators’ House of Call had sprung up from a beer-shop; and the old-established Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, with a roast leg of pork daily, through interested motives of a similar immediate and popular description. Lodging-house keepers were favourable in like manner; and for the like reasons were not to be trusted. The general belief was very slow. There were frowzy fields, and cow-houses, and dunghills, and dustheaps, and ditches, and gardens, and summer-houses, and carpet-beating grounds, at the very door of the Railway. Little tumuli of oyster shells in the oyster season, and of lobster shells in the lobster season, and of broken crockery and faded cabbage leaves in all seasons, encroached upon its high places. Posts, and rails, and old cautions to trespassers, and backs of mean houses, and patches of wretched vegetation, stared it out of countenance. Nothing was the better for it, or thought of being so. If the miserable waste ground lying near it could have laughed, it would have laughed it to scorn, like many of the miserable neighbours.

Português → Staggs’s Gardens was uncommonly incredulous. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Here, the Staggs’s Gardeners trained scarlet beans, kept fowls and rabbits, erected rotten summer-houses (one was an old boat), dried clothes, and smoked pipes. Some were of opinion that Staggs’s Gardens derived its name from a deceased capitalist, one Mr Staggs, who had built it for his delectation. Others, who had a natural taste for the country, held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd, under the familiar denomination of Staggses, had resorted to its shady precincts. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots.

Português → To this unhallowed spot, the very name of which had hitherto been carefully concealed from Mr Dombey by his sister, was little Paul now borne by Fate and Richards

“That’s my house, Susan,” said Polly, pointing it out.

“Is it, indeed, Mrs Richards?” said Susan, condescendingly.

“And there’s my sister Jemima at the door, I do declare” cried Polly, “with my own sweet precious baby in her arms!”

The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds.

“Why, Polly!” cried Jemima. “You! what a turn you have given me! who’d have thought it! come along in Polly! How well you do look to be sure! The children will go half wild to see you Polly, that they will.”

Português → That they did, if one might judge from the noise they made, and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner, where her own honest apple face became immediately the centre of a bunch of smaller pippins, all laying their rosy cheeks close to it, and all evidently the growth of the same tree. As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion. Even then, the smallest Toodle but one remained in her lap, holding on tight with both arms round her neck; while the smallest Toodle but two mounted on the back of the chair, and made desperate efforts, with one leg in the air, to kiss her round the corner.

“Look! there’s a pretty little lady come to see you,” said Polly; “and see how quiet she is! what a beautiful little lady, ain’t she?”

Português → This reference to Florence, who had been standing by the door not unobservant of what passed, directed the attention of the younger branches towards her; and had likewise the happy effect of leading to the formal recognition of Miss Nipper, who was not quite free from a misgiving that she had been already slighted.

“Oh do come in and sit down a minute, Susan, please,” said Polly. “This is my sister Jemima, this is. Jemima, I don’t know what I should ever do with myself, if it wasn’t for Susan Nipper; I shouldn’t be here now but for her.”

“Oh do sit down, Miss Nipper, if you please,” quoth Jemima.

Susan took the extreme corner of a chair, with a stately and ceremonious aspect.

“I never was so glad to see anybody in all my life; now really I never was, Miss Nipper,” said Jemima.

Susan relaxing, took a little more of the chair, and smiled graciously.

“Do untie your bonnet-strings, and make yourself at home, Miss Nipper, please,” entreated Jemima. “I am afraid it’s a poorer place than you’re used to; but you’ll make allowances, I’m sure.”

Português → The black-eyed was so softened by this deferential behaviour, that she caught up little Miss Toodle who was running past, and took her to Banbury Cross immediately.

“But where’s my pretty boy?” said Polly. “My poor fellow? I came all this way to see him in his new clothes.”

“Ah what a pity!” cried Jemima. “He’ll break his heart, when he hears his mother has been here. He’s at school, Polly.”

“Gone already!”

“Yes. He went for the first time yesterday, for fear he should lose any learning. But it’s half-holiday, Polly: if you could only stop till he comes home - you and Miss Nipper, leastways,” said Jemima, mindful in good time of the dignity of the black-eyed.

“And how does he look, Jemima, bless him!” faltered Polly.

“Well, really he don’t look so bad as you’d suppose,” returned Jemima.

Português → “Ah!” said Polly, with emotion, “I knew his legs must be too short.”

“His legs is short,” returned Jemima; “especially behind; but they’ll get longer, Polly, every day.”

It was a slow, prospective kind of consolation; but the cheerfulness and good nature with which it was administered, gave it a value it did not intrinsically possess. After a moment’s silence, Polly asked, in a more sprightly manner:

“And where’s Father, Jemima dear?” - for by that patriarchal appellation, Mr Toodle was generally known in the family.

“There again!” said Jemima. “What a pity! Father took his dinner with him this morning, and isn’t coming home till night. But he’s always talking of you, Polly, and telling the children about you; and is the peaceablest, patientest, best-temperedest soul in the world, as he always was and will be!”

“Thankee, Jemima,” cried the simple Polly; delighted by the speech, and disappointed by the absence.

Português → “Oh you needn’t thank me, Polly,” said her sister, giving her a sounding kiss upon the cheek, and then dancing little Paul cheerfully. “I say the same of you sometimes, and think it too.”

Português → In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. The conversation soon becoming general lest the black-eyed should go off at score and turn sarcastic, that young lady related to Jemima a summary of everything she knew concerning Mr Dombey, his prospects, family, pursuits, and character. Also an exact inventory of her personal wardrobe, and some account of her principal relations and friends. Having relieved her mind of these disclosures, she partook of shrimps and porter, and evinced a disposition to swear eternal friendship.

Português → Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner. She was still busily engaged in that labour, when sought and found by Susan; who, such was her sense of duty, even under the humanizing influence of shrimps, delivered a moral address to her (punctuated with thumps) on her degenerate nature, while washing her face and hands; and predicted that she would bring the grey hairs of her family in general, with sorrow to the grave. After some delay, occasioned by a pretty long confidential interview above stairs on pecuniary subjects, between Polly and Jemima, an interchange of babies was again effected - for Polly had all this time retained her own child, and Jemima little Paul - and the visitors took leave.

But first the young Toodles, victims of a pious fraud, were deluded into repairing in a body to a chandler’s shop in the neighbourhood, for the ostensible purpose of spending a penny; and when the coast was quite clear, Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back, they would be sure to meet little Biler coming from school.

Português → “Do you think that we might make time to go a little round in that direction, Susan?” inquired Polly, when they halted to take breath.

“Why not, Mrs Richards?” returned Susan.

“It’s getting on towards our dinner time you know,” said Polly.

But lunch had rendered her companion more than indifferent to this grave consideration, so she allowed no weight to it, and they resolved to go “a little round.”

Português → Now, it happened that poor Biler’s life had been, since yesterday morning, rendered weary by the costume of the Charitable Grinders. The youth of the streets could not endure it. No young vagabond could be brought to bear its contemplation for a moment, without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer, and doing him a mischief. His social existence had been more like that of an early Christian, than an innocent child of the nineteenth century. He had been stoned in the streets. He had been overthrown into gutters; bespattered with mud; violently flattened against posts. Entire strangers to his person had lifted his yellow cap off his head, and cast it to the winds. His legs had not only undergone verbal criticisms and revilings, but had been handled and pinched. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination.

Português → Thus it fell out that Biler, on his way home, sought unfrequented paths; and slunk along by narrow passages and back streets, to avoid his tormentors. Being compelled to emerge into the main road, his ill fortune brought him at last where a small party of boys, headed by a ferocious young butcher, were lying in wait for any means of pleasurable excitement that might happen. These, finding a Charitable Grinder in the midst of them - unaccountably delivered over, as it were, into their hands - set up a general yell and rushed upon him.

But it so fell out likewise, that, at the same time, Polly, looking hopelessly along the road before her, after a good hour’s walk, had said it was no use going any further, when suddenly she saw this sight. She no sooner saw it than, uttering a hasty exclamation, and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed, she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son.

Surprises, like misfortunes, rarely come alone. The astonished Susan Nipper and her two young charges were rescued by the bystanders from under the very wheels of a passing carriage before they knew what had happened; and at that moment (it was market day) a thundering alarm of “Mad Bull!” was raised.

Português → With a wild confusion before her, of people running up and down, and shouting, and wheels running over them, and boys fighting, and mad bulls coming up, and the nurse in the midst of all these dangers being torn to pieces, Florence screamed and ran. She ran till she was exhausted, urging Susan to do the same; and then, stopping and wringing her hands as she remembered they had left the other nurse behind, found, with a sensation of terror not to be described, that she was quite alone.

[Illustration]

“Susan! Susan!” cried Florence, clapping her hands in the very ecstasy of her alarm. “Oh, where are they? where are they?”

“Where are they?” said an old woman, coming hobbling across as fast as she could from the opposite side of the way. “Why did you run away from ’em?”

“I was frightened,” answered Florence. “I didn’t know what I did. I thought they were with me. Where are they?”

The old woman took her by the wrist, and said, “I’ll show you.”

Português → She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes, and a mouth that mumbled and chattered of itself when she was not speaking. She was miserably dressed, and carried some skins over her arm. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events, for she had lost her breath; and this made her uglier still, as she stood trying to regain it: working her shrivelled yellow face and throat into all sorts of contortions.

Florence was afraid of her, and looked, hesitating, up the street, of which she had almost reached the bottom. It was a solitary place - more a back road than a street - and there was no one in it but her-self and the old woman.

“You needn’t be frightened now,” said the old woman, still holding her tight. “Come along with me.”

“I - I don’t know you. What’s your name?” asked Florence.

“Mrs Brown,” said the old woman. “Good Mrs Brown.”

Português → “Are they near here?” asked Florence, beginning to be led away.

“Susan ain’t far off,” said Good Mrs Brown; “and the others are close to her.”

“Is anybody hurt?” cried Florence.

“Not a bit of it,” said Good Mrs Brown.

The child shed tears of delight on hearing this, and accompanied the old woman willingly; though she could not help glancing at her face as they went along - particularly at that industrious mouth - and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown, if there were such a person, was at all like her.

They had not gone far, but had gone by some very uncomfortable places, such as brick-fields and tile-yards, when the old woman turned down a dirty lane, where the mud lay in deep black ruts in the middle of the road. She stopped before a shabby little house, as closely shut up as a house that was full of cracks and crevices could be. Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black.

Português → The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless, and looked as though about to swoon.

“Now don’t be a young mule,” said Good Mrs Brown, reviving her with a shake. “I’m not a going to hurt you. Sit upon the rags.”

Florence obeyed her, holding out her folded hands, in mute supplication.

“I’m not a going to keep you, even, above an hour,” said Mrs Brown. “D’ye understand what I say?”

The child answered with great difficulty, “Yes.”

“Then,” said Good Mrs Brown, taking her own seat on the bones, “don’t vex me. If you don’t, I tell you I won’t hurt you. But if you do, I’ll kill you. I could have you killed at any time - even if you was in your own bed at home. Now let’s know who you are, and what you are, and all about it.”

The old woman’s threats and promises; the dread of giving her offence; and the habit, unusual to a child, but almost natural to Florence now, of being quiet, and repressing what she felt, and feared, and hoped; enabled her to do this bidding, and to tell her little history, or what she knew of it. Mrs Brown listened attentively, until she had finished.

Português → “So your name’s Dombey, eh?” said Mrs Brown.

“I want that pretty frock, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, and a petticoat or two, and anything else you can spare. Come! Take ’em off.”

Florence obeyed, as fast as her trembling hands would allow; keeping, all the while, a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. When she had divested herself of all the articles of apparel mentioned by that lady, Mrs B. examined them at leisure, and seemed tolerably well satisfied with their quality and value.

“Humph!” she said, running her eyes over the child’s slight figure, “I don’t see anything else - except the shoes. I must have the shoes, Miss Dombey.”

Poor little Florence took them off with equal alacrity, only too glad to have any more means of conciliation about her. The old woman then produced some wretched substitutes from the bottom of the heap of rags, which she turned up for that purpose; together with a girl’s cloak, quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. In this dainty raiment, she instructed Florence to dress herself; and as such preparation seemed a prelude to her release, the child complied with increased readiness, if possible.

Português → In hurriedly putting on the bonnet, if that may be called a bonnet which was more like a pad to carry loads on, she caught it in her hair which grew luxuriantly, and could not immediately disentangle it. Good Mrs Brown whipped out a large pair of scissors, and fell into an unaccountable state of excitement.

“Why couldn’t you let me be!” said Mrs Brown, “when I was contented? You little fool!”

“I beg your pardon. I don’t know what I have done,” panted Florence. “I couldn’t help it.”

“Couldn’t help it!” cried Mrs Brown. “How do you expect I can help it? Why, Lord!” said the old woman, ruffling her curls with a furious pleasure, “anybody but me would have had ’em off, first of all.”

Florence was so relieved to find that it was only her hair and not her head which Mrs Brown coveted, that she offered no resistance or entreaty, and merely raised her mild eyes towards the face of that good soul.

Português → “If I hadn’t once had a gal of my own - beyond seas now - that was proud of her hair,” said Mrs Brown, “I’d have had every lock of it. She’s far away, she’s far away! Oho! Oho!”

Mrs Brown’s was not a melodious cry, but, accompanied with a wild tossing up of her lean arms, it was full of passionate grief, and thrilled to the heart of Florence, whom it frightened more than ever. It had its part, perhaps, in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown, after hovering about her with the scissors for some moments, like a new kind of butterfly, bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her. Having accomplished this victory over herself, Mrs Brown resumed her seat on the bones, and smoked a very short black pipe, mowing and mumbling all the time, as if she were eating the stem.

Português → When the pipe was smoked out, she gave the child a rabbit-skin to carry, that she might appear the more like her ordinary companion, and told her that she was now going to lead her to a public street whence she could inquire her way to her friends. But she cautioned her, with threats of summary and deadly vengeance in case of disobedience, not to talk to strangers, nor to repair to her own home (which may have been too near for Mrs Brown’s convenience), but to her father’s office in the City; also to wait at the street corner where she would be left, until the clock struck three. These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe.

Português → At length, Mrs Brown, issuing forth, conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys, which emerged, after a long time, upon a stable yard, with a gateway at the end, whence the roar of a great thoroughfare made itself audible. Pointing out this gateway, and informing Florence that when the clocks struck three she was to go to the left, Mrs Brown, after making a parting grasp at her hair which seemed involuntary and quite beyond her own control, told her she knew what to do, and bade her go and do it: remembering that she was watched.

With a lighter heart, but still sore afraid, Florence felt herself released, and tripped off to the corner. When she reached it, she looked back and saw the head of Good Mrs Brown peeping out of the low wooden passage, where she had issued her parting injunctions; likewise the fist of Good Mrs Brown shaking towards her. But though she often looked back afterwards - every minute, at least, in her nervous recollection of the old woman - she could not see her again.

Português → Florence remained there, looking at the bustle in the street, and more and more bewildered by it; and in the meanwhile the clocks appeared to have made up their minds never to strike three any more. At last the steeples rang out three o’clock; there was one close by, so she couldn’t be mistaken; and - after often looking over her shoulder, and often going a little way, and as often coming back again, lest the all-powerful spies of Mrs Brown should take offence - she hurried off, as fast as she could in her slipshod shoes, holding the rabbit-skin tight in her hand.

All she knew of her father’s offices was that they belonged to Dombey and Son, and that that was a great power belonging to the City. So she could only ask the way to Dombey and Son’s in the City; and as she generally made inquiry of children - being afraid to ask grown people - she got very little satisfaction indeed. But by dint of asking her way to the City after a while, and dropping the rest of her inquiry for the present, she really did advance, by slow degrees, towards the heart of that great region which is governed by the terrible Lord Mayor.

Português → Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. But few people noticed her at those times, in the garb she wore: or if they did, believed that she was tutored to excite compassion, and passed on. Florence, too, called to her aid all the firmness and self-reliance of a character that her sad experience had prematurely formed and tried: and keeping the end she had in view steadily before her, steadily pursued it.

It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done.

Português → “Now then!” said this man, happening to turn round. “We haven’t got anything for you, little girl. Be off!”

“If you please, is this the City?” asked the trembling daughter of the Dombeys.

“Ah! It’s the City. You know that well enough, I daresay. Be off! We haven’t got anything for you.”

“I don’t want anything, thank you,” was the timid answer. “Except to know the way to Dombey and Son’s.”

The man who had been strolling carelessly towards her, seemed surprised by this reply, and looking attentively in her face, rejoined:

“Why, what can you want with Dombey and Son’s?”

“To know the way there, if you please.”

The man looked at her yet more curiously, and rubbed the back of his head so hard in his wonderment that he knocked his own hat off.

“Joe!” he called to another man - a labourer - as he picked it up and put it on again.

Português → “Joe it is!” said Joe.

“Where’s that young spark of Dombey’s who’s been watching the shipment of them goods?”

“Just gone, by tt’other gate,” said Joe.

“Call him back a minute.”

Joe ran up an archway, bawling as he went, and very soon returned with a blithe-looking boy.

“You’re Dombey’s jockey, ain’t you?” said the first man.

“I’m in Dombey’s House, Mr Clark,” returned the boy.

“Look’ye here, then,” said Mr Clark.

Obedient to the indication of Mr Clark’s hand, the boy approached towards Florence, wondering, as well he might, what he had to do with her. But she, who had heard what passed, and who, besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey’s end, felt reassured beyond all measure by his lively youthful face and manner, ran eagerly up to him, leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers.

“I am lost, if you please!” said Florence.

“Lost!” cried the boy.

Português → “Yes, I was lost this morning, a long way from here - and I have had my clothes taken away, since - and I am not dressed in my own now - and my name is Florence Dombey, my little brother’s only sister - and, oh dear, dear, take care of me, if you please!” sobbed Florence, giving full vent to the childish feelings she had so long suppressed, and bursting into tears. At the same time her miserable bonnet falling off, her hair came tumbling down about her face: moving to speechless admiration and commiseration, young Walter, nephew of Solomon Gills, Ships’ Instrument-maker in general.

Mr Clark stood rapt in amazement: observing under his breath, I never saw such a start on this wharf before. Walter picked up the shoe, and put it on the little foot as the Prince in the story might have fitted Cinderella’s slipper on. He hung the rabbit-skin over his left arm; gave the right to Florence; and felt, not to say like Richard Whittington - that is a tame comparison - but like Saint George of England, with the dragon lying dead before him.

Português → “Don’t cry, Miss Dombey,” said Walter, in a transport of enthusiasm. “What a wonderful thing for me that I am here! You are as safe now as if you were guarded by a whole boat’s crew of picked men from a man-of-war. Oh, don’t cry.”

“I won’t cry any more,” said Florence. “I am only crying for joy.”

“Crying for joy!” thought Walter, “and I’m the cause of it! Come along, Miss Dombey. There’s the other shoe off now! Take mine, Miss Dombey.”

“No, no, no,” said Florence, checking him in the act of impetuously pulling off his own. “These do better. These do very well.”

“Why, to be sure,” said Walter, glancing at her foot, “mine are a mile too large. What am I thinking about! You never could walk in mine! Come along, Miss Dombey. Let me see the villain who will dare molest you now.”

So Walter, looking immensely fierce, led off Florence, looking very happy; and they went arm-in-arm along the streets, perfectly indifferent to any astonishment that their appearance might or did excite by the way.

Português → It was growing dark and foggy, and beginning to rain too; but they cared nothing for this: being both wholly absorbed in the late adventures of Florence, which she related with the innocent good faith and confidence of her years, while Walter listened as if, far from the mud and grease of Thames Street, they were rambling alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of some desert island in the tropics - as he very likely fancied, for the time, they were.

“Have we far to go?” asked Florence at last, lilting up her eyes to her companion’s face.

“Ah! By-the-bye,” said Walter, stopping, “let me see; where are we? Oh! I know. But the offices are shut up now, Miss Dombey. There’s nobody there. Mr Dombey has gone home long ago. I suppose we must go home too? or, stay. Suppose I take you to my Uncle’s, where I live - it’s very near here - and go to your house in a coach to tell them you are safe, and bring you back some clothes. Won’t that be best?”

Português → “I think so,” answered Florence. “Don’t you? What do you think?”

As they stood deliberating in the street, a man passed them, who glanced quickly at Walter as he went by, as if he recognised him; but seeming to correct that first impression, he passed on without stopping.

“Why, I think it’s Mr Carker,” said Walter. “Carker in our House. Not Carker our Manager, Miss Dombey - the other Carker; the Junior - Halloa! Mr Carker!”

“Is that Walter Gay?” said the other, stopping and returning. “I couldn’t believe it, with such a strange companion.”

Português → As he stood near a lamp, listening with surprise to Walter’s hurried explanation, he presented a remarkable contrast to the two youthful figures arm-in-arm before him. He was not old, but his hair was white; his body was bent, or bowed as if by the weight of some great trouble: and there were deep lines in his worn and melancholy face. The fire of his eyes, the expression of his features, the very voice in which he spoke, were all subdued and quenched, as if the spirit within him lay in ashes. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility.

And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. When Walter, in conclusion, put to him the question he had put to Florence, he still stood glancing at him with the same expression, as if he had read some fate upon his face, mournfully at variance with its present brightness.

Português → “What do you advise, Mr Carker?” said Walter, smiling. “You always give me good advice, you know, when you do speak to me. That’s not often, though.”

“I think your own idea is the best,” he answered: looking from Florence to Walter, and back again.

“Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous thought, “Come! Here’s a chance for you. Go you to Mr Dombey’s, and be the messenger of good news. It may do you some good, Sir. I’ll remain at home. You shall go.”

“I!” returned the other.

“Yes. Why not, Mr Carker?” said the boy.

He merely shook him by the hand in answer; he seemed in a manner ashamed and afraid even to do that; and bidding him good-night, and advising him to make haste, turned away.

“Come, Miss Dombey,” said Walter, looking after him as they turned away also, “we’ll go to my Uncle’s as quick as we can. Did you ever hear Mr Dombey speak of Mr Carker the Junior, Miss Florence?”

Português → “No,” returned the child, mildly, “I don’t often hear Papa speak.”

“Ah! true! more shame for him,” thought Walter. After a minute’s pause, during which he had been looking down upon the gentle patient little face moving on at his side, he said, “The strangest man, Mr Carker the Junior is, Miss Florence, that ever you heard of. If you could understand what an extraordinary interest he takes in me, and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office, and how he is never advanced, and never complains, though year after year he sees young men passed over his head, and though his brother (younger than he is), is our head Manager, you would be as much puzzled about him as I am.”

Português → As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door.

“Holloa, Uncle Sol!” cried Walter, bursting into the shop, and speaking incoherently and out of breath, from that time forth, for the rest of the evening. “Here’s a wonderful adventure! Here’s Mr Dombey’s daughter lost in the streets, and robbed of her clothes by an old witch of a woman - found by me - brought home to our parlour to rest - look here!”

Português → “Good Heaven!” said Uncle Sol, starting back against his favourite compass-case. “It can’t be! Well, I - ”

“No, nor anybody else,” said Walter, anticipating the rest. “Nobody would, nobody could, you know. Here! just help me lift the little sofa near the fire, will you, Uncle Sol - take care of the plates - cut some dinner for her, will you, Uncle - throw those shoes under the grate. Miss Florence - put your feet on the fender to dry - how damp they are - here’s an adventure, Uncle, eh? - God bless my soul, how hot I am!”

Solomon Gills was quite as hot, by sympathy, and in excessive bewilderment. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all.

Português → “Here, wait a minute, Uncle,” he continued, catching up a candle, “till I run upstairs, and get another jacket on, and then I’ll be off. I say, Uncle, isn’t this an adventure?”

“My dear boy,” said Solomon, who, with his spectacles on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, was incessantly oscillating between Florence on the sofa, and his nephew in all parts of the parlour, “it’s the most extraordinary - ”

“No, but do, Uncle, please - do, Miss Florence - dinner, you know, Uncle.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” cried Solomon, cutting instantly into a leg of mutton, as if he were catering for a giant. “I’ll take care of her, Wally! I understand. Pretty dear! Famished, of course. You go and get ready. Lord bless me! Sir Richard Whittington thrice Lord Mayor of London.”

Walter was not very long in mounting to his lofty garret and descending from it, but in the meantime Florence, overcome by fatigue, had sunk into a doze before the fire. The short interval of quiet, though only a few minutes in duration, enabled Solomon Gills so far to collect his wits as to make some little arrangements for her comfort, and to darken the room, and to screen her from the blaze. Thus, when the boy returned, she was sleeping peacefully.

Português → “That’s capital!” he whispered, giving Solomon such a hug that it squeezed a new expression into his face. “Now I’m off. I’ll just take a crust of bread with me, for I’m very hungry - and don’t wake her, Uncle Sol.”

“No, no,” said Solomon. “Pretty child.”

“Pretty, indeed!” cried Walter. “I never saw such a face, Uncle Sol. Now I’m off.”

“That’s right,” said Solomon, greatly relieved.

“I say, Uncle Sol,” cried Walter, putting his face in at the door.

“Here he is again,” said Solomon.

“How does she look now?”

“Quite happy,” said Solomon.

“That’s famous! now I’m off.”

“I hope you are,” said Solomon to himself.

“I say, Uncle Sol,” cried Walter, reappearing at the door.

“Here he is again!” said Solomon.

“We met Mr Carker the Junior in the street, queerer than ever. He bade me good-bye, but came behind us here - there’s an odd thing! - for when we reached the shop door, I looked round, and saw him going quietly away, like a servant who had seen me home, or a faithful dog. How does she look now, Uncle?”

Português → “Pretty much the same as before, Wally,” replied Uncle Sol.

“That’s right. Now I am off!”

And this time he really was: and Solomon Gills, with no appetite for dinner, sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching Florence in her slumber, building a great many airy castles of the most fantastic architecture; and looking, in the dim shade, and in the close vicinity of all the instruments, like a magician disguised in a Welsh wig and a suit of coffee colour, who held the child in an enchanted sleep.

In the meantime, Walter proceeded towards Mr Dombey’s house at a pace seldom achieved by a hack horse from the stand; and yet with his head out of window every two or three minutes, in impatient remonstrance with the driver. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together.

Português → “Oh! I beg your pardon, Sir,” said Walter, rushing up to him, “but I’m happy to say it’s all right, Sir. Miss Dombey’s found!”

The boy with his open face, and flowing hair, and sparkling eyes, panting with pleasure and excitement, was wonderfully opposed to Mr Dombey, as he sat confronting him in his library chair.

“I told you, Louisa, that she would certainly be found,” said Mr Dombey, looking slightly over his shoulder at that lady, who wept in company with Miss Tox. “Let the servants know that no further steps are necessary. This boy who brings the information, is young Gay, from the office. How was my daughter found, Sir? I know how she was lost.” Here he looked majestically at Richards. “But how was she found? Who found her?”

“Why, I believe I found Miss Dombey, Sir,” said Walter modestly, “at least I don’t know that I can claim the merit of having exactly found her, Sir, but I was the fortunate instrument of - ”

Português → “What do you mean, Sir,” interrupted Mr Dombey, regarding the boy’s evident pride and pleasure in his share of the transaction with an instinctive dislike, “by not having exactly found my daughter, and by being a fortunate instrument? Be plain and coherent, if you please.”

It was quite out of Walter’s power to be coherent; but he rendered himself as explanatory as he could, in his breathless state, and stated why he had come alone.

“You hear this, girl?” said Mr Dombey sternly to the black-eyed. “Take what is necessary, and return immediately with this young man to fetch Miss Florence home. Gay, you will be rewarded to-morrow.”

“Oh! thank you, Sir,” said Walter. “You are very kind. I’m sure I was not thinking of any reward, Sir.”

“You are a boy,” said Mr Dombey, suddenly and almost fiercely; “and what you think of, or affect to think of, is of little consequence. You have done well, Sir. Don’t undo it. Louisa, please to give the lad some wine.”

Português → Mr Dombey’s glance followed Walter Gay with sharp disfavour, as he left the room under the pilotage of Mrs Chick; and it may be that his mind’s eye followed him with no greater relish, as he rode back to his Uncle’s with Miss Susan Nipper.

There they found that Florence, much refreshed by sleep, had dined, and greatly improved the acquaintance of Solomon Gills, with whom she was on terms of perfect confidence and ease. The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed, and who was very silent and depressed) caught her in her arms without a word of contradiction or reproach, and made a very hysterical meeting of it. Then converting the parlour, for the nonce, into a private tiring room, she dressed her, with great care, in proper clothes; and presently led her forth, as like a Dombey as her natural disqualifications admitted of her being made.

“Good-night!” said Florence, running up to Solomon. “You have been very good to me.”

Old Sol was quite delighted, and kissed her like her grand-father.

Português → “Good-night, Walter! Good-bye!” said Florence.

“Good-bye!” said Walter, giving both his hands.

“I’ll never forget you,” pursued Florence. “No! indeed I never will. Good-bye, Walter!”

In the innocence of her grateful heart, the child lifted up her face to his. Walter, bending down his own, raised it again, all red and burning; and looked at Uncle Sol, quite sheepishly.

“Where’s Walter?” “Good-night, Walter!” “Good-bye, Walter!” “Shake hands once more, Walter!” This was still Florence’s cry, after she was shut up with her little maid, in the coach. And when the coach at length moved off, Walter on the door-step gaily returned the waving of her handkerchief, while the wooden Midshipman behind him seemed, like himself, intent upon that coach alone, excluding all the other passing coaches from his observation.

In good time Mr Dombey’s mansion was gained again, and again there was a noise of tongues in the library. Again, too, the coach was ordered to wait - “for Mrs Richards,” one of Susan’s fellow-servants ominously whispered, as she passed with Florence.

Português → The entrance of the lost child made a slight sensation, but not much. Mr Dombey, who had never found her, kissed her once upon the forehead, and cautioned her not to run away again, or wander anywhere with treacherous attendants. Mrs Chick stopped in her lamentations on the corruption of human nature, even when beckoned to the paths of virtue by a Charitable Grinder; and received her with a welcome something short of the reception due to none but perfect Dombeys. Miss Tox regulated her feelings by the models before her. Richards, the culprit Richards, alone poured out her heart in broken words of welcome, and bowed herself over the little wandering head as if she really loved it.

“Ah, Richards!” said Mrs Chick, with a sigh. “It would have been much more satisfactory to those who wish to think well of their fellow creatures, and much more becoming in you, if you had shown some proper feeling, in time, for the little child that is now going to be prematurely deprived of its natural nourishment.

Português → “Cut off,” said Miss Tox, in a plaintive whisper, “from one common fountain!”

“If it was my ungrateful case,” said Mrs Chick, solemnly, “and I had your reflections, Richards, I should feel as if the Charitable Grinders’ dress would blight my child, and the education choke him.”

For the matter of that - but Mrs Chick didn’t know it - he had been pretty well blighted by the dress already; and as to the education, even its retributive effect might be produced in time, for it was a storm of sobs and blows.

Português → “Louisa!” said Mr Dombey. “It is not necessary to prolong these observations. The woman is discharged and paid. You leave this house, Richards, for taking my son - my son,” said Mr Dombey, emphatically repeating these two words, “into haunts and into society which are not to be thought of without a shudder. As to the accident which befel Miss Florence this morning, I regard that as, in one great sense, a happy and fortunate circumstance; inasmuch as, but for that occurrence, I never could have known - and from your own lips too - of what you had been guilty. I think, Louisa, the other nurse, the young person,” here Miss Nipper sobbed aloud, “being so much younger, and necessarily influenced by Paul’s nurse, may remain. Have the goodness to direct that this woman’s coach is paid to” - Mr Dombey stopped and winced - “to Staggs’s Gardens.”

Português → Polly moved towards the door, with Florence holding to her dress, and crying to her in the most pathetic manner not to go away. It was a dagger in the haughty father’s heart, an arrow in his brain, to see how the flesh and blood he could not disown clung to this obscure stranger, and he sitting by. Not that he cared to whom his daughter turned, or from whom turned away. The swift sharp agony struck through him, as he thought of what his son might do.

His son cried lustily that night, at all events. Sooth to say, poor Paul had better reason for his tears than sons of that age often have, for he had lost his second mother - his first, so far as he knew - by a stroke as sudden as that natural affliction which had darkened the beginning of his life. At the same blow, his sister too, who cried herself to sleep so mournfully, had lost as good and true a friend. But that is quite beside the question. Let us waste no words about it.

CHAPTER VII. A Bird’s-eye Glimpse of Miss Tox’s Dwelling-place: also of the State of Miss Tox’s Affections

Português → Miss Tox inhabited a dark little house that had been squeezed, at some remote period of English History, into a fashionable neighbourhood at the west end of the town, where it stood in the shade like a poor relation of the great street round the corner, coldly looked down upon by mighty mansions. It was not exactly in a court, and it was not exactly in a yard; but it was in the dullest of No-Thoroughfares, rendered anxious and haggard by distant double knocks. The name of this retirement, where grass grew between the chinks in the stone pavement, was Princess’s Place; and in Princess’s Place was Princess’s Chapel, with a tinkling bell, where sometimes as many as five-and-twenty people attended service on a Sunday. The Princess’s Arms was also there, and much resorted to by splendid footmen. A sedan chair was kept inside the railing before the Princess’s Arms, but it had never come out within the memory of man; and on fine mornings, the top of every rail (there were eight-and-forty, as Miss Tox had often counted) was decorated with a pewter-pot.

Português → There was another private house besides Miss Tox’s in Princess’s Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates, with an immense pair of lion-headed knockers on them, which were never opened by any chance, and were supposed to constitute a disused entrance to somebody’s stables. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls.

At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever.

Português → Perhaps there never was a smaller entry and staircase, than the entry and staircase of Miss Tox’s house. Perhaps, taken altogether, from top to bottom, it was the most inconvenient little house in England, and the crookedest; but then, Miss Tox said, what a situation! There was very little daylight to be got there in the winter: no sun at the best of times: air was out of the question, and traffic was walled out. Still Miss Tox said, think of the situation! So said the blue-faced Major, whose eyes were starting out of his head: who gloried in Princess’s Place: and who delighted to turn the conversation at his club, whenever he could, to something connected with some of the great people in the great street round the corner, that he might have the satisfaction of saying they were his neighbours.

In short, with Miss Tox and the blue-faced Major, it was enough for Princess’s Place - as with a very small fragment of society, it is enough for many a little hanger-on of another sort - to be well connected, and to have genteel blood in its veins. It might be poor, mean, shabby, stupid, dull. No matter. The great street round the corner trailed off into Princess’s Place; and that which of High Holborn would have become a choleric word, spoken of Princess’s Place became flat blasphemy.

Português → The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. In any part of the house, visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine.

Português → Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name.

“Joey B., Sir,” the Major would say, with a flourish of his walking-stick, “is worth a dozen of you. If you had a few more of the Bagstock breed among you, Sir, you’d be none the worse for it. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively.

Português → Notwithstanding his very liberal laudation of himself, however, the Major was selfish. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more entirely selfish person at heart; or at stomach is perhaps a better expression, seeing that he was more decidedly endowed with that latter organ than with the former. He had no idea of being overlooked or slighted by anybody; least of all, had he the remotest comprehension of being overlooked and slighted by Miss Tox.

And yet, Miss Tox, as it appeared, forgot him - gradually forgot him. She began to forget him soon after her discovery of the Toodle family. She continued to forget him up to the time of the christening. She went on forgetting him with compound interest after that. Something or somebody had superseded him as a source of interest.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” said the Major, meeting Miss Tox in Princess’s Place, some weeks after the changes chronicled in the last chapter.

“Good morning, Sir,” said Miss Tox; very coldly.

“Joe Bagstock, Ma’am,” observed the Major, with his usual gallantry, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window, for a considerable period. Joe has been hardly used, Ma’am. His sun has been behind a cloud.”

Português → Miss Tox inclined her head; but very coldly indeed.

“Joe’s luminary has been out of town, Ma’am, perhaps,” inquired the Major.

“I? out of town? oh no, I have not been out of town,” said Miss Tox. “I have been much engaged lately. My time is nearly all devoted to some very intimate friends. I am afraid I have none to spare, even now. Good morning, Sir!”

As Miss Tox, with her most fascinating step and carriage, disappeared from Princess’s Place, the Major stood looking after her with a bluer face than ever: muttering and growling some not at all complimentary remarks.

“Why, damme, Sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster eyes round and round Princess’s Place, and apostrophizing its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. What’s the meaning of it?”

The Major decided, after some consideration, that it meant mantraps; that it meant plotting and snaring; that Miss Tox was digging pitfalls. “But you won’t catch Joe, Ma’am,” said the Major. “He’s tough, Ma’am, tough, is J.B. Tough, and de-vilish sly!” over which reflection he chuckled for the rest of the day.

Português → But still, when that day and many other days were gone and past, it seemed that Miss Tox took no heed whatever of the Major, and thought nothing at all about him. She had been wont, once upon a time, to look out at one of her little dark windows by accident, and blushingly return the Major’s greeting; but now, she never gave the Major a chance, and cared nothing at all whether he looked over the way or not. Other changes had come to pass too. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying.

Over and above all this, Miss Tox had long been dressed with uncommon care and elegance in slight mourning. But this helped the Major out of his difficulty; and he determined within himself that she had come into a small legacy, and grown proud.

Português → It was on the very next day after he had eased his mind by arriving at this decision, that the Major, sitting at his breakfast, saw an apparition so tremendous and wonderful in Miss Tox’s little drawing-room, that he remained for some time rooted to his chair; then, rushing into the next room, returned with a double-barrelled opera-glass, through which he surveyed it intently for some minutes.

“It’s a Baby, Sir,” said the Major, shutting up the glass again, “for fifty thousand pounds!”

The Major couldn’t forget it. He could do nothing but whistle, and stare to that extent, that his eyes, compared with what they now became, had been in former times quite cavernous and sunken. Day after day, two, three, four times a week, this Baby reappeared. The Major continued to stare and whistle. To all other intents and purposes he was alone in Princess’s Place. Miss Tox had ceased to mind what he did. He might have been black as well as blue, and it would have been of no consequence to her.

Português → The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess’s Place to fetch this baby and its nurse, and walked back with them, and walked home with them again, and continually mounted guard over them; and the perseverance with which she nursed it herself, and fed it, and played with it, and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord, was extraordinary. At about this same period too, she was seized with a passion for looking at a certain bracelet; also with a passion for looking at the moon, of which she would take long observations from her chamber window. But whatever she looked at; sun, moon, stars, or bracelet; she looked no more at the Major. And the Major whistled, and stared, and wondered, and dodged about his room, and could make nothing of it.

“You’ll quite win my brother Paul’s heart, and that’s the truth, my dear,” said Mrs Chick, one day.

Miss Tox turned pale.

“He grows more like Paul every day,” said Mrs Chick.

Miss Tox returned no other reply than by taking the little Paul in her arms, and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses.

Português → “His mother, my dear,” said Miss Tox, “whose acquaintance I was to have made through you, does he at all resemble her?”

“Not at all,” returned Louisa

“She was - she was pretty, I believe?” faltered Miss Tox.

“Why, poor dear Fanny was interesting,” said Mrs Chick, after some judicial consideration. “Certainly interesting. She had not that air of commanding superiority which one would somehow expect, almost as a matter of course, to find in my brother’s wife; nor had she that strength and vigour of mind which such a man requires.”

Miss Tox heaved a deep sigh.

“But she was pleasing:” said Mrs Chick: “extremely so. And she meant! - oh, dear, how well poor Fanny meant!”

“You Angel!” cried Miss Tox to little Paul. “You Picture of your own Papa!”

If the Major could have known how many hopes and ventures, what a multitude of plans and speculations, rested on that baby head; and could have seen them hovering, in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder, round the puckered cap of the unconscious little Paul; he might have stared indeed. Then would he have recognised, among the crowd, some few ambitious motes and beams belonging to Miss Tox; then would he perhaps have understood the nature of that lady’s faltering investment in the Dombey Firm.

Português → If the child himself could have awakened in the night, and seen, gathered about his cradle-curtains, faint reflections of the dreams that other people had of him, they might have scared him, with good reason. But he slumbered on, alike unconscious of the kind intentions of Miss Tox, the wonder of the Major, the early sorrows of his sister, and the stern visions of his father; and innocent that any spot of earth contained a Dombey or a Son.

CHAPTER VIII. Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character

Português → Beneath the watching and attentive eyes of Time - so far another Major - Paul’s slumbers gradually changed. More and more light broke in upon them; distincter and distincter dreams disturbed them; an accumulating crowd of objects and impressions swarmed about his rest; and so he passed from babyhood to childhood, and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey.

On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation.

Português → Yet, in spite of his early promise, all this vigilance and care could not make little Paul a thriving boy. Naturally delicate, perhaps, he pined and wasted after the dismissal of his nurse, and, for a long time, seemed but to wait his opportunity of gliding through their hands, and seeking his lost mother. This dangerous ground in his steeple-chase towards manhood passed, he still found it very rough riding, and was grievously beset by all the obstacles in his course. Every tooth was a break-neck fence, and every pimple in the measles a stone wall to him. He was down in every fit of the hooping-cough, and rolled upon and crushed by a whole field of small diseases, that came trooping on each other’s heels to prevent his getting up again. Some bird of prey got into his throat instead of the thrush; and the very chickens turning ferocious - if they have anything to do with that infant malady to which they lend their name - worried him like tiger-cats.

Português → The chill of Paul’s christening had struck home, perhaps to some sensitive part of his nature, which could not recover itself in the cold shade of his father; but he was an unfortunate child from that day. Mrs Wickam often said she never see a dear so put upon.

Mrs Wickam was a waiter’s wife - which would seem equivalent to being any other man’s widow - whose application for an engagement in Mr Dombey’s service had been favourably considered, on account of the apparent impossibility of her having any followers, or anyone to follow; and who, from within a day or two of Paul’s sharp weaning, had been engaged as his nurse. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent.

Português → It is hardly necessary to observe, that no touch of this quality ever reached the magnificent knowledge of Mr Dombey. It would have been remarkable, indeed, if any had; when no one in the house - not even Mrs Chick or Miss Tox - dared ever whisper to him that there had, on any one occasion, been the least reason for uneasiness in reference to little Paul. He had settled, within himself, that the child must necessarily pass through a certain routine of minor maladies, and that the sooner he did so the better. If he could have bought him off, or provided a substitute, as in the case of an unlucky drawing for the militia, he would have been glad to do so, on liberal terms. But as this was not feasible, he merely wondered, in his haughty manner, now and then, what Nature meant by it; and comforted himself with the reflection that there was another milestone passed upon the road, and that the great end of the journey lay so much the nearer. For the feeling uppermost in his mind, now and constantly intensifying, and increasing in it as Paul grew older, was impatience. Impatience for the time to come, when his visions of their united consequence and grandeur would be triumphantly realized.

Português → Some philosophers tell us that selfishness is at the root of our best loves and affections. Mr Dombey’s young child was, from the beginning, so distinctly important to him as a part of his own greatness, or (which is the same thing) of the greatness of Dombey and Son, that there is no doubt his parental affection might have been easily traced, like many a goodly superstructure of fair fame, to a very low foundation. But he loved his son with all the love he had. If there were a warm place in his frosty heart, his son occupied it; if its very hard surface could receive the impression of any image, the image of that son was there; though not so much as an infant, or as a boy, but as a grown man - the “Son” of the Firm. Therefore he was impatient to advance into the future, and to hurry over the intervening passages of his history. Therefore he had little or no anxiety about them, in spite of his love; feeling as if the boy had a charmed life, and must become the man with whom he held such constant communication in his thoughts, and for whom he planned and projected, as for an existing reality, every day.

Português → Thus Paul grew to be nearly five years old. He was a pretty little fellow; though there was something wan and wistful in his small face, that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam’s head, and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam’s breath. His temper gave abundant promise of being imperious in after-life; and he had as hopeful an apprehension of his own importance, and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it, as heart could desire. He was childish and sportive enough at times, and not of a sullen disposition; but he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful way, at other times, of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair, when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales, who, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age, fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted. He would frequently be stricken with this precocious mood upstairs in the nursery; and would sometimes lapse into it suddenly, exclaiming that he was tired: even while playing with Florence, or driving Miss Tox in single harness. But at no time did he fall into it so surely, as when, his little chair being carried down into his father’s room, he sat there with him after dinner, by the fire. They were the strangest pair at such a time that ever firelight shone upon. Mr Dombey so erect and solemn, gazing at the glare; his little image, with an old, old face, peering into the red perspective with the fixed and rapt attention of a sage. Mr Dombey entertaining complicated worldly schemes and plans; the little image entertaining Heaven knows what wild fancies, half-formed thoughts, and wandering speculations. Mr Dombey stiff with starch and arrogance; the little image by inheritance, and in unconscious imitation. The two so very much alike, and yet so monstrously contrasted.

Português → On one of these occasions, when they had both been perfectly quiet for a long time, and Mr Dombey only knew that the child was awake by occasionally glancing at his eye, where the bright fire was sparkling like a jewel, little Paul broke silence thus:

“Papa! what’s money?”

The abrupt question had such immediate reference to the subject of Mr Dombey’s thoughts, that Mr Dombey was quite disconcerted.

“What is money, Paul?” he answered. “Money?”

“Yes,” said the child, laying his hands upon the elbows of his little chair, and turning the old face up towards Mr Dombey’s; “what is money?”

Mr Dombey was in a difficulty. He would have liked to give him some explanation involving the terms circulating-medium, currency, depreciation of currency, paper, bullion, rates of exchange, value of precious metals in the market, and so forth; but looking down at the little chair, and seeing what a long way down it was, he answered: “Gold, and silver, and copper. Guineas, shillings, half-pence. You know what they are?”

Português → “Oh yes, I know what they are,” said Paul. “I don’t mean that, Papa. I mean what’s money after all?”

Heaven and Earth, how old his face was as he turned it up again towards his father’s!

“What is money after all!” said Mr Dombey, backing his chair a little, that he might the better gaze in sheer amazement at the presumptuous atom that propounded such an inquiry.

“I mean, Papa, what can it do?” returned Paul, folding his arms (they were hardly long enough to fold), and looking at the fire, and up at him, and at the fire, and up at him again.

Mr Dombey drew his chair back to its former place, and patted him on the head. “You’ll know better by-and-by, my man,” he said. “Money, Paul, can do anything.” He took hold of the little hand, and beat it softly against one of his own, as he said so.

Português → But Paul got his hand free as soon as he could; and rubbing it gently to and fro on the elbow of his chair, as if his wit were in the palm, and he were sharpening it - and looking at the fire again, as though the fire had been his adviser and prompter - repeated, after a short pause:

“Anything, Papa?”

“Yes. Anything - almost,” said Mr Dombey.

“Anything means everything, don’t it, Papa?” asked his son: not observing, or possibly not understanding, the qualification.

“It includes it: yes,” said Mr Dombey.

“Why didn’t money save me my Mama?” returned the child. “It isn’t cruel, is it?”

“Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, settling his neckcloth, and seeming to resent the idea. “No. A good thing can’t be cruel.”

“If it’s a good thing, and can do anything,” said the little fellow, thoughtfully, as he looked back at the fire, “I wonder why it didn’t save me my Mama.”

Português → He didn’t ask the question of his father this time. Perhaps he had seen, with a child’s quickness, that it had already made his father uncomfortable. But he repeated the thought aloud, as if it were quite an old one to him, and had troubled him very much; and sat with his chin resting on his hand, still cogitating and looking for an explanation in the fire.

Português → Mr Dombey having recovered from his surprise, not to say his alarm (for it was the very first occasion on which the child had ever broached the subject of his mother to him, though he had had him sitting by his side, in this same manner, evening after evening), expounded to him how that money, though a very potent spirit, never to be disparaged on any account whatever, could not keep people alive whose time was come to die; and how that we must all die, unfortunately, even in the City, though we were never so rich. But how that money caused us to be honoured, feared, respected, courted, and admired, and made us powerful and glorious in the eyes of all men; and how that it could, very often, even keep off death, for a long time together. How, for example, it had secured to his Mama the services of Mr Pilkins, by which he, Paul, had often profited himself; likewise of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom he had never known. And how it could do all, that could be done. This, with more to the same purpose, Mr Dombey instilled into the mind of his son, who listened attentively, and seemed to understand the greater part of what was said to him.

Português → “It can’t make me strong and quite well, either, Papa; can it?” asked Paul, after a short silence; rubbing his tiny hands.

“Why, you are strong and quite well,” returned Mr Dombey. “Are you not?”

Oh! the age of the face that was turned up again, with an expression, half of melancholy, half of slyness, on it!

“You are as strong and well as such little people usually are? Eh?” said Mr Dombey.

“Florence is older than I am, but I’m not as strong and well as Florence, “I know,” returned the child; “and I believe that when Florence was as little as me, she could play a great deal longer at a time without tiring herself. I am so tired sometimes,” said little Paul, warming his hands, and looking in between the bars of the grate, as if some ghostly puppet-show were performing there, “and my bones ache so (Wickam says it’s my bones), that I don’t know what to do.”

Português → “Ay! But that’s at night,” said Mr Dombey, drawing his own chair closer to his son’s, and laying his hand gently on his back; “little people should be tired at night, for then they sleep well.”

“Oh, it’s not at night, Papa,” returned the child, “it’s in the day; and I lie down in Florence’s lap, and she sings to me. At night I dream about such cu-ri-ous things!”

And he went on, warming his hands again, and thinking about them, like an old man or a young goblin.

Mr Dombey was so astonished, and so uncomfortable, and so perfectly at a loss how to pursue the conversation, that he could only sit looking at his son by the light of the fire, with his hand resting on his back, as if it were detained there by some magnetic attraction. Once he advanced his other hand, and turned the contemplative face towards his own for a moment. But it sought the fire again as soon as he released it; and remained, addressed towards the flickering blaze, until the nurse appeared, to summon him to bed.

Português → “I want Florence to come for me,” said Paul.

“Won’t you come with your poor Nurse Wickam, Master Paul?” inquired that attendant, with great pathos.

“No, I won’t,” replied Paul, composing himself in his arm-chair again, like the master of the house.

Invoking a blessing upon his innocence, Mrs Wickam withdrew, and presently Florence appeared in her stead. The child immediately started up with sudden readiness and animation, and raised towards his father in bidding him good-night, a countenance so much brighter, so much younger, and so much more child-like altogether, that Mr Dombey, while he felt greatly reassured by the change, was quite amazed at it.

Português → After they had left the room together, he thought he heard a soft voice singing; and remembering that Paul had said his sister sung to him, he had the curiosity to open the door and listen, and look after them. She was toiling up the great, wide, vacant staircase, with him in her arms; his head was lying on her shoulder, one of his arms thrown negligently round her neck. So they went, toiling up; she singing all the way, and Paul sometimes crooning out a feeble accompaniment. Mr Dombey looked after them until they reached the top of the staircase - not without halting to rest by the way - and passed out of his sight; and then he still stood gazing upwards, until the dull rays of the moon, glimmering in a melancholy manner through the dim skylight, sent him back to his room.

Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed, Mr Dombey opened the proceedings by requiring to be informed, without any gloss or reservation, whether there was anything the matter with Paul, and what Mr Pilkins said about him.

Português → “For the child is hardly,” said Mr Dombey, “as stout as I could wish.”

“My dear Paul,” returned Mrs Chick, “with your usual happy discrimination, which I am weak enough to envy you, every time I am in your company; and so I think is Miss Tox.”

“Oh my dear!” said Miss Tox, softly, “how could it be otherwise? Presumptuous as it is to aspire to such a level; still, if the bird of night may - but I’ll not trouble Mr Dombey with the sentiment. It merely relates to the Bulbul.”

Mr Dombey bent his head in stately recognition of the Bulbuls as an old-established body.

“With your usual happy discrimination, my dear Paul,” resumed Mrs Chick, “you have hit the point at once. Our darling is altogether as stout as we could wish. The fact is, that his mind is too much for him. His soul is a great deal too large for his frame. I am sure the way in which that dear child talks!” said Mrs Chick, shaking her head; “no one would believe. His expressions, Lucretia, only yesterday upon the subject of Funerals!”

Português → “I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her testily, “that some of those persons upstairs suggest improper subjects to the child. He was speaking to me last night about his - about his Bones,” said Mr Dombey, laying an irritated stress upon the word. “What on earth has anybody to do with the - with the - Bones of my son? He is not a living skeleton, I suppose.”

“Very far from it,” said Mrs Chick, with unspeakable expression.

“I hope so,” returned her brother. “Funerals again! who talks to the child of funerals? We are not undertakers, or mutes, or grave-diggers, I believe.”

“Very far from it,” interposed Mrs Chick, with the same profound expression as before.

“Then who puts such things into his head?” said Mr Dombey. “Really I was quite dismayed and shocked last night. Who puts such things into his head, Louisa?”

“My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, after a moment’s silence, “it is of no use inquiring. I do not think, I will tell you candidly that Wickam is a person of very cheerful spirit, or what one would call a - ”

Português → “A daughter of Momus,” Miss Tox softly suggested.

“Exactly so,” said Mrs Chick; “but she is exceedingly attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous; indeed I never saw a more biddable woman. I would say that for her, if I was put upon my trial before a Court of Justice.”

“Well! you are not put upon your trial before a Court of Justice, at present, Louisa,” returned Mr Dombey, chafing, “and therefore it don’t matter.”

“My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, in a warning voice, “I must be spoken to kindly, or there is an end of me,” at the same time a premonitory redness developed itself in Mrs Chick’s eyelids which was an invariable sign of rain, unless the weather changed directly.

“I was inquiring, Louisa,” observed Mr Dombey, in an altered voice, and after a decent interval, “about Paul’s health and actual state.”

Português → “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of one who was summing up what had been previously quite agreed upon, instead of saying it all for the first time, “is a little weakened by that last attack, and is not in quite such vigorous health as we could wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his system, and does occasionally seem about to lose, for the moment, the use of his - ”

Mrs Chick was afraid to say limbs, after Mr Dombey’s recent objection to bones, and therefore waited for a suggestion from Miss Tox, who, true to her office, hazarded “members.”

“Members!” repeated Mr Dombey.

“I think the medical gentleman mentioned legs this morning, my dear Louisa, did he not?” said Miss Tox.

Português → “Why, of course he did, my love,” retorted Mrs Chick, mildly reproachful. “How can you ask me? You heard him. I say, if our dear Paul should lose, for the moment, the use of his legs, these are casualties common to many children at his time of life, and not to be prevented by any care or caution. The sooner you understand that, Paul, and admit that, the better. If you have any doubt as to the amount of care, and caution, and affection, and self-sacrifice, that has been bestowed upon little Paul, I should wish to refer the question to your medical attendant, or to any of your dependants in this house. Call Towlinson,” said Mrs Chick, “I believe he has no prejudice in our favour; quite the contrary. I should wish to hear what accusation Towlinson can make!”

“Surely you must know, Louisa,” observed Mr Dombey, “that I don’t question your natural devotion to, and regard for, the future head of my house.”

Português → “I am glad to hear it, Paul,” said Mrs Chick; “but really you are very odd, and sometimes talk very strangely, though without meaning it, I know. If your dear boy’s soul is too much for his body, Paul, you should remember whose fault that is - who he takes after, I mean - and make the best of it. He’s as like his Papa as he can be. People have noticed it in the streets. The very beadle, I am informed, observed it, so long ago as at his christening. He’s a very respectable man, with children of his own. He ought to know.”

“Mr Pilkins saw Paul this morning, I believe?” said Mr Dombey.

“Yes, he did,” returned his sister. “Miss Tox and myself were present. Miss Tox and myself are always present. We make a point of it. Mr Pilkins has seen him for some days past, and a very clever man I believe him to be. He says it is nothing to speak of; which I can confirm, if that is any consolation; but he recommended, today, sea-air. Very wisely, Paul, I feel convinced.”

Português → “Sea-air,” repeated Mr Dombey, looking at his sister.

“There is nothing to be made uneasy by, in that,” said Mrs Chick. “My George and Frederick were both ordered sea-air, when they were about his age; and I have been ordered it myself a great many times. I quite agree with you, Paul, that perhaps topics may be incautiously mentioned upstairs before him, which it would be as well for his little mind not to expatiate upon; but I really don’t see how that is to be helped, in the case of a child of his quickness. If he were a common child, there would be nothing in it. I must say I think, with Miss Tox, that a short absence from this house, the air of Brighton, and the bodily and mental training of so judicious a person as Mrs Pipchin for instance - ”

“Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?” asked Mr Dombey; aghast at this familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before.

Português → “Mrs Pipchin, my dear Paul,” returned his sister, “is an elderly lady - Miss Tox knows her whole history - who has for some time devoted all the energies of her mind, with the greatest success, to the study and treatment of infancy, and who has been extremely well connected. Her husband broke his heart in - how did you say her husband broke his heart, my dear? I forget the precise circumstances.

“In pumping water out of the Peruvian Mines,” replied Miss Tox.

“Not being a Pumper himself, of course,” said Mrs Chick, glancing at her brother; and it really did seem necessary to offer the explanation, for Miss Tox had spoken of him as if he had died at the handle; “but having invested money in the speculation, which failed. I believe that Mrs Pipchin’s management of children is quite astonishing. I have heard it commended in private circles ever since I was - dear me - how high!” Mrs Chick’s eye wandered about the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, which was about ten feet from the ground.

Português → “Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,” observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, “having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Many ladies and gentleman, now grown up to be interesting members of society, have been indebted to her care. The humble individual who addresses you was once under her charge. I believe juvenile nobility itself is no stranger to her establishment.”

“Do I understand that this respectable matron keeps an establishment, Miss Tox?” the Mr Dombey, condescendingly.

“Why, I really don’t know,” rejoined that lady, “whether I am justified in calling it so. It is not a Preparatory School by any means. Should I express my meaning,” said Miss Tox, with peculiar sweetness, “if I designated it an infantine Boarding-House of a very select description?”

“On an exceedingly limited and particular scale,” suggested Mrs Chick, with a glance at her brother.

Português → “Oh! Exclusion itself!” said Miss Tox.

There was something in this. Mrs Pipchin’s husband having broken his heart of the Peruvian mines was good. It had a rich sound. Besides, Mr Dombey was in a state almost amounting to consternation at the idea of Paul remaining where he was one hour after his removal had been recommended by the medical practitioner. It was a stoppage and delay upon the road the child must traverse, slowly at the best, before the goal was reached. Their recommendation of Mrs Pipchin had great weight with him; for he knew that they were jealous of any interference with their charge, and he never for a moment took it into account that they might be solicitous to divide a responsibility, of which he had, as shown just now, his own established views. Broke his heart of the Peruvian mines, mused Mr Dombey. Well! a very respectable way of doing It.

Português → “Supposing we should decide, on to-morrow’s inquiries, to send Paul down to Brighton to this lady, who would go with him?” inquired Mr Dombey, after some reflection.

“I don’t think you could send the child anywhere at present without Florence, my dear Paul,” returned his sister, hesitating. “It’s quite an infatuation with him. He’s very young, you know, and has his fancies.”

Mr Dombey turned his head away, and going slowly to the bookcase, and unlocking it, brought back a book to read.

“Anybody else, Louisa?” he said, without looking up, and turning over the leaves.

“Wickam, of course. Wickam would be quite sufficient, I should say,” returned his sister. “Paul being in such hands as Mrs Pipchin’s, you could hardly send anybody who would be a further check upon her. You would go down yourself once a week at least, of course.”

“Of course,” said Mr Dombey; and sat looking at one page for an hour afterwards, without reading one word.

Português → This celebrated Mrs Pipchin was a marvellous ill-favoured, ill-conditioned old lady, of a stooping figure, with a mottled face, like bad marble, a hook nose, and a hard grey eye, that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. She was generally spoken of as “a great manager” of children; and the secret of her management was, to give them everything that they didn’t like, and nothing that they did - which was found to sweeten their dispositions very much. She was such a bitter old lady, that one was tempted to believe there had been some mistake in the application of the Peruvian machinery, and that all her waters of gladness and milk of human kindness, had been pumped out dry, instead of the mines.

Português → The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. In the winter time the air couldn’t be got out of the Castle, and in the summer time it couldn’t be got in. There was such a continual reverberation of wind in it, that it sounded like a great shell, which the inhabitants were obliged to hold to their ears night and day, whether they liked it or no. It was not, naturally, a fresh-smelling house; and in the window of the front parlour, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept a collection of plants in pots, which imparted an earthy flavour of their own to the establishment. However choice examples of their kind, too, these plants were of a kind peculiarly adapted to the embowerment of Mrs Pipchin. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs.

Português → Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Within three days after Mrs Chick’s first allusion to her, this excellent old lady had the satisfaction of anticipating a handsome addition to her current receipts, from the pocket of Mr Dombey; and of receiving Florence and her little brother Paul, as inmates of the Castle.

Português → Mrs Chick and Miss Tox, who had brought them down on the previous night (which they all passed at an Hotel), had just driven away from the door, on their journey home again; and Mrs Pipchin, with her back to the fire, stood, reviewing the new-comers, like an old soldier. Mrs Pipchin’s middle-aged niece, her good-natured and devoted slave, but possessing a gaunt and iron-bound aspect, and much afflicted with boils on her nose, was divesting Master Bitherstone of the clean collar he had worn on parade. Miss Pankey, the only other little boarder at present, had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back, devoted to correctional purposes), for having sniffed thrice, in the presence of visitors.

“Well, Sir,” said Mrs Pipchin to Paul, “how do you think you shall like me?”

“I don’t think I shall like you at all,” replied Paul. “I want to go away. This isn’t my house.”

Português → “No. It’s mine,” retorted Mrs Pipchin.

“It’s a very nasty one,” said Paul.

“There’s a worse place in it than this though,” said Mrs Pipchin, “where we shut up our bad boys.”

“Has he ever been in it?” asked Paul: pointing out Master Bitherstone.

Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences.

Português → At one o’clock there was a dinner, chiefly of the farinaceous and vegetable kind, when Miss Pankey (a mild little blue-eyed morsel of a child, who was shampoo’d every morning, and seemed in danger of being rubbed away, altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself, and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. When this great truth had been thoroughly impressed upon her, she was regaled with rice; and subsequently repeated the form of grace established in the Castle, in which there was a special clause, thanking Mrs Pipchin for a good dinner. Mrs Pipchin’s niece, Berinthia, took cold pork. Mrs Pipchin, whose constitution required warm nourishment, made a special repast of mutton-chops, which were brought in hot and hot, between two plates, and smelt very nice.

Português → As it rained after dinner, and they couldn’t go out walking on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s constitution required rest after chops, they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt, and made ghastly by a ragged fireplace without any stove in it. Enlivened by company, however, this was the best place after all; for Berry played with them there, and seemed to enjoy a game at romps as much as they did; until Mrs Pipchin knocking angrily at the wall, like the Cock Lane Ghost revived, they left off, and Berry told them stories in a whisper until twilight.

For tea there was plenty of milk and water, and bread and butter, with a little black tea-pot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and buttered toast unlimited for Mrs Pipchin, which was brought in, hot and hot, like the chops. Though Mrs Pipchin got very greasy, outside, over this dish, it didn’t seem to lubricate her internally, at all; for she was as fierce as ever, and the hard grey eye knew no softening.

Português → After tea, Berry brought out a little work-box, with the Royal Pavilion on the lid, and fell to working busily; while Mrs Pipchin, having put on her spectacles and opened a great volume bound in green baize, began to nod. And whenever Mrs Pipchin caught herself falling forward into the fire, and woke up, she filliped Master Bitherstone on the nose for nodding too.

At last it was the children’s bedtime, and after prayers they went to bed. As little Miss Pankey was afraid of sleeping alone in the dark, Mrs Pipchin always made a point of driving her upstairs herself, like a sheep; and it was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning long afterwards, in the least eligible chamber, and Mrs Pipchin now and then going in to shake her. At about half-past nine o’clock the odour of a warm sweet-bread (Mrs Pipchin’s constitution wouldn’t go to sleep without sweet-bread) diversified the prevailing fragrance of the house, which Mrs Wickam said was “a smell of building;” and slumber fell upon the Castle shortly after.

Português → The breakfast next morning was like the tea over night, except that Mrs Pipchin took her roll instead of toast, and seemed a little more irate when it was over. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the rest a pedigree from Genesis (judiciously selected by Mrs Pipchin), getting over the names with the ease and clearness of a person tumbling up the treadmill. That done, Miss Pankey was borne away to be shampoo’d; and Master Bitherstone to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and dejected. Paul and Florence went out in the meantime on the beach with Wickam - who was constantly in tears - and at about noon Mrs Pipchin presided over some Early Readings. It being a part of Mrs Pipchin’s system not to encourage a child’s mind to develop and expand itself like a young flower, but to open it by force like an oyster, the moral of these lessons was usually of a violent and stunning character: the hero - a naughty boy - seldom, in the mildest catastrophe, being finished off anything less than a lion, or a bear.

Português → Such was life at Mrs Pipchin’s. On Saturday Mr Dombey came down; and Florence and Paul would go to his Hotel, and have tea. They passed the whole of Sunday with him, and generally rode out before dinner; and on these occasions Mr Dombey seemed to grow, like Falstaff’s assailants, and instead of being one man in buckram, to become a dozen. Sunday evening was the most melancholy evening in the week; for Mrs Pipchin always made a point of being particularly cross on Sunday nights. Miss Pankey was generally brought back from an aunt’s at Rottingdean, in deep distress; and Master Bitherstone, whose relatives were all in India, and who was required to sit, between the services, in an erect position with his head against the parlour wall, neither moving hand nor foot, suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence, on a Sunday night, if she could give him any idea of the way back to Bengal.

Português → But it was generally said that Mrs Pipchin was a woman of system with children; and no doubt she was. Certainly the wild ones went home tame enough, after sojourning for a few months beneath her hospitable roof. It was generally said, too, that it was highly creditable of Mrs Pipchin to have devoted herself to this way of life, and to have made such a sacrifice of her feelings, and such a resolute stand against her troubles, when Mr Pipchin broke his heart in the Peruvian mines.

At this exemplary old lady, Paul would sit staring in his little arm-chair by the fire, for any length of time. He never seemed to know what weariness was, when he was looking fixedly at Mrs Pipchin. He was not fond of her; he was not afraid of her; but in those old, old moods of his, she seemed to have a grotesque attraction for him. There he would sit, looking at her, and warming his hands, and looking at her, until he sometimes quite confounded Mrs Pipchin, Ogress as she was. Once she asked him, when they were alone, what he was thinking about.

Português → [Illustration]

“You,” said Paul, without the least reserve.

“And what are you thinking about me?” asked Mrs Pipchin.

“I’m thinking how old you must be,” said Paul.

“You mustn’t say such things as that, young gentleman,” returned the dame. “That’ll never do.”

“Why not?” asked Paul.

“Because it’s not polite,” said Mrs Pipchin, snappishly.

“Not polite?” said Paul.

“No.”

“It’s not polite,” said Paul, innocently, “to eat all the mutton chops and toast”, Wickam says.

“Wickam,” retorted Mrs Pipchin, colouring, “is a wicked, impudent, bold-faced hussy.”

“What’s that?” inquired Paul.

“Never you mind, Sir,” retorted Mrs Pipchin. “Remember the story of the little boy that was gored to death by a mad bull for asking questions.”

“If the bull was mad,” said Paul, “how did he know that the boy had asked questions? Nobody can go and whisper secrets to a mad bull. I don’t believe that story.”

Português → “You don’t believe it, Sir?” repeated Mrs Pipchin, amazed.

“No,” said Paul.

“Not if it should happen to have been a tame bull, you little Infidel?” said Mrs Pipchin.

As Paul had not considered the subject in that light, and had founded his conclusions on the alleged lunacy of the bull, he allowed himself to be put down for the present. But he sat turning it over in his mind, with such an obvious intention of fixing Mrs Pipchin presently, that even that hardy old lady deemed it prudent to retreat until he should have forgotten the subject.

Português → From that time, Mrs Pipchin appeared to have something of the same odd kind of attraction towards Paul, as Paul had towards her. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Mrs Pipchin had an old black cat, who generally lay coiled upon the centre foot of the fender, purring egotistically, and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. The good old lady might have been - not to record it disrespectfully - a witch, and Paul and the cat her two familiars, as they all sat by the fire together. It would have been quite in keeping with the appearance of the party if they had all sprung up the chimney in a high wind one night, and never been heard of any more.

Português → This, however, never came to pass. The cat, and Paul, and Mrs Pipchin, were constantly to be found in their usual places after dark; and Paul, eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone, went on studying Mrs Pipchin, and the cat, and the fire, night after night, as if they were a book of necromancy, in three volumes.

Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. It was a part of Mrs Pipchin’s policy to prevent her own “young hussy” - that was Mrs Pipchin’s generic name for female servant - from communicating with Mrs Wickam: to which end she devoted much of her time to concealing herself behind doors, and springing out on that devoted maiden, whenever she made an approach towards Mrs Wickam’s apartment. But Berry was free to hold what converse she could in that quarter, consistently with the discharge of the multifarious duties at which she toiled incessantly from morning to night; and to Berry Mrs Wickam unburdened her mind.

Português → “What a pretty fellow he is when he’s asleep!” said Berry, stopping to look at Paul in bed, one night when she took up Mrs Wickam’s supper.

“Ah!” sighed Mrs Wickam. “He need be.”

“Why, he’s not ugly when he’s awake,” observed Berry.

“No, Ma’am. Oh, no. No more was my Uncle’s Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam.

Berry looked as if she would like to trace the connexion of ideas between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam’s Uncle’s Betsey Jane.

“My Uncle’s wife,” Mrs Wickam went on to say, “died just like his Mama. My Uncle’s child took on just as Master Paul do.”

“Took on! You don’t think he grieves for his Mama, sure?” argued Berry, sitting down on the side of the bed. “He can’t remember anything about her, you know, Mrs Wickam. It’s not possible.”

“No, Ma’am,” said Mrs Wickam “No more did my Uncle’s child. But my Uncle’s child said very strange things sometimes, and looked very strange, and went on very strange, and was very strange altogether. My Uncle’s child made people’s blood run cold, some times, she did!”

Português → “How?” asked Berry.

“I wouldn’t have sat up all night alone with Betsey Jane!” said Mrs Wickam, “not if you’d have put Wickam into business next morning for himself. I couldn’t have done it, Miss Berry.

Miss Berry naturally asked why not? But Mrs Wickam, agreeably to the usage of some ladies in her condition, pursued her own branch of the subject, without any compunction.

“Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam, “was as sweet a child as I could wish to see. I couldn’t wish to see a sweeter. Everything that a child could have in the way of illnesses, Betsey Jane had come through. The cramps was as common to her,” said Mrs Wickam, “as biles is to yourself, Miss Berry.” Miss Berry involuntarily wrinkled her nose.

“But Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam, lowering her voice, and looking round the room, and towards Paul in bed, “had been minded, in her cradle, by her departed mother. I couldn’t say how, nor I couldn’t say when, nor I couldn’t say whether the dear child knew it or not, but Betsey Jane had been watched by her mother, Miss Berry!” and Mrs Wickam, with a very white face, and with watery eyes, and with a tremulous voice, again looked fearfully round the room, and towards Paul in bed.

Português → “Nonsense!” cried Miss Berry - somewhat resentful of the idea.

“You may say nonsense! I ain’t offended, Miss. I hope you may be able to think in your own conscience that it is nonsense; you’ll find your spirits all the better for it in this - you’ll excuse my being so free - in this burying-ground of a place; which is wearing of me down. Master Paul’s a little restless in his sleep. Pat his back, if you please.”

“Of course you think,” said Berry, gently doing what she was asked, “that he has been nursed by his mother, too?”

“Betsey Jane,” returned Mrs Wickam in her most solemn tones, “was put upon as that child has been put upon, and changed as that child has changed. I have seen her sit, often and often, think, think, thinking, like him. I have seen her look, often and often, old, old, old, like him. I have heard her, many a time, talk just like him. I consider that child and Betsey Jane on the same footing entirely, Miss Berry.”

“Is your Uncle’s child alive?” asked Berry.

Português → “Yes, Miss, she is alive,” returned Mrs Wickam with an air of triumph, for it was evident. Miss Berry expected the reverse; “and is married to a silver-chaser. Oh yes, Miss, SHE is alive,” said Mrs Wickam, laying strong stress on her nominative case.

It being clear that somebody was dead, Mrs Pipchin’s niece inquired who it was.

“I wouldn’t wish to make you uneasy,” returned Mrs Wickam, pursuing her supper. “Don’t ask me.”

This was the surest way of being asked again. Miss Berry repeated her question, therefore; and after some resistance, and reluctance, Mrs Wickam laid down her knife, and again glancing round the room and at Paul in bed, replied:

“She took fancies to people; whimsical fancies, some of them; others, affections that one might expect to see - only stronger than common. They all died.”

This was so very unexpected and awful to Mrs Pipchin’s niece, that she sat upright on the hard edge of the bedstead, breathing short, and surveying her informant with looks of undisguised alarm.

Português → Mrs Wickam shook her left fore-finger stealthily towards the bed where Florence lay; then turned it upside down, and made several emphatic points at the floor; immediately below which was the parlour in which Mrs Pipchin habitually consumed the toast.

“Remember my words, Miss Berry,” said Mrs Wickam, “and be thankful that Master Paul is not too fond of you. I am, that he’s not too fond of me, I assure you; though there isn’t much to live for - you’ll excuse my being so free - in this jail of a house!”

Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence.

She was out of her own bed at the first sound of his voice; and bending over his pillow immediately, sang him to sleep again. Mrs Wickam shaking her head, and letting fall several tears, pointed out the little group to Berry, and turned her eyes up to the ceiling.

Português → “He’s asleep now, my dear,” said Mrs Wickam after a pause, “you’d better go to bed again. Don’t you feel cold?”

“No, nurse,” said Florence, laughing. “Not at all.”

“Ah!” sighed Mrs Wickam, and she shook her head again, expressing to the watchful Berry, “we shall be cold enough, some of us, by and by!”

Berry took the frugal supper-tray, with which Mrs Wickam had by this time done, and bade her good-night.

“Good-night, Miss!” returned Wickam softly. “Good-night! Your aunt is an old lady, Miss Berry, and it’s what you must have looked for, often.”

This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber.

Português → Although the niece of Mrs Pipchin did not expect to find that exemplary dragon prostrate on the hearth-rug when she went downstairs, she was relieved to find her unusually fractious and severe, and with every present appearance of intending to live a long time to be a comfort to all who knew her. Nor had she any symptoms of declining, in the course of the ensuing week, when the constitutional viands still continued to disappear in regular succession, notwithstanding that Paul studied her as attentively as ever, and occupied his usual seat between the black skirts and the fender, with unwavering constancy.

But as Paul himself was no stronger at the expiration of that time than he had been on his first arrival, though he looked much healthier in the face, a little carriage was got for him, in which he could lie at his ease, with an alphabet and other elementary works of reference, and be wheeled down to the sea-side. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out.

Português → With this notable attendant to pull him along, and Florence always walking by his side, and the despondent Wickam bringing up the rear, he went down to the margin of the ocean every day; and there he would sit or lie in his carriage for hours together: never so distressed as by the company of children - Florence alone excepted, always.

“Go away, if you please,” he would say to any child who came to bear him company. “Thank you, but I don’t want you.”

Some small voice, near his ear, would ask him how he was, perhaps.

“I am very well, I thank you,” he would answer. “But you had better go and play, if you please.”

Then he would turn his head, and watch the child away, and say to Florence, “We don’t want any others, do we? Kiss me, Floy.”

He had even a dislike, at such times, to the company of Wickam, and was well pleased when she strolled away, as she generally did, to pick up shells and acquaintances. His favourite spot was quite a lonely one, far away from most loungers; and with Florence sitting by his side at work, or reading to him, or talking to him, and the wind blowing on his face, and the water coming up among the wheels of his bed, he wanted nothing more.

Português → “Floy,” he said one day, “where’s India, where that boy’s friends live?”

“Oh, it’s a long, long distance off,” said Florence, raising her eyes from her work.

“Weeks off?” asked Paul.

“Yes dear. Many weeks’ journey, night and day.”

“If you were in India, Floy,” said Paul, after being silent for a minute, “I should - what is it that Mama did? I forget.”

“Loved me!” answered Florence.

“No, no. Don’t I love you now, Floy? What is it? - Died. If you were in India, I should die, Floy.”

She hurriedly put her work aside, and laid her head down on his pillow, caressing him. And so would she, she said, if he were there. He would be better soon.

“Oh! I am a great deal better now!” he answered. “I don’t mean that. I mean that I should die of being so sorry and so lonely, Floy!”

Another time, in the same place, he fell asleep, and slept quietly for a long time. Awaking suddenly, he listened, started up, and sat listening.

Português → Florence asked him what he thought he heard.

“I want to know what it says,” he answered, looking steadily in her face. “The sea” Floy, what is it that it keeps on saying?”

She told him that it was only the noise of the rolling waves.

“Yes, yes,” he said. “But I know that they are always saying something. Always the same thing. What place is over there?” He rose up, looking eagerly at the horizon.

She told him that there was another country opposite, but he said he didn’t mean that: he meant further away - farther away!

Very often afterwards, in the midst of their talk, he would break off, to try to understand what it was that the waves were always saying; and would rise up in his couch to look towards that invisible region, far away.

CHAPTER IX. In which the Wooden Midshipman gets into Trouble

Português → That spice of romance and love of the marvellous, of which there was a pretty strong infusion in the nature of young Walter Gay, and which the guardianship of his Uncle, old Solomon Gills, had not very much weakened by the waters of stern practical experience, was the occasion of his attaching an uncommon and delightful interest to the adventure of Florence with Good Mrs Brown. He pampered and cherished it in his memory, especially that part of it with which he had been associated: until it became the spoiled child of his fancy, and took its own way, and did what it liked with it.

Português → The recollection of those incidents, and his own share in them, may have been made the more captivating, perhaps, by the weekly dreamings of old Sol and Captain Cuttle on Sundays. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. In this stirring legend, Captain Cuttle descried a profound metaphysical bearing on the case of Walter and Florence; and it excited him so much, that on very festive occasions, as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays, he would roar through the whole song in the little back parlour; making an amazing shake on the word Pe-e-eg, with which every verse concluded, in compliment to the heroine of the piece.

Português → But a frank, free-spirited, open-hearted boy, is not much given to analysing the nature of his own feelings, however strong their hold upon him: and Walter would have found it difficult to decide this point. He had a great affection for the wharf where he had encountered Florence, and for the streets (albeit not enchanting in themselves) by which they had come home. The shoes that had so often tumbled off by the way, he preserved in his own room; and, sitting in the little back parlour of an evening, he had drawn a whole gallery of fancy portraits of Good Mrs Brown. It may be that he became a little smarter in his dress after that memorable occasion; and he certainly liked in his leisure time to walk towards that quarter of the town where Mr Dombey’s house was situated, on the vague chance of passing little Florence in the street. But the sentiment of all this was as boyish and innocent as could be. Florence was very pretty, and it is pleasant to admire a pretty face. Florence was defenceless and weak, and it was a proud thought that he had been able to render her any protection and assistance. Florence was the most grateful little creature in the world, and it was delightful to see her bright gratitude beaming in her face. Florence was neglected and coldly looked upon, and his breast was full of youthful interest for the slighted child in her dull, stately home.

Português → Thus it came about that, perhaps some half-a-dozen times in the course of the year, Walter pulled off his hat to Florence in the street, and Florence would stop to shake hands. Mrs Wickam (who, with a characteristic alteration of his name, invariably spoke of him as “Young Graves”) was so well used to this, knowing the story of their acquaintance, that she took no heed of it at all. Miss Nipper, on the other hand, rather looked out for these occasions: her sensitive young heart being secretly propitiated by Walter’s good looks, and inclining to the belief that its sentiments were responded to.

Português → In this way, Walter, so far from forgetting or losing sight of his acquaintance with Florence, only remembered it better and better. As to its adventurous beginning, and all those little circumstances which gave it a distinctive character and relish, he took them into account, more as a pleasant story very agreeable to his imagination, and not to be dismissed from it, than as a part of any matter of fact with which he was concerned. They set off Florence very much, to his fancy; but not himself. Sometimes he thought (and then he walked very fast) what a grand thing it would have been for him to have been going to sea on the day after that first meeting, and to have gone, and to have done wonders there, and to have stopped away a long time, and to have come back an Admiral of all the colours of the dolphin, or at least a Post-Captain with epaulettes of insupportable brightness, and have married Florence (then a beautiful young woman) in spite of Mr Dombey’s teeth, cravat, and watch-chain, and borne her away to the blue shores of somewhere or other, triumphantly. But these flights of fancy seldom burnished the brass plate of Dombey and Son’s Offices into a tablet of golden hope, or shed a brilliant lustre on their dirty skylights; and when the Captain and Uncle Sol talked about Richard Whittington and masters’ daughters, Walter felt that he understood his true position at Dombey and Son’s, much better than they did.

Português → So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period, when he looked a little older than of yore, but not much; and was the same light-footed, light-hearted, light-headed lad, as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders, and lighted him to bring up the Madeira.

“Uncle Sol,” said Walter, “I don’t think you’re well. You haven’t eaten any breakfast. I shall bring a doctor to you, if you go on like this.”

“He can’t give me what I want, my boy,” said Uncle Sol. “At least he is in good practice if he can - and then he wouldn’t.”

Português → “What is it, Uncle? Customers?”

“Ay,” returned Solomon, with a sigh. “Customers would do.”

“Confound it, Uncle!” said Walter, putting down his breakfast cup with a clatter, and striking his hand on the table: “when I see the people going up and down the street in shoals all day, and passing and re-passing the shop every minute, by scores, I feel half tempted to rush out, collar somebody, bring him in, and make him buy fifty pounds’ worth of instruments for ready money. What are you looking in at the door for? - ” continued Walter, apostrophizing an old gentleman with a powdered head (inaudibly to him of course), who was staring at a ship’s telescope with all his might and main. “That’s no use. I could do that. Come in and buy it!”

The old gentleman, however, having satiated his curiosity, walked calmly away.

“There he goes!” said Walter. “That’s the way with ’em all. But, Uncle - I say, Uncle Sol” - for the old man was meditating and had not responded to his first appeal. “Don’t be cast down. Don’t be out of spirits, Uncle. When orders do come, they’ll come in such a crowd, you won’t be able to execute ’em.”

Português → “I shall be past executing ’em, whenever they come, my boy,” returned Solomon Gills. “They’ll never come to this shop again, till I am out of t.”

“I say, Uncle! You musn’t really, you know!” urged Walter. “Don’t!”

Old Sol endeavoured to assume a cheery look, and smiled across the little table at him as pleasantly as he could.

“There’s nothing more than usual the matter; is there, Uncle?” said Walter, leaning his elbows on the tea tray, and bending over, to speak the more confidentially and kindly. “Be open with me, Uncle, if there is, and tell me all about it.”

“No, no, no,” returned Old Sol. “More than usual? No, no. What should there be the matter more than usual?”

Walter answered with an incredulous shake of his head. “That’s what I want to know,” he said, “and you ask me! I’ll tell you what, Uncle, when I see you like this, I am quite sorry that I live with you.”

Português → Old Sol opened his eyes involuntarily.

“Yes. Though nobody ever was happier than I am and always have been with you, I am quite sorry that I live with you, when I see you with anything in your mind.”

“I am a little dull at such times, I know,” observed Solomon, meekly rubbing his hands.

Português → “What I mean, Uncle Sol,” pursued Walter, bending over a little more to pat him on the shoulder, “is, that then I feel you ought to have, sitting here and pouring out the tea instead of me, a nice little dumpling of a wife, you know, - a comfortable, capital, cosy old lady, who was just a match for you, and knew how to manage you, and keep you in good heart. Here am I, as loving a nephew as ever was (I am sure I ought to be!) but I am only a nephew, and I can’t be such a companion to you when you’re low and out of sorts as she would have made herself, years ago, though I’m sure I’d give any money if I could cheer you up. And so I say, when I see you with anything on your mind, that I feel quite sorry you haven’t got somebody better about you than a blundering young rough-and-tough boy like me, who has got the will to console you, Uncle, but hasn’t got the way - hasn’t got the way,” repeated Walter, reaching over further yet, to shake his Uncle by the hand.

Português → “Wally, my dear boy,” said Solomon, “if the cosy little old lady had taken her place in this parlour five and forty years ago, I never could have been fonder of her than I am of you.”

“I know that, Uncle Sol,” returned Walter. “Lord bless you, I know that. But you wouldn’t have had the whole weight of any uncomfortable secrets if she had been with you, because she would have known how to relieve you of ’em, and I don’t.”

“Yes, yes, you do,” returned the Instrument-maker.

“Well then, what’s the matter, Uncle Sol?” said Walter, coaxingly. “Come! What’s the matter?”

Solomon Gills persisted that there was nothing the matter; and maintained it so resolutely, that his nephew had no resource but to make a very indifferent imitation of believing him.

“All I can say is, Uncle Sol, that if there is - ”

“But there isn’t,” said Solomon.

Português → “Very well,” said Walter. “Then I’ve no more to say; and that’s lucky, for my time’s up for going to business. I shall look in by-and-by when I’m out, to see how you get on, Uncle. And mind, Uncle! I’ll never believe you again, and never tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior, if I find out that you have been deceiving me!”

Solomon Gills laughingly defied him to find out anything of the kind; and Walter, revolving in his thoughts all sorts of impracticable ways of making fortunes and placing the wooden Midshipman in a position of independence, betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there.

Versão em Português B1

Páginas Iniciais

1. CAPÍTULO I. Dombey e Filho

2. CAPÍTULO II. Em que se tomam Providências Oportunas para uma Emergência que às vezes surge nas Famílias mais bem-organizadas

3. CAPÍTULO III. Em que o senhor Dombey, como Homem e Pai, é visto à Frente do Departamento Doméstico

4. CAPÍTULO IV. Em que se fazem mais algumas Primeiras Aparições no Palco destas Aventuras

5. CAPÍTULO V. O Progresso e o Batizado de Paul

6. CAPÍTULO VI. A Segunda Privação de Paul

7. CAPÍTULO VII. Um Vislumbre a Voo de Pássaro da Morada da senhorita Tox: e também do Estado dos Afetos da senhorita Tox

8. CAPÍTULO VIII. Novos Progressos, Crescimento e Caráter de Paul

9. CAPÍTULO IX. Em que o Guarda-Marinha de Madeira se mete em Apuros

Contents

Páginas Iniciais

English → # Dombey e Filho

por Charles Dickens

Dombey e Filho

por Charles Dickens

[Ilustração]

[Ilustração]

Sumário

English → CAPÍTULO I. Dombey e Filho. CAPÍTULO II. Planos Oportunos para uma Emergência Até nas Famílias Mais Bem Organizadas. CAPÍTULO III. O Sr. Dombey como Homem, Pai e Chefe do Lar. CAPÍTULO IV. Mais Personagens Aparecem pela Primeira Vez Nestas Aventuras. CAPÍTULO V. O Progresso e o Batizado de Paul. CAPÍTULO VI. A Segunda Perda de Paul. CAPÍTULO VII. Um Breve Olhar sobre a Casa e os Sentimentos da Srta. Tox. CAPÍTULO VIII. O Progresso, o Crescimento e o Caráter de Paul. CAPÍTULO IX. O Guarda-Marinha de Madeira se Mete em Problemas. CAPÍTULO X. O que Acontece Depois do Desastre do Guarda-Marinha. CAPÍTULO XI. Paul Entra em um Novo Cenário. CAPÍTULO XII. A Educação de Paul. CAPÍTULO XIII. Notícias Marítimas e Negócios do Escritório. CAPÍTULO XIV. Paul Fica Mais Antiquado e Volta para Casa nas Férias. CAPÍTULO XV. A Extraordinária Esperteza do Capitão Cuttle e um Novo Futuro para Walter Gay. CAPÍTULO XVI. O que as Ondas Sempre Diziam. CAPÍTULO XVII. O Capitão Cuttle Resolve um Assunto para os Jovens. CAPÍTULO XVIII. Pai e Filha. CAPÍTULO XIX. Walter Vai Embora. CAPÍTULO XX. O Sr. Dombey Faz uma Viagem. CAPÍTULO XXI. Novos Rostos. CAPÍTULO XXII. Um Pouco de Administração pelo Sr. Carker, o Gerente. CAPÍTULO XXIII. Florence Sozinha e o Guarda-Marinha Misterioso. CAPÍTULO XXIV. O Estudo de um Coração Amoroso. CAPÍTULO XXV. Notícias Estranhas do Tio Sol. CAPÍTULO XXVI. Sombras do Passado e do Futuro. CAPÍTULO XXVII. Sombras Mais Profundas. CAPÍTULO XXVIII. Mudanças. CAPÍTULO XXIX. A Sra. Chick Abre os Olhos. CAPÍTULO XXX. O Período Antes do Casamento. CAPÍTULO XXXI. O Casamento. CAPÍTULO XXXII. O Guarda-Marinha de Madeira se Despedaça. CAPÍTULO XXXIII. Contrastes. CAPÍTULO XXXIV. Outra Mãe e Filha. CAPÍTULO XXXV. O Casal Feliz. CAPÍTULO XXXVI. Festa de Inauguração da Casa. CAPÍTULO XXXVII. Mais de um Aviso. CAPÍTULO XXXVIII. A Srta. Tox Renova uma Velha Amizade. CAPÍTULO XXXIX. Novas Aventuras do Capitão Edward Cuttle, Marinheiro. CAPÍTULO XL. Relações Familiares. CAPÍTULO XLI. Novas Vozes nas Ondas. CAPÍTULO XLII. Confidencial e Acidental. CAPÍTULO XLIII. As Vigílias da Noite. CAPÍTULO XLIV. Uma Separação. CAPÍTULO XLV. O Agente Fiel. CAPÍTULO XLVI. Reconhecimento e Reflexão. CAPÍTULO XLVII. O Raio. CAPÍTULO XLVIII. A Fuga de Florence. CAPÍTULO XLIX. O Guarda-Marinha Faz uma Descoberta. CAPÍTULO L. A Queixa do Sr. Toots. CAPÍTULO LI. O Sr. Dombey e o Mundo. CAPÍTULO LII. Informação Secreta. CAPÍTULO LIII. Mais Informações. CAPÍTULO LIV. Os Fugitivos. CAPÍTULO LV. Rob, o Moedor, Perde seu Lugar. CAPÍTULO LVI. Várias Pessoas Ficam Encantadas, e o Game Chicken Fica Aborrecido. CAPÍTULO LVII. Outro Casamento. CAPÍTULO LVIII. Depois de Algum Tempo. CAPÍTULO LIX. Castigo. CAPÍTULO LX. Principalmente sobre Casamento. CAPÍTULO LXI. Tornando-se Mais Bondoso. CAPÍTULO LXII. O Fim. PREFÁCIO DE 1848. PREFÁCIO DE 1867.

CAPÍTULO I. Dombey e Filho

English → Dombey estava sentado numa grande poltrona ao lado da cama, num canto do quarto escuro. Seu filho estava bem agasalhado numa pequena cama de cesto sobre um sofá baixo, bem diante do fogo. Estava tão perto das chamas que parecia um bolinho novo que precisava ser tostado até dourar.

Dombey tinha cerca de quarenta e oito anos; seu filho, cerca de quarenta e oito minutos. Dombey era um pouco calvo e avermelhado. Embora bonito e bem constituído, parecia sério e orgulhoso demais para ser agradável. Seu filho também era calvo e vermelho. Embora certamente fosse um belo bebê, ainda parecia um pouco amassado e manchado. O Tempo e a Preocupação haviam marcado a testa de Dombey, como trabalhadores marcam uma árvore que um dia será derrubada. O rosto do bebê tinha mil pequenas linhas. Primeiro, o enganador Tempo as alisaria; depois, usaria sua foice para deixar marcas mais profundas.

English → Dombey estava encantado com o acontecimento tão esperado. Não parava de sacudir a pesada corrente de ouro do relógio sob o elegante casaco azul, cujos botões brilhavam à fraca luz do fogo. Seu filho mantinha os punhos minúsculos bem fechados. À sua maneira frágil, parecia pronto para lutar contra a vida por ela ter chegado tão inesperadamente.

- A Casa voltará a ser, Sra. Dombey - disse o Sr. Dombey - , Dombey e Filho não apenas no nome, mas de fato. - Com os olhos semicerrados, como se lesse o nome entre flores e respirasse seu perfume, acrescentou com profundo prazer: - Dom-bey e Filho!

As palavras o enterneceram tanto que ele acrescentou uma expressão carinhosa ao nome da Sra. Dombey. Hesitou, pois raramente falava assim, e disse: - Sra. Dombey, minha... minha querida.

Uma breve expressão de fraca surpresa passou pelo rosto da mulher doente quando ela ergueu os olhos para ele.

- Ele será batizado de Paul, minha... Sra. Dombey... é claro.

English → Ela repetiu debilmente: - É claro - , ou melhor, apenas formou as palavras com os lábios, e fechou os olhos novamente.

- O nome do pai, Sra. Dombey, e do avô! Como eu gostaria que o avô estivesse vivo hoje! É um pouco inconveniente ter de escrever “Júnior” - disse o Sr. Dombey, fingindo assinar o nome sobre o joelho - , mas isso é apenas particular e pessoal. Não afeta as cartas da Casa. A assinatura continua a mesma. - E tornou a dizer “Dombey e Filho” exatamente no mesmo tom.

Essas três palavras expressavam a única ideia da vida do Sr. Dombey. Ele acreditava que a Terra existia para Dombey e Filho negociarem, e que o Sol e a Lua iluminavam seu trabalho. Rios e mares carregavam seus navios; arco-íris prometiam bom tempo; ventos ajudavam ou atrapalhavam seus negócios; e estrelas e planetas se moviam para proteger um sistema que tinha Dombey e Filho no centro. Até abreviações comuns ganhavam novos sentidos para ele. A.D. não significava Anno Domini, mas anno Dombei - e Filho.

English → Como o pai antes dele, o Sr. Dombey havia passado, ao longo da vida e da morte, de Filho a Dombey. Por quase vinte anos representara sozinho a Firma, e durante dez deles fora casado. Alguns diziam que sua esposa já não tinha coração para lhe dar, que sua felicidade pertencia ao passado e que ela aceitava em silêncio sua vida desfeita no presente. Era improvável que tais comentários chegassem ao Sr. Dombey, e ninguém os rejeitaria com maior firmeza. Dombey e Filho negociavam peles de animais, nunca corações; deixavam essas mercadorias tolas para jovens, escolas e livros. O Sr. Dombey acreditava que casar-se com ele devia honrar e agradar qualquer mulher sensata. Até a mulher menos ambiciosa deveria se orgulhar da esperança de dar um novo sócio a uma Casa como aquela. A Sra. Dombey se casara conhecendo todas essas vantagens. Via todos os dias a posição social dele, sentava-se à cabeceira da mesa e recebia os convidados com perfeita elegância. Portanto, concluiu o Sr. Dombey, ela devia ter sido feliz; não tinha como deixar de ser.

English → Havia apenas um problema, e até o Sr. Dombey admitiria que era importante: esperaram muito para que sua esperança se realizasse. A Bíblia diz corretamente que a esperança adiada adoece o coração. O Sr. Dombey diria isso com superioridade, pois respeitava até a Bíblia principalmente como uma parte do mesmo grande mundo que também continha Dombey e Filho. Estavam casados havia dez anos e, até aquele dia, enquanto ele sacudia a corrente de ouro do relógio ao lado da cama, não tinham tido nenhum filho.

Pelo menos, nenhum filho que valesse a pena mencionar. Uma menina nascera cerca de seis anos antes. Aquela criança entrara no quarto sem ser vista e agora se escondia timidamente num canto, de onde podia ver o rosto da mãe. Mas que valor tinha uma menina para Dombey e Filho? Na riqueza e na honra do nome da Casa, ela era apenas uma moeda falsa que não podia ser investida - um mau negócio, nada mais.

English → A taça de satisfação do Sr. Dombey estava tão cheia naquele momento que ele achou que podia poupar uma ou duas gotas até para a filhinha, que para ele era como poeira à margem do caminho.

Então ele disse: - Florence, pode ir olhar seu lindo irmão, se quiser, suponho. Não toque nele!

A menina olhou atentamente para o casaco azul e a gravata branca e rígida. Junto com as botas que rangiam e o relógio que fazia um tique-taque alto, essas coisas formavam sua ideia de pai. Mas seus olhos voltaram imediatamente ao rosto da mãe, e ela não se moveu nem respondeu.

- Ela é tão insensível a um irmão quanto a todas as outras coisas - disse o Sr. Dombey consigo mesmo. A descoberta parecia confirmar uma opinião que ele já tinha, e isso o deixou bastante satisfeito.

No instante seguinte, a senhora abriu os olhos e viu a menina. A criança correu até ela, ficou na ponta dos pés para esconder melhor o rosto no abraço da mãe e agarrou-se a ela com um amor desesperado, muito mais forte do que se esperaria de sua idade.

English → - Meu Deus! - disse o Sr. Dombey, levantando-se irritado. - Tenho certeza de que isso é muito imprudente e agitado. Por favor, chamem a ama da Srta. Florence. Realmente, essa mulher deveria ter mais cuida...

- Espere! Talvez seja melhor eu pedir ao Dr. Peps que suba novamente. Vou descer. Vou descer. Nem preciso lhe pedir - acrescentou, parando ao lado do sofá perto do fogo - que cuide especialmente deste jovem cavalheiro, Sra...

- Blockitt, senhor? - sugeriu a ama. Era uma mulher sorridente cujas maneiras refinadas haviam desbotado com a idade. Não ousou declarar o próprio nome como fato, apenas o ofereceu como uma sugestão delicada.

- Cuide especialmente deste jovem cavalheiro, Sra. Blockitt.

- Não, senhor, decerto. Lembro-me de quando a Srta. Florence nasceu...

English → - Sim, sim, sim - disse o Sr. Dombey, inclinando-se sobre a cama de cesto e franzindo levemente a testa. - A Srta. Florence estava muito bem, mas isto é diferente. Este jovem cavalheiro tem um grande futuro a cumprir. Um grande futuro, pequenino! - Falando com o bebê, levou uma das mãozinhas aos lábios e a beijou. Depois, aparentemente com medo de que aquele gesto carinhoso prejudicasse sua dignidade, afastou-se de modo bastante desajeitado.

O Dr. Parker Peps era um dos médicos da corte e famoso por ajudar famílias importantes a terem mais filhos. Andava de um lado para o outro na sala, com as mãos atrás das costas. O cirurgião da família o observava com admiração sem fim. Durante seis semanas, esse cirurgião contara a todos os pacientes, amigos e conhecidos sobre o caso, dizendo que esperava ser chamado a qualquer hora, dia ou noite, para trabalhar ao lado do Dr. Parker Peps.

- Bem, senhor - disse o Dr. Parker Peps com uma voz cheia e profunda, abafada para a ocasião como a aldrava da porta - , sua visita despertou um pouco sua querida esposa?

English → - Talvez a tenha estimulado? - acrescentou debilmente o médico da família. Ao mesmo tempo, fez uma reverência ao médico famoso, como se dissesse: “Perdoe-me por falar, mas esta família é um contato importante.”

A pergunta deixou o Sr. Dombey muito desconfortável. Ele pensara tão pouco na paciente que não conseguia responder. Disse que ficaria agradecido se o Dr. Parker Peps subisse novamente.

- Ótimo! Não devemos esconder do senhor - disse o Dr. Parker Peps - que Sua Graça, a Duquesa, está sem forças... Peço desculpas; confundi os nomes. Quero dizer, sua bondosa esposa. Ela demonstra certa fraqueza e uma falta geral de energia que preferiríamos não...

- Ver - interrompeu o médico da família, fazendo outra reverência.

- Exatamente - disse o Dr. Parker Peps. - Preferiríamos não ver isso. Parece que o organismo de Lady Cankaby... Perdoe-me, quero dizer, da Sra. Dombey. Confundo os nomes dos meus casos...

English → - São tantos - murmurou o médico da família. - Tenho certeza de que ninguém poderia esperar outra coisa. Seria espantoso se não os confundisse, com a grande clínica do Dr. Parker Peps no West End.

- Obrigado - disse o médico. - Exatamente. Como eu dizia, o corpo de nossa paciente parece ter sofrido um choque. Ela só poderá se recuperar fazendo um grande e forte...

- E vigoroso - murmurou o médico da família.

- Exatamente - concordou o médico. - Um esforço forte e vigoroso. O Sr. Pilkins aqui, como médico desta família - e tenho certeza de que ninguém poderia ser mais qualificado para essa posição...

- Oh! - murmurou o médico da família. - Que elogio vindo de Sir Hubert Stanley!

- É bondade sua dizer isso - respondeu o Dr. Parker Peps. - Por causa de sua posição, o Sr. Pilkins conhece a saúde normal da paciente, o que é muito útil quando formamos uma opinião nessas ocasiões. Ele concorda comigo que a Natureza precisa fazer agora um esforço vigoroso. Se nossa interessante amiga, a Condessa de Dombey... Peço desculpas, a Sra. Dombey... não for...

English → - Capaz - disse o médico da família.

- De fazer - disse o Dr. Parker Peps.

- Esse esforço - disse o médico da família.

- Com sucesso - disseram os dois ao mesmo tempo.

- Então - acrescentou sozinho o Dr. Parker Peps, muito sério - , poderá surgir uma crise que ambos lamentaremos sinceramente.

Depois de dizer isso, olharam para o chão por alguns segundos. Então o Dr. Parker Peps fez um sinal silencioso, e eles subiram. O médico da família abriu a porta para o famoso profissional e o seguiu com a mais humilde cortesia.

Seria injusto dizer que essa notícia não afetou o Sr. Dombey à sua maneira. Ele não era um homem que pudesse ser chamado propriamente de surpreso ou chocado. Ainda assim, sentia que, se a esposa adoecesse e morresse, ficaria muito triste. Seria como se algo valioso desaparecesse de entre a prataria, os móveis e os outros bens da casa - algo cuja perda ele lamentaria de verdade. Seu pesar seria, naturalmente, calmo, prático, digno de um cavalheiro e controlado.

English → Seus pensamentos logo foram interrompidos pelo ruído de roupas na escada. Então uma senhora entrou depressa na sala. Já passara um pouco da meia-idade, mas se vestia como uma mulher muito mais jovem, sobretudo com um vestido muito apertado. Correu até ele com o rosto e o corpo contorcidos pela emoção contida, jogou os braços em torno de seu pescoço e disse com a voz sufocada:

- Meu querido Paul! Ele é um Dombey por completo!

- Bem, bem! - respondeu o irmão, pois o Sr. Dombey era irmão dela. - Acho que ele se parece com a família. Não se agite, Louisa.

- É muita tolice minha - disse Louisa, sentando-se e tirando o lenço - , mas ele é... ele é um Dombey tão perfeito!

O Sr. Dombey tossiu.

- É tão extraordinário que chega a ser ridículo - disse Louisa, sorrindo entre lágrimas que não eram muito intensas. - Ele pertence tão completamente à nossa família. Nunca vi nada igual em toda a minha vida!

English → - Mas o que está acontecendo com a própria Fanny? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey. - Como está Fanny?

- Meu querido Paul - respondeu Louisa - , não é nada. Acredite em mim, não é nada. Ela certamente está exausta, mas não chega perto do que sofri com George ou Frederick. Só precisa fazer um esforço. Se a querida Fanny fosse uma Dombey! Mas tenho certeza de que conseguirá. Como é seu dever, é claro que fará o esforço. Meu querido Paul, sei que é fraqueza e tolice minha tremer da cabeça aos pés, mas me sinto tão estranha que preciso lhe pedir uma taça de vinho e um pedaço daquele bolo.

O Sr. Dombey lhe deu rapidamente o vinho e o bolo de uma bandeja sobre a mesa.

- Não vou brindar a você, Paul - disse Louisa. - Vou brindar ao pequeno Dombey. Meu Deus! Ele é a coisa mais espantosa que já conheci, porque é um Dombey tão perfeito.

English → Louisa encerrou essa opinião com uma risada curta e nervosa que se transformou em lágrimas. Depois ergueu os olhos e esvaziou a taça.

- Sei que é fraqueza e tolice minha - repetiu ela - tremer da cabeça aos pés e deixar meus sentimentos me dominarem por completo, mas não consigo evitar. Quando desci depois de ver a querida Fanny e aquela coisinha pequenininha, pensei que cairia pela janela da escada. - Suas últimas palavras infantis vieram de uma lembrança súbita e muito clara do bebê.

Então alguém bateu suavemente à porta.

- Sra. Chick - disse do lado de fora uma voz feminina muito suave - , como está agora, minha querida amiga?

- Meu querido Paul - disse Louisa em voz baixa enquanto se levantava - , é a Srta. Tox. Ela é a pessoa mais bondosa! Eu nunca teria conseguido vir aqui sem ela. Srta. Tox, este é meu irmão, o Sr. Dombey. Paul, querido, esta é minha amiga muito especial, a Srta. Tox.

English → A senhora apresentada era alta e magra, com uma aparência tão desbotada que parecia ter perdido aos poucos suas cores originais na lavagem. Tirando isso, era a imagem perfeita da cortesia e do desejo de agradar. Passara tanto tempo ouvindo os outros com admiração, olhando como se gravasse para sempre as imagens deles na alma, que sua cabeça agora se inclinava permanentemente para um lado. Suas mãos frequentemente se erguiam sozinhas em súbita admiração, e seus olhos se comportavam de modo parecido. Sua voz era extremamente suave. Seu nariz muito grande e curvo tinha uma pequena saliência no meio da ponte e apontava firmemente para baixo, em direção ao rosto, como se estivesse decidido a nunca se empinar diante de nada.

English → As roupas da Srta. Tox eram respeitáveis e boas, mas pareciam estreitas, angulosas e um tanto pequenas. Ela costumava usar florzinhas estranhas e fracas nos chapéus e toucas, e capins incomuns às vezes apareciam em seu cabelo. As pessoas notavam que as duas pontas de cada gola, babado, punho ou outro artigo leve que usava nunca se encontravam sem luta. Suas peles de inverno - pequenas capas, boás e regalos - ficavam rígidas e eriçadas, nunca lisas. Ela carregava com frequência bolsinhas cujos fechos soavam como pequenas pistolas ao fechar. Quando vestida para ocasiões especiais, usava um medalhão muito simples que mostrava um velho olho apagado, sem expressão pensativa. Esses detalhes fizeram as pessoas acreditar que a Srta. Tox tinha apenas uma pequena renda própria, que usava com o maior cuidado possível. Talvez seus passos curtos e cuidadosos reforçassem essa ideia, pois dividia um passo normal em dois ou três, como se tivesse aprendido a aproveitar ao máximo todas as coisas.

English → - Tenho certeza - disse a Srta. Tox com uma reverência muito profunda - de que ser apresentada ao Sr. Dombey é uma honra que desejo há muito tempo, embora mal esperasse recebê-la agora. Minha querida Sra. Chick... Posso chamá-la de Louisa?

A Sra. Chick segurou a mão da Srta. Tox, apoiou nela a base da taça de vinho, conteve uma lágrima e disse em voz baixa: - Deus a abençoe!

- Minha querida Louisa, então - disse a Srta. Tox - , minha doce amiga, como está agora?

- Melhor - respondeu a Sra. Chick. - Tome um pouco de vinho. Você esteve quase tão ansiosa quanto eu, então tenho certeza de que precisa.

O Sr. Dombey naturalmente serviu o vinho. Também encheu de novo a taça da irmã enquanto ela olhava para outro lado e a segurava reta e firme, sem perceber o que ele fazia. Depois ela a encarou surpresa e disse: - Meu querido Paul, o que você fez?

- A Srta. Tox, Paul - continuou a Sra. Chick, ainda segurando a mão dela - , sabia como eu estava interessada no acontecimento esperado de hoje e como tremia da cabeça aos pés enquanto aguardava. Ela estava fazendo um pequeno presente para Fanny, que prometi entregar. A Srta. Tox é maravilhosamente habilidosa.

English → - Minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox. - Por favor, não diga isso.

- É apenas uma almofadinha de alfinetes para a penteadeira, Paul - continuou a irmã. - Naturalmente, essas coisinhas parecem sem importância para os homens - não temos o direito de esperar o contrário - , mas as mulheres se interessam por elas.

- A Srta. Tox é muito bondosa - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- E eu digo, direi e preciso dizer - continuou a irmã, pressionando a base da taça sobre a mão da Srta. Tox a cada frase - que a Srta. Tox combinou lindamente a mensagem com a ocasião. Eu, pessoalmente, chamo “Bem-vindo, pequeno Dombey” de poesia!

- Essa é a mensagem? - perguntou o irmão.

- Essa é a mensagem - respondeu Louisa.

English → - Mas, por favor, lembre-se, minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox numa voz baixa, séria e suplicante - , de que somente a incerteza do resultado me fez tomar tamanha liberdade. “Bem-vindo, jovem mestre Dombey” teria combinado muito melhor com meus sentimentos, como você sabe. Mas espero que a incerteza ligada aos bebês desculpe palavras que, de outro modo, poderiam parecer íntimas demais. - Enquanto falava, a Srta. Tox fez uma reverência elegante ao Sr. Dombey, e ele a aceitou com gentileza. Gostou tanto até desse pequeno reconhecimento de Dombey e Filho que sua irmã, a Sra. Chick, provavelmente tinha mais influência sobre ele do que qualquer outra pessoa, embora ele fingisse considerá-la apenas uma pessoa fraca, porém bondosa.

- Meu querido Paul - recomeçou de repente a senhora, depois de observar o rosto dele em silêncio por alguns instantes - , realmente não sei se rio ou choro quando olho para você. Você me lembra tanto aquele querido bebê lá em cima.

English → - Bem! - disse a Sra. Chick com um sorriso doce. - Depois disso, perdoo Fanny por tudo!

A declaração soava verdadeiramente cristã, e a Sra. Chick se sentiu melhor por dizê-la. Na verdade, não tinha nada de especial a perdoar à cunhada. Suas únicas queixas eram que Fanny ousara casar-se com seu irmão e dera à luz uma menina em vez de um menino. A Sra. Chick dissera muitas vezes que não era isso que esperava e que era uma retribuição ruim por toda a atenção e honra que Fanny recebera.

Naquele momento, o Sr. Dombey foi chamado às pressas para fora da sala, deixando as duas senhoras sozinhas. A Srta. Tox começou imediatamente a fazer movimentos súbitos e nervosos.

- Eu sabia que você admiraria meu irmão. Já tinha lhe dito, querida - disse Louisa. As mãos e os olhos da Srta. Tox mostraram quanto o admirava. - E quanto à riqueza dele, minha querida!

English → - Ah! - disse a Srta. Tox com profunda emoção.

- Enorme!

- Mas os modos dele, minha querida Louisa! - disse a Srta. Tox. - Sua presença! Sua dignidade! Nenhum retrato que já vi mostra nem a metade dessas qualidades. Ele é tão imponente, tão firme, tão largo no peito e tão ereto! É como um Duque de York feito de dinheiro, minha querida, e nada menos! É assim que eu o descreveria.

- Ora, meu querido Paul! - exclamou a irmã quando ele voltou. - Você está muito pálido! Há alguma coisa errada?

- Lamento dizer, Louisa, que me contaram que Fanny...

- Ora, meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã, levantando-se - , não acredite nisso. Não se deixe abalar sem motivo. Lembre-se de quanto você é importante para a sociedade. Não permita que palavras descuidadas de pessoas que deveriam saber melhor o preocupem. Estou realmente surpresa com elas.

- Espero saber, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey com rigidez - , como me comportar diante do mundo.

English → - Ninguém sabe melhor, meu querido Paul. Ninguém sabe nem a metade. Quem duvidasse disso seria realmente ignorante e desprezível.

- Realmente ignorante e desprezível! - repetiu suavemente a Srta. Tox.

- Mas - continuou Louisa - , se você confia na minha experiência, Paul, pode ter certeza de que Fanny só precisa fazer um esforço. E deve ser incentivada - e, se necessário, pressionada - a fazer esse esforço. - Enquanto falava, Louisa tirou o chapéu e ajeitou a touca e as luvas de maneira prática. - Agora, meu querido Paul, suba comigo.

O Sr. Dombey costumava seguir os conselhos da irmã pelo motivo já explicado. Também confiava de verdade nela como uma mulher casada, experiente e enérgica. Por isso, concordou e a seguiu imediatamente até o quarto da doente.

A senhora estava deitada na cama exatamente como ele a deixara, segurando a filhinha contra o peito. A menina se agarrava a ela com a mesma força de antes. Não levantou a cabeça, não afastou a face macia do rosto da mãe, não olhou para as pessoas ao redor, não falou, não se moveu nem derramou uma lágrima.

English → - Ela fica inquieta sem a menina - sussurrou o médico ao Sr. Dombey. - Achamos melhor trazê-la de volta.

- Não há nada que possa ser feito? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

O médico balançou a cabeça. - Não podemos fazer mais nada.

As janelas estavam abertas, e o crepúsculo avançava lá fora.

O cheiro forte dos remédios que haviam tentado enchia o quarto, mas não trazia frescor algum ao ar pesado e fraco que a senhora respirava.

Havia um silêncio solene ao redor da cama. Os dois médicos olhavam para o corpo imóvel com tanta compaixão e tão pouca esperança que, por um momento, a Sra. Chick esqueceu o que pretendia fazer. Logo, porém, reuniu a coragem e aquilo que chamava de presença de espírito. Sentou-se ao lado da cama e falou no tom baixo e cuidadoso de quem tenta acordar alguém adormecido:

- Fanny! Fanny!

A única resposta foi o tique-taque alto do relógio do Sr. Dombey e do relógio do Dr. Parker Peps. No silêncio, eles pareciam disputar uma corrida.

English → - Fanny, minha querida - disse a Sra. Chick, fingindo alegria - , o Sr. Dombey veio vê-la. Você não quer falar com ele? Eles querem colocar seu menininho - o bebê, Fanny; acho que você mal o viu ainda - na cama. Mas não podem fazer isso até que você desperte um pouco. Não acha que está na hora de despertar um pouco? Hein?

Ela aproximou o ouvido da cama e escutou. Ao mesmo tempo, olhou para os outros e ergueu um dedo.

- Hein? - repetiu ela. - O que você disse, Fanny? Não ouvi.

Não houve palavra nem som em resposta. O relógio do Sr. Dombey e o do Dr. Parker Peps pareciam correr ainda mais depressa.

English → - Ora, realmente, minha querida Fanny - disse a cunhada, mudando de posição e, apesar de si mesma, falando com menos confiança e mais seriedade - , vou ter de ficar muito zangada com você se não despertar. Você precisa fazer um esforço, talvez um esforço enorme e doloroso que não se sinta capaz de fazer. Mas este é um mundo de esforços, Fanny, e nunca devemos desistir quando tanta coisa depende de nós. Vamos! Tente! Terei mesmo de repreendê-la se não tentar!

Durante a pausa que se seguiu, a corrida foi feroz e furiosa. Os relógios pareciam empurrar um ao outro e fazer o rival tropeçar.

- Fanny! - disse Louisa, olhando ao redor enquanto seu medo aumentava. - Apenas olhe para mim. Abra os olhos para mostrar que me ouve e me entende, está bem? Meu Deus, senhores, o que pode ser feito?

Os dois médicos trocaram um olhar por cima da cama. Então o médico se inclinou e sussurrou ao ouvido da criança. A menina não entendeu o que ele queria dizer, por isso virou para ele o rosto completamente pálido e os olhos escuros e profundos, sem afrouxar nem um pouco o abraço.

English → Ele repetiu o sussurro.

- Mamãe! - disse a criança.

Mesmo naquele momento extremo, a vozinha familiar e tão amada trouxe um sinal de consciência. Por um instante, as pálpebras fechadas tremeram, a narina se moveu e surgiu a sombra mais leve de um sorriso.

- Mamãe! - gritou a criança, soluçando alto. - Ah, querida mamãe! Ah, querida mamãe!

O médico afastou delicadamente os cachos soltos da criança do rosto e da boca da mãe. Que tristeza: como eles repousavam imóveis, e como havia pouco fôlego para movê-los!

E assim, agarrada àquela pequena tábua de salvação em seus braços, a mãe foi levada para o mar escuro e desconhecido que cerca o mundo inteiro.

CAPÍTULO II. Em que se tomam Providências Oportunas para uma Emergência que às vezes surge nas Famílias mais bem-organizadas

English → - Nunca deixarei de me felicitar - disse a Sra. Chick - por ter dito, quando eu não fazia ideia do que nos esperava, como se algo me inspirasse, que perdoava a pobre e querida Fanny por tudo. Aconteça o que acontecer, isso sempre deverá me consolar!

A Sra. Chick fez essa importante observação na sala de visitas, depois de descer da inspeção das costureiras no andar de cima, que preparavam as roupas de luto da família. Disse aquilo para o benefício do Sr. Chick. Ele era um cavalheiro corpulento e calvo, de rosto muito grande, sempre com as mãos nos bolsos. Tinha uma tendência natural a assobiar e cantarolar melodias, mas sabia que esses sons eram impróprios numa casa de luto e agora se esforçava para contê-los.

- Não se canse demais, Loo - disse o Sr. Chick - , ou acabará doente, com espasmos, já estou vendo. Right tol loor rul! Minha nossa, esqueci! Hoje estamos aqui e amanhã já partimos!

English → A Sra. Chick respondeu apenas com um olhar de reprovação e depois continuou o que dizia.

- Espero sinceramente - disse ela - que este acontecimento comovente sirva de aviso para todos nós aprendermos a despertar e a fazer a tempo o esforço que nos for exigido. Há uma lição moral em tudo, se apenas escolhermos aproveitá-la. Será culpa nossa se esquecermos esta.

O Sr. Chick rompeu o silêncio grave que se seguiu à observação cantarolando a melodia estranhamente inadequada “There Was a Cobbler”. Parou, um pouco constrangido, e disse que sem dúvida era culpa nossa se não aprendêssemos com ocasiões tristes como aquela.

- Eu pensaria que ocasiões assim poderiam ser aproveitadas melhor, Sr. C. - respondeu a esposa após uma breve pausa - do que introduzindo a dança do colégio ou as palavras igualmente tolas e insensíveis rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow! O Sr. Chick de fato murmurara essas palavras, e a Sra. Chick as repetiu com um desprezo esmagador.

English → - É apenas um hábito, minha querida - alegou o Sr. Chick.

- Bobagem! Um hábito! - respondeu a esposa. - Se você é uma pessoa racional, não dê desculpas tão ridículas. Um hábito! Se eu adquirisse o hábito, como você chama, de andar no teto como as moscas, imagino que ouviria muita coisa a respeito.

Tal hábito provavelmente chamaria alguma atenção, por isso o Sr. Chick não ousou discordar.

- Bow-wow-wow! - repetiu a Sra. Chick, colocando um desprezo terrível no último som. - Você parece mais um cantor profissional com raiva do que um homem da sua posição!

- Como está o bebê, Loo? - perguntou o Sr. Chick, mudando de assunto.

- De qual bebê você está falando? - respondeu a Sra. Chick.

- Do pobre bebê que perdeu a mãe - disse o Sr. Chick. - Não conheço nenhum outro, minha querida.

- Você não conhece nenhum outro - retrucou a Sra. Chick. - Eu ia dizer que deveria se envergonhar.

English → O Sr. Chick pareceu surpreso.

- Nenhuma pessoa sensata acreditaria na manhã que tive, com aquela sala de jantar lá embaixo cheia de uma enorme massa de bebês.

- Uma massa de bebês! - repetiu o Sr. Chick, olhando ao redor, alarmado.

- A maioria dos homens teria percebido - disse a Sra. Chick - que, como a pobre e querida Fanny já não está conosco - aquelas minhas palavras sempre me trarão alívio e consolo - , e aqui ela enxugou os olhos, - precisamos encontrar uma ama.

- Oh! Ah! - disse o Sr. Chick. - Toor-ru!... Isto é, assim é a vida. Espero que tenha encontrado alguém adequado, minha querida.

- Na verdade, não encontrei - disse a Sra. Chick - e, pelo que vejo, dificilmente encontrarei. Enquanto isso, a pobre criança pode morrer de fome. Paul é muito exigente - naturalmente, é claro, pois depositou todas as esperanças nesse único menino. Ele encontra tantos defeitos em cada candidata que não vejo chance alguma de chegarmos a um acordo. Enquanto isso, é claro, a criança está...

English → - Indo para o Diabo - disse o Sr. Chick, pensativo. - Sem dúvida.

No entanto, a expressão indignada da Sra. Chick diante da ideia de um Dombey ir para lá o advertiu de que dissera a coisa errada. Tentando corrigir o erro com uma sugestão inteligente, acrescentou:

- Não poderiam usar um bule por algum tempo?

Se ele quisesse encerrar o assunto de imediato, não poderia ter feito melhor. Depois de olhá-lo em silêncio por vários instantes, a Sra. Chick disse esperar que ele não tivesse falado apenas para irritá-la, pois isso faria pouca honra ao seu coração. Também esperava que não tivesse falado sério, pois isso faria pouca honra à sua cabeça. Como, por mais otimista que fosse, jamais poderia fazer uma observação mais ofensiva à natureza humana em geral, ela pediu que encerrassem ali a discussão.

English → A Sra. Chick então caminhou majestosamente até a janela e espiou pela persiana, atraída pelo som de rodas. O Sr. Chick percebeu que o destino estava contra ele naquele momento, por isso não disse mais nada e foi embora. Mas o Sr. Chick nem sempre perdia. Muitas vezes conseguia a vantagem e, nessas ocasiões, castigava Louisa com dureza. Em suas brigas conjugais, eram em geral um casal bem combinado e equilibrado, que dava tanto quanto recebia. Normalmente era muito difícil adivinhar quem venceria. Muitas vezes, quando o Sr. Chick parecia derrotado, recuperava-se de repente, virava a situação, figurativamente batia as mesas contra os ouvidos da Sra. Chick e arrasava tudo à sua frente. Como a Sra. Chick podia surpreendê-lo com reveses semelhantes, suas pequenas batalhas costumavam ser incertas e, por isso, muito animadas.

A Srta. Tox chegara na carruagem cujas rodas eles acabavam de ouvir e entrou correndo na sala, sem fôlego.

English → - Minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox - , a vaga continua aberta?

- Minha boa alma, sim - disse a Sra. Chick.

- Então, minha querida Louisa - respondeu a Srta. Tox - , espero e acredito... Mas espere só um momento, querida, e apresentarei as pessoas.

A Srta. Tox desceu correndo tão depressa quanto havia subido. Ajudou as pessoas a sair da carruagem de aluguel e logo as conduziu até a sala.

Ficou então claro que ela não usara a palavra “pessoas” no sentido jurídico ou comercial, em que pode significar um indivíduo, mas como uma palavra para um grupo inteiro. A Srta. Tox conduziu uma jovem rechonchuda e saudável, de faces rosadas e rosto de maçã, carregando um bebê. Uma jovem mais nova, menos rechonchuda, mas também com rosto de maçã, segurava pelas mãos duas crianças rechonchudas e de rosto de maçã. Outro menino rechonchudo e de rosto de maçã caminhava sozinho. Por último veio um homem rechonchudo e de rosto de maçã, carregando mais um menino rechonchudo e de rosto de maçã. Ele pôs o menino no chão e lhe disse num sussurro rouco que “segurasse a mão do irmão Johnny”.

English → [Ilustração]

- Minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox - , eu sabia de sua grande ansiedade e queria ajudar, por isso corri até o Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females, que você havia esquecido, e perguntei se conheciam alguém adequado. Disseram que não. Garanto-lhe, querida, que a resposta quase me fez perder as esperanças por você. Mas uma das Royal Married Females ouviu minha pergunta e lembrou à diretora outra mulher que voltara para casa e provavelmente seria inteiramente satisfatória. Assim que ouvi isso e a diretora confirmou - excelentes referências e caráter impecável - , peguei o endereço, minha querida, e saí correndo outra vez.

- Isso é bem próprio da querida e bondosa Tox que você é! - disse Louisa.

English → - De modo algum - respondeu a Srta. Tox. - Não diga isso. Quando cheguei à casa - o lugar mais limpo, querida! Poderia jantar no chão - , encontrei a família inteira sentada à mesa. Achei que nenhuma descrição deles deixaria você e o Sr. Dombey tão seguros quanto vê-los todos juntos, por isso trouxe todos para cá. Este cavalheiro - disse a Srta. Tox, apontando para o homem de rosto de maçã - é o pai. Poderia dar um passo à frente, senhor?

O homem de rosto de maçã obedeceu timidamente e ficou na primeira fila, rindo baixinho e sorrindo.

- Esta é a esposa dele, é claro - disse a Srta. Tox, destacando a jovem com o bebê. - Como vai, Polly?

- Estou muito bem, obrigada, senhora - disse Polly.

Para ajudar Polly a falar com naturalidade, a Srta. Tox fez a pergunta do modo amistoso, porém superior, que poderia usar com uma velha conhecida que não via havia duas semanas.

English → - Fico contente em saber - disse a Srta. Tox. - A outra jovem é a irmã solteira dela. Mora com a família e cuidaria das crianças. Seu nome é Jemima. Como vai, Jemima?

- Estou muito bem, obrigada, senhora - respondeu Jemima.

- Fico muito contente em saber - disse a Srta. Tox. - Espero que continue bem. Cinco filhos. O mais novo tem seis semanas. O belo menininho com a ferida no nariz é o mais velho. Creio - disse a Srta. Tox, olhando para a família - que a ferida não é uma doença natural, mas foi causada por um acidente?

O homem de rosto de maçã pareceu rosnar: - Ferro de passar.

- Perdão, senhor - disse a Srta. Tox. - O senhor disse...?

- Ferro de passar - repetiu ele.

- Ah, sim - disse a Srta. Tox. - Sim! É verdade. Eu me esqueci. Enquanto a mãe estava fora, a criancinha cheirou um ferro de passar quente. O senhor tem toda a razão. Quando chegamos à porta, ia ter a bondade de me dizer que trabalha como...?

English → - Foguista - disse o homem.

- Um estrangulador! - disse a Srta. Tox, completamente chocada.

- Foguista - disse o homem. - Máquina a vapor.

- Ah! Sim! - respondeu a Srta. Tox, olhando para ele com atenção, embora ainda parecesse compreender apenas em parte o que ele queria dizer.

- E o senhor gosta disso?

- Gosto do quê, senhora? - perguntou o homem.

- Disso - respondeu a Srta. Tox. - Do seu trabalho.

- Ah! Gosto bastante, senhora. Às vezes as cinzas entram aqui - disse ele, tocando o peito - e fazem um homem falar com voz áspera, como estou falando agora. Mas são as cinzas, senhora, não mau humor.

A Srta. Tox entendeu tão pouco da resposta que teve dificuldade para continuar o assunto. Mas a Sra. Chick a ajudou interrogando Polly de modo minucioso e reservado sobre ela própria, os filhos, a certidão de casamento, as referências e outros assuntos. Polly passou pela prova sem problema algum. A Sra. Chick então foi apresentar seu relatório no quarto do irmão, levando consigo os dois pequenos Toodles mais rosados como forte prova do que diria. Toodle era o sobrenome do grupo de rostos de maçã.

English → Desde a morte da esposa, o Sr. Dombey permanecera em seu próprio quarto, perdido em sonhos sobre a juventude, a educação e o futuro do filho bebê. Algo mais frio e pesado que o normal repousava no fundo de seu coração frio. Contudo, era mais uma percepção da perda da criança do que da sua própria, e isso despertava nele uma tristeza quase furiosa. Construíra tantas esperanças sobre aquela vida e seu progresso, mas agora tudo corria perigo desde o início por causa de uma necessidade tão comum. A ideia de que Dombey e Filho pudesse cair por falta de uma ama era profundamente humilhante. Ainda assim, em seu orgulho e ciúme, ele odiava amargamente pensar que o primeiro passo para realizar seu maior desejo dependia de uma criada contratada. Por algum tempo, ela seria para a criança tudo aquilo que nem mesmo o casamento com o Sr. Dombey fizera de sua esposa. Por isso, toda vez que rejeitava uma nova candidata, sentia um prazer secreto. Agora, porém, já não podia continuar dividido entre esses dois sentimentos. Isso era ainda mais verdadeiro porque Polly Toodle parecia não ter defeito algum depois que sua irmã descrevera as qualificações dela e elogiara calorosamente a amizade incansável da Srta. Tox.

English → - Estas crianças parecem saudáveis - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Mas, meu Deus, imagine-as reivindicando algum tipo de parentesco com Paul um dia!

- Mas que parentesco existe? - começou Louisa.

- Existe? - repetiu o Sr. Dombey, que não pretendia compartilhar com a irmã o pensamento que expressara sem perceber. - Você perguntou se existe, Louisa?

- Quero dizer, pode existir...?

- É claro que não existe nenhum - disse o Sr. Dombey com severidade. - Suponho que o mundo inteiro saiba disso. A dor não me tornou tolo, Louisa. Leve-os embora! Quero ver essa mulher e o marido dela.

A Sra. Chick levou embora o delicado par de crianças Toodle e logo voltou com o casal adulto mais resistente que o irmão mandara trazer.

English → - Minha boa mulher - disse o Sr. Dombey, virando-se na poltrona como uma peça única, e não como um homem com braços, pernas e articulações - , entendo que é pobre e deseja ganhar dinheiro amamentando o menininho, meu filho, que perdeu cedo demais aquilo que nunca poderá ser substituído. Não me oponho a que melhore o conforto de sua família dessa maneira. Pelo que posso perceber, parece digna de ajuda. Mas, antes de entrar em minha casa nessa função, devo impor uma ou duas condições. Enquanto estiver aqui, deverá ser sempre conhecida como... digamos, Richards, um nome comum e conveniente. Tem alguma objeção a ser chamada de Richards? É melhor consultar seu marido.

- Bem? - disse o Sr. Dombey após uma pausa bastante longa. - O que seu marido diz sobre você ser chamada de Richards?

English → O marido apenas ria baixinho e sorria, passando continuamente a mão direita pela boca e molhando a palma. A Sra. Toodle cutucou-o com o cotovelo duas ou três vezes, mas não adiantou. Então fez uma reverência respeitosa e respondeu que talvez, se tivesse de ser chamada por outro nome, isso devesse ser considerado no salário.

- Ah, é claro - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Quero que isto seja inteiramente uma questão de salário. Agora, Richards, se amamentar meu filho sem mãe, quero que se lembre sempre disto. Receberá um pagamento generoso em troca do cumprimento de certos deveres. Enquanto os cumprir, desejo que veja sua família o mínimo possível. Quando esses deveres deixarem de ser necessários ou realizados, e o pagamento cessar, terminará toda ligação entre nós. Entendeu?

A Sra. Toodle parecia incerta se havia entendido. Quanto ao próprio Toodle, não havia dúvida alguma de que estava completamente confuso.

English → - Você tem seus próprios filhos - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Nosso acordo não exige que se afeiçoe ao meu filho nem que meu filho se afeiçoe a você. Não espero nem desejo nada assim. Muito pelo contrário. Quando sair daqui, terá concluído algo que é apenas um acordo comercial, uma questão de contratar e ser contratada, e ficará longe. A criança deixará de se lembrar de você, e você poderá deixar de se lembrar da criança.

A Sra. Toodle, com um pouco mais de cor nas faces do que antes, disse que esperava saber qual era o seu lugar.

- Espero que saiba, Richards - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Não tenho dúvida de que sabe muito bem. É algo tão simples e claro que dificilmente poderia ser diferente. Louisa, minha querida, combine o dinheiro com Richards e deixe que ela o receba quando e como desejar. Sr... seja qual for o seu nome, gostaria de falar com o senhor.

English → Toodle seguia a esposa para fora da sala, mas essas palavras o detiveram à porta. Ele voltou e ficou sozinho diante do Sr. Dombey. Era um homem forte, de corpo solto e ombros curvados, que caminhava pesadamente e tinha uma aparência áspera e peluda. As roupas pendiam nele sem cuidado. Tinha muito cabelo e suíças, talvez escurecidos pela fumaça e pelo pó de carvão, mãos duras e cheias de nós e uma testa quadrada, tão grosseira quanto a casca de um carvalho. Em todos os sentidos, era o oposto do Sr. Dombey. O Sr. Dombey pertencia à classe dos cavalheiros ricos de rosto bem barbeado e roupas impecáveis, que parecem lisos e novos como notas recém-impressas e dão a impressão de ser mantidos rígidos e apertados por duchas de ouro.

- Creio que o senhor tem um filho? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Quatro, senhor. Quatro meninos e uma menina. Todos vivos!

- Ora, o senhor mal tem condições de sustentá-los! - disse o Sr. Dombey.

English → - Só há uma coisa no mundo que eu poderia custear ainda menos, senhor.

- O que é?

- Para perdê-los, senhor.

- Você sabe ler? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Bem, não muito, senhor.

- Sabe escrever?

- Com giz, senhor?

- Com qualquer coisa?

- Acho que conseguiria escrever um pouco com giz, se fosse preciso - disse Toodle depois de pensar por um momento.

- E, no entanto - disse o Sr. Dombey - você tem uns trinta e dois ou trinta e três anos, suponho?

- Mais ou menos isso, suponho, senhor - respondeu Toodle depois de pensar um pouco mais.

- Então por que você não aprende? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Eu vou aprender, senhor. Um dos meus meninos vai me ensinar quando tiver idade suficiente e já tiver ido à escola.

- Bem - disse o Sr. Dombey. Ele olhou atentamente e com certa frieza para Toodle, que permanecia observando o cômodo, sobretudo o teto, enquanto continuava passando a mão pela boca. - Você ouviu o que acabei de dizer à sua esposa?

English → - Polly ouviu - disse Toodle, apontando o chapéu por cima do ombro na direção da porta, com total confiança na esposa. - Está tudo certo.

- Mas estou perguntando se você ouviu. Suponho que sim e que entendeu? - continuou o Sr. Dombey.

“Eu ouvi”, disse Toodle, “mas não sei se entendi direito, senhor, porque não tenho estudo e as palavras eram - com o devido perdão - um tanto difíceis. Mas Polly ouviu. Está tudo certo.”

- Já que você parece deixar tudo por conta dela - disse o Sr. Dombey, frustrado em seu plano de explicar suas ideias com mais firmeza ao marido, como a pessoa mais forte - suponho que não adianta dizer nada a você.

- Não adianta mesmo - disse Toodle. - Polly ouviu. Ela é esperta, senhor.

- Então não vou prendê-lo por mais tempo - respondeu o Sr. Dombey, decepcionado. - Onde você trabalhou durante toda a vida?

English → - Principalmente debaixo da terra, senhor, até eu me casar. Então passei a trabalhar na superfície. Vou trabalhar em uma dessas ferrovias quando estiverem funcionando de verdade.

Então acrescentou, em um de seus sussurros roucos: - Pretendemos criar o pequeno Biler para esse tipo de trabalho. O Sr. Dombey perguntou com arrogância quem era o pequeno Biler.

- O mais velho deles, senhor - disse Toodle com um sorriso. - Não é um nome comum. Tanto que, quando foi levado à igreja, o cavalheiro disse que não era um nome cristão e que não podia dá-lo a ele. Mas nós sempre o chamamos de Biler mesmo assim, pois não queremos fazer mal algum. Não queremos, não.

- Você quer me dizer, homem - perguntou o Sr. Dombey, olhando para ele com evidente desagrado - que deu a uma criança o nome de uma caldeira?

- Não, não, senhor - respondeu Toodle, corrigindo bondosamente o engano. - Espero que não! Não, senhor. Foi por causa de uma CALDEIRA, senhor. A máquina a vapor foi quase como um padrinho para ele, então nós o chamamos de Biler, entende?

English → Assim como a última palha quebra as costas do camelo sobrecarregado, essa notícia esmagou o ânimo já abatido do Sr. Dombey. Ele indicou a porta ao pai de leite da criança, e o homem saiu de muito boa vontade. Depois, o Sr. Dombey trancou a porta e caminhou de um lado para o outro do cômodo em solitária aflição.

Seria cruel, e talvez não inteiramente verdadeiro, dizer que esses golpes em seu orgulho o feriram mais do que a morte da esposa. Ainda assim, certamente o fizeram sentir a morte dela com nova força e acrescentaram peso e amargura ao acontecimento. Ofendia profundamente seu sentimento de posse sobre a criança o fato de aquelas pessoas - mero pó da terra, como ele as considerava - serem necessárias para ele. Naturalmente, quanto mais isso o perturbava, mais lamentava o acontecimento que as tornara necessárias. Apesar de toda a sua dignidade rígida, impenetrável e serena, ele enxugava lágrimas que lhe cegavam os olhos enquanto andava pelo cômodo. Muitas vezes, com uma emoção que jamais permitiria que alguém visse, dizia: “Pobre pequeno!”

English → Talvez revelasse o orgulho do Sr. Dombey o fato de ele sentir pena de si mesmo por meio da criança. Não dizia: Pobre de mim. Não dizia: Pobre viúvo, obrigado a confiar na esposa de um trabalhador ignorante que passara a maior parte da vida debaixo da terra, embora a Morte jamais tivesse batido à porta daquele homem e quatro filhos se sentassem diariamente à sua mesa pobre. Em vez disso, dizia: Pobre pequeno!

Com essas palavras nos lábios, ocorreu-lhe um pensamento. Ele mostrava como todas as suas esperanças, medos e ideias eram fortemente atraídos para um único centro. Uma grande tentação estava sendo colocada diante daquela mulher. O bebê dela também era menino. Seria possível que ela trocasse as duas crianças?

Logo se convenceu de que havia rejeitado a ideia por ser fantasiosa e improvável, embora não pudesse negar que era possível. Mesmo assim, continuou pensando nela e imaginou qual seria sua situação se descobrisse tal fraude quando já estivesse velho. Um homem nessa posição conseguiria tirar do impostor tudo o que fora construído por tantos anos de hábito, confiança e crença, e entregar tudo a um estranho?

English → Mas tais pensamentos eram inúteis. Isso não podia acontecer. Um instante depois, decidiu que podia acontecer, mas que mulheres como ela eram sempre vigiadas e não tinham oportunidade de executar tal plano, mesmo que fossem perversas o bastante para concebê-lo. Depois, lembrou-se de quão poucos casos assim pareciam ter ocorrido. Em seguida, perguntou-se se não ocorreriam sem jamais serem descobertos.

À medida que sua emoção incomum diminuía, essas dúvidas desapareceram aos poucos. Contudo, restou sombra suficiente delas para que decidisse firmemente vigiar Richards de perto, sem parecer fazê-lo. Agora mais calmo, considerou a baixa posição social da mulher uma vantagem, pois criava grande distância entre ela e a criança e tornaria a separação fácil e natural. Dali, seus pensamentos passaram para a futura glória de Dombey e Filho. Por enquanto, afastou a lembrança da esposa com um ou dois suspiros em homenagem.

English → Enquanto isso, a Sra. Chick e Richards acertaram as condições com a ajuda da Srta. Tox. Com muita cerimônia, Richards recebeu o bebê Dombey como se ele fosse uma condecoração oficial. Com muitas lágrimas e beijos, entregou seu próprio bebê a Jemima. Então trouxeram taças de vinho para animar a família abatida. A Srta. Tox ocupou-se em dar pequenos goles às crianças menores e as preparou para a profissão perigosa do pai com rapidez surpreendente: em quinze segundos, fez quatro delas engasgarem.

- O senhor também vai tomar uma taça, não vai? - disse a Srta. Tox quando Toodle apareceu.

- Obrigado, senhora, já que insiste - disse Toodle.

- E o senhor está muito contente por deixar sua querida e boa esposa em uma casa tão confortável, não está? - disse a Srta. Tox, assentindo e piscando discretamente para ele.

- Não, senhora - disse Toodle. - Bebo para desejar que ela volte.

Isso fez Polly chorar mais do que nunca. Como mulher casada experiente, a Sra. Chick temeu que tamanha tristeza pudesse prejudicar o pequeno Dombey. - Pode até azedar o leite - sussurrou à Srta. Tox, e rapidamente veio em socorro.

English → “Seu filhinho ficará muito bem com sua irmã Jemima, Richards”, disse a Sra. Chick. “Você só precisa fazer um esforço - este é um mundo de esforço, sabe - para ser realmente muito feliz. Já tiraram suas medidas para as roupas de luto, não foi, Richards?”

- Si-im, senhora - soluçou Polly.

- E vão servir lindamente, eu sei - disse a Sra. Chick - porque a mesma moça fez muitos vestidos para mim. E com os melhores tecidos!

- Minha nossa, você ficará tão elegante - disse a Srta. Tox - que seu marido não vai reconhecê-la. Vai, senhor?

- Eu a reconheceria - disse Toodle com rudeza - de qualquer jeito e em qualquer lugar.

Era evidente que Toodle não se deixaria conquistar.

- Quanto à sua alimentação, Richards - continuou a Sra. Chick - o melhor de tudo estará à sua disposição. Você pedirá seu próprio jantar todos os dias, e tenho certeza de que qualquer coisa que desejar será fornecida tão prontamente como se você fosse uma dama.

English → - Sim, com certeza! - disse a Srta. Tox, continuando com grande simpatia. - E quanto à cerveja porter, ela poderá tomar quanto quiser, não é, Louisa?

- Ah, certamente! - respondeu a Sra. Chick no mesmo tom. - Embora deva limitar um pouco os legumes, sabe, minha querida.

- E talvez os picles - sugeriu a Srta. Tox.

- Fora essas exceções - disse Louisa - ela poderá escolher tudo por conta própria e não terá restrição alguma, minha querida.

“E então, é claro”, disse a Srta. Tox, “por mais que ela ame seu querido filhinho - e tenho certeza, Louisa, de que você não a culpa por amá-lo?”

- Ah, não! - exclamou a Sra. Chick com bondade.

- Ainda assim - continuou a Srta. Tox - ela naturalmente deve se interessar pela criança sob seus cuidados. Deve considerar um privilégio observar um pequeno anjo das classes superiores desenvolver-se dia após dia, alimentando-se da mesma fonte comum. Não é verdade, Louisa?

English → - Sem dúvida alguma! - disse a Sra. Chick. - Veja, minha querida, ela já está bastante satisfeita e confortável. Pretende despedir-se da irmã Jemima, de seus pequenos queridos e de seu bom e honesto marido com o coração leve e um sorriso, não pretende, minha querida?

- Ah, sim! - exclamou a Srta. Tox. - É claro que sim!

Apesar de tudo isso, a pobre Polly abraçou cada um deles em grande aflição. Quando finalmente chegou ao marido, não conseguiu decidir-se a deixá-lo. Por fim, ele se soltou com delicadeza depois de lhe oferecer o seguinte conselho simbólico:

- Polly, minha velha, faça o que fizer, minha querida, mantenha a cabeça erguida e lute por baixo. Essa é a única regra que conheço capaz de levar alguém pela vida. Você sempre manteve a cabeça erguida e lutou por baixo, Polly. Faça isso agora, ou Bricks já não é o mesmo. Deus a abençoe, Polly! Jemima e eu cumpriremos nosso dever por você. Quanto ao seu dever aqui, mantenha a cabeça erguida e lute por baixo, Polly, e não poderá errar!

English → Fortalecida por esse segredo de ouro, Polly finalmente fugiu para evitar uma despedida mais pessoal das crianças. Mas seu plano não teve o sucesso que merecia. O segundo menor menino percebeu sua intenção e imediatamente começou a subir as escadas atrás dela, arrastando-se com braços e pernas, se podemos usar essa expressão estranha. O mais velho, conhecido na família como Biler em memória da máquina a vapor, bateu com as botas um ritmo selvagem de tristeza, e o restante da família juntou-se a ele.

Uma quantidade de laranjas e moedas de meio penny foi enfiada sem ordem nas mãos de cada pequeno Toodle, acalmando a primeira violência de sua tristeza. A família logo foi levada para casa na carruagem alugada que os esperava. Sob os cuidados de Jemima, as crianças lotaram a janela e deixaram cair laranjas e moedas por todo o caminho. O Sr. Toodle preferiu viajar atrás da carruagem, entre os ferros pontudos, pois era o tipo de transporte que conhecia melhor.

CAPÍTULO III. Em que o senhor Dombey, como Homem e Pai, é visto à Frente do Departamento Doméstico

English → O funeral da falecida senhora fora realizado para total satisfação tanto do agente funerário quanto de toda a vizinhança. Os vizinhos costumam ser críticos nesses assuntos e se ofendem facilmente com qualquer falta ou falha nas cerimônias. Depois, os vários membros da casa do Sr. Dombey voltaram a seus lugares habituais no sistema doméstico. Aquele pequeno mundo, como o grande mundo lá fora, era capaz de esquecer seus mortos com facilidade. A cozinheira disse que a patroa fora uma senhora de temperamento calmo; a governanta disse que a morte chegava para todos; o mordomo disse que ninguém imaginaria aquilo; a criada disse que mal conseguia acreditar; e o lacaio disse que parecia exatamente um sonho. Então esgotaram o assunto e começaram a achar que até suas roupas de luto estavam ficando velhas e sem brilho.

English → Para Richards, mantida no andar de cima em uma espécie de prisão honrosa, o começo da nova vida parecia frio e cinzento. A grande casa do Sr. Dombey ficava no lado sombreado de uma rua alta, escura e terrivelmente elegante entre Portland Place e Bryanstone Square. Era uma casa de esquina com amplos espaços abaixo do nível da rua. Janelas gradeadas olhavam carrancudas para os porões, enquanto portas de aparência torta encaravam as latas de lixo. A casa, grandiosa mas sombria, tinha os fundos arredondados, contendo uma série inteira de salas de visitas. Elas davam para um pátio de cascalho onde duas árvores magras, com troncos e galhos enegrecidos, chacoalhavam em vez de farfalhar, pois a fumaça secara suas folhas. O sol de verão só alcançava a rua perto da hora do café da manhã. Chegava com carroças de água, vendedores de roupas usadas, pessoas vendendo gerânios, o consertador de guarda-chuvas e o homem que tocava o pequeno sino de um relógio holandês enquanto caminhava. O sol logo partia e não voltava naquele dia. Bandas e espetáculos ambulantes de Punch o seguiam, deixando a rua entregue aos realejos mais tristes e aos ratos brancos, com um porco-espinho ocasional para variar. Ao entardecer, os mordomos cujas famílias jantavam fora começavam a ficar junto às portas, e o acendedor de lampiões fracassava todas as noites na tentativa de iluminar a rua com gás.

English → A casa era tão vazia e sem vida por dentro quanto por fora. Depois do funeral, o Sr. Dombey mandou cobrir os móveis, talvez para preservá-los para o filho que estava no centro de todos os seus planos. Mandou retirar a decoração dos cômodos, exceto daqueles que reservou para si no térreo. Mesas e cadeiras foram empilhadas no meio dos aposentos e cobertas com grandes lençóis brancos, transformando-se em formas misteriosas. Jornais cobriam puxadores de campainhas, persianas e espelhos, exibindo trechos de notícias sobre mortes e assassinatos terríveis. Cada lustre, envolto em tecido protetor, parecia uma lágrima enorme pendurada no olho do teto. Cheiros de sepulturas e lugares úmidos saíam das chaminés. Em seu retrato, a senhora morta e enterrada parecia assustadora sob faixas pálidas. Cada rajada de vento trazia da esquina, junto aos estábulos vizinhos, pedaços da palha espalhada diante da casa durante sua doença. Restos embolorados ainda se agarravam à vizinhança. Alguma força invisível sempre atraía esses pedaços para a entrada da casa suja e vazia logo em frente, onde pareciam falar tristemente às janelas do Sr. Dombey.

English → Os aposentos particulares do Sr. Dombey podiam ser alcançados pelo hall. Incluíam uma sala de estar; uma biblioteca que na verdade era um quarto de vestir, onde os cheiros de papel fino e de vários tipos de couro competiam com o odor de muitos pares de botas; e, além dela, uma pequena sala envidraçada para o café da manhã, parecida com uma estufa, com vista para as duas árvores e geralmente para alguns gatos errantes. Os três cômodos se abriam uns para os outros. Todas as manhãs, enquanto o Sr. Dombey tomava o café em um dos dois primeiros aposentos, e todas as tardes, quando voltava para jantar, uma campainha chamava Richards à sala envidraçada para andar de um lado para o outro com o bebê. Nessas ocasiões, ela via o Sr. Dombey sentado ao fundo, na escuridão, entre os móveis pesados, olhando para a criança. O pai dele morara na casa por anos, e grande parte dela era antiquada e sombria. Richards começou a imaginá-lo em sua solidão como um prisioneiro sozinho numa cela ou um fantasma estranho de quem ninguém podia se aproximar nem compreender. Em poucos dias, sua mente simples deu ao Sr. Dombey todo o mistério e a escuridão da casa. Enquanto caminhava pela sala envidraçada ou se sentava ali acalmando o bebê, muitas vezes por horas quando a noite caía, às vezes tentava enxergar a escuridão além e descobrir como ele parecia e o que fazia. Contudo, sabia que ele podia vê-la claramente, por isso só ousava olhar em sua direção às escondidas e por um instante. Assim, nada descobria, e o Sr. Dombey continuava sendo apenas uma sombra em seu esconderijo.

English → A mãe de leite do pequeno Paul Dombey vivera essa vida e o conduzira por ela durante várias semanas. Certo dia, voltou ao andar de cima depois de um passeio triste pelos sombrios aposentos formais. Nunca saía sem a Sra. Chick, que aparecia nas manhãs bonitas, geralmente com a Srta. Tox, para levar Richards e o bebê para tomar ar - ou melhor, para fazê-los marchar solenemente pela calçada como um funeral ambulante. Enquanto Richards estava sentada em seu quarto, a porta se abriu lenta e silenciosamente, e uma garotinha de olhos escuros espiou para dentro.

- Deve ser a Srta. Florence, de volta da casa da tia - pensou Richards, que nunca vira a criança. - Espero que esteja bem, senhorita.

- Esse é meu irmão? - perguntou a criança, apontando para o bebê.

- Sim, minha linda - respondeu Richards. - Venha beijá-lo.

Mas, em vez de se aproximar, a criança olhou seriamente para o rosto dela e disse:

English → - O que você fez com a minha mamãe?

- Deus abençoe essa criaturinha! - exclamou Richards. - Que pergunta triste! O que eu fiz? Nada, senhorita.

- O que fizeram com a minha mamãe? - perguntou a criança, exatamente com o mesmo olhar e o mesmo jeito.

- Nunca vi nada tão comovente em toda a minha vida! - disse Richards, imaginando naturalmente um de seus próprios filhos perguntando por ela nas mesmas circunstâncias. - Aproxime-se, minha querida senhorita! Não tenha medo de mim.

- Não tenho medo de você - disse a criança, aproximando-se. - Mas quero saber o que fizeram com a minha mamãe.

Enquanto permanecia diante da mulher e olhava em seus olhos, o coração da criança ficou tão cheio de emoção que ela precisou apertar a mãozinha contra o peito e mantê-la ali. Contudo, tinha um propósito firme que impedia tanto seu corpo delicado quanto seu olhar investigador de vacilar.

English → - Minha querida - disse Richards - você está usando esse bonito vestido preto para se lembrar da sua mamãe.

- Posso me lembrar da minha mamãe - respondeu a criança, enquanto seus olhos se enchiam de lágrimas - com qualquer vestido.

- Mas as pessoas usam preto para se lembrar daqueles que partiram.

- Partiram para onde? - perguntou a criança.

- Venha sentar-se ao meu lado - disse Richards - e vou lhe contar uma história.

A pequena Florence logo entendeu que a história responderia à sua pergunta. Deixou de lado o chapéu que segurara até então e sentou-se em um banquinho aos pés da ama, olhando para o rosto dela.

“Era uma vez”, disse Richards, “uma senhora - uma senhora muito boa - e sua filhinha a amava profundamente.”

- Uma senhora muito boa, e sua filhinha a amava profundamente - repetiu a criança.

- Quando Deus decidiu que chegara o momento certo, a senhora adoeceu e morreu.

A criança estremeceu.

- Ela morreu e nunca mais poderia ser vista por ninguém na Terra. Foi enterrada no chão onde as árvores crescem.

English → - O chão frio? - disse a criança, estremecendo de novo.

- Não! O chão quente - respondeu Polly, aproveitando o momento - onde sementinhas feias se transformam em belas flores, grama, trigo e muitas outras coisas. É onde as pessoas boas se transformam em anjos luminosos e voam para o Céu!

A criança abaixara a cabeça, mas agora a ergueu novamente e ficou olhando atentamente para Polly.

“Então, deixe-me ver”, disse Polly. Ela estava bastante confusa com o olhar sério da criança, com seu próprio desejo de consolá-la, com o súbito sucesso e com sua pouca confiança nas próprias capacidades. “Então, quando essa senhora morreu, onde quer que a levassem ou colocassem, ela foi para DEUS! E essa senhora pediu a Ele”, continuou Polly, profundamente emocionada porque acreditava de coração em cada palavra, “que ensinasse sua filhinha a ter certeza disso no coração, a saber que sua mãe estava feliz lá e ainda a amava, e a esperar e se esforçar - ah, durante toda a vida - para encontrá-la lá um dia e nunca, nunca, nunca mais se separar dela.”

English → - Era a minha mamãe! - exclamou a criança, levantando-se de um salto e abraçando o pescoço de Polly.

- E o coração da criança - disse Polly, trazendo Florence para junto do peito - o coração da filhinha estava tão cheio dessa verdade que, mesmo quando a ouviu de uma ama desconhecida que não sabia contá-la direito, mas era também uma pobre mãe e nada mais, encontrou consolo nela. Não se sentiu tão sozinha. Soluçou e chorou junto ao peito da ama, afeiçoou-se ao bebê deitado no colo dela e... pronto, pronto, pronto! - disse Polly, alisando os cachos da criança e deixando lágrimas caírem sobre eles. - Pronto, pobre querida!

- Ora, Srta. Floy! Seu pai não vai ficar bravo! - exclamou uma voz rápida junto à porta. Pertencia a uma garota baixa, de cabelos castanhos e jeito muito adulto, com catorze anos, narizinho arrebitado e olhos negros como contas brilhantes. - Quando lhe disseram especialmente que não fosse incomodar a ama de leite!

English → - Ela não me incomoda - respondeu Polly, surpresa. - Gosto muito de crianças.

- Ah, mas desculpe, Sra. Richards, isso não importa, sabe - respondeu a garota de olhos negros. Ela era tão afiada e mordaz que parecia fazer os olhos das pessoas lacrimejarem. - Posso gostar muito de caramujos-do-mar, Sra. Richards, mas isso não significa que deva comê-los no chá.

- Bem, isso não importa - disse Polly.

- Ah, obrigada, Sra. Richards. Não importa? - respondeu a garota afiada. - Mas, por favor, lembre-se de que a Srta. Floy está sob meus cuidados, enquanto o jovem Paul está sob os seus.

- Mas não precisamos brigar - disse Polly.

- Ah, não, Sra. Richards - respondeu a garota fogosa. - De modo algum, não quero isso, não precisamos lidar uma com a outra dessa maneira, já que a Srta. Floy é permanente e o jovem Paul é temporário. A garota fogosa usava apenas breves pausas de vírgula. Sempre que possível, disparava tudo o que tinha a dizer em uma só frase e num único fôlego.

English → - A Srta. Florence acabou de voltar para casa, não foi? - perguntou Polly.

- Sim, Sra. Richards, ela acabou de chegar. E aqui está a senhorita, Srta. Floy, antes de completar quinze minutos em casa, esfregando o rosto molhado nas caras roupas de luto que a Sra. Richards está usando por sua mãe! Com essa reclamação, a jovem garota fogosa, cujo verdadeiro nome era Susan Nipper, arrancou a criança de sua nova amiga com a mesma força de quem arranca um dente. Contudo, parecia agir mais por cumprir seus deveres com rigor excessivo do que por qualquer crueldade deliberada.

- Ela ficará muito feliz agora que voltou para casa - disse Polly, assentindo para Florence com um sorriso encorajador no rosto saudável. - E ficará muito contente ao ver seu querido papai esta noite.

- Minha nossa, Sra. Richards! - exclamou a Srta. Nipper, interrompendo-a bruscamente. - Não diga isso. Ver seu querido papai, é? Eu gostaria de vê-la conseguir!

English → - Ela não vai? - perguntou Polly.

- Nossa, não, Sra. Richards. O pai dela se preocupa demais com outra pessoa. Mesmo antes de essa pessoa existir, ela nunca foi a favorita dele. Meninas são um desperdício nesta casa, Sra. Richards, eu lhe garanto.

A criança olhou depressa de uma ama para a outra, como se entendesse e sentisse o que haviam dito.

- Você me surpreende! - exclamou Polly. - O Sr. Dombey não a viu desde...?

- Não - interrompeu Susan Nipper. - Nem uma vez desde então. Durante meses e meses antes disso, ele mal olhava para ela. Acho que não teria reconhecido a própria filha se a encontrasse na rua, e acho que também não a reconheceria se a encontrasse lá amanhã. Quanto a mim - disse a pequena Foguinho com uma risadinha - , duvido que ele sequer saiba que existo.

- Que linda querida! - disse Richards, referindo-se à pequena Florence, não à Srta. Nipper.

English → - Ah! Posso lhe dizer que há uma pessoa feroz a menos de cem milhas de onde estamos conversando, Sra. Richards - sempre excetuando os presentes - disse Susan Nipper. - Bom dia, Sra. Richards. Agora, Srta. Floy, venha comigo. Não fique para trás como uma criança malcriada e perversa que não aprende nada com os castigos. Venha!

Apesar da ordem e apesar de Susan Nipper puxá-la com força suficiente para quase deslocar seu ombro direito, a pequena Florence se soltou e beijou carinhosamente a nova amiga.

- Meu Deus! Mesmo depois de dizerem tão claramente que ninguém devia ter intimidade demais com a Sra. Richards! - exclamou Susan. - Muito bem, Srta. Floy!

- Deus abençoe esta doce criança! - disse Richards. - Adeus, querida!

- Adeus! - respondeu a criança. - Deus a abençoe! Logo virei vê-la de novo, e você virá me ver, não é? Susan vai permitir. Não vai, Susan?

English → A pequena Foguinho era em geral bondosa, embora seguisse uma escola de educação infantil que acreditava que a infância, como o dinheiro, precisava ser muito sacudida, chacoalhada e empurrada para continuar brilhante. Quando Florence apelou a ela com gestos carinhosos e afagos, Susan cruzou os bracinhos, balançou a cabeça e deixou uma expressão mais branda entrar em seus olhos negros muito arregalados.

- Não é certo pedir isso, Srta. Floy, porque sabe que não consigo negar nada à senhorita. Mas a Sra. Richards e eu veremos o que pode ser feito, se ela concordar. Veja, Sra. Richards, posso desejar viajar até a China, mas talvez não saiba como sair das Docas de Londres.

Richards concordou com essa ideia.

- Esta casa não está exatamente cheia de risadas e comemorações - disse a Srta. Nipper - , portanto não há necessidade de ficarmos mais solitárias do que o necessário. Suas Toxes e Chickses podem arrancar meus dois dentes duplos da frente, Sra. Richards, mas isso não é motivo para eu lhes oferecer a dentadura inteira.

English → Richards também concordou com essa ideia claramente sensata.

- Portanto, estou certamente disposta - disse Susan Nipper - a viver em amizade com a senhora, Sra. Richards, enquanto o pequeno Paul continuar como membro permanente da casa, se pudermos planejar um meio sem desobedecer abertamente às ordens. Mas, meu Deus, Srta. Floy, ainda não tirou as roupas de sair, sua criança levada! Venha!

Com essas palavras, Susan Nipper avançou sobre a menina num ímpeto de força e a arrastou para fora da sala.

Em meio à tristeza e ao abandono, a criança era tão gentil, quieta e paciente. Tinha tanto amor que ninguém parecia querer e uma compreensão tão triste que ninguém parecia se importar em ferir, que o coração de Polly doeu quando ela ficou novamente sozinha. Durante aquele encontro simples entre Polly e a menina sem mãe, o coração materno de Polly fora tocado tão profundamente quanto o da criança. Como Florence, ela sentiu que, a partir daquele momento, compartilhavam confiança e interesse uma pela outra.

English → Embora o Sr. Toodle confiasse muito em Polly, ela provavelmente era apenas um pouco mais instruída e refinada do que ele. Passara a vida inteira trabalhando duro e com bom humor. Era uma pessoa sensata e constante, com ideias práticas sobre o açougueiro, o padeiro e quantos quartos de penny formavam um penny. Mas era um bom e simples exemplo de uma natureza que, em seu conjunto, é melhor, mais verdadeira, elevada e nobre que a natureza dos homens - mais rápida para sentir ternura, compaixão, renúncia e devoção, e muito mais fiel em conservá-las. Embora tivesse pouca instrução, talvez já naquele tempo pudesse ter ensinado ao Sr. Dombey uma primeira lição que assim não o atingiria como um raio no final.

Mas isso nos afasta da história. Naquele momento, Polly pensava apenas em aproveitar seu sucesso ao conquistar a simpatia da Srta. Nipper. Tentava encontrar um modo legítimo de ter a pequena Florence como ajudante, sem desobedecer a ninguém. Uma oportunidade surgiu naquela mesma noite.

English → Como de costume, alguém tocou a campainha para que Polly descesse à sala de vidro. Ela caminhava ali havia muito tempo com o bebê nos braços quando, para sua grande surpresa e aflição, o Sr. Dombey saiu de repente e parou diante dela. Primeiro, ela o vira apoiado no cotovelo à mesa. Depois, ele caminhara de um lado para o outro na sala do meio, aproximando-se um pouco mais das portas dobráveis abertas a cada volta, ou assim lhe pareceu.

- Boa noite, Richards.

Ele era exatamente o mesmo cavalheiro severo e rígido que parecera no primeiro dia dela. Tinha uma aparência tão dura que ela baixou os olhos e fez uma reverência sem querer.

- Como está o pequeno Paul, Richards?

- Crescendo muito bem, senhor, e saudável.

- Ele parece saudável - disse o Sr. Dombey. Olhou com grande interesse para o rostinho que ela descobriu para ele, embora fingisse não se importar muito. - Espero que lhe deem tudo de que precisa?

English → - Ah, sim, obrigada, senhor.

No entanto, ela acrescentou à resposta uma hesitação tão evidente que o Sr. Dombey, que já se afastara, parou e tornou a se virar com um olhar interrogativo.

- Com sua licença, senhor, a criança tem muita disposição para observar as coisas - disse Richards, fazendo outra reverência - , e talvez seja um pouco monótono para ele lá em cima.

- Pedi que a levassem regularmente para tomar ar fresco - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Muito bem! Sairá com mais frequência. Fez bem em mencionar isso.

- Perdoe-me, senhor - disse Polly, hesitante - , mas já saímos com bastante frequência, obrigada.

- Então o que você quer? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Na verdade, senhor, não sei exatamente - disse Polly - , a menos que...

- Sim?

- Creio que nada torna as crianças tão vivas e alegres quanto ver outras crianças brincando ao redor delas, senhor - observou Polly, ganhando coragem.

- Acho que lhe disse quando veio para cá, Richards - falou o Sr. Dombey, franzindo a testa - , que queria que visse sua família o mínimo possível.

English → - Ah, certamente, senhor. Eu não estava pensando nisso de modo algum.

- Fico contente em saber - disse o Sr. Dombey depressa. - Pode continuar caminhando, se quiser.

Então ele desapareceu na sala interior. Polly teve a satisfação de sentir que ele compreendera totalmente mal seu propósito e que ela perdera sua aprovação sem avançar nem um pouco em direção ao objetivo.

Na noite seguinte, ao descer, ela o encontrou caminhando pela estufa. Parou à porta, surpresa com aquela visão incomum e sem saber se devia entrar ou recuar, mas ele a chamou. Logo ficou claro que a mente dele estava concentrada demais em Dombey e Filho para ter esquecido a sugestão dela.

- Se realmente acha que esse tipo de companhia faz bem à criança - disse ele com aspereza, como se nenhum tempo houvesse passado desde a sugestão dela - , onde está a Srta. Florence?

English → - Nada poderia ser melhor do que a Srta. Florence, senhor - disse Polly com entusiasmo - , mas entendi pela criada dela que não deviam...

O Sr. Dombey tocou a campainha e continuou caminhando até alguém atendê-la.

- Diga a todos que sempre permitam à Srta. Florence ficar com Richards quando quiser e sair com ela, e assim por diante. Diga que deixem as crianças juntas sempre que Richards desejar.

O ferro estava quente, e Richards o golpeou com coragem. Sua causa era boa, e isso a tornava ousada, embora tivesse um medo natural do Sr. Dombey. Pediu que mandassem a Srta. Florence descer naquele instante para fazer amizade com o irmãozinho.

Enquanto o criado saía para cumprir o pedido, Polly fingiu estar brincando com o bebê. No entanto, pareceu-lhe ver o Sr. Dombey mudar de cor e sua expressão se alterar por completo. Ele se virou depressa como se pretendesse retirar o que dissera, o que ela dissera, ou ambas as coisas, e apenas a vergonha o impediu.

English → E ela estava certa. Na última vez em que ele vira a filha desprezada, o triste abraço entre Florence e a mãe moribunda lhe revelara uma verdade e ao mesmo tempo o acusara. Por mais que se concentrasse no Filho em quem depositava esperanças tão grandes, não conseguia esquecer aquela cena final. Não conseguia esquecer que não tivera parte nela. No fundo das águas claras de amor e verdade estavam aquelas duas figuras abraçadas, enquanto ele permanecia na margem acima, olhando apenas como espectador. Não compartilhava o sentimento delas e estava completamente excluído.

English → Ele não conseguia retirar essas lembranças da mente. Através da névoa de seu orgulho, percebia parcialmente o que significavam, embora o sentido delas surgisse apenas em formas imperfeitas. Sua antiga indiferença pela pequena Florence transformou-se numa estranha inquietação. Ela era muito jovem e, aos olhos de todos menos os dele - e talvez até aos dele - , possuía mais do que a inocência e a confiança infantis comuns. Contudo, ele quase sentia que ela o observava e desconfiava dele. Era como se ela tivesse a pista de um segredo em seu coração cuja natureza nem ele mesmo compreendia bem. Era como se soubesse por instinto de uma corda áspera e desafinada dentro dele, e seu simples respirar pudesse fazê-la soar.

English → Desde o nascimento de Florence, o sentimento dele por ela fora simplesmente uma ausência de sentimento. Nunca chegara a não gostar dela; ela não lhe parecera importante o bastante, e ele não tivera tal disposição. Ela nunca fora de fato desagradável para ele. Mas agora o deixava desconfortável e perturbava sua paz. Ele teria preferido afastar por completo a ideia dela, se soubesse como. Talvez - quem pode explicar tais mistérios? - temesse começar a odiá-la.

Quando a pequena Florence apareceu timidamente, o Sr. Dombey parou de caminhar e olhou para ela. Se tivesse olhado com mais interesse e com os olhos de um pai, talvez lesse no olhar atento da menina todos os desejos e medos que a faziam hesitar. Ela queria desesperadamente correr até ele, abraçá-lo, esconder o rosto em seus braços e gritar: “Ah, pai, tente me amar! Não tenho mais ninguém!” Mas temia que ele a rejeitasse. Temia ser ousada demais e irritá-lo. Precisava profundamente de algum sinal de amor e encorajamento, e seu jovem coração, carregado além do limite, procurava um lugar natural onde repousar a tristeza e o afeto.

English → Mas ele não viu nada disso. Viu-a parar indecisa à porta e olhar em sua direção, e não viu mais nada.

- Entre - disse ele. - Entre. Do que a criança tem medo?

Ela entrou. Depois de olhar ao redor com incerteza por um instante, ficou junto à porta, apertando com força as mãozinhas.

- Venha aqui, Florence - disse o pai com frieza. - Sabe quem eu sou?

- Sim, papai.

- Não tem nada para me dizer?

Lágrimas encheram seus olhos quando ela os ergueu depressa para o rosto dele, mas a expressão dele as congelou ali. Ela tornou a baixar o olhar e estendeu a mão trêmula.

O Sr. Dombey segurou-a frouxamente na própria mão e olhou para a menina por um instante, como se soubesse tão pouco quanto ela o que dizer ou fazer.

- Pronto! Seja uma boa menina - disse ele, dando palmadinhas na cabeça dela. Observou-a às escondidas, com um olhar perturbado e incerto. - Vá com Richards! Vá!

English → Sua filhinha hesitou por mais um instante, como se ainda quisesse abraçá-lo ou ainda esperasse que ele a erguesse, acolhesse nos braços e beijasse. Ela olhou mais uma vez para o rosto dele. Ele achou que sua expressão era igual à que tivera quando se voltou para o médico naquela noite. Sem pensar, soltou a mão dela e se afastou.

Era fácil perceber que Florence ficava em grande desvantagem perto do pai. A presença dele não limitava apenas os pensamentos da criança; limitava também a graça e a liberdade naturais de seus movimentos. Enquanto brincava ao redor do irmão bebê naquela noite, raramente se mostrava tão encantadora e bonita quanto era normalmente. Às vezes, enquanto o Sr. Dombey caminhava de um lado para o outro, aproximava-se dela quando talvez o tivesse esquecido por um instante. Imediatamente, o jeito da menina mudava e se tornava forçado e constrangido.

English → Ainda assim, isso apenas tornou Polly mais decidida a continuar. Julgando o Sr. Dombey por seus próprios sentimentos, ela tinha muita confiança no apelo silencioso do vestido de luto da pobre pequena Florence. “É realmente duro”, pensou Polly, “se ele se afeiçoar apenas a uma criança sem mãe quando há outra, e menina, bem diante de seus olhos.”

Assim, Polly manteve Florence diante dos olhos dele pelo maior tempo possível. Cuidou tão bem do pequeno Paul que ficou muito claro que ele era bem mais animado com a irmã por perto. Quando chegou a hora de voltar ao andar de cima, Polly quis mandar Florence à sala interior para desejar boa noite ao pai. Mas a criança ficou assustada e recuou. Quando Polly insistiu de novo, Florence abriu as mãos diante dos olhos, como se quisesse esconder a própria falta de valor, e disse: “Ah, não, não! Ele não me quer. Ele não me quer!”

English → [Ilustração]

A pequena discussão entre elas chamou a atenção do Sr. Dombey. Sentado à mesa com seu vinho, ele perguntou o que havia acontecido.

- A Srta. Florence teve medo de incomodá-lo, senhor, se entrasse para desejar boa noite - disse Richards.

- Não importa - respondeu o Sr. Dombey. - Pode deixá-la entrar e sair sem se preocupar comigo.

A criança recuou ao ouvi-lo e desapareceu antes que sua humilde amiga tornasse a olhar para ela.

No entanto, Polly ficou muito satisfeita com o sucesso de seu plano bondoso e com a habilidade com que o executara. Quando estava novamente em segurança no andar de cima, contou a história inteira à pequena Foguinho. A Srta. Nipper recebeu com bastante frieza tanto essa prova de confiança quanto a perspectiva de poderem conviver livremente no futuro. Demonstrou pouquíssimo entusiasmo ou alegria.

- Pensei que você ficaria contente - disse Polly.

- Ah, sim, Sra. Richards, estou muito contente, obrigada - respondeu Susan. De repente ficara tão ereta e rígida que parecia ter acrescentado mais uma barbatana ao espartilho.

English → - Você não demonstra - disse Polly.

- Ah! Como sou apenas permanente, ninguém poderia esperar que eu demonstrasse como uma pessoa temporária - disse Susan Nipper. - Vejo que as pessoas temporárias arrasam tudo à frente nesta casa. Mas, embora exista uma excelente parede sólida entre esta casa e a vizinha, talvez eu não queira exatamente ir para lá, Sra. Richards!

CAPÍTULO IV. Em que se fazem mais algumas Primeiras Aparições no Palco destas Aventuras

English → Os escritórios de Dombey e Filho ficavam dentro dos limites da City de Londres. Estavam perto o bastante para ouvir os sinos de Bow quando o barulho das ruas não cobria suas vozes estridentes. Contudo, algumas vistas próximas sugeriam histórias aventureiras e românticas. Gog e Magog exibiam sua grandeza a apenas dez minutos dali. A Royal Exchange ficava perto, e o Banco da Inglaterra, com suas salas subterrâneas cheias de ouro e prata, “lá embaixo entre os mortos”, era seu esplêndido vizinho. Logo depois da esquina erguia-se a rica East India House, que fazia pensar em tecidos preciosos e joias, tigres, elefantes, liteiras de elefante, narguilés, guarda-sóis, palmeiras, palanquins e magníficos príncipes de pele morena sentados em tapetes, com chinelos muito curvados nas pontas. Por toda a vizinhança, viam-se quadros de navios avançando a toda vela para todas as partes do mundo, lojas prontas para equipar e enviar qualquer pessoa a qualquer lugar em meia hora e pequenos guardas-marinhas de madeira em uniformes navais fora de moda. Diante das portas das lojas de instrumentos náuticos, essas figuras observavam para sempre as carruagens de aluguel.

English → Um cavalheiro idoso de peruca galesa era o único proprietário de uma dessas figuras - aquela que se poderia facilmente chamar de a mais feita de madeira. Ela avançava sobre a calçada com a perna direita à frente e com uma suavidade insuportável. Suas fivelas de sapato e o colete de abas faziam muito pouco sentido, e diante do olho direito segurava uma peça de maquinaria grande demais para o corpo. O velho cavalheiro era dono daquele Guarda-Marinha e se orgulhava dele. Durante mais anos do que muitos guardas-marinhas reais e adultos haviam vivido, pagara ali aluguel, impostos, taxas e encargos. E certamente não faltavam na Marinha inglesa guardas-marinhas reais que haviam alcançado uma bela idade avançada.

English → O estoque do velho cavalheiro incluía cronômetros, barômetros, telescópios, bússolas, cartas, mapas, sextantes, quadrantes e exemplares de todo instrumento usado para guiar um navio, calcular sua posição ou realizar descobertas. Suas gavetas e prateleiras continham objetos de latão e vidro cujo topo, finalidade e lugar correto nos estojos de mogno apenas especialistas poderiam compreender. Tudo era apertado nos estojos mais justos, encaixado nos menores cantos, protegido pelas almofadas mais inconvenientes e aparafusado nos ângulos mais agudos, para que o balanço do mar não perturbasse sua calma científica. Cada objeto era feito extremamente compacto para economizar espaço. Tanta navegação prática era encaixada, acolchoada e aparafusada em cada caixa - fosse a caixa apenas uma placa plana ou tivesse forma de algo entre um chapéu de três pontas e uma estrela-do-mar, e essas eram caixas simples em comparação com outras - que a própria loja parecia afetada. Quase se transformava numa embarcação organizada e própria para navegar, que só precisaria de água livre suficiente, caso fosse lançada de repente, para chegar com segurança a qualquer ilha deserta do mundo.

English → Muitos pequenos detalhes da vida doméstica do fabricante de instrumentos para navios, que se orgulhava de seu pequeno Guarda-Marinha, apoiavam essa ideia. A maioria de seus amigos era fornecedora de navios ou de atividades semelhantes, de modo que sempre havia autênticos biscoitos de bordo em sua mesa. Carnes e línguas secas, com um estranho gosto de corda, também eram comuns ali. Conservas apareciam em grandes potes de atacado com o rótulo “comerciante de todo tipo de provisões para navios”. Bebidas fortes eram servidas em garrafas quadradas e sem gargalo. Gravuras antigas de navios, com letras indicando seus diferentes mistérios, pendiam em molduras nas paredes. Os pratos mostravam a fragata Tartar navegando. Conchas estranhas, algas e musgos decoravam a lareira. Uma claraboia iluminava a pequena sala dos fundos revestida de madeira como a cabine de um navio.

English → Ele também vivia ali como um capitão, sozinho com o sobrinho Walter, um menino de catorze anos que se parecia o bastante com um guarda-marinha para sustentar a ideia geral. Mas a semelhança terminava aí, pois o próprio Solomon Gills, normalmente chamado de velho Sol, não tinha aparência de marinheiro. Sua peruca galesa era a mais simples e teimosa que alguém já usara, e fazia com que ele se parecesse com qualquer coisa menos um aventureiro do mar. Era um velho lento, quieto e pensativo. Seus olhos eram vermelhos como dois pequenos sóis vistos através da neblina, e ele sempre parecia ter acabado de acordar. Talvez isso viesse de olhar durante três ou quatro dias por todos os instrumentos ópticos da loja e de repente voltar para descobrir o mundo verde. Sua aparência só mudava entre um traje completo cor de café, de corte quadrado e botões brilhantes, e o mesmo traje com calças amarelo-claras. Usava um babado de camisa muito arrumado e mantinha excelentes óculos na testa. Um enorme cronômetro repousava no bolso do colete. Em vez de duvidar daquele instrumento precioso, acreditaria que todos os relógios da City, e até o próprio Sol, haviam se unido numa conspiração contra ele. Durante muitos anos vivera assim na loja e na sala dos fundos, atrás do pequeno Guarda-Marinha. Toda noite subia regularmente para dormir num sótão barulhento, distante dos inquilinos. Ali, quando os confortáveis cavalheiros ingleses de baixo pouco ou nada sabiam sobre o tempo, o vento muitas vezes soprava como grandes canhões.

English → São cinco e meia de uma tarde de outono quando o leitor conhece Solomon Gills. Ele verifica a hora no cronômetro perfeitamente confiável. Há mais de uma hora, a multidão habitual deixa a City ao fim do dia, e a maré humana ainda corre para o oeste. Como diz o Sr. Gills, “as ruas esvaziaram muito”. Parece provável que chova esta noite. Todos os instrumentos meteorológicos da loja dão leituras baixas e tristes, e a chuva já brilha no chapéu de três pontas do Guarda-Marinha de madeira.

- Onde será que Walter está? - disse Solomon Gills, depois de guardar cuidadosamente o cronômetro. - O jantar está pronto há meia hora, e nada de Walter!

O Sr. Gills virou-se no banco atrás do balcão e olhou através dos instrumentos na vitrine para ver se o sobrinho atravessava a rua. Não. Walter não estava entre os guarda-chuvas que balançavam. Certamente não era o menino dos jornais de boné impermeável que avançava lentamente pela placa de latão do lado de fora, escrevendo com o dedo o próprio nome sobre o nome do Sr. Gills.

English → - Se eu não soubesse que ele gosta demais de mim para fugir e entrar num navio contra a minha vontade, começaria a me preocupar - disse o Sr. Gills, batendo com os nós dos dedos em dois ou três instrumentos meteorológicos. - Começaria mesmo. Tudo em baixa, hein! Muita umidade! Bem, estamos precisando.

- Creio - disse o Sr. Gills, soprando o pó da tampa de vidro de um estojo de bússola - que você não aponta mais diretamente para a sala dos fundos do que os desejos do menino, afinal. E a própria sala também não poderia apontar com mais exatidão. Norte certo. Nem a vigésima parte de um ponto da bússola para qualquer lado.

- Olá, tio Sol!

- Olá, meu rapaz! - exclamou o fabricante de instrumentos, virando-se depressa. - O quê! Então você está aqui?

Era um menino alegre e animado, recém-chegado de uma corrida para casa sob a chuva, de rosto claro, olhos brilhantes e cabelos cacheados.

- Bem, tio, como conseguiu passar o dia inteiro sem mim? O jantar está pronto? Estou com tanta fome.

English → - Quanto a me virar - disse Solomon com bondade - , seria estranho se eu não conseguisse me virar muito melhor sem um jovem malandro como você do que com você. Quanto ao jantar estar pronto, está pronto e esperando por você há meia hora. Quanto a estar com fome, eu estou!

- Então venha, tio! - exclamou o menino. - Viva o almirante!

- Esqueça o almirante! - respondeu Solomon Gills. - Você quer dizer o Lorde Prefeito.

- Não quero! - exclamou o menino. - Viva o almirante! Viva o almirante! Em fren-te!

Diante dessa ordem, a peruca galesa e o homem que a usava foram levados sem resistência para a sala dos fundos, como se liderassem um grupo de quinhentos marinheiros no ataque a um navio. O tio Sol e o sobrinho logo comiam linguado frito, com um bife para vir depois.

- Viva para sempre o Lorde Prefeito, Wally! - disse Solomon. - Nada mais de almirantes. O Lorde Prefeito é o seu almirante.

English → - Ah, é mesmo? - disse o menino, balançando a cabeça. - Ora, o Porta-Espada é melhor do que ele. Às vezes desembainha a espada.

- E fica com uma figura muito ridícula quando faz isso, por todo o seu trabalho - respondeu o tio. - Escute-me, Wally, escute-me. Olhe para a lareira.

- Ora, quem pendurou minha caneca de prata ali num prego? - exclamou o menino.

- Eu pendurei - disse o tio. - Nada mais de canecas agora. Precisamos começar a beber em copos hoje, Walter. Somos homens de negócios. Pertencemos à City. Começamos nossa vida profissional esta manhã.

- Bem, tio - disse o menino - , beberei em qualquer coisa que quiser, desde que possa brindar à sua saúde. Um brinde a você, tio Sol, e viva o...

- Lorde Prefeito - interrompeu o velho.

- Ao Lorde Prefeito, aos xerifes, ao Conselho Municipal e às corporações - disse o rapaz. - Vida longa a todos eles!

English → O tio assentiu com grande satisfação. - E agora - disse ele - , conte-me alguma coisa sobre a Firma.

- Oh, não há muito o que contar sobre a Firma, tio - disse o rapaz enquanto comia. - Os escritórios são muito escuros. Na minha sala há uma grade alta diante da lareira, um cofre de ferro, cartões sobre navios que vão partir, um calendário, escrivaninhas, bancos, um tinteiro, livros, caixas e muitas teias de aranha. Numa teia acima da minha cabeça, uma mosca azul ressecada parece estar pendurada ali há anos.

- Nada mais? - perguntou o tio.

- Não, nada além de uma velha gaiola - não sei como foi parar lá - e um balde de carvão.

- Nenhum livro bancário, talão de cheques, conta ou outro sinal de riqueza chegando todos os dias? - perguntou o velho Sol. Olhou com esperança para o sobrinho através da névoa que sempre parecia cercá-lo, dando às palavras uma ênfase satisfeita.

- Ah, sim, suponho que haja bastante disso - respondeu o sobrinho com descuido - , mas essas coisas ficam na sala do Sr. Carker, do Sr. Morfin ou do Sr. Dombey.

English → - O Sr. Dombey esteve lá hoje? - perguntou o tio.

- Ah, sim! Entrou e saiu o dia inteiro.

- Suponho que ele não tenha notado você?

- Sim, notou. Foi até meu lugar - gostaria que ele não fosse tão sério e rígido, tio - e disse: “Ah, você é o filho do Sr. Gills, o fabricante de instrumentos náuticos.” “Sobrinho, senhor”, respondi. “Eu disse sobrinho, rapaz”, ele retrucou. Mas eu juraria que ele disse filho, tio.

- Provavelmente você se enganou. Não importa.

- Não, não importa, mas achei que ele não precisava ser tão ríspido. Não havia mal algum, mesmo que tivesse dito filho. Depois contou que o senhor falara com ele a meu respeito e que, por isso, encontrara trabalho para mim na Casa. Disse que eu devia ser atento e pontual, e então foi embora. Achei que ele não gostou muito de mim.

English → - Suponho que você queira dizer - observou o fabricante de instrumentos - que não gostou muito dele?

- Bem, tio - respondeu o rapaz, rindo - , talvez seja verdade. Nunca pensei nisso.

Solomon ficou mais sério enquanto terminava o jantar e, de vez em quando, olhava para o rosto alegre do rapaz. Depois da refeição, quando retiraram a comida trazida de um restaurante próximo, acendeu uma vela e desceu a uma pequena adega. O sobrinho ficou na escada mofada e segurou obedientemente a luz. Após procurar no escuro, Solomon voltou com uma garrafa muito antiga, coberta de poeira e sujeira.

- Ora, tio Sol! - disse o rapaz. - O que está fazendo? Esse é o maravilhoso vinho da Madeira! Só existe mais uma garrafa!

O tio Sol assentiu para mostrar que sabia exatamente o que fazia. Em silêncio solene, tirou a rolha, encheu duas taças e colocou a garrafa e uma terceira taça limpa sobre a mesa.

English → - Você beberá a outra garrafa, Wally - disse ele - , quando a boa sorte chegar: quando for bem-sucedido, respeitado e feliz. Nós a beberemos quando o começo que teve hoje o levar, como peço ao Céu que aconteça, a uma parte mais tranquila do caminho da vida, meu filho. Brindo a você!

Parte da névoa ao redor do velho Sol parecia ter entrado em sua garganta, pois sua voz estava rouca. Sua mão também tremia ao tocar a taça na do sobrinho. Mas, quando o vinho chegou aos lábios, bebeu-o com coragem e depois estalou os lábios.

- Querido tio - disse o rapaz, fingindo que o momento não era sério, embora tivesse os olhos cheios de lágrimas - , agradeço a honra e tudo mais. Agora proponho três vezes três vivas, e mais um, ao Sr. Solomon Gills. Viva! O senhor agradecerá quando bebermos juntos a última garrafa, não é, tio?

English → Tocaram as taças novamente. Walter estava economizando o vinho, por isso tomou apenas um gole e ergueu a taça diante do olho com a expressão mais entendida que conseguiu fazer.

O tio o observou em silêncio por algum tempo. Quando seus olhos finalmente se encontraram, continuou em voz alta o assunto que ocupava seus pensamentos, como se tivesse falado o tempo todo.

- Veja, Walter - disse ele - , este negócio é realmente apenas um hábito para mim. Estou tão acostumado a ele que mal conseguiria viver sem ele, mas não há comércio algum. Quando aquele uniforme lá fora era usado, as pessoas podiam fazer fortunas, e faziam. Mas a concorrência, as novas invenções e as mudanças constantes me deixaram para trás. Mal sei onde estou, muito menos onde estão meus clientes.

- Não se preocupe com eles, tio!

- Desde que voltou do internato semanal em Peckham - e isso foi há dez dias - disse Solomon - , lembro-me de apenas uma pessoa ter entrado na loja.

English → - Duas, tio, não se lembra? Houve o homem que pediu troco para uma moeda de ouro...

- Essa é a pessoa - disse Solomon.

- Ora, tio! A mulher que perguntou o caminho para a barreira de Mile End não conta como alguém?

- Ah, é verdade - disse Solomon. - Eu me esqueci dela. Duas pessoas.

- É claro que não compraram nada - exclamou o rapaz.

- Não. Não compraram nada - disse Solomon calmamente.

- E não queriam nada - exclamou o rapaz.

- Não. Se quisessem alguma coisa, teriam ido a outra loja - disse Solomon no mesmo tom.

- Mas eram duas pessoas, tio - exclamou o rapaz, como se fosse uma grande vitória. - O senhor disse que havia apenas uma.

English → Depois de uma pausa, o velho continuou: - Bem, Wally, não somos como os habitantes da ilha de Robinson Crusoé, portanto não podemos viver de um homem que pede troco e de uma mulher que pede informações. Como eu disse, o mundo passou por mim. Não o culpo, mas já não o compreendo. Lojistas, aprendizes, negócios e mercadorias não são como antes. Sete oitavos do meu estoque estão fora de moda. Sou um homem antiquado numa loja antiquada, numa rua que mudou. Fiquei para trás no tempo e estou velho demais para alcançá-lo. Até o ruído distante do mundo à frente me confunde.

Walter ia falar, mas o tio ergueu a mão.

English → - É por isso, Wally, que quero que entre cedo no mundo ocupado e siga seu caminho. Sou apenas o fantasma deste negócio; sua verdadeira vida desapareceu há muito tempo. Quando eu morrer, até o fantasma desaparecerá. Como esta loja claramente não é uma herança para você, usei quase o último dos meus antigos contatos para ajudá-lo. Algumas pessoas pensam que sou rico; por você, gostaria que estivessem certas. Mas, seja o que for que eu lhe deixe ou dê, um lugar numa Casa como a de Dombey o ajudará a usá-lo bem. Trabalhe muito, tente gostar do trabalho, conquiste uma independência segura e seja feliz!

- Farei tudo o que puder, tio, para merecer seu amor. Farei mesmo - disse o rapaz com seriedade.

- Sei que fará - disse Solomon. - Tenho certeza. - Saboreou ainda mais uma segunda taça do velho Madeira. - Quanto ao mar - continuou - , é muito bom nas histórias, Wally, mas não na vida real. Não serve de modo algum. É natural pensar nele entre todos estes objetos conhecidos, mas o mar não serve.

English → Entretanto, enquanto falava do mar, Solomon Gills esfregava as mãos com prazer secreto e olhava com grande satisfação para os objetos náuticos ao redor.

- Pense neste vinho - disse o velho Sol. - Ele viajou às Índias Orientais e voltou mais vezes do que consigo dizer, e uma vez deu a volta ao mundo. Pense nas noites totalmente escuras, nos ventos rugindo e nos mares revoltos.

- Os trovões, relâmpagos, chuva, granizo e todo tipo de tempestade - disse o rapaz.

- É claro - disse Solomon. - Este vinho passou por tudo isso. Pense em como a madeira e os mastros se esforçavam e rangiam, e como a tempestade assobiava e uivava entre as cordas e o aparelhamento.

- E como os homens subiam, competindo para serem os primeiros nas vergas a prender as velas geladas, enquanto o navio balançava e saltava como louco! - exclamou o sobrinho.

- Exatamente - disse Solomon. - Tudo isso aconteceu sobre o velho barril que continha este vinho. Ora, quando o Charming Sally afundou no...

English → - No mar Báltico, no meio da noite! Eram doze e vinte e cinco quando o relógio do capitão parou em seu bolso, enquanto ele jazia morto junto ao mastro principal, em 14 de fevereiro de 1749! - exclamou Walter com entusiasmo.

- Sim, exatamente! - exclamou o velho Sol. - Havia quinhentos barris de vinho assim a bordo. Todos, exceto o imediato, o primeiro-tenente, dois marinheiros e uma senhora num bote furado, abriram os barris, embriagaram-se e morreram bêbados. Cantaram “Rule Britannia” enquanto o navio afundava e terminaram juntos com um grito terrível.

- Mas quando o George the Second foi lançado contra a costa da Cornualha numa tempestade terrível, duas horas antes do amanhecer de 4 de março de 1771, levava quase duzentos cavalos. No começo da tempestade, os cavalos escaparam sob o convés, correram descontrolados e pisotearam uns aos outros até a morte. Seus gritos pareciam tão humanos que a tripulação pensou que o navio estava cheio de demônios. Alguns dos melhores marinheiros perderam a coragem e a razão e se jogaram no mar. No fim, apenas dois sobreviveram para contar a história.

English → - E quando - disse o velho Sol - , quando o Polyphemus...

- Um navio mercante particular das Índias Ocidentais, de 350 toneladas, comandado por John Brown, de Deptford, e pertencente à Wiggs e Companhia - exclamou Walter.

- Esse mesmo - disse Sol. - Quando pegou fogo à noite, a quatro dias de viagem com vento favorável do porto da Jamaica...

- Havia dois irmãos a bordo - interrompeu o sobrinho, falando depressa e alto. - Só havia lugar para um no último bote que não afundara, e nenhum dos irmãos aceitava partir. Por fim, o mais velho ergueu o mais novo pela cintura e o jogou no bote. Então o mais novo se levantou e gritou: “Querido Edward, pense na mulher que espera se casar com você em casa. Sou apenas um rapaz, e ninguém me espera. Salte e tome meu lugar!” Depois se jogou no mar.

English → O rapaz se levantara enquanto falava com profunda emoção. Seus olhos brilhantes e o rosto corado pareceram lembrar ao velho Sol algo que esquecera ou não conseguira ver através de sua névoa habitual. Um instante antes, Sol claramente pretendia contar mais histórias. Em vez disso, deu uma tosse curta e seca e disse: - Bem! Vamos mudar de assunto.

A verdade era que o tio simples amava secretamente aventuras maravilhosas, em parte porque seu ofício o ligava a elas. Incentivara muito o mesmo amor no sobrinho. Tudo o que pretendia alertar o rapaz contra uma vida de aventuras apenas aumentara seu desejo. Isso sempre acontece: todo livro ou história escrito para manter os meninos em terra parece naturalmente atraí-los para o oceano.

English → Um novo convidado juntou-se então ao pequeno grupo. Vestia um terno azul folgado e tinha um gancho no lugar da mão direita, sobrancelhas negras e grossas e uma bengala pesada e cheia de nós na mão esquerda. Um lenço solto de seda preta cercava seu pescoço, e a gola grande e áspera parecia uma pequena vela. A taça extra era claramente para ele, e ele sabia disso. Tirou o casaco grosseiro e pendurou o chapéu duro e brilhante num gancho especial atrás da porta. O chapéu deixara um círculo vermelho em torno da testa, como se ele tivesse usado uma tigela apertada. Depois levou uma cadeira até a taça limpa e se sentou. As pessoas chamavam aquele visitante de Capitão. Ele fora piloto, comandante de navio, corsário, ou talvez os três, e tinha por completo a aparência de um homem do mar.

Seu rosto moreno e firme se iluminou quando apertou a mão do tio e do sobrinho. Mas parecia usar pouquíssimas palavras e disse apenas:

English → - Como vão as coisas?

- Tudo bem - disse o Sr. Gills, empurrando a garrafa para ele.

Ele pegou a garrafa, examinou-a, cheirou-a e perguntou com grande expressão:

- A especial?

- A especial - respondeu o fabricante de instrumentos.

Ao ouvir isso, assobiou enquanto enchia a taça e pareceu achar que estavam realmente festejando.

- Walter! - disse ele, ajeitando o cabelo ralo com o gancho e depois apontando-o para o fabricante de instrumentos. - Olhe para ele! Ame! Honre! E obedeça! Procure sua lição religiosa até encontrar essas palavras e então dobre o canto da página. Sucesso, meu rapaz!

Ficou tão satisfeito com a citação e o conselho que repetiu as palavras em voz baixa e disse que as esquecera por quarenta anos.

- Mas sempre que precisei de duas ou três palavras na vida, soube onde encontrá-las, Gills - observou. - Isso acontece porque não desperdiço palavras como algumas pessoas.

English → Talvez esse pensamento o tenha lembrado de que deveria aumentar seu estoque de palavras. De qualquer modo, ficou em silêncio até o velho Sol sair para acender as luzes da loja. Então se virou para Walter e, sem qualquer introdução, disse:

- Suponho que ele conseguiria fazer um relógio se tentasse?

- Eu não ficaria surpreso, Capitão Cuttle - respondeu o rapaz.

- E funcionaria! - disse o Capitão Cuttle, desenhando uma espécie de serpente no ar com o gancho. - Meu Deus, como esse relógio funcionaria!

Por um instante, perdeu-se em pensamentos sobre a velocidade daquele relógio imaginário e ficou olhando para o rapaz como se o rosto dele fosse o mostrador.

- Mas ele está cheio de ciência - observou, agitando o gancho na direção das mercadorias. - Olhe aqui! Isto é uma coleção inteira de ciências. Terra, ar ou água, tanto faz. Quer subir num balão? Ele consegue. Descer num sino de mergulho? Ele consegue. Quer colocar a Estrela Polar numa balança e pesá-la? Ele fará isso por você.

English → Essas palavras mostram que o Capitão Cuttle respeitava profundamente os instrumentos da loja. Em suas ideias, havia pouca ou nenhuma diferença entre vender tais instrumentos e inventá-los.

- Ah! - disse ele com um suspiro. - É maravilhoso entendê-los. Mas também é maravilhoso não entendê-los. Mal sei o que é melhor. É tão agradável sentar aqui e sentir que você poderia ser pesado, medido, ampliado, eletrificado ou transformado magneticamente de todas as maneiras possíveis, sem jamais saber como.

Somente o maravilhoso Madeira e a ocasião especial, em que a mente de Walter devia ser instruída, poderiam ter levado o Capitão a fazer um discurso tão longo. Ele próprio pareceu surpreso por aquilo explicar o prazer silencioso que sentira durante dez anos de jantares de domingo naquela sala. Agora mais triste e mais sábio, ficou pensando em silêncio e não disse mais nada.

- Vamos! - exclamou o homem que eles admiravam, ao voltar. - Antes de beber seu rum com água, Ned, precisamos terminar a garrafa.

English → - Pronto! - disse Ned, enchendo a taça. - Dê mais um pouco ao rapaz.

- Não quero mais, obrigado, tio!

- Sim, sim - disse Sol. - Mais um pouco. Terminaremos a garrafa brindando à Casa, Ned, à Casa de Walter. Talvez um dia uma parte dela seja sua. Quem sabe? Sir Richard Whittington casou-se com a filha de seu patrão.

- “Volte, Whittington, Lorde Prefeito de Londres, e quando for velho nunca a deixará” - interrompeu o Capitão. - Walter! Procure no livro, meu rapaz.

- E embora o Sr. Dombey não tenha filha - começou Sol.

- Sim, sim, ele tem, tio - disse o rapaz, corando e rindo.

- Tem? - exclamou o velho. - Na verdade, acho que tem mesmo.

English → - Ah, eu sei que tem - disse o rapaz. - As pessoas no escritório falaram dela hoje. Dizem, tio e Capitão Cuttle - continuou em voz mais baixa - , que ele não gosta dela e a deixa esquecida entre os criados. Está tão decidido a levar o filho para a Casa que, embora a criança ainda seja um bebê, pretende verificar as contas com mais frequência e manter os livros com mais cuidado. Até o viram andando em segredo pelas docas, olhando com orgulho para seus navios e propriedades, como se celebrasse tudo o que ele e o filho possuirão juntos. É o que dizem. É claro que eu não sei.

- Vejam, ele já sabe tudo sobre ela - disse o fabricante de instrumentos.

- Que bobagem, tio - exclamou o rapaz, ainda corando e rindo como um menino. - Como posso evitar ouvir o que as pessoas me contam?

- Receio que o filho seja um pequeno obstáculo para nós no momento, Ned - disse o velho, continuando a brincadeira.

English → - Um obstáculo muito grande - disse o Capitão.

- Mesmo assim, brindaremos a ele - continuou Sol. - Portanto, um brinde a Dombey e Filho.

- Ah, muito bem, tio - disse o rapaz alegremente. - Já que o senhor a mencionou, me ligou a ela e disse que sei tudo a seu respeito, vou melhorar o brinde com ousadia. Um brinde a Dombey... e Filho... e Filha!

CAPÍTULO V. O Progresso e o Batizado de Paul

English → O pequeno Paul ficava mais gordo e forte a cada dia, sem sofrer nenhum mal por causa do sangue dos Toodle. A Srta. Tox também o amava mais a cada dia. O Sr. Dombey valorizava sua devoção e começou a vê-la como uma mulher de excelente bom senso natural, cujos sentimentos mereciam elogio e incentivo. Em várias ocasiões, fez-lhe uma reverência especial. Até enviava mensagens grandiosas por meio da irmã, como: “Por favor, diga à sua amiga, Louisa, que ela é muito bondosa” ou “Diga à Srta. Tox que lhe sou grato”. Essas honras especiais impressionavam profundamente a Srta. Tox.

Talvez a Srta. Tox acreditasse que, como o Destino a escolhera para dar as boas-vindas ao pequeno Dombey antes do nascimento com uma almofada feita com os melhores alfinetes mistos de Kirby, Beard e Kirby, deveria recebê-lo em cada outra fase inicial da vida. Talvez sua enorme bondade a fizesse se oferecer como uma espécie de substituta para a mãe morta. Talvez conhecesse outros motivos. Somente a Srta. Tox poderia responder a essas perguntas naquele ponto da história da Firma. De todo modo, sua atenção e energia constantes perturbavam muito Richards, que emagrecia a cada hora sob seus cuidados e corria o risco de ser supervisionada até a morte.

English → A Srta. Tox dizia muitas vezes à Sra. Chick que nada se comparava ao seu interesse por tudo o que dizia respeito ao desenvolvimento daquela doce criança. Quem a observasse perceberia isso sem precisar ouvir. Ela supervisionava com alegria as inocentes refeições do jovem herdeiro, quase como se compartilhasse com Richards a propriedade delas. Ajudava com entusiasmo no banho e na troca de roupa. Dar remédio ao bebê despertava toda a sua solidariedade ativa. Certa vez, escondeu-se modestamente num armário quando a Sra. Chick levou o Sr. Dombey ao quarto das crianças para ver o filho se preparando para dormir. Vestindo apenas uma pequena e leve camisa de linho, Paul fez uma curta caminhada morro acima sobre o vestido de Richards. A Srta. Tox esqueceu que estava escondida e exclamou: “Ele não é lindo, Sr. Dombey? Não é um Cupido, senhor?” Depois quase caiu atrás da porta do armário, profundamente corada de vergonha.

- Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey à irmã certo dia - , realmente acho que devo dar um pequeno presente à sua amiga por ocasião do batizado de Paul. Desde o começo, ela se esforçou com tanto carinho pela criança e parece compreender tão bem sua posição - uma qualidade muito rara neste mundo, lamento dizer - que eu teria prazer em reconhecer sua bondade.

English → Isso não diminui as boas qualidades da Srta. Tox, mas, aos olhos do Sr. Dombey, as pessoas só compreendiam a própria posição quando respeitavam devidamente a dele. A grande qualidade delas não era apenas conhecerem a si mesmas, mas conhecerem a ele e se curvarem profundamente diante dele.

- Meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã - , você está apenas fazendo à Srta. Tox a justiça que eu sabia que um homem de sua compreensão faria. Acredito que, se há três palavras em inglês que ela respeita como quase sagradas, são “Dombey e Filho”.

- Bem - disse o Sr. Dombey - , acredito nisso. Isso é um grande mérito da Srta. Tox.

- Quanto a qualquer tipo de presente, meu querido Paul - continuou a irmã - , tenho certeza de que a Srta. Tox guardará e valorizará qualquer coisa que você lhe der como um objeto sagrado. Mas, se desejar, meu querido Paul, há outra maneira de mostrar sua gratidão pela amizade da Srta. Tox que a agradaria e honraria ainda mais.

English → - Como assim? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Os padrinhos, é claro - continuou a Sra. Chick - são importantes por causa de suas relações e influência.

- Não sei por que deveriam ser importantes para meu filho - disse o Sr. Dombey com frieza.

- Muito verdadeiro, meu querido Paul - respondeu a Sra. Chick com uma demonstração incomum de energia para esconder a rapidez com que mudara de opinião. - Isso é exatamente a sua cara. Eu não deveria ter esperado outra coisa. Deveria saber que essa seria sua opinião. Talvez - hesitou novamente, insegura quanto ao caminho - talvez essa seja uma razão para você ter menos objeção a permitir que a Srta. Tox seja madrinha da querida criança, mesmo que atuasse apenas como representante de outra pessoa. Não preciso lhe dizer, Paul, que ela receberia isso como grande honra e distinção.

- Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey após uma breve pausa - não se pode supor...

- Certamente não - exclamou a Sra. Chick, apressando-se em evitar uma recusa. - Nunca pensei que se pudesse.

English → O Sr. Dombey olhou para ela com impaciência.

- Não me agite, meu querido Paul - disse a irmã - porque isso acaba comigo. Estou longe de ser forte. Não tenho sido eu mesma desde que a pobre e querida Fanny morreu.

O Sr. Dombey lançou um olhar ao lenço que a irmã apertava contra os olhos e continuou:

- Não se pode supor, estou dizendo...

- E eu digo - murmurou a Sra. Chick - que nunca pensei que se pudesse.

- Meu Deus, Louisa! - disse o Sr. Dombey.

“Não, meu querido Paul”, protestou ela com dignidade chorosa, “precisam realmente me deixar falar. Não sou tão inteligente, lógica, eloquente ou qualquer outra coisa quanto você. Sei muito bem disso, e azar o meu. Mas, mesmo que estas fossem minhas últimas palavras - e últimas palavras deveriam ser muito solenes para você e para mim depois da pobre e querida Fanny - , eu ainda diria que nunca pensei que se pudesse. Mais do que isso”, acrescentou a Sra. Chick com dignidade ainda maior, como se tivesse guardado até então seu argumento mais forte, “nunca pensei uma única vez que se pudesse.”

English → O Sr. Dombey foi até a janela e voltou.

English → “Não se pode negar, Louisa”, disse ele. A Sra. Chick assumira firmemente sua posição e repetiu: “Sei que não se pode”, mas ele a ignorou. “Se eu aceitasse que alguém tem direito numa questão assim, muitas pessoas teriam sobre mim um direito maior do que a Srta. Tox. Mas não reconheço direito algum desse tipo. Quando chegar a hora, Paul e eu saberemos defender o que é nosso. Em outras palavras, a Casa será capaz de sustentar e preservar a si mesma e transmitir sua própria força sem essas ajudas comuns. Posso desprezar a ajuda externa que as pessoas geralmente procuram para os filhos, pois espero estar acima de precisar dela. Ficarei satisfeito se a infância de Paul correr bem e eu o vir preparado, sem perda de tempo, para a carreira a que está destinado. Mais tarde, ele poderá fazer os amigos poderosos que desejar enquanto preserva ativamente - e, se possível, amplia - a dignidade e o crédito da Firma. Até lá, talvez eu seja suficiente para ele, talvez tudo para ele. Não quero pessoas se colocando entre nós. Prefiro muito mais demonstrar minha gratidão pela bondade de uma pessoa merecedora como sua amiga. Portanto, que assim seja. Suponho que seu marido e eu serviremos bem como os outros padrinhos.”

English → Durante esse discurso grandioso e majestoso, o Sr. Dombey revelou de fato seus sentimentos secretos. Desconfiava profundamente de qualquer pessoa que pudesse se colocar entre ele e o filho. Temia com orgulho um rival ou parceiro no respeito e na obediência do menino. Recentemente começara a suspeitar que seu poder de dobrar e controlar a vontade alheia não era perfeito, e temia com ciúme qualquer segunda resistência ou derrota. Esses sentimentos eram então as chaves mestras de sua alma. Nunca fizera um amigo na vida. Sua natureza fria e distante nem procurara um nem encontrara um. Agora que toda a força daquela natureza estava concentrada em seu limitado plano de interesse e ambição paternos, sua corrente gelada não derreteu para correr livremente. Ao contrário, pareceu descongelar por um instante para receber seu fardo e depois congelar com ele num único bloco duro e inflexível.

English → A Srta. Tox foi assim elevada à posição de madrinha do pequeno Paul por causa de sua insignificância. A partir daquela hora, foi escolhida e nomeada para o cargo. O Sr. Dombey também determinou que a cerimônia, já muito adiada, acontecesse sem nova demora. Sua irmã não esperava tamanho sucesso e saiu assim que pôde para contar à melhor amiga. O Sr. Dombey ficou sozinho na biblioteca. Já colocara a mão na corda da campainha para chamar Richards, como de costume, quando notou uma escrivaninha que pertencera à esposa falecida e fora retirada de um armário no quarto dela. Não era a primeira vez que a via. Carregava a chave no bolso. Depois de trancar a porta do aposento, levou a escrivaninha à mesa e a abriu com mão acostumada.

De baixo de uma folha com pedaços de papel rasgados e rejeitados, tirou uma carta inteira. Prendeu a respiração sem querer ao abri-la. A ação furtiva diminuiu um pouco sua postura arrogante. Então se sentou, apoiou a cabeça numa das mãos e leu a carta.

English → Leu-a lenta e cuidadosamente, prestando muita atenção a cada sílaba. Além do cuidado pouco natural, que talvez revelasse um esforço igualmente grande, não deixou escapar emoção alguma. Depois de terminar, dobrou e desdobrou lentamente a carta várias vezes e então a rasgou com cuidado em pedaços. Conteve a mão quando ia jogá-los fora e os guardou no bolso, como se não confiasse nem na possibilidade de alguém reuni-los e decifrá-los. Em vez de chamar o pequeno Paul, como de costume, permaneceu sozinho durante toda a noite em seu aposento sem alegria.

English → O quarto das crianças estava longe de ser solitário. A Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox passavam ali uma noite amigável, para grande irritação da Srta. Susan Nipper. A jovem aproveitava cada oportunidade para fazer caretas atrás da porta. Seus sentimentos eram tão fortes que precisava desse alívio mesmo sem ninguém para observar ou demonstrar simpatia. Antigamente, cavaleiros errantes aliviavam os sentimentos gravando o nome de suas damas em desertos e lugares selvagens onde provavelmente ninguém os leria. Do mesmo modo, Susan Nipper torcia seu pequeno nariz arrebitado para gavetas e guarda-roupas, guardava olhares de desprezo em armários, lançava olhares zombeteiros dentro de jarros de pedra e discutia e xingava no corredor.

As duas visitantes nada sabiam dos sentimentos da jovem. Felizes, acompanharam o pequeno Paul por todas as etapas de tirar a roupa, fazer exercícios leves, jantar e ir para a cama. Depois se sentaram para tomar chá diante do fogo. Graças a Polly, as duas crianças agora dormiam no mesmo quarto. Somente depois de as senhoras se acomodarem à mesa do chá e por acaso olharem para as caminhas é que se lembraram de Florence.

English → - Como ela dorme profundamente! - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Bem, minha querida, ela faz muito exercício durante o dia - respondeu a Sra. Chick - porque brinca tanto ao redor do pequeno Paul.

- Ela é uma criança estranha - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Minha querida - respondeu a Sra. Chick em voz baixa - ela é exatamente como a mamãe!

- É mes-mo! - disse a Srta. Tox. - Ai, meu Deus!

A Srta. Tox falou com um tom de compaixão extraordinário, embora não tivesse ideia clara do motivo, exceto porque esperavam isso dela.

- Florence nunca, nunca, nunca será uma Dombey - disse a Sra. Chick - mesmo que viva mil anos.

A Srta. Tox ergueu as sobrancelhas e novamente pareceu cheia de compaixão.

- Eu me preocupo e me aflijo muito por causa dela - disse a Sra. Chick, suspirando por sua própria bondade modesta. - Realmente não vejo o que será dela quando crescer nem que posição ocupará. Seu papai não fica nem um pouco mais afeiçoado a ela. Como alguém poderia esperar isso, quando ela é tão diferente de uma Dombey?

English → A Srta. Tox pareceu não ver resposta possível para um argumento tão poderoso.

- E veja - disse a Sra. Chick em profunda confiança - a criança tem a natureza da pobre e querida Fanny. Tenho certeza de que jamais fará esforço algum mais tarde na vida. Nunca! Jamais se enrolará ao redor do coração do papai como...

- Como a hera? - sugeriu a Srta. Tox.

- Como a hera - concordou a Sra. Chick. - Nunca! Jamais deslizará suavemente para o centro do afeto do papai como o...

- Um jovem cervo assustado? - sugeriu a Srta. Tox.

- Como um jovem cervo assustado - disse a Sra. Chick. - Nunca! Pobre Fanny! E, no entanto, como eu a amava!

- Você não deve se afligir, minha querida - disse a Srta. Tox em tom tranquilizador. - Realmente, não deve! Você sente demais.

- Todos temos nossos defeitos - disse a Sra. Chick, chorando e balançando a cabeça. - Suponho que sim. Nunca fui cega aos defeitos dela. Nunca afirmei isso. Longe disso. E, no entanto, como eu a amava!

English → Como era satisfatório para a Sra. Chick, uma mulher comum e tola diante de quem a cunhada fora um anjo de inteligência e delicadeza, falar com superioridade sobre a memória daquela senhora e tratá-la com pena, exatamente como fizera quando ela estava viva. A Sra. Chick acreditava plenamente na própria história, enganava a si mesma e sentia-se extraordinariamente confortável graças à sua suposta tolerância. A tolerância deve ser uma virtude maravilhosamente agradável quando estamos certos, pois também é tão agradável quando estamos errados e somos inteiramente incapazes de provar como recebemos o direito de praticá-la.

A Sra. Chick ainda secava os olhos e balançava a cabeça quando Richards ousou avisá-la de que a Srta. Florence estava acordada e sentada na cama. A criança se levantara, disse a ama, e seus cílios estavam molhados de lágrimas. Mas apenas Polly as viu brilhar. Ninguém mais se inclinou sobre Florence para sussurrar palavras de consolo, nem ficou perto o bastante para ouvir seu coração bater depressa.

English → - Oh, querida ama! - disse a criança, olhando seriamente para o rosto dela. - Deixe-me deitar ao lado do meu irmão!

- Por quê, meu amor? - perguntou Richards.

- Oh, acho que ele me ama - exclamou a criança com desespero. - Deixe-me deitar ao lado dele. Por favor!

A Sra. Chick interrompeu com algumas palavras maternais sobre ser uma boa menina e ir dormir. Mas Florence repetiu o pedido com um olhar assustado e a voz entrecortada por soluços e lágrimas.

- Não vou acordá-lo - disse ela, cobrindo o rosto e abaixando a cabeça. - Só vou tocá-lo com a mão e dormir. Oh, por favor, por favor, deixe-me deitar ao lado do meu irmão esta noite, pois acredito que ele gosta de mim!

Sem dizer uma palavra, Richards pegou-a no colo e a levou até a pequena cama onde o bebê dormia. Deitou Florence ao lado dele. A menina chegou tão perto quanto pôde sem perturbá-lo. Estendeu um braço para abraçar delicadamente o pescoço dele e escondeu o rosto sobre o outro, enquanto o cabelo úmido e desalinhado caía solto por cima. Então ficou imóvel.

English → - Pobrezinha - disse a Srta. Tox. - Suponho que estava sonhando.

Talvez tivesse sonhado com vozes amorosas agora silenciosas para sempre, olhos amorosos fechados para sempre e braços carinhosos novamente ao redor dela. Talvez naquele sonho relaxasse atrás da barreira de sentimentos que palavra alguma poderia descrever. Talvez procurasse em sonhos algum consolo natural para um coração profunda e dolorosamente ferido, embora pertencesse a uma criança tão pequena. Talvez encontrasse esse consolo nos sonhos, se não na verdade fria e sólida da vida desperta. Esse pequeno acontecimento interrompera a conversa de modo tão completo que era difícil retomá-la. A Sra. Chick também estava abatida depois de pensar tão profundamente em sua própria natureza tolerante. Assim, as duas amigas logo terminaram o chá, e um criado foi enviado para buscar uma carruagem de aluguel para a Srta. Tox. A Srta. Tox tinha grande experiência com carruagens de aluguel, e entrar em uma geralmente levava tempo, pois ela seguia cuidadosamente um sistema de preparação.

English → - Por favor, tenha a bondade, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - primeiro de levar uma pena e tinta e anotar claramente o número do cocheiro.

- Sim, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Depois, por favor, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - tenha a bondade de virar a almofada do assento. Geralmente está úmida, minha querida - acrescentou em particular à Sra. Chick.

- Sim, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Também preciso incomodá-lo, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - com este cartão de endereço e este xelim. Ele deve dirigir até o endereço do cartão e entender que não receberá mais do que o xelim em hipótese alguma.

- Não, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- E... sinto muito por lhe dar tanto trabalho, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox, olhando pensativamente para ele.

- De modo algum, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Então, por favor, diga ao homem, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - que o tio da senhora é magistrado e que, se ele for insolente com ela, será terrivelmente castigado. Você pode fingir que menciona isso de modo amigável porque sabe que aconteceu com outro cocheiro, que morreu.

English → - Certamente, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- E agora boa noite para meu doce, doce, doce afilhado - disse a Srta. Tox, dando-lhe uma suave chuva de beijos a cada repetição da palavra. - E Louisa, minha querida amiga, prometa-me que tomará algo quente antes de dormir e não se afligirá!

Nesse momento difícil, Nipper, de olhos negros, observava fixamente e mal conseguia se controlar. Continuou lutando consigo mesma até a partida posterior da Sra. Chick. Mas, quando o quarto das crianças finalmente ficou livre de visitantes, Nipper recompensou a si mesma por ter permanecido calada por tanto tempo.

- Poderiam me manter numa camisa de força por seis semanas - disse Nipper - e, quando eu saísse, ficaria apenas mais irritada. Quem já ouviu falar de duas grifas como aquelas, Sra. Richards?

- E depois disseram que a pobre querida estava sonhando! - disse Polly.

- Oh, suas criaturas adoráveis! - exclamou Susan Nipper, fingindo cumprimentar a porta pela qual as senhoras tinham saído. - Ela nunca será uma Dombey, não é? Esperemos que não. Não precisamos de mais nenhum deles. Um já basta.

English → - Não acorde as crianças, querida Susan - disse Polly.

- Sou muito grata à senhora, Sra. Richards - disse Susan, que não escolhia cuidadosamente quem atacava quando estava zangada. - Realmente considero uma honra receber suas ordens, já que sou uma escrava negra e uma criada mestiça. Sra. Richards, se tiver outras ordens para mim, por favor mencione-as.

- Que bobagem! Ordens, ora essa - disse Polly.

“Oh, Deus a abençoe, Sra. Richards”, exclamou Susan. “As pessoas temporárias sempre dão ordens às permanentes aqui. Não sabia? Onde a senhora nasceu, Sra. Richards? Mas, onde, quando e como quer que tenha nascido - coisa que a senhora sabe melhor - , por favor lembre-se de que dar ordens é uma coisa e obedecê-las é outra bem diferente. Uma pessoa pode mandar outra mergulhar de cabeça de uma ponte em treze metros de água, Sra. Richards, mas essa segunda pessoa pode estar muito longe de mergulhar.”

English → - Pronto - disse Polly. - Você está zangada porque é uma boa menina que ama a Srta. Florence. Mesmo assim, ataca a mim porque não há mais ninguém aqui.

- É muito fácil para certas pessoas manter a calma e falar com suavidade, Sra. Richards - respondeu Susan, um pouco menos zangada - quando seu filho é tratado como príncipe, amado e mimado até desejar que os amigos fossem embora. Mas, quando uma doce, jovem, bonita e inocente menina, que nunca deveria ouvir uma palavra cruel dita a ela ou sobre ela, é criticada, a situação é bem diferente. Meu Deus do céu, Srta. Floy, sua criança travessa e pecadora, se não fechar os olhos neste instante, vou chamar os duendes que moram no sótão para virem comê-la viva!

A Srta. Nipper então produziu um mugido grave e terrível, supostamente vindo de um duende consciencioso parecido com um touro e ansioso para cumprir o severo dever de sua posição. Para acalmar ainda mais a criança, cobriu a cabeça de Florence com as roupas de cama e golpeou o travesseiro com raiva três ou quatro vezes. Depois cruzou os braços, apertou a boca e ficou olhando para o fogo pelo resto da noite.

English → Embora as pessoas no quarto das crianças dissessem que o pequeno Paul percebia muita coisa para sua idade, ele prestou tão pouca atenção a tudo aquilo quanto aos preparativos para o batizado dois dias depois. Ainda assim, todos ao redor trabalhavam ativamente para preparar as roupas dele, da irmã e das duas amas. Quando chegou a manhã marcada, não demonstrou entender a importância do dia. Ao contrário, estava mais sonolento do que de costume e mais ofendido por seus cuidadores o vestirem para sair.

Era um dia de outono cinza como ferro, com um vento leste cortante, um dia adequado ao acontecimento. O próprio Sr. Dombey representava o vento, a sombra e o outono do batizado. Ficou na biblioteca para receber os convidados, tão duro e frio quanto o tempo. Quando olhou através da sala envidraçada para as árvores do pequeno jardim, as folhas marrons e amarelas caíram ao redor como se seu olhar as tivesse matado.

English → Ugh! Eram aposentos negros e frios e pareciam estar de luto como os habitantes da casa. Os livros tinham tamanhos exatamente iguais e formavam filas como soldados. Em seus uniformes frios, duros e lisos, pareciam compartilhar uma única ideia: congelar as pessoas. A estante envidraçada e trancada rejeitava qualquer contato amigável. Uma estátua de bronze do Sr. Pitt ficava no alto, sem sinal algum de sua origem celestial, e guardava o tesouro inalcançável como um mouro encantado. Em cada canto elevado, uma urna funerária antiga e empoeirada pregava solidão e decadência de seu próprio púlpito. O espelho sobre a lareira refletia ao mesmo tempo o Sr. Dombey e seu retrato e parecia cheio de pensamentos tristes.

Os rígidos e imóveis utensílios da lareira pareciam ter parentesco mais próximo com o Sr. Dombey do que qualquer outra coisa no aposento. Ele usava casaco abotoado, gravata branca, pesada corrente de ouro do relógio e botas rangentes. Mas isso foi antes da chegada de seus verdadeiros parentes, o Sr. e a Sra. Chick, que logo apareceram.

English → - Meu querido Paul - murmurou a Sra. Chick ao abraçá-lo - espero que este seja o começo de muitos dias felizes!

- Obrigado, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey com severidade. - Como vai, Sr. John?

- Como vai, senhor? - disse Chick.

Ofereceu a mão ao Sr. Dombey como se temesse que ela pudesse lhe dar um choque elétrico. O Sr. Dombey a segurou como se fosse um peixe, uma alga ou algum outro objeto úmido e desagradável. Então a devolveu imediatamente com orgulhosa educação.

- Talvez, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey, virando ligeiramente a cabeça dentro da gravata como se estivesse presa num encaixe - você preferisse uma lareira acesa?

- Oh, não, meu querido Paul - disse a Sra. Chick, esforçando-se para impedir os dentes de bater. - Não por mim.

- Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey - o senhor não sente frio algum?

O Sr. John já enfiara as duas mãos nos bolsos até além dos punhos. Estava prestes a iniciar a mesma cantoria canina que ofendera a Sra. Chick antes, mas afirmou estar perfeitamente confortável.

English → Em voz baixa, acrescentou: - Com meu tiddle tol toor rul - mas felizmente Towlinson o interrompeu ao anunciar:

- Srta. Tox!

A bela senhora entrou com o nariz azul e o rosto extremamente congelado. Estava vestida com pouquíssimo agasalho, numa confusa coleção de peças finas e esvoaçantes para honrar a cerimônia.

- Como vai, Srta. Tox? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

Cercada pelas gazes abertas, a Srta. Tox dobrou-se como um binóculo de ópera se fechando. Fez uma reverência muito baixa porque o Sr. Dombey dera um ou dois passos para recebê-la.

- Jamais poderei esquecer esta ocasião, senhor - disse a Srta. Tox suavemente. - É impossível. Minha querida Louisa, mal consigo acreditar nos meus próprios sentidos.

Se a Srta. Tox podia acreditar em um de seus sentidos, sabia que era um dia muito frio. Isso estava perfeitamente claro. Logo encontrou uma oportunidade de melhorar a circulação na ponta do nariz, esfregando-a discretamente com o lenço. Caso contrário, a temperatura muito baixa poderia surpreender desagradavelmente o bebê quando ela o beijasse.

English → O bebê logo apareceu, carregado com orgulho por Richards. Florence vinha atrás, sob a guarda daquela jovem policial ativa, Susan Nipper. Embora todos do quarto das crianças agora usassem luto mais leve do que antes, a aparência triste das crianças em nada alegrava o dia. O bebê também começou a chorar, talvez por causa do nariz da Srta. Tox. Isso impediu o Sr. Chick de realizar um plano desajeitado, mas honesto: pretendia demonstrar carinho por Florence. O Sr. Chick não reconhecia o direito superior de um Dombey perfeito, talvez porque fosse casado com uma e conhecesse bem tamanha excelência. Gostava realmente de Florence e demonstrava isso. Estava prestes a demonstrá-lo à sua maneira quando Paul chorou e a Sra. Chick o interrompeu rapidamente.

- Agora, Florence, menina! - disse a tia rapidamente. - O que está fazendo, querida? Mostre-se a ele. Atraia a atenção dele, minha querida!

English → O ar ficou, ou poderia ter ficado, cada vez mais frio enquanto o Sr. Dombey observava sem calor a filhinha. Florence bateu palmas e ficou na ponta dos pés diante do trono de seu filho e herdeiro, atraindo o bebê para que se inclinasse de sua posição elevada e olhasse para ela. Alguma ação honesta de Richards talvez tenha ajudado, mas ele de fato olhou para baixo e ficou quieto. Quando a irmã se escondeu atrás da ama, seus olhos a seguiram. Quando ela espiou e soltou um alegre grito, ele se ergueu e fez sons felizes de bebê. Riu alto quando ela correu para ele e pareceu acariciar seus cachos com as mãozinhas enquanto ela o cobria de beijos.

O Sr. Dombey ficou contente ao ver aquilo? Nem um músculo relaxou para demonstrar prazer, embora ele raramente mostrasse qualquer sinal externo de sentimento. Se um raio de sol entrasse no aposento para iluminar as crianças brincando, jamais alcançava o rosto dele. Observava de modo tão fixo e frio que até a luz calorosa desapareceu dos olhos risonhos da pequena Florence quando finalmente encontraram os seus.

English → Era realmente um dia de outono cinzento e sombrio. Durante uma breve pausa silenciosa, as folhas caíram tristemente.

- Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey, consultando o relógio e colocando o chapéu e as luvas - por favor, acompanhe minha irmã. Hoje darei o braço à Srta. Tox. É melhor você ir primeiro com o jovem Paul, Richards. Tenha muito cuidado.

A carruagem do Sr. Dombey levava Dombey e Filho, a Srta. Tox, a Sra. Chick, Richards e Florence. Uma carruagem menor vinha atrás com Susan Nipper e seu dono, o Sr. Chick. Susan olhava sem parar pela janela para evitar o constrangimento de encarar o rosto grande daquele cavalheiro. Sempre que algo chacoalhava, imaginava que ele embrulhava em papel uma gratificação em dinheiro adequada para ela.

A caminho da igreja, o Sr. Dombey bateu palmas para divertir o filho. A Srta. Tox ficou encantada com esse exemplo de entusiasmo paterno. Fora esse incidente, a principal diferença entre o grupo do batizado e um cortejo fúnebre era a cor da carruagem e dos cavalos.

English → Nos degraus da igreja, um imponente funcionário religioso os recebeu. O Sr. Dombey desceu primeiro para ajudar as senhoras e ficou perto do funcionário junto à porta da igreja. Parecia outro funcionário, menos esplêndido, porém mais assustador: o funcionário da vida privada, o funcionário de nossos negócios e de nossos corações.

A mão da Srta. Tox tremeu quando ela a passou pelo braço do Sr. Dombey e sentiu-se conduzida escada acima, atrás de um chapéu formal e uma gola enorme. Por um instante, pareceu outra cerimônia solene. - Você aceita este homem, Lucretia? - Sim, aceito.

- Por favor, tragam a criança depressa para dentro, longe deste ar - sussurrou o funcionário, mantendo aberta a porta interna da igreja.

English → O pequeno Paul poderia ter perguntado com Hamlet: “Para dentro do meu túmulo?”, pois o lugar era muito frio e cheirava a terra. O púlpito alto e a mesa de leitura estavam cobertos. Bancos vazios se estendiam tristemente sob as galerias, enquanto outros subiam até o teto e desapareciam na sombra do grande e sombrio órgão. Havia esteiras empoeiradas, pisos de pedra fria, assustadores assentos gratuitos nos corredores e um canto úmido junto à corda do sino. Cavaletes negros de funeral estavam guardados ali com pás, cestos e rolos de corda de aparência mortal. O cheiro estranho e desagradável e a luz pálida e fúnebre combinavam com todo o resto. Era uma cena fria e miserável.

[Ilustração]

- Há um casamento acontecendo, senhor - disse o funcionário da igreja - , mas terminará muito em breve, se quiser entrar aqui na sacristia.

Antes de se virar para mostrar o caminho, ele fez uma reverência ao Sr. Dombey e deu meio sorriso de reconhecimento. Parecia dizer que o funcionário se lembrava do prazer de ajudá-lo a enterrar a esposa e esperava que ele tivesse se divertido desde então.

English → Até o casamento parecia sombrio quando passaram diante do altar. A noiva era velha demais e o noivo jovem demais. Um elegante cavalheiro idoso de um olho só, com um monóculo enfiado onde deveria estar o outro olho, entregava a noiva enquanto os amigos tremiam. Na sacristia, o fogo soltava fumaça. Um velho escriturário de advogado, sobrecarregado e mal pago, “fazia uma busca”, passando o dedo pelas páginas de pergaminho de um enorme registro cheio de enterros, um volume de uma longa série. Acima da lareira havia uma planta das câmaras funerárias sob a igreja. Tentando divertir o grupo, o Sr. Chick leu em voz alta as informações escritas e, por acidente, leu toda a referência ao túmulo da Sra. Dombey antes de conseguir se deter.

English → Depois de outra espera fria, uma pequena assistente da igreja, ofegante e com asma - adequada ao cemitério, se não à igreja - , chamou-os até a pia batismal. Era uma bacia rígida de mármore que parecia ter brincado de bilboquê com seu pedestal simples no cemitério e acabado de ser apanhada em cima dele. Esperaram ali enquanto o grupo do casamento assinava o registro. Enquanto isso, em parte por causa da doença e em parte para que o grupo não se esquecesse dela, a pequena assistente caminhava pela igreja tossindo como um monstro marinho.

English → Logo o escriturário veio com uma jarra de água morna. Era o único objeto de aparência alegre ali, e trabalhava como agente funerário. Enquanto despejava a água na pia, disse que isso tiraria o frio. Milhões de litros de água fervente não teriam aquecido aquela ocasião. Então apareceu o sacerdote, um jovem cura de aparência bondosa e gentil, mas claramente com medo do bebê. Como a figura principal de uma história de fantasmas, era “uma figura alta, toda de branco”. Ao vê-lo, Paul encheu o ar com gritos e não parou até ser levado para fora, com o rosto escurecido.

Mesmo depois que Paul foi levado para fora, para grande alívio de todos, ouviram-no sob a entrada durante o restante da cerimônia. Seus gritos ficavam mais fracos, depois mais fortes, então paravam e voltavam a explodir porque ele não conseguia aceitar a injustiça sofrida. Isso distraiu tanto as duas senhoras que a Sra. Chick marchava sem parar até o corredor central para enviar mensagens pela assistente da igreja. A Srta. Tox manteve o livro de orações aberto no culto referente à Conspiração da Pólvora e às vezes respondia com palavras daquele culto.

English → Durante todos esses acontecimentos, o Sr. Dombey permaneceu tão calmo e distinto quanto sempre. Talvez ajudasse a tornar a igreja tão fria que saía vapor da boca do jovem cura enquanto lia. O Sr. Dombey só mudou de expressão uma vez. No final, o sacerdote falou com simplicidade sobre os padrinhos examinarem a criança no futuro e por acaso olhou para o Sr. Chick. Então o olhar majestoso do Sr. Dombey disse claramente que gostaria de apanhar o Sr. Chick tentando fazer isso.

Talvez fosse melhor para o Sr. Dombey se tivesse pensado um pouco menos na própria importância e um pouco mais na grande origem e finalidade da cerimônia da qual participou de modo tão formal e rígido. Seu orgulho contrastava de modo estranho com a história daquele rito.

English → Quando tudo terminou, ele novamente ofereceu o braço à Srta. Tox e a conduziu à sacristia. Ali disse ao sacerdote como teria ficado feliz em convidá-lo para jantar, não fosse o estado infeliz de sua casa. Assinaram o registro e pagaram as taxas. Lembraram-se da assistente que tossia, recompensaram o funcionário e não esqueceram o coveiro, que por acaso estava nos degraus, muito interessado no tempo. Depois voltaram à carruagem e foram para casa juntos, no mesmo estado de espírito frio.

Em casa encontraram o Sr. Pitt olhando com desprezo para uma refeição fria, disposta com cerimônia gelada em vidro e prata. Parecia mais um jantar morto exposto com honras do que comida entre amigos. Quando chegaram, a Srta. Tox deu uma caneca ao afilhado, e o Sr. Chick lhe deu faca, garfo e colher num estojo. O Sr. Dombey deu uma pulseira à Srta. Tox, e o presente a comoveu profundamente.

English → - Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey - , poderia se sentar na outra ponta da mesa, por favor? O que tem aí, Sr. John?

- Tenho aqui um pedaço frio de vitela, senhor - respondeu o Sr. Chick, esfregando com força as mãos dormentes. - O que o senhor tem aí?

- Isto - respondeu o Sr. Dombey - é algum prato frio feito de cabeça de bezerro, creio. Vejo frangos frios, presunto, empadas, salada e lagosta. A Srta. Tox me dará a honra de tomar um pouco de vinho? Champanhe para a Srta. Tox.

Tudo dava uma sensação de dor de dente. O vinho estava tão terrivelmente gelado que a Srta. Tox soltou um pequeno grito, que teve grande dificuldade para transformar numa tosse. A vitela viera de uma despensa tão fria e arejada que o primeiro gosto levou aos braços e pernas do Sr. Chick uma sensação de chumbo gelado. Apenas o Sr. Dombey permaneceu imóvel. Poderia ter sido exposto à venda numa feira russa como exemplo de cavalheiro congelado.

English → A influência fria era forte demais até para a irmã dele. Ela não fez esforço algum para elogiar ninguém nem manter conversa educada e usou toda a energia para parecer o mais aquecida possível.

- Bem, senhor - disse o Sr. Chick, fazendo um esforço desesperado após um longo silêncio e enchendo um copo de xerez - , se me permite, beberei à saúde do pequeno Paul.

- Deus o abençoe! - murmurou a Srta. Tox, tomando um gole de vinho.

- Querido pequeno Dombey! - murmurou a Sra. Chick.

- Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey com severa gravidade - , não tenho dúvida de que meu filho sentiria e expressaria gratidão ao senhor se pudesse compreender a honra que lhe concedeu. No futuro, confio que se mostrará à altura de toda responsabilidade que a bondade de seus parentes e amigos possa lhe impor na vida privada ou que a pesada natureza de nossa posição pública possa colocar sobre ele.

English → O tom dele não permitia resposta, por isso o Sr. Chick voltou à tristeza e ao silêncio. Mas a Srta. Tox não. Ela escutara o Sr. Dombey com ainda mais atenção que de costume, com a cabeça inclinada de modo ainda mais evidente para um lado. Agora se inclinou sobre a mesa e disse baixinho à Sra. Chick:

- Louisa!

- Minha querida - disse a Sra. Chick.

- A pesada natureza de nossa posição pública pode... Esqueci a palavra exata.

- Expô-lo a isso - disse a Sra. Chick.

- Perdoe-me, querida - respondeu a Srta. Tox - , acho que não. Soava mais completo e fluido. A bondade de parentes e amigos na vida privada, ou a pesada natureza de nossa posição pública... pode... impor-lhe!

- Impor-lhe, é claro - disse a Sra. Chick.

A Srta. Tox bateu de leve as mãos delicadas em sinal de vitória e, erguendo os olhos, acrescentou: - Verdadeira eloquência!

English → Enquanto isso, o Sr. Dombey mandara chamar Richards. Ela entrou fazendo reverências, mas sem o bebê, pois Paul dormia depois da manhã cansativa. O Sr. Dombey entregou uma taça de vinho à criada e dirigiu-lhe as palavras seguintes. Antes, a Srta. Tox posicionou cuidadosamente a cabeça de lado e fez outros pequenos preparativos para gravar aquelas palavras no coração.

- Durante os cerca de seis meses em que viveu nesta casa, Richards, você cumpriu seu dever. Eu queria ligar algum pequeno serviço em seu benefício a esta ocasião, por isso considerei a melhor maneira de fazê-lo. Também pedi conselho à minha irmã, Sra...

- Chick - acrescentou o cavalheiro que tinha esse nome.

- Ah, por favor, fique quieto! - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Eu ia lhe dizer, Richards - continuou o Sr. Dombey, lançando um olhar assustador ao Sr. John - , que minha decisão também foi ajudada pela lembrança de uma conversa que tive com seu marido nesta sala quando você foi contratada. Na ocasião, ele me revelou o triste fato de que toda a sua família, com ele próprio à frente, estava profundamente mergulhada na ignorância.

English → Richards tremeu diante da grandeza daquela crítica.

- Estou longe de apoiar - continuou o Sr. Dombey - aquilo que pessoas de ideias igualitárias chamam de educação para todos. Mas as classes inferiores devem continuar sendo ensinadas a conhecer sua posição e a se comportar corretamente. Nesse sentido, aprovo as escolas. Tenho o direito de indicar uma criança para receber apoio gratuito numa antiga instituição chamada Charitable Grinders, por causa de uma respeitável companhia. Ali, os alunos recebem não apenas uma educação adequada, mas também uniforme e distintivo. Depois de primeiro entrar em contato com sua família por meio da Sra. Chick, indiquei seu filho mais velho para uma vaga, e fui informado de que ele vestiu o uniforme hoje. O número do filho dela, creio - disse o Sr. Dombey, virando-se para a irmã e falando da criança como se fosse uma carruagem de aluguel - , é cento e quarenta e sete. Louisa, pode dizer a ela.

- Cento e quarenta e sete - disse a Sra. Chick. - O uniforme, Richards, é um belo e quente casaco azul de lã com abas e um boné, ambos com bordas cor de laranja, meias vermelhas de lã e calções muito fortes de couro. A própria pessoa poderia usar as peças - acrescentou a Sra. Chick com entusiasmo - e sentir gratidão.

English → - Aí está, Richards! - disse a Srta. Tox. - Agora pode realmente se orgulhar. Os Charitable Grinders!

- Com certeza sou muito grata, senhor - respondeu Richards com voz fraca - , e é muita bondade sua lembrar-se de meus filhinhos. Ao mesmo tempo, Richards imaginou Biler como um Charitable Grinder, com as pernas muito curtas dentro das roupas práticas descritas pela Sra. Chick. A imagem flutuou diante de seus olhos e os encheu de lágrimas.

- Fico muito contente em ver que você tem tanto sentimento, Richards - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Isso quase nos dá esperança, realmente dá - disse a Sra. Chick, que se orgulhava de sua visão confiante da natureza humana - , de que ainda possa existir no mundo uma fraca centelha de gratidão e sentimento correto.

Richards aceitou os elogios fazendo reverências e murmurando agradecimentos. Mas a imagem do filho naqueles calções precoces de couro a perturbara tanto que ela não conseguia recuperar o bom ânimo. Aproximou-se devagar da porta e sentiu profundo alívio ao escapar por ela.

English → Quaisquer pequenos e temporários sinais de calor que haviam aparecido com Richards desapareceram com ela, e a geada voltou tão fria e dura quanto sempre. Duas vezes ouviram o Sr. Chick cantarolar na outra ponta da mesa, mas nas duas ocasiões era um trecho da Marcha Fúnebre de Saul. O grupo parecia ficar cada vez mais frio, congelando aos poucos num estado duro e sólido, como a refeição ao redor da qual estava reunido. Por fim, a Sra. Chick olhou para a Srta. Tox, a Srta. Tox devolveu o olhar, e ambas se levantaram e disseram que realmente era hora de partir. O Sr. Dombey recebeu a notícia com perfeita calma. Despediram-se e logo saíram sob a proteção do Sr. Chick. Assim que deram as costas à casa e deixaram seu dono sozinho como de costume, o Sr. Chick pôs as mãos nos bolsos, recostou-se na carruagem e assobiou “With a hey ho chevy!” durante todo o trajeto. Seu rosto mostrava uma rebeldia tão sombria e terrível que a Sra. Chick não ousou protestar nem perturbá-lo de modo algum.

English → Embora Richards tivesse o pequeno Paul no colo, não conseguia esquecer o próprio primogênito. Sentia-se ingrata, mas a influência do dia atingia até os Charitable Grinders. Mal conseguia evitar ver o distintivo de metal de Biler, número cento e quarenta e sete, como parte da formalidade e severidade daquele dia. No quarto das crianças, também falou das “perninhas abençoadas” dele e foi novamente perturbada pela imagem fantasmagórica do menino de uniforme.

- Não sei o que eu não daria - disse Polly - para ver o pobre querido antes que se acostume com aquelas roupas.

- Então vou lhe dizer o que fazer, Sra. Richards - respondeu Nipper, a quem Polly confiara o segredo. - Veja-o e tranquilize a mente.

- O Sr. Dombey não gostaria - disse Polly.

- Ah, não gostaria, Sra. Richards? - retrucou Nipper. - Acho que gostaria muito quando alguém lhe perguntasse.

English → - Suponho que você não perguntaria nada a ele? - disse Polly.

- Não, Sra. Richards, muito pelo contrário - respondeu Susan. - Ouvi aquelas duas inspetoras, Tox e Chick, dizerem que não estarão de serviço amanhã. Portanto, a Srta. Floy e eu iremos com prazer com a senhora amanhã de manhã, se quiser. Tanto faz caminharmos até lá ou subirmos e descermos uma rua, e será até melhor.

No início, Polly rejeitou firmemente a ideia. Mas aos poucos começou a considerá-la enquanto as imagens proibidas dos filhos e de casa se tornavam mais claras em sua mente. Por fim, concluiu que não poderia haver grande mal em parar à porta por um instante e aceitou o plano de Nipper.

Assim que decidiram a questão, o pequeno Paul começou a chorar de modo terrível, como se soubesse que nada de bom resultaria daquilo.

- O que há com a criança? - perguntou Susan.

English → - Acho que está com frio - disse Polly, caminhando de um lado para o outro com ele e tentando acalmá-lo.

Era realmente uma fria tarde de outono. Enquanto caminhava e o acalmava, Polly olhava pelas janelas sombrias e apertava o menininho contra o peito, enquanto as folhas secas caíam como chuva.

CAPÍTULO VI. A Segunda Privação de Paul

English → Pela manhã, Polly teve tantas dúvidas que teria cancelado toda a viagem sem os constantes incentivos da companheira de olhos negros. Teria pedido formalmente permissão para ver o número cento e quarenta e sete sob a terrível sombra do teto do Sr. Dombey. Mas Susan desejava pessoalmente o passeio. Como Tony Lumpkin, suportava bastante bem a decepção dos outros, mas não conseguia suportar decepcionar a si mesma. Levantou muitas dúvidas inteligentes sobre a segunda ideia de Polly e apoiou o plano original com tantos argumentos engenhosos que, quase assim que as costas majestosas do Sr. Dombey se viraram e ele iniciou seu caminho diário para a City, seu filho inocente já viajava em direção a Staggs’s Gardens.

Esse lugar de nome agradável ficava num subúrbio cujos moradores o chamavam de Camberling Town. O Mapa de Londres para Estrangeiros, impresso em lenços de bolso para uso fácil e agradável, reduzia esse nome, com alguma razão, a Camden Town. As duas amas caminharam até lá com as crianças. Richards naturalmente carregava Paul, enquanto Susan conduzia a pequena Florence pela mão e às vezes lhe dava os puxões e empurrões que considerava saudáveis.

English → Naquele tempo, o primeiro choque de um grande terremoto parecia ter partido toda a vizinhança. Sinais de sua passagem apareciam por toda parte. Casas haviam caído, ruas estavam cortadas e bloqueadas, cavavam-se buracos e valas profundas, e enormes montes de terra e argila se erguiam do chão. Grandes vigas de madeira sustentavam prédios cujas fundações haviam sido removidas e que agora tremiam. Num lugar, uma massa confusa de carroças viradas jazia no fundo de uma colina íngreme e artificial. Em outro, peças de ferro ficavam de molho e enferrujavam em algo que por acidente se tornara um lago. Havia pontes que não levavam a lugar algum, estradas totalmente bloqueadas, torres de chaminés sem metade da altura e prédios e cercas temporários de madeira nos lugares mais estranhos. Construções quebradas, paredes e arcos inacabados, pilhas de andaimes, desertos de tijolos, enormes guindastes e armações de três pernas se erguiam sobre o nada. Cem mil formas e materiais incompletos misturavam-se loucamente fora de lugar: de cabeça para baixo, cavando a terra, subindo no ar, apodrecendo na água e tão impossíveis de compreender quanto um sonho. Fontes quentes e erupções de fogo, companheiras habituais dos terremotos, aumentavam a confusão. Água fervente chiava e subia dentro de paredes arruinadas, das quais também saíam a luz e o rugido das chamas. Montes de cinzas bloqueavam caminhos públicos e mudavam completamente as leis e os costumes do bairro.

English → Em resumo, a ferrovia ainda inacabada e não inaugurada estava sendo construída. Do centro de toda aquela terrível desordem, estendia-se suavemente em seu grande caminho de civilização e progresso.

English → Mas o bairro ainda não estava disposto a aceitar a ferrovia. Um ou dois investidores corajosos haviam planejado ruas, e um deles construíra um pouco antes de parar entre a lama e as cinzas para pensar novamente. Uma taverna novinha, cheirando a argamassa e cola frescas e voltada para absolutamente nada, chamara-se The Railway Arms. Mas talvez fosse apenas um negócio arriscado que esperava vender bebidas aos operários. Do mesmo modo, a Excavators’ House of Call crescera a partir de uma cervejaria, e a antiga Ham and Beef Shop se tornara a Railway Eating House, servindo porco assado todos os dias por lucro imediato e popularidade. Donos de pensões também apoiavam a ferrovia por razões semelhantes e não eram confiáveis. A maioria das pessoas demorava a acreditar nela. Campos sujos, estábulos de vacas, montes de esterco e lixo, valas, jardins, casas de verão e locais para bater tapetes ficavam bem à porta da ferrovia. Pequenas colinas de conchas de ostras na estação das ostras, de lagostas na estação das lagostas e de louça quebrada e folhas velhas de repolho em todas as estações avançavam sobre seus lugares altos. Postes, trilhos, velhos avisos contra invasores, fundos de casas pobres e manchas de vegetação miserável pareciam encará-la até fazê-la recuar. Nada melhorara por causa dela nem esperava melhorar. Se o pobre terreno vazio próximo pudesse rir, teria rido da ferrovia, como muitos de seus pobres vizinhos.

English → Staggs’s Gardens se recusava de modo especial a acreditar na ferrovia. Era uma pequena fileira de casas com trechos de terreno sujo à frente, cercados por portas velhas, ripas de barril, pedaços de lona e arbustos mortos. Chaleiras sem fundo e grades de lareira gastas preenchiam as aberturas. Ali os jardineiros cultivavam feijão-vermelho, criavam galinhas e coelhos, construíam casas de verão podres - uma delas era um barco velho - , secavam roupas e fumavam cachimbos. Alguns acreditavam que o lugar recebera o nome de um rico falecido chamado Sr. Staggs, que o construíra para seu prazer. Outros, que amavam naturalmente o campo, acreditavam que o nome vinha de antigos tempos rurais, quando grupos de cervos, chamados familiarmente de Staggses, visitavam seus espaços sombreados. Qualquer que fosse a verdade, os moradores consideravam Staggs’s Gardens um bosque sagrado que nenhuma ferrovia poderia destruir. Tinham tanta certeza de que ele viveria mais que uma invenção tão tola que o mestre limpador de chaminés da esquina, líder da política local, prometera em público que, se a ferrovia algum dia abrisse, dois de seus meninos subiriam pelas chaminés e zombariam de seu fracasso desde os topos.

English → O Destino e Richards levavam agora o pequeno Paul a esse lugar profano, cujo próprio nome a irmã do Sr. Dombey escondera cuidadosamente dele até então.

- Aquela é a minha casa, Susan - disse Polly, apontando.

- É mesmo, Sra. Richards? - disse Susan com um ar superior.

- E juro que minha irmã Jemima está à porta - exclamou Polly - , com meu próprio bebê doce e precioso nos braços!

A visão deu asas à impaciência de Polly. Ela correu por Gardens, lançou-se sobre Jemima e trocou os bebês com ela num instante. A jovem ficou completamente espantada quando o herdeiro dos Dombey pareceu cair do céu em seus braços.

- Ora, Polly! - exclamou Jemima. - Você! Que susto me deu! Quem teria imaginado? Entre, Polly! Você está com uma aparência tão boa! As crianças ficarão meio loucas quando a virem, Polly. Ficarão mesmo.

English → E ficaram, a julgar pelo barulho e pelo modo como correram até Polly e a puxaram para uma cadeira baixa junto à lareira. Seu honesto rosto de maçã tornou-se imediatamente o centro de um grupo de maçãzinhas. Todas apertaram as faces rosadas contra as dela e claramente haviam crescido na mesma árvore. Polly estava tão barulhenta e entusiasmada quanto as crianças. A confusão só parou quando ela ficou totalmente sem fôlego, com os cabelos caídos ao redor do rosto vermelho e as novas roupas do batizado muito desarrumadas. Mesmo então, o segundo menor Toodle continuou em seu colo com os dois braços apertados ao redor de seu pescoço. O terceiro menor subiu nas costas da cadeira e, com uma perna no ar, fez esforços desesperados para contorná-la e beijá-la.

- Olhem! Uma linda pequena dama veio vê-los - disse Polly. - Vejam como ela é quieta! Não é uma pequena dama bonita?

English → Polly se referia a Florence, que estava junto à porta observando tudo. Suas palavras voltaram a atenção das crianças menores para Florence. Também tiveram o efeito feliz de provocar uma recepção formal para a Srta. Nipper, que começara a se preocupar por já ter sido ignorada.

- Ah, por favor, entre e sente-se um pouco, Susan - disse Polly. - Esta é minha irmã Jemima. Jemima, não sei o que faria sem Susan Nipper. Eu não estaria aqui agora se não fosse por ela.

- Ah, por favor, sente-se, Srta. Nipper - disse Jemima.

Susan sentou-se bem na ponta de uma cadeira, com uma expressão majestosa e formal.

- Nunca fiquei tão contente em ver alguém em toda a minha vida. Realmente nunca, Srta. Nipper - disse Jemima.

Susan relaxou, ocupou um pouco mais da cadeira e sorriu com bondade.

- Por favor, desamarre o chapéu e fique à vontade, Srta. Nipper - pediu Jemima. - Temo que este lugar seja mais pobre do que aqueles a que está acostumada, mas tenho certeza de que compreenderá.

English → O comportamento respeitoso de Jemima amoleceu tanto a jovem de olhos negros que Susan apanhou a pequena Srta. Toodle quando ela passou correndo e imediatamente a fez cavalgar numa viagem imaginária até Banbury Cross.

- Mas onde está meu lindo menino? - perguntou Polly. - Meu pobre filho? Vim todo este caminho para vê-lo com as roupas novas.

- Ah, que pena! - exclamou Jemima. - O coração dele vai se partir quando souber que a mãe esteve aqui. Ele está na escola, Polly.

- Já foi?

- Sim. Foi pela primeira vez ontem para não perder nenhum aprendizado. Mas hoje é meio feriado, Polly. Se ao menos pudesse ficar até ele voltar para casa - você e a Srta. Nipper, pelo menos - acrescentou Jemima, lembrando a tempo da importância da jovem de olhos negros.

- E como ele está, Jemima? Deus o abençoe! - perguntou Polly com voz fraca.

- Bem, na verdade, ele não parece tão mal quanto você poderia imaginar - respondeu Jemima.

English → - Ah! - disse Polly, emocionada. - Eu sabia que as pernas dele deviam ser curtas demais.

- As pernas dele são curtas - respondeu Jemima - , especialmente atrás. Mas ficarão mais compridas a cada dia, Polly.

Esse consolo dependia de uma lenta melhora futura. Tinha pouco valor por si só, mas a alegria e a bondade de Jemima o tornavam mais útil. Depois de um momento de silêncio, Polly perguntou com mais animação:

- E onde está o Pai, querida Jemima? - O Sr. Toodle era geralmente conhecido na família por esse título paterno.

- Outra vez! - disse Jemima. - Que pena! O Pai levou o jantar consigo esta manhã e não voltará até a noite. Mas está sempre falando de você, Polly, e contando às crianças sobre você. É a pessoa mais pacífica, paciente e bem-humorada do mundo, como sempre foi e sempre será!

- Obrigada, Jemima - exclamou a simples Polly, encantada com as palavras e decepcionada com a ausência dele.

English → - Ah, não precisa me agradecer, Polly - disse a irmã. Deu um beijo sonoro na face de Polly e depois balançou alegremente o pequeno Paul. - Às vezes digo a mesma coisa sobre você, e também acredito.

English → Apesar das duas decepções, uma visita recebida com tanto carinho não podia ser chamada de fracasso. As irmãs falaram com esperança sobre a família, Biler e todos os irmãos e irmãs dele. Enquanto isso, depois de várias viagens imaginárias a Banbury Cross, a jovem de olhos negros examinou cuidadosamente os móveis: o relógio holandês, o armário, o castelo sobre a lareira com janelas vermelhas e verdes que podiam ser iluminadas por um pedaço de vela dentro e dois pequenos gatinhos de veludo preto, cada um segurando na boca a bolsinha de uma senhora. O povo de Staggs’s Gardens considerava esses gatinhos maravilhas da arte realista. Logo todos participaram da conversa para que a jovem de olhos negros não ficasse zangada e sarcástica. Susan deu a Jemima um resumo de tudo que sabia sobre o Sr. Dombey - seu futuro, família, atividades e caráter. Também listou cada peça do próprio guarda-roupa e descreveu seus principais parentes e amigos. Depois de aliviar a mente com esses fatos, comeu camarões, bebeu porter e pareceu pronta para prometer amizade eterna.

English → A pequena Florence também aproveitou bem a visita. Os jovens Toodles a levaram para fora para ver alguns cogumelos e outras maravilhas de Gardens. Ela se juntou a eles de corpo e alma na construção de uma barreira temporária sobre uma pequena poça verde num canto. Ainda trabalhava muito quando Susan a encontrou. Mesmo sob a influência bondosa dos camarões, o senso de dever de Susan a fez dar a Florence uma palestra moral, marcada por pancadas, enquanto lavava seu rosto e suas mãos. Previu que a má natureza de Florence levaria tristemente ao túmulo todos os cabelos grisalhos da família. Depois de uma demora causada por uma longa conversa particular no andar de cima entre Polly e Jemima sobre dinheiro, trocaram novamente os bebês. Polly segurara o próprio filho durante todo esse tempo, enquanto Jemima cuidava do pequeno Paul. Então as visitantes se despediram.

Mas primeiro os jovens Toodles foram vítimas de um truque bondoso. Foram convencidos a ir juntos a uma venda próxima, aparentemente para gastar um penny. Quando o caminho ficou completamente livre, Polly fugiu. Jemima gritou atrás dela que, se passassem em direção à City Road na volta, certamente encontrariam o pequeno Biler retornando da escola.

English → - Acha que poderíamos encontrar tempo para dar uma pequena volta naquela direção, Susan? - perguntou Polly quando pararam para recuperar o fôlego.

- Por que não, Sra. Richards? - respondeu Susan.

- Sabe que está chegando a hora do nosso jantar - disse Polly.

Mas o almoço fizera Susan ficar totalmente despreocupada com esse ponto sério, por isso ela não lhe deu importância. Decidiram “dar uma pequena volta”.

English → Desde a manhã anterior, a vida do pobre Biler se tornara miserável por causa do uniforme dos Charitable Grinders. Os jovens das ruas não conseguiam suportá-lo. Nenhum menino de rua podia olhar para ele nem por um instante sem atacar seu usuário inocente e machucá-lo. Sua vida social se parecia mais com a de um cristão primitivo do que com a de uma criança inocente do século XIX. Haviam atirado pedras nele nas ruas, derrubado-o em sarjetas, coberto de lama e esmagado violentamente contra postes. Perfeitos desconhecidos haviam tirado o boné amarelo de sua cabeça e o lançado ao vento. As pessoas não apenas criticaram e insultaram suas pernas, mas também as tocaram e beliscaram. Naquela mesma manhã, alguém lhe dera um olho roxo sem motivo enquanto ele caminhava para a escola dos Grinders. Depois o mestre o castigara por isso. O mestre era um antigo Grinder idoso e de natureza cruel, nomeado professor porque nada sabia e não servia para nada. Sua bengala cruel sentia uma atração especial por todo menininho rechonchudo.

English → Por isso, a caminho de casa, Biler escolheu caminhos pouco frequentados e avançou escondido por passagens estreitas e ruas secundárias para evitar seus atormentadores. Mas teve de entrar na estrada principal, e o azar finalmente o levou até um pequeno grupo de meninos. Um jovem açougueiro feroz os liderava, e eles esperavam qualquer oportunidade de diversão emocionante. Quando encontraram um Charitable Grinder no meio deles, como se ele tivesse sido estranhamente entregue em suas mãos, soltaram um grito geral e avançaram sobre ele.

Ao mesmo tempo, depois de caminhar uma hora inteira e olhar sem esperança pela estrada, Polly disse que não adiantava continuar. Então, de repente, viu a cena. Com um grito rápido, entregou o pequeno Dombey à mulher de olhos negros e correu para salvar seu infeliz filhinho.

As surpresas, como os problemas, raramente vêm sozinhas. Antes que entendessem o que havia acontecido, pessoas próximas tiraram a espantada Susan Nipper e as duas crianças da frente das rodas de uma carruagem que passava. Naquele mesmo instante, como era dia de feira, ergueu-se um aviso estrondoso: - Touro bravo!

English → Florence viu uma confusão terrível: pessoas corriam e gritavam, rodas pareciam passar por cima delas, meninos brigavam, touros bravos se aproximavam, e a ama parecia prestes a ser despedaçada em meio a todos aqueles perigos. Florence gritou e correu, pedindo que Susan a seguisse. Correu até ficar exausta. Então parou, torcendo as mãos ao se lembrar da outra ama, e descobriu com um medo indescritível que estava completamente sozinha.

[Ilustração]

- Susan! Susan! - gritou Florence, batendo palmas em extremo pavor. - Oh, onde estão? Onde estão?

- Onde estão? - disse uma velha, atravessando depressa do outro lado da rua, tão rápido quanto conseguia. - Por que você fugiu deles?

- Eu fiquei assustada - respondeu Florence. - Não sabia o que estava fazendo. Pensei que estivessem comigo. Onde estão?

A velha segurou-a pelo pulso e disse: - Eu vou lhe mostrar.

English → Era uma velha muito feia, com bordas vermelhas ao redor dos olhos e uma boca que se mexia e batia os dentes sozinha mesmo quando ela estava calada. Vestia roupas miseráveis e carregava peles de animais sobre um braço. Parecia ter seguido Florence por certa distância, pois estava sem fôlego. Enquanto tentava respirar normalmente, contorcendo o rosto magro e amarelo e a garganta de muitas maneiras, parecia mais feia do que nunca.

Florence teve medo dela e olhou, hesitante, rua acima, pois já quase chegara ao fim. Era um lugar solitário, mais parecido com uma estrada dos fundos do que com uma rua, e não havia ninguém ali além de Florence e da velha.

- Agora você não precisa ter medo - disse a velha, ainda segurando-a com força. - Venha comigo.

- Eu... eu não conheço a senhora. Qual é o seu nome? - perguntou Florence.

- Sra. Brown - disse a velha. - Boa Sra. Brown.

English → - Eles estão perto daqui? - perguntou Florence enquanto a mulher começava a levá-la.

- Susan não está longe - disse a Boa Sra. Brown - e os outros estão perto dela.

- Alguém se machucou? - gritou Florence.

- De jeito nenhum - disse a Boa Sra. Brown.

Ao ouvir isso, a menina chorou de alegria e acompanhou a velha de boa vontade. Mesmo assim, enquanto caminhavam, não conseguia parar de olhar para o rosto da mulher, especialmente para sua boca sempre em movimento, e de se perguntar se a Má Sra. Brown, caso tal pessoa existisse, se parecia com ela.

Não foram longe, mas passaram por lugares desagradáveis, como olarias e fábricas de telhas. Então a velha entrou numa viela suja, onde sulcos negros e profundos cortavam a estrada enlameada. Parou diante de uma casinha miserável, fechada tão bem quanto poderia estar uma casa cheia de rachaduras. Tirando uma chave da touca, abriu a porta e empurrou Florence para um cômodo nos fundos. No chão havia uma grande pilha de trapos coloridos, uma pilha de ossos e outra de poeira peneirada ou cinzas. Não havia móveis, e as paredes e o teto eram completamente negros.

English → A menina ficou tão apavorada que não conseguia falar e parecia prestes a desmaiar.

- Não se comporte como uma mulinha teimosa - disse a Boa Sra. Brown, despertando-a com um sacolejo. - Não vou machucar você. Sente-se nos trapos.

Florence obedeceu, estendendo as mãos unidas num pedido silencioso.

- Nem sequer vou manter você aqui por mais de uma hora - disse a Sra. Brown. - Entendeu o que eu disse?

Com muita dificuldade, a menina respondeu: - Sim.

- Então não me irrite - disse a Boa Sra. Brown, sentando-se nos ossos. - Se você se comportar, prometo não machucá-la. Mas, se não se comportar, vou matá-la. Eu poderia mandar matar você a qualquer hora, até na sua própria cama em casa. Agora me diga quem você é, o que é e tudo sobre você.

As ameaças e promessas da velha, o medo de Florence de irritá-la e o hábito incomum da menina de ficar quieta e esconder o que sentia, temia e esperava ajudaram-na a obedecer. Contou sua breve história de vida, ou o quanto sabia dela. A Sra. Brown ouviu com atenção até o fim.

English → - Então seu nome é Dombey, não é? - disse a Sra. Brown.

- Quero esse vestido bonito, Srta. Dombey - disse a Boa Sra. Brown - e essa touquinha, uma ou duas anáguas e qualquer outra coisa que possa dispensar. Vamos, tire tudo.

Florence obedeceu tão depressa quanto suas mãos trêmulas permitiam, sem tirar os olhos assustados da Sra. Brown. Depois que Florence removeu todas as roupas mencionadas, a Sra. Brown examinou-as com calma e pareceu bastante satisfeita com a qualidade e o valor.

- Hum - disse ela, examinando a figura magra da menina. - Não vejo mais nada, exceto os sapatos. Preciso ficar com os sapatos, Srta. Dombey.

A pobre Florence tirou-os com a mesma rapidez, feliz por ter outro meio de agradar à mulher. Do fundo da pilha de trapos, a velha encontrou uns sapatos miseráveis, uma capa de menina muito velha e gasta e os restos amassados de uma touca provavelmente tirada de uma vala ou monte de lixo. Mandou Florence vestir aquelas belas roupas. Como essa troca parecia prometer sua libertação, a menina obedeceu com ainda mais pressa.

English → Ao colocar depressa a touca - se aquilo podia ser chamado de touca, pois parecia mais uma almofada para carregar peso - Florence prendeu-a nos cabelos fartos e não conseguiu soltá-la de imediato. A Boa Sra. Brown puxou uma grande tesoura e ficou estranhamente animada.

- Por que você não pôde me deixar em paz quando eu estava satisfeita? - disse a Sra. Brown. - Sua tolinha!

- Por favor, perdoe-me. Não sei o que fiz - disse Florence, ofegante. - Não pude evitar.

- Não pôde evitar! - gritou a Sra. Brown. - E como espera que eu evite? Meu Deus! Qualquer pessoa, menos eu, teria cortado primeiro todos esses cachos - disse a velha, mexendo nos cachos de Florence com um prazer feroz.

Florence ficou tão aliviada ao descobrir que a Sra. Brown queria apenas seus cabelos, e não sua cabeça, que não resistiu nem implorou. Apenas ergueu os olhos meigos para o rosto daquela boa mulher.

English → - Se eu não tivesse tido uma filha, agora além-mar, que se orgulhava dos cabelos - disse a Sra. Brown - eu levaria cada cacho. Ela está longe, muito longe! Oh! Oh!

O grito da Sra. Brown não era melodioso, mas, enquanto ela erguia loucamente os braços magros, revelava uma dor profunda. Tocou o coração de Florence e assustou-a mais do que nunca. Talvez o grito tenha ajudado a salvar seus cachos. Depois de rodear Florence por alguns instantes com a tesoura, como uma borboleta estranha, a Sra. Brown mandou-a esconder os cabelos sob a touca para que nenhum cacho a tentasse. Tendo vencido essa luta consigo mesma, sentou-se novamente nos ossos e fumou um cachimbo preto muito curto, fazendo caretas e mastigando a haste.

English → Quando terminou o cachimbo, a Sra. Brown deu a Florence uma pele de coelho para carregar, fazendo-a parecer mais com a companheira habitual da mulher. Disse que a levaria a uma rua pública, onde poderia perguntar o caminho até seus amigos. Mas, com ameaças de vingança rápida e mortal, avisou Florence para não falar com estranhos nem voltar para casa, talvez porque a casa ficasse perto demais para a segurança da Sra. Brown. Em vez disso, Florence deveria ir ao escritório do pai na City e esperar na esquina onde seria deixada até o relógio bater três horas. A Sra. Brown afirmou que olhos e ouvidos poderosos observariam tudo, e Florence prometeu sinceramente obedecer.

English → Por fim, a Sra. Brown saiu e conduziu sua pequena companheira transformada e maltrapilha por um labirinto de ruas estreitas, vielas e becos. Depois de muito tempo, chegaram a um pátio de estábulos com um portão no fim, além do qual Florence ouvia o rugido de uma avenida movimentada. A Sra. Brown apontou para o portão e disse-lhe que virasse à esquerda quando os relógios batessem três horas. Depois de um último puxão nos cabelos de Florence, que pareceu fora de seu controle, disse que Florence sabia o que fazer e mandou-a fazê-lo, lembrando que estava sendo vigiada.

Com o coração mais leve, embora ainda muito assustada, Florence sentiu-se livre e correu até a esquina. Ao olhar para trás, viu a cabeça da Boa Sra. Brown espiando da passagem baixa de madeira onde a mulher dera suas últimas ordens. Também viu a Boa Sra. Brown sacudindo o punho. Florence olhou para trás muitas vezes depois disso, pelo menos uma vez por minuto de tão nervosa, mas não voltou a ver a mulher.

English → Florence ficou ali, observando a rua movimentada e cada vez mais confusa, enquanto os relógios pareciam decididos a nunca mais bater três horas. Por fim, as torres das igrejas anunciaram três horas. Uma ficava muito perto, portanto ela não podia estar enganada. Depois de olhar várias vezes por cima do ombro, andar um pouco e voltar, com medo de irritar os poderosos espiões da Sra. Brown, apressou-se tanto quanto os sapatos largos permitiam, segurando com força a pele de coelho.

Tudo o que Florence sabia sobre os escritórios do pai era que pertenciam à Dombey e Filho, uma grande potência na City. Por isso, só podia perguntar o caminho até a Dombey e Filho na City. Como geralmente perguntava às crianças, pois tinha medo dos adultos, quase não recebia ajuda útil. Depois de algum tempo, passou a perguntar apenas o caminho para a City. Assim, avançou lentamente para o coração daquela grande região governada pelo terrível Lord Mayor.

English → Florence prosseguiu em sua jornada cansativa com os olhos cheios de lágrimas. Estava exausta de caminhar, de ser rejeitada e empurrada, atordoada pelo barulho, preocupada com o irmão e as amas, assustada com tudo o que sofrera e com medo de encontrar o pai zangado usando roupas tão diferentes. Perturbada pelo passado, pelo presente e pelo que ainda a esperava, às vezes precisava parar e chorar amargamente. Poucas pessoas notavam uma menina vestida daquele modo, e as que notavam pensavam que ela fora treinada para despertar pena e seguiam adiante. Mesmo assim, Florence recorreu à coragem e à independência que suas tristes experiências haviam formado cedo demais. Mantendo seu objetivo firme na mente, continuou sem desistir.

Duas horas inteiras haviam se passado quando Florence escapou do barulho de uma rua estreita cheia de carroças e vagões. Espiou um cais à margem do rio, onde muitos pacotes, barris e caixas estavam espalhados. Havia uma grande balança de madeira e uma pequena cabana de madeira sobre rodas. Do lado de fora, um homem robusto assobiava, observando os mastros e barcos próximos. Com uma caneta atrás da orelha e as mãos nos bolsos, parecia ter quase terminado o trabalho do dia.

English → - Vamos! - disse o homem ao se virar por acaso. - Não temos nada para você, menina. Vá embora!

- Por favor, esta é a City? - perguntou a trêmula filha dos Dombey.

- Sim, esta é a City. Tenho certeza de que você sabe disso muito bem. Vá embora! Não temos nada para você.

- Não quero nada, obrigada - respondeu ela timidamente. - Só quero saber o caminho até a Dombey e Filho.

O homem vinha caminhando despreocupadamente em direção a ela, mas a resposta o surpreendeu. Olhando com atenção para o rosto dela, respondeu:

- Ora, o que você poderia querer na Dombey e Filho?

- Só quero saber o caminho até lá, por favor.

O homem olhou para ela com ainda mais curiosidade e esfregou a parte de trás da cabeça com tanta força, de espanto, que derrubou o próprio chapéu.

- Joe! - chamou ele para outro homem, um trabalhador, enquanto pegava o chapéu e o colocava de novo.

English → - Aqui estou! - disse Joe.

- Onde está aquele jovem da Dombey que estava observando o carregamento daquelas mercadorias?

- Acabou de sair pelo outro portão - disse Joe.

- Chame-o de volta por um instante.

Joe correu por uma passagem em arco, gritando enquanto avançava, e logo voltou com um rapaz de aparência alegre.

- Você é o jovem ajudante da Dombey, não é? - disse o primeiro homem.

- Trabalho na firma Dombey, Sr. Clark - respondeu o rapaz.

- Então olhe aqui - disse o Sr. Clark.

Seguindo o gesto do Sr. Clark, o rapaz aproximou-se de Florence, naturalmente se perguntando o que tinha a ver com ela. Florence ouvira as palavras deles. Além do alívio de estar segura ao fim de sua jornada, o rosto e os modos vivos do jovem a tranquilizaram muito. Ela correu ansiosamente até ele, deixando um dos sapatos largos no chão, e segurou a mão dele com as duas mãos.

- Estou perdida, por favor! - disse Florence.

- Perdida! - exclamou o rapaz.

English → - Sim. Perdi-me esta manhã, longe daqui. Desde então, alguém tomou minhas roupas, e estas não são minhas. Meu nome é Florence Dombey, e sou a única irmã do meu irmãozinho. Oh, por favor, cuide de mim! - soluçou Florence. Por fim, soltou os sentimentos infantis que escondera por tanto tempo e caiu em prantos. Sua touca miserável caiu, e os cabelos desceram ao redor do rosto. O jovem Walter, sobrinho de Solomon Gills, fabricante de instrumentos náuticos, contemplou-a em silêncio, com espanto e compaixão.

O Sr. Clark ficou imóvel de espanto, dizendo baixinho que nunca vira surpresa igual naquele cais. Walter pegou o sapato de Florence e colocou-o no pequeno pé, como o príncipe da história calçou o sapatinho de Cinderela. Pendurou a pele de coelho no braço esquerdo e ofereceu o direito a Florence. Sentiu-se não apenas como Richard Whittington, comparação fraca demais, mas como São Jorge da Inglaterra diante do dragão morto.

English → - Não chore, Srta. Dombey - disse Walter, muito entusiasmado. - Que maravilha eu estar aqui! Agora a senhorita está tão segura quanto se fosse protegida por uma tripulação inteira de homens escolhidos de um navio de guerra. Oh, não chore.

- Não vou mais chorar - disse Florence. - Só estou chorando de alegria.

- Chorando de alegria, e eu sou a causa! - pensou Walter. - Venha comigo, Srta. Dombey. Agora o outro sapato caiu! Use os meus, Srta. Dombey.

- Não, não, não - disse Florence, impedindo-o quando ele começou depressa a tirar os próprios sapatos. - Estes são melhores. Servem muito bem.

- Claro - disse Walter, olhando para o pé dela. - Os meus são grandes demais. Onde eu estava com a cabeça? A senhorita jamais conseguiria andar com eles! Vamos, Srta. Dombey. Quero ver o vilão que ousará incomodá-la agora.

Com uma expressão muito feroz, Walter levou Florence, que parecia muito feliz. Caminharam de braços dados pelas ruas, sem se importar com o espanto que sua aparência causava pelo caminho.

English → Estava ficando escuro e enevoado, e começava a chover, mas eles não se importavam. Ambos estavam completamente envolvidos nas recentes aventuras de Florence, que ela contava com a honestidade inocente e a confiança de uma criança. Walter ouvia como se não estivessem na lama e na sujeira de Thames Street, mas caminhando sozinhos entre folhas largas e árvores altas de uma ilha tropical deserta, como provavelmente imaginava naquele momento.

- Ainda falta muito? - perguntou Florence por fim, erguendo os olhos para o rosto do companheiro.

- Ah, a propósito - disse Walter, parando. - Deixe-me ver. Onde estamos? Ah, já sei. Mas os escritórios estão fechados agora, Srta. Dombey. Não há ninguém lá, e o Sr. Dombey foi para casa há muito tempo. Acho que nós também devemos ir para casa. Ou espere... talvez eu deva levá-la à casa do meu tio, onde moro. Fica bem perto. Depois posso ir de carruagem até sua casa, dizer que está segura e trazer algumas roupas. Não seria melhor?

English → - Acho que sim - respondeu Florence. - Você não acha? O que pensa?

Enquanto os dois discutiam isso na rua, um homem passou e olhou rapidamente para Walter, como se o conhecesse. Depois, parecendo decidir que estava enganado, continuou sem parar.

- Ora, acho que é o Sr. Carker - disse Walter. - Carker da nossa firma. Não o Carker que é nosso gerente, Srta. Dombey, mas o outro Carker, o mais jovem. Olá, Sr. Carker!

- É Walter Gay? - disse o homem, parando e voltando. - Não pude acreditar, pois você está com uma companheira tão estranha.

English → Parado perto de um lampião e ouvindo com surpresa a explicação rápida de Walter, o homem contrastava fortemente com as duas figuras jovens diante dele. Não era velho, mas tinha cabelos brancos e o corpo curvado como se carregasse uma grande tristeza. Linhas profundas marcavam seu rosto cansado e melancólico. O fogo dos olhos, a expressão e até a voz eram fracos e quietos, como se seu espírito tivesse se reduzido a cinzas. Vestia roupas pretas respeitáveis, porém muito simples. Elas pareciam compartilhar a tristeza de sua figura e seu pedido silencioso, da cabeça aos pés, para não ser notado e ser deixado sozinho em sua posição humilde.

Mesmo assim, seu interesse pela juventude e pela esperança não morrera com os outros fogos de sua alma. Enquanto Walter falava, observava o rosto sério do rapaz com uma simpatia incomum. Contudo, um estranho olhar de preocupação e pena escapava para seu rosto, por mais que tentasse escondê-lo. Quando Walter finalmente lhe fez a mesma pergunta que fizera a Florence, o homem continuou olhando para ele daquele modo, como se tivesse lido no rosto do rapaz um destino triste que não combinava com seu brilho presente.

English → - O que aconselha, Sr. Carker? - disse Walter, sorrindo. - O senhor sempre me dá bons conselhos quando fala comigo, sabe, embora isso não aconteça com frequência.

- Acho que sua própria ideia é a melhor - respondeu ele, olhando de Florence para Walter e depois de volta.

- Sr. Carker - disse Walter, animando-se com uma ideia generosa - aqui está uma oportunidade para o senhor. Vá até o Sr. Dombey e leve-lhe as boas notícias. Isso pode lhe fazer bem, senhor. Eu ficarei em casa. O senhor deve ir.

- Eu? - respondeu o outro homem.

- Sim. Por que não, Sr. Carker? - disse o rapaz.

Como resposta, o Sr. Carker apenas apertou a mão de Walter. Parecia quase envergonhado e com medo até de fazer isso. Depois desejou boa noite, aconselhou Walter a se apressar e foi embora.

- Venha, Srta. Dombey - disse Walter, olhando para o Sr. Carker enquanto eles também se afastavam. - Vamos à casa do meu tio o mais depressa possível. A senhorita já ouviu o Sr. Dombey falar do Sr. Carker mais velho, Srta. Florence?

English → - Não - respondeu a menina com brandura. - Não ouço o papai falar com frequência.

- É verdade, e que vergonha para ele - pensou Walter. Depois de passar um minuto olhando para o rostinho meigo e paciente ao seu lado, disse: - O Sr. Carker mais velho é o homem mais estranho que a senhorita poderia imaginar, Srta. Florence. Ficaria tão confusa quanto eu se entendesse o interesse incomum que ele tem por mim, embora me evite; a posição tão baixa que ocupa em nosso escritório; e como nunca é promovido nem reclama. A cada ano, vê homens mais jovens passarem à sua frente, enquanto seu próprio irmão mais novo é nosso gerente-chefe.

English → Não se podia esperar que Florence entendesse muito daquilo, então Walter usou sua habitual energia juvenil para mudar de assunto. Quando um dos sapatos azarados caiu novamente no momento certo, ele se ofereceu para carregá-la até a casa do tio. Embora muito cansada, Florence recusou rindo, pois ele poderia deixá-la cair. Já estavam perto do Guarda-Marinha de madeira. Walter continuou citando exemplos de naufrágios e outros acidentes emocionantes nos quais meninos mais jovens do que ele haviam resgatado e carregado com bravura meninas mais velhas do que Florence. Ainda falavam disso quando chegaram à porta do fabricante de instrumentos.

- Olá, tio Sol! - gritou Walter, entrando de repente na loja. Daquele momento em diante, falou sem ordem e sem fôlego pelo resto da noite. - Eis uma aventura maravilhosa! A filha do Sr. Dombey perdeu-se nas ruas e teve as roupas roubadas por uma velha bruxa. Eu a encontrei e a trouxe para descansar em nossa sala. Olhe aqui!

English → - Meu Deus! - disse tio Sol, recuando contra sua caixa de bússolas favorita. - Não pode ser! Bem, eu...

- Não, e ninguém mais acreditaria também - disse Walter, completando o pensamento dele. - Ninguém acreditaria nem poderia acreditar, sabe. Aqui, ajude-me a levar o pequeno sofá para perto do fogo, tio Sol. Cuidado com os pratos. Corte um pouco de comida para ela, tio. Jogue esses sapatos debaixo da lareira. Srta. Florence, coloque os pés junto ao fogo para secar. Como estão molhados! Que aventura, tio! Meu Deus, como estou com calor!

Solomon Gills ficou igualmente acalorado por simpatia e completa confusão. Acariciou a cabeça de Florence, insistiu para que comesse e bebesse e esfregou as solas dos pés dela com o lenço depois de aquecê-lo no fogo. Seus olhos e ouvidos seguiam o sobrinho sempre em movimento. Não entendia nada com clareza, exceto que o jovem animado continuava esbarrando nele e derrubando-o enquanto corria pela sala, tentando fazer vinte coisas ao mesmo tempo e não concluindo nenhuma.

English → - Espere um instante, tio - continuou Walter, pegando uma vela. - Vou correr lá para cima, vestir outra jaqueta e depois partir. Diga, tio, isto não é uma aventura?

- Meu querido rapaz - disse Solomon, com os óculos na testa e o grande cronômetro no bolso, movendo-se sem parar entre Florence no sofá e o sobrinho por toda a sala - é a coisa mais extraordinária...

- Não, mas faça isso, por favor, tio. Coma, por favor, Srta. Florence. O jantar, sabe, tio.

- Sim, sim, sim - gritou Solomon, cortando imediatamente uma perna de carneiro como se fosse alimentar um gigante. - Vou cuidar dela, Wally! Entendi. Pobrezinha! Deve estar morrendo de fome. Vá se preparar. Meu Deus! Sir Richard Whittington, três vezes Lord Mayor de Londres!

Walter subiu rapidamente ao sótão elevado e desceu outra vez. Enquanto isso, Florence, vencida pelo cansaço, adormecera diante do fogo. Aqueles poucos minutos de tranquilidade deram a Solomon Gills tempo suficiente para recuperar o juízo, preparar algum conforto para ela, escurecer o aposento e protegê-la das chamas fortes. Quando Walter voltou, ela dormia em paz.

English → “Isso é excelente!”, sussurrou ele, abraçando Solomon com tanta força que uma nova expressão apareceu no rosto do velho. “Agora vou. Levarei um pedaço de pão porque estou com muita fome - e não a acorde, tio Sol.”

- Não, não - disse Solomon. - Linda criança.

- Linda mesmo! - exclamou Walter. - Nunca vi um rosto assim, tio Sol. Agora vou.

- Isso mesmo - disse Solomon, muito aliviado.

- Escute, tio Sol - chamou Walter, enfiando o rosto pela porta.

- Lá vem ele de novo - disse Solomon.

- Como ela parece agora?

- Muito feliz - disse Solomon.

- Isso é maravilhoso! Agora vou.

- Espero que vá mesmo - disse Solomon consigo.

- Escute, tio Sol - chamou Walter, aparecendo novamente à porta.

- Lá vem ele outra vez! - disse Solomon.

- Encontramos o Sr. Carker mais jovem na rua, mais estranho do que nunca. Ele se despediu de mim, mas nos seguiu até aqui. Que coisa curiosa! Quando chegamos à porta da loja, olhei para trás e o vi indo embora em silêncio, como um criado que me levara em segurança para casa ou um cão fiel. Como ela parece agora, tio?

English → - Quase igual a antes, Wally - respondeu tio Sol.

- Isso é bom. Agora vou!

Dessa vez Walter realmente partiu. Solomon Gills não tinha vontade de jantar e ficou sentado do outro lado do fogo, observando Florence dormir e construindo muitos castelos imaginários da arquitetura mais fantástica. Na luz fraca, cercado de perto por todos os seus instrumentos, parecia um mágico disfarçado com uma peruca galesa e roupas cor de café, mantendo a criança num sono encantado.

Enquanto isso, Walter seguia para a casa do Sr. Dombey mais depressa do que um cavalo de aluguel normalmente conseguia. Mesmo assim, a cada dois ou três minutos punha a cabeça para fora da janela e protestava com impaciência ao cocheiro. Ao chegar, saltou, contou sem fôlego ao criado o motivo de sua visita e o seguiu diretamente até a biblioteca. Muitas pessoas falavam ali em confusão: o Sr. Dombey, sua irmã, a Srta. Tox, Richards e Nipper estavam todos reunidos.

English → - Oh, desculpe-me, senhor - disse Walter, correndo até ele - mas fico feliz em dizer que está tudo bem. A Srta. Dombey foi encontrada!

O rosto franco do menino, os cabelos soltos, os olhos brilhantes e sua alegria e agitação sem fôlego formavam um contraste maravilhoso com o Sr. Dombey, sentado diante dele na cadeira da biblioteca.

- Eu lhe disse, Louisa, que certamente a encontrariam - disse o Sr. Dombey, olhando um pouco por cima do ombro para a irmã, que chorava com a Srta. Tox. - Avise aos criados que nenhuma outra providência é necessária. O menino que trouxe a notícia é o jovem Gay, do escritório. Como minha filha foi encontrada, senhor? Sei como ela se perdeu. Nesse ponto, olhou majestosamente para Richards. - Mas como foi encontrada? Quem a encontrou?

- Bem, acredito que encontrei a Srta. Dombey, senhor - disse Walter com modéstia. - Pelo menos, não sei se posso reivindicar o mérito de tê-la encontrado exatamente, mas fui o instrumento feliz pelo qual...

English → - O que quer dizer, senhor? - interrompeu o Sr. Dombey. Ele sentiu antipatia natural pelo evidente orgulho e prazer do menino em sua participação no acontecimento. - O que quer dizer ao afirmar que não encontrou exatamente minha filha e que foi um instrumento feliz? Por favor, fale de modo simples e claro.

Walter não conseguia falar com clareza naquele estado sem fôlego. Mesmo assim, explicou-se tão bem quanto pôde e contou por que viera sozinho.

- Ouviu isso, garota? - disse o Sr. Dombey severamente à criada de olhos negros. - Pegue o necessário e volte imediatamente com este jovem para trazer a Srta. Florence para casa. Gay, você será recompensado amanhã.

- Oh, obrigado, senhor - disse Walter. - O senhor é muito bondoso. Eu realmente não estava pensando em recompensa alguma, senhor.

- Você é um menino - disse o Sr. Dombey de repente e quase com ferocidade - e o que pensa, ou finge pensar, tem pouca importância. Fez bem, senhor. Não estrague isso. Louisa, por favor, dê um pouco de vinho ao rapaz.

English → O Sr. Dombey observou Walter Gay sair sob a orientação da Sra. Chick com forte desagrado. Talvez sua mente seguisse o menino sem prazer maior enquanto Walter voltava à loja do tio com a Srta. Susan Nipper.

Encontraram Florence muito revigorada pelo sono. Ela jantara e conhecera muito melhor Solomon Gills, com quem agora se sentia inteiramente confiante e à vontade. A criada de olhos negros chorara tanto que agora poderia ser chamada de olhos vermelhos. Calada e abatida, abraçou Florence sem censura nem crítica e recebeu-a com enorme emoção. Depois transformou temporariamente a sala numa sala de vestir particular e vestiu Florence com muito cuidado em roupas adequadas. Logo conduziu a menina para fora, parecendo tão Dombey quanto suas limitações naturais permitiam.

- Boa noite! - disse Florence, correndo até Solomon. - O senhor foi muito bom para mim.

O velho Sol ficou encantado e a beijou como um avô.

English → - Boa noite, Walter! Adeus! - disse Florence.

- Adeus! - disse Walter, oferecendo as duas mãos.

- Nunca vou esquecer você - continuou Florence. - Não, de verdade, nunca vou. Adeus, Walter!

Com a gratidão inocente do coração, a criança ergueu o rosto para ele. Walter inclinou o próprio rosto e o levantou novamente, vermelho e ardente. Depois olhou timidamente para tio Sol.

- Onde está Walter? - Boa noite, Walter! - Adeus, Walter! - Aperte minha mão mais uma vez, Walter! Florence continuou chamando mesmo depois de ela e sua pequena criada serem fechadas dentro da carruagem. Quando finalmente partiram, Walter ficou alegremente à porta e respondeu ao aceno do lenço dela. Atrás dele, o Aspirante de madeira também parecia interessado apenas naquela carruagem e ignorava todas as outras que passavam.

Logo chegaram à mansão do Sr. Dombey, e mais uma vez muitas vozes encheram a biblioteca. Também mandaram a carruagem esperar novamente. - Para a Sra. Richards - sussurrou de modo sombrio um dos colegas criados de Susan quando ela passou com Florence.

English → A entrada da criança perdida causou alguma comoção, mas não muita. O Sr. Dombey, que nunca a encontrara por conta própria, beijou-a uma vez na testa e advertiu-a a não fugir de novo nem passear com acompanhantes traiçoeiros. A Sra. Chick interrompeu suas lamentações sobre a corrupção da natureza humana, mesmo quando uma escola de caridade oferecia o caminho da virtude, e recebeu Florence com menos calor do que uma Dombey perfeita mereceria. A Srta. Tox ajustou seus sentimentos aos modelos diante dela. Somente a culpada Richards abriu o coração em palavras entrecortadas de boas-vindas e curvou-se sobre a cabecinha errante como se realmente a amasse.

- Ah, Richards! - disse a Sra. Chick com um suspiro. - Aqueles que desejam pensar bem dos semelhantes teriam ficado muito mais satisfeitos, e teria sido muito mais digno de você, se tivesse demonstrado a devida preocupação antes pela criancinha que agora perderá cedo demais seu alimento natural.

English → - Separada - sussurrou a Srta. Tox com tristeza - da única fonte comum!

- Se eu estivesse em sua posição ingrata - disse a Sra. Chick solenemente - e tivesse seus pensamentos, Richards, sentiria que o uniforme da escola de caridade arruinaria meu filho e que a educação o sufocaria.

Na verdade, embora a Sra. Chick não soubesse, o uniforme já prejudicara bastante o menino. Quanto à educação, seu castigo também poderia chegar com o tempo, pois era uma tempestade de soluços e pancadas.

English → “Louisa!”, disse o Sr. Dombey. “Não é necessário prolongar esses comentários. A mulher foi demitida e paga. Você está deixando esta casa, Richards, porque levou meu filho - meu filho”, repetiu com força, “a lugares e companhias nos quais não se pode pensar sem horror. Considero o acidente ocorrido com a Srta. Florence esta manhã afortunado num sentido importante. Sem ele, jamais teria sabido, e de seus próprios lábios, o que você fez. Louisa, creio que a outra ama, a jovem” - a Srta. Nipper soluçou alto - “pode ficar, pois é muito mais nova e foi naturalmente influenciada pela ama de Paul. Por favor, providencie o pagamento da carruagem desta mulher até...” O Sr. Dombey parou e fez uma expressão de dor. “Até Staggs's Gardens.”

English → Polly caminhou para a porta enquanto Florence se agarrava ao vestido dela e implorava com gritos comoventes para que não fosse embora. Ver sua própria carne e sangue agarrada àquela mulher desconhecida e insignificante enquanto ele estava sentado ali era uma faca no coração do pai orgulhoso e uma flecha em seu cérebro. Não era que se importasse com quem a filha amava ou rejeitava. A dor súbita e aguda o atingiu porque imaginou o filho fazendo a mesma coisa.

Ao menos o filho chorou alto naquela noite. Na verdade, o pobre Paul tinha motivo melhor para suas lágrimas do que meninos daquela idade normalmente tinham. Perdera sua segunda mãe - a primeira mãe que conhecera - por um golpe tão repentino quanto a tristeza natural que escurecera o começo de sua vida. Com o mesmo golpe, sua irmã, que chorou tristemente até adormecer, também perdera uma amiga boa e fiel. Mas isso não vem ao caso. Não desperdicemos palavras com isso.

CAPÍTULO VII. Um Vislumbre a Voo de Pássaro da Morada da senhorita Tox: e também do Estado dos Afetos da senhorita Tox

English → A Srta. Tox morava numa pequena casa escura que, muito tempo antes, fora de algum modo espremida num bairro elegante do oeste de Londres. Ficava à sombra como uma parenta pobre da grande rua da esquina, observada com frieza por mansões poderosas. Não estava exatamente num pátio nem num quintal, mas na mais triste rua sem saída, tornada ansiosa e cansada pelas batidas duplas e distantes nas portas. Esse lugar tranquilo, onde a grama crescia entre as pedras do calçamento, chamava-se Princess's Place. Ali ficava a Capela da Princesa, com um sino de som fino, onde às vezes até vinte e cinco pessoas assistiam ao culto de domingo. A taverna Princess's Arms também ficava ali e era frequentada por esplêndidos lacaios. Uma liteira permanecia atrás das grades diante dela, mas nunca saíra dali na memória de ninguém. Nas manhãs bonitas, um caneco de estanho decorava o alto de cada uma das quarenta e oito grades, como a Srta. Tox contara muitas vezes.

English → Além da casa da Srta. Tox, Princess's Place continha outra residência particular. Havia também um par de portões enormes com gigantescas aldravas em forma de cabeça de leão. Nunca eram abertos e acreditava-se que fossem uma entrada abandonada para os estábulos de alguém. De fato, Princess's Place tinha um leve cheiro de estábulo. O quarto dos fundos da Srta. Tox dava para uma fileira de construções onde cavalariços acompanhavam qualquer trabalho com ruídos animados. As roupas mais íntimas dos cocheiros, de suas esposas e famílias geralmente pendiam nas paredes externas como as bandeiras de Macbeth.

A outra residência particular de Princess's Place pertencia a um mordomo aposentado casado com uma ex-governanta. Eles alugavam quartos mobiliados a um cavalheiro solteiro: um major de rosto de madeira e pele azulada, cujos olhos pareciam saltar da cabeça. A Srta. Tox dizia haver nele algo verdadeiramente militar. De vez em quando, trocavam jornais, folhetos e leves sinais de interesse romântico por meio do criado de pele escura do major. A Srta. Tox contentava-se em chamar o homem de nativo sem ligá-lo a qualquer lugar específico do mundo.

English → Talvez entrada e escada alguma fossem menores do que as da casa da Srta. Tox. De cima a baixo, talvez fosse a casinha mais inconveniente e torta da Inglaterra. Mas a Srta. Tox sempre elogiava sua localização. No inverno, havia pouquíssima luz do dia e nunca havia sol. Ar fresco era impossível, e os muros mantinham o trânsito afastado. Mesmo assim, dizia a Srta. Tox, pensem na localização! O major de rosto azul e olhos arregalados dizia o mesmo. Orgulhava-se de Princess's Place e gostava de conduzir as conversas no clube para as pessoas importantes da grande rua da esquina, a fim de poder chamá-las orgulhosamente de vizinhas.

Em resumo, a Srta. Tox e o major de rosto azul acreditavam que Princess's Place precisava apenas de boas relações e sangue nobre, assim como uma pequena parte da sociedade acha que isso basta para muitos seguidores insignificantes de gente importante. O lugar podia ser pobre, mesquinho, gasto, estúpido e triste. Isso não importava. A grande rua da esquina continuava até Princess's Place. Uma crítica áspera que seria aceitável sobre a comum High Holborn tornava-se terrível blasfêmia quando dita sobre Princess's Place.

English → A casa escura onde a Srta. Tox vivia pertencia a ela. O falecido dono do olho de peixe mostrado em seu medalhão a deixara para ela. Um pequeno retrato dele, com cabelo empoado e rabo de cavalo, pendia de um lado da lareira da sala, equilibrando um suporte de chaleira do outro. A maior parte dos móveis vinha do mesmo período antigo. Incluía um aquecedor de pratos que sempre estendia suas quatro pernas finas e curvas no caminho de alguém e um cravo antiquado decorado ao redor do nome do fabricante com um círculo pintado de ervilhas-de-cheiro. Os visitantes geralmente notavam cheiro de mofo por toda a casa. Em dias quentes, a Srta. Tox fora vista aparentemente escrevendo nas rachaduras das paredes de madeira com a ponta errada de uma pena mergulhada em terebintina.

English → O major Bagstock chegara ao que os livros educados chamam de ponto mais alto da vida e seguia ladeira abaixo. Quase não tinha pescoço, possuía maxilares muito rígidos, orelhas longas e pendentes como as de um elefante, além dos olhos e da cor de pele excitados já descritos. Ainda assim, sentia enorme orgulho por despertar o interesse da Srta. Tox. Alimentava sua vaidade com a falsa crença de que ela era uma mulher esplêndida de olho nele. Várias vezes no clube insinuara isso enquanto fazia piadas nas quais o velho Joe Bagstock, o velho Joey Bagstock, o velho J. Bagstock ou algum nome parecido era sempre o tema. A forma mais segura de humor leve do major era tratar o próprio nome com a maior familiaridade.

- Joey B., senhor - costumava dizer o major, agitando a bengala - vale por doze de vocês. Todos estariam melhores com mais alguns membros da família Bagstock entre vocês, senhor. Mesmo agora, o velho Joe não precisaria procurar longe uma esposa se quisesse uma. Mas Joe tem coração duro, senhor. É resistente, senhor, resistente e diabolicamente esperto! Depois de tal declaração, o major respirava com ruído, seu rosto azul ficava roxo e os olhos se esforçavam e saltavam descontroladamente.

English → Apesar de elogiar a si mesmo com tanta liberdade, o major era egoísta. Talvez ninguém jamais tivesse sido mais completamente egoísta de coração - ou de estômago, o que pode ser mais exato, pois esse órgão era muito mais desenvolvido nele do que o coração. Não conseguia imaginar ser ignorado ou tratado como insignificante por ninguém. Muito menos podia compreender ser ignorado e tratado como insignificante pela Srta. Tox.

Contudo, a Srta. Tox parecia esquecê-lo pouco a pouco. Começou a esquecê-lo logo depois de descobrir a família Toodle. Continuou esquecendo-o até o batizado. Depois disso, esqueceu-o numa velocidade ainda maior. Algo ou alguém o substituíra como fonte de interesse.

- Bom dia, senhora - disse o major quando encontrou a Srta. Tox em Princess's Place, várias semanas depois das mudanças descritas no capítulo anterior.

- Bom dia, senhor - disse a Srta. Tox com muita frieza.

- Joe Bagstock, senhora - disse o major com sua galanteria habitual - há muito tempo não tem a felicidade de cumprimentá-la à janela. Joe tem sido maltratado, senhora. Seu sol está atrás de uma nuvem.

English → A Srta. Tox inclinou a cabeça, mas com enorme frieza.

- Talvez a estrela brilhante de Joe tenha estado fora da cidade, senhora? - perguntou o major.

- Eu? Fora da cidade? Oh, não, não estive fora - disse a Srta. Tox. - Tenho estado muito ocupada ultimamente. Quase todo o meu tempo é dedicado a alguns amigos muito íntimos. Receio não ter tempo livre nem agora. Bom dia, senhor!

A Srta. Tox afastou-se de Princess's Place com seu passo e porte mais encantadores. O major ficou olhando para ela com o rosto mais azul do que nunca, murmurando e rosnando comentários nada gentis.

- Ora, com os diabos, senhor - disse o major, girando seus olhos de lagosta por Princess's Place e falando ao ar perfumado - seis meses atrás, a mulher adorava o chão em que Josh Bagstock pisava. O que isso significa?

Depois de pensar, o major decidiu que aquilo significava armadilhas para homens, planos e laços. A Srta. Tox estava cavando buracos escondidos. - Mas você não pegará Joe, senhora - disse o major. - J.B. é resistente, senhora, resistente e diabolicamente esperto! Riu desse pensamento pelo resto do dia.

English → Mas, depois que aquele dia e muitos outros passaram, a Srta. Tox continuou sem prestar atenção ao major e nunca pensava nele. Antigamente, às vezes olhava por acaso de uma de suas pequenas janelas escuras e devolvia o cumprimento dele corando. Agora nunca lhe dava oportunidade e não se importava se ele olhava para o outro lado da rua. Outras mudanças também haviam acontecido. De pé à sombra dos próprios aposentos, o major via que a casa da Srta. Tox se tornara recentemente mais elegante. O pequeno canário antigo ganhara uma nova gaiola com arames dourados. Enfeites recortados de cartão e papel coloridos cobriam a lareira e as mesas. Uma ou duas plantas surgiram de repente nas janelas. A Srta. Tox às vezes praticava no cravo, exibindo com orgulho as ervilhas-de-cheiro pintadas sob a Valsa de Copenhague e a Valsa do Pássaro num livro de música copiado por sua própria mão.

Além de tudo isso, havia muito tempo a Srta. Tox se vestia com cuidado e elegância incomuns em roupas de luto leve. Isso ajudou o major a resolver o mistério. Decidiu que ela recebera uma pequena herança e ficara orgulhosa.

English → No dia seguinte àquele em que chegara a essa decisão reconfortante, o major estava tomando café e viu uma aparição tão grandiosa e maravilhosa na pequena sala da Srta. Tox que permaneceu paralisado na cadeira por algum tempo. Depois correu ao aposento seguinte e voltou com um binóculo de ópera de dois canos, estudando a visão atentamente por vários minutos.

- É um bebê, senhor - disse o major, fechando o binóculo - ou pagarei cinquenta mil libras!

O major não conseguia esquecer. Só conseguia assobiar e olhar fixamente com tanta intensidade que seus olhos de antigamente agora pareciam profundos e fundos em comparação. Dia após dia, duas, três ou quatro vezes por semana, o bebê reaparecia. O major continuava olhando e assobiando. Em todos os outros sentidos, estava sozinho em Princess's Place. A Srta. Tox já não se importava com o que ele fazia. Poderia ter sido negro em vez de azul, e isso não faria diferença alguma para ela.

English → Sua determinação era extraordinária. Saía de Princess's Place para buscar o bebê e a ama, voltava com eles, acompanhava-os de volta para casa e montava guarda constante. Pegava o bebê no colo, alimentava-o, brincava com ele e congelava seu jovem sangue com músicas no cravo. Por volta da mesma época, desenvolveu paixão por olhar para certa pulseira e outra paixão por observar a lua durante longos períodos da janela do quarto. Mas, quer olhasse para o sol, a lua, as estrelas ou a pulseira, jamais olhava para o major. O major assobiava, encarava, perguntava-se e movia-se às escondidas pelo aposento, mas nada conseguia entender.

- Você conquistará completamente o coração do meu irmão Paul, e essa é a verdade, minha querida - disse a Sra. Chick certo dia.

A Srta. Tox ficou pálida.

- Ele fica mais parecido com Paul a cada dia - disse a Sra. Chick.

A Srta. Tox não deu resposta falada. Pegou o pequeno Paul nos braços e deixou a fita decorativa dele completamente achatada e mole com seus carinhos.

English → - A mãe dele, minha querida - disse a Srta. Tox - que eu conheceria por seu intermédio... ele se parece de alguma forma com ela?

- De modo algum - respondeu Louisa.

- Ela era... era bonita, creio? - perguntou a Srta. Tox com hesitação.

- Bem, a pobre e querida Fanny era interessante - disse a Sra. Chick depois de julgar cuidadosamente a questão. - Certamente interessante. Não tinha aquele ar dominante de superioridade que se esperaria naturalmente encontrar na esposa do meu irmão. Nem possuía a força e a energia mental que um homem assim exige.

A Srta. Tox soltou um suspiro profundo.

- Mas ela era agradável - disse a Sra. Chick. - Extremamente agradável. E tinha boas intenções! Ai, meu Deus, como a pobre Fanny tinha boas intenções!

- Seu anjo! - exclamou a Srta. Tox para o pequeno Paul. - Você é o retrato perfeito do seu papai!

Se o major soubesse quantas esperanças e riscos, planos e suposições repousavam sobre a cabeça daquele bebê, e os visse voando em confusão ao redor da touca enrugada do pequeno Paul, teria realmente ficado de olhos arregalados. Entre eles, reconheceria algumas esperanças ambiciosas pertencentes à Srta. Tox. Então talvez entendesse a natureza do investimento incerto daquela senhora na Firma Dombey.

English → Se a própria criança tivesse acordado à noite e visto reflexos fracos dos sonhos alheios sobre ela reunidos ao redor das cortinas do berço, poderia com razão ter ficado assustada. Mas continuou dormindo, sem conhecer as bondosas intenções da Srta. Tox, o espanto do major, as primeiras tristezas da irmã e as visões severas do pai. Não sabia que qualquer lugar da Terra continha um Dombey ou um Filho.

CAPÍTULO VIII. Novos Progressos, Crescimento e Caráter de Paul

English → Sob os olhos atentos do Tempo, outro tipo de Major, o sono de Paul mudou gradualmente. Mais luz entrou nele. Sonhos mais claros o perturbaram. Uma multidão crescente de objetos e impressões reuniu-se ao redor de seu descanso. Assim, passou da primeira infância para a infância e tornou-se um Dombey que falava, caminhava e se maravilhava.

Depois que Richards foi demitida e expulsa, o quarto das crianças passou a ser administrado por uma comissão, como às vezes acontece com um departamento público quando nenhuma pessoa forte pode sustentá-lo sozinha. As integrantes eram naturalmente a Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox. Trabalharam com energia tão surpreendente que o major Bagstock recebia todos os dias um novo lembrete de que fora abandonado. Enquanto isso, o Sr. Chick, livre do controle doméstico, lançou-se à vida elegante. Jantou em clubes e cafés, cheirou a fumaça em três ocasiões, foi sozinho ao teatro e, como a Sra. Chick certa vez lhe disse, rompeu todos os laços sociais e deveres morais.

English → Apesar da promessa inicial, toda aquela vigilância e cuidado não conseguiam tornar o pequeno Paul forte. Talvez delicado por natureza, ficou fraco e magro depois da demissão da ama. Por muito tempo, pareceu apenas esperar uma oportunidade de escapar das mãos deles e procurar a mãe perdida. Depois de passar por essa parte perigosa da corrida para a idade adulta, ainda encontrou um caminho extremamente difícil e cheio de obstáculos. Cada novo dente era uma cerca mortal, e cada mancha de sarampo, um muro de pedra. Cada ataque de coqueluche o derrubava, e uma multidão inteira de pequenas doenças passava por cima dele e o esmagava uma após outra, impedindo-o de se levantar. Em vez do sapinho comum, alguma ave de rapina parecia entrar em sua garganta. Até as galinhas pareciam tornar-se selvagens e atacá-lo como tigres, se tinham algo a ver com a doença infantil que leva seu nome.

English → Talvez o frio do batizado de Paul tivesse atingido uma parte sensível de sua natureza que não conseguia se recuperar na sombra fria do pai. Desde aquele dia, foi uma criança infeliz. A Sra. Wickam dizia muitas vezes que nunca vira uma criança querida tão maltratada pela vida.

A Sra. Wickam era esposa de um garçom, posição quase equivalente a ser viúva de qualquer outro homem. Seu pedido para trabalhar para o Sr. Dombey fora aceito porque parecia impossível que tivesse admiradores ou alguém que provavelmente a visitasse. Um ou dois dias depois que Paul foi afastado do peito de forma repentina, ela se tornou sua ama. A Sra. Wickam era uma mulher mansa, de pele clara, cujas sobrancelhas estavam sempre erguidas e cuja cabeça sempre pendia. Estava sempre pronta a sentir pena de si, receber a pena alheia ou sentir pena de qualquer pessoa. Possuía uma capacidade natural surpreendente de ver todos os assuntos da maneira mais triste possível, encontrar exemplos anteriores terríveis e obter enorme consolo ao usar esse talento.

English → Naturalmente, o magnífico conhecimento do Sr. Dombey nunca recebeu nem uma indicação dessa qualidade sombria. Isso teria sido notável, pois ninguém na casa, nem mesmo a Sra. Chick ou a Srta. Tox, ousava sussurrar-lhe que existira a menor razão para preocupação com o pequeno Paul. Ele decidira que a criança precisava naturalmente atravessar uma série regular de pequenas doenças e que, quanto mais cedo o fizesse, melhor. Teria pagado de bom grado condições generosas para livrar Paul delas ou fornecer outra pessoa para sofrer em seu lugar, como alguém escaparia de uma seleção militar azarada. Como isso era impossível, apenas se perguntava com orgulho, de tempos em tempos, o que a Natureza pretendia. Consolava-se pensando que outro marco fora ultrapassado e o grande fim da jornada estava mais próximo. Seu sentimento mais forte, que crescia sem parar à medida que Paul envelhecia, era a impaciência: impaciência pelo futuro em que seus sonhos de importância e grandeza compartilhadas se realizariam triunfalmente.

English → Alguns filósofos dizem que o egoísmo está na raiz de nossos melhores amores e afetos. Desde o início, o filhinho do Sr. Dombey claramente importava para ele como parte de sua própria grandeza, o que era o mesmo que a grandeza de Dombey e Filho. Portanto, seu amor paterno podia ser facilmente rastreado, como muitos edifícios belos e famosos, até uma fundação muito baixa. Ainda assim, amava o filho com todo o amor que possuía. Se havia algum lugar quente em seu coração congelado, o filho o ocupava. Se sua superfície dura podia receber alguma imagem, a imagem do filho estava ali - não principalmente como bebê ou menino, mas como homem adulto, o Filho da Firma. Por isso, o Sr. Dombey queria impacientemente entrar no futuro e atravessar depressa as partes intermediárias da vida do menino. Apesar do amor, sentia pouca ou nenhuma ansiedade por elas. Acreditava que a vida do menino era protegida por magia e que ele necessariamente se tornaria o homem com quem o Sr. Dombey conversava sem parar em pensamento e para quem fazia planos diários como se já existisse.

English → Paul cresceu até ter quase cinco anos. Era um menino bonito, embora seu pequeno rosto parecesse pálido e tristemente pensativo. Isso fazia a Sra. Wickam balançar a cabeça de modo significativo e respirar fundo muitas vezes. Seu temperamento prometia que seria autoritário quando adulto. Também demonstrava uma promissora compreensão da própria importância e do dever adequado de todas as outras pessoas e coisas de servi-lo. Às vezes, era brincalhão e infantil e não tinha natureza mal-humorada. Em outras ocasiões, porém, tinha o estranho hábito antiquado e pensativo de ficar sentado em silêncio numa poltroninha. Então parecia e falava como uma daquelas criaturinhas assustadoras dos contos de fadas que têm cento e cinquenta ou duzentos anos, mas substituem de modo estranho as crianças humanas levadas embora. Essa seriedade precoce muitas vezes o atingia no quarto das crianças. Às vezes caía nela de repente enquanto brincava com Florence ou fingia conduzir a Srta. Tox como um único cavalo, dizendo estar cansado. Mas acontecia com maior certeza quando sua pequena cadeira era levada ao aposento do pai e ele se sentava com o Sr. Dombey junto ao fogo depois do jantar. Eram o par mais estranho já iluminado pelo fogo. O Sr. Dombey sentava-se ereto e solene, olhando as chamas. Sua pequena cópia, com rosto antigo, contemplava a distância vermelha com a atenção fixa de um sábio. O Sr. Dombey examinava planos comerciais complicados, enquanto a pequena cópia examinava só Deus sabia que ideias estranhas, pensamentos incompletos e perguntas errantes. O Sr. Dombey era rígido pelas roupas finas e pelo orgulho; a pequena cópia era rígida por herança e imitação inconsciente. Eram extremamente parecidos e, ainda assim, completamente diferentes.

English → Numa dessas ocasiões, ambos permaneceram inteiramente calados por muito tempo. O Sr. Dombey só sabia que a criança estava acordada porque às vezes olhava para o olho de Paul, onde o fogo brilhante cintilava como uma joia. Então o pequeno Paul rompeu o silêncio:

- Papai! O que é dinheiro?

A pergunta repentina se relacionava tão diretamente ao que o Sr. Dombey estivera pensando que o deixou completamente confuso.

- O que é dinheiro, Paul? - respondeu ele. - Dinheiro?

- Sim - disse a criança, colocando as mãos nos braços da pequena cadeira e virando o rosto de aparência antiga para o Sr. Dombey. - O que é dinheiro?

O Sr. Dombey achou a pergunta difícil. Queria dar uma explicação usando termos como meio de troca, moeda, perda de valor da moeda, papel-moeda, barras de ouro e prata, taxas de câmbio, valor de mercado dos metais preciosos e assim por diante. Mas olhou para a pequena cadeira e viu quão abaixo dele ela estava. Então respondeu: - Ouro, prata e cobre. Guinéus, xelins e moedas de meio penny. Você sabe o que são?

English → - Oh, sim, sei o que são - disse Paul. - Não é isso que quero dizer, papai. Quero dizer: afinal, o que é dinheiro de verdade?

Céus e terra, como seu rosto parecia velho quando ele o ergueu novamente para o pai!

- Afinal, o que é dinheiro? - disse o Sr. Dombey. Ele afastou um pouco a cadeira para poder encarar, com puro espanto, a pequena criatura atrevida que fizera tal pergunta.

- Quero dizer, papai, o que ele pode fazer? - respondeu Paul. Cruzou os braços, embora mal fossem compridos o bastante, e olhou para o fogo, depois para o pai, então para o fogo e para ele outra vez.

O Sr. Dombey levou a cadeira de volta ao lugar anterior e deu tapinhas na cabeça de Paul. - Você entenderá melhor mais tarde, meu rapaz - disse ele. - O dinheiro, Paul, pode fazer qualquer coisa. Enquanto falava, pegou a mãozinha e bateu-a suavemente contra uma das suas.

English → Mas Paul soltou a mão assim que pôde. Esfregou-a suavemente de um lado para o outro no braço da cadeira, como se sua inteligência estivesse na palma e ele a estivesse afiando. Depois tornou a olhar para o fogo, como se este o tivesse aconselhado e lhe dado a deixa, e, após uma breve pausa, repetiu:

- Qualquer coisa, papai?

- Sim. Quase qualquer coisa - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Qualquer coisa quer dizer tudo, não é, papai? - perguntou o filho, sem notar ou talvez sem entender a ressalva.

- Inclui tudo, sim - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Então por que o dinheiro não salvou minha mamãe? - respondeu a criança. - Ele não é cruel, é?

- Cruel! - disse o Sr. Dombey, ajeitando a gravata e parecendo ofendido com a ideia. - Não. Uma coisa boa não pode ser cruel.

- Se é uma coisa boa e pode fazer qualquer coisa - disse o menino pensativo, voltando a olhar para o fogo - , eu me pergunto por que não salvou minha mamãe.

English → Desta vez ele não fez a pergunta ao pai. Talvez, com a rápida percepção de uma criança, tivesse visto que ela já deixara o pai desconfortável. Mas repetiu o pensamento em voz alta, como se fosse antigo e o tivesse perturbado muito. Ficou sentado com o queixo apoiado na mão, ainda pensando e procurando uma explicação no fogo.

English → O Sr. Dombey se recuperou da surpresa, e até do alarme, pois aquela era a primeira vez que a criança lhe falava da mãe, embora os dois se sentassem juntos daquela maneira noite após noite. Explicou que o dinheiro era uma força muito poderosa e jamais devia ser desprezado, mas não conseguia manter vivas as pessoas cuja hora de morrer havia chegado. Infelizmente, todos tinham de morrer, mesmo na City e por mais ricos que fossem. Porém, o dinheiro fazia com que nos honrassem, temessem, respeitassem, procurassem e admirassem, e nos tornava poderosos e gloriosos aos olhos de todos. Muitas vezes também podia adiar a morte por bastante tempo. Por exemplo, garantira à mamãe de Paul os serviços do Sr. Pilkins, dos quais o próprio Paul se beneficiara muitas vezes, além dos serviços do grande doutor Parker Peps, que Paul nunca conhecera. O dinheiro podia fazer tudo o que fosse possível fazer. O Sr. Dombey ensinou isso e muito mais do mesmo tipo ao filho. Paul ouviu com atenção e pareceu compreender a maior parte.

English → - Também não pode me deixar forte e completamente saudável, papai, pode? - perguntou Paul após um breve silêncio, esfregando as mãozinhas.

- Mas você é forte e completamente saudável - respondeu o Sr. Dombey. - Não é?

Ah, como parecia velho o rosto que se ergueu de novo, com uma expressão meio triste e meio maliciosa!

- Você é tão forte e saudável quanto as criancinhas costumam ser, não é? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Florence é mais velha do que eu, mas sei que não sou tão forte nem tão saudável quanto ela - respondeu a criança. - E acredito que, quando Florence era pequena como eu, conseguia brincar por muito mais tempo sem se cansar. Às vezes fico tão cansado - disse o pequeno Paul, aquecendo as mãos e olhando entre as barras da lareira como se ali ocorresse um fantasmagórico teatro de bonecos - , e meus ossos doem tanto - Wickam diz que são meus ossos - que não sei o que fazer.

English → - Ah, mas isso acontece à noite - disse o Sr. Dombey, aproximando sua cadeira da do filho e pousando suavemente a mão nas costas do menino. - As criancinhas devem estar cansadas à noite, pois assim dormem bem.

- Ah, não é à noite, papai - respondeu a criança. - É durante o dia. Eu me deito no colo de Florence, e ela canta para mim. À noite sonho com coisas tão cu-ri-o-sas!

Então continuou aquecendo as mãos e pensando naqueles sonhos, como um velho ou um jovem duende.

O Sr. Dombey estava tão espantado, desconfortável e sem saber como continuar a conversa que só conseguiu ficar sentado olhando para o filho à luz do fogo, com a mão apoiada nas costas do menino como se uma força magnética a prendesse ali. Certa vez estendeu a outra mão e virou por um instante o rosto pensativo para o seu. Mas, assim que o soltou, o rosto voltou-se para o fogo e permaneceu dirigido às chamas tremeluzentes até a ama aparecer para chamar Paul para a cama.

English → - Quero que Florence venha me buscar - disse Paul.

- O senhor não vem com sua pobre ama Wickam, mestre Paul? - perguntou a ama com grande tristeza.

- Não, não vou - respondeu Paul, acomodando-se de novo na poltrona como o dono da casa.

A Sra. Wickam invocou uma bênção sobre a inocência dele e se retirou. Logo Florence apareceu em seu lugar. A criança levantou-se imediatamente, com súbita energia e vivacidade. Ao erguer o rosto para desejar boa noite ao pai, parecia tão mais alegre, jovem e infantil que o Sr. Dombey se sentiu muito tranquilizado pela mudança e também ficou espantado com ela.

English → Depois que os dois saíram juntos da sala, o Sr. Dombey pensou ter ouvido uma voz suave cantando. Lembrando que Paul dissera que a irmã cantava para ele, ficou curioso, abriu a porta e os escutou e observou. Florence subia com esforço a grande, larga e vazia escadaria, levando Paul nos braços. A cabeça dele repousava em seu ombro, e um braço estava solto ao redor de seu pescoço. Continuaram subindo devagar enquanto ela cantava o caminho inteiro e Paul às vezes murmurava um fraco acompanhamento. O Sr. Dombey observou-os até chegarem ao alto - não sem parar para descansar - e desaparecerem de vista. Continuou olhando para cima até que o fraco luar, brilhando tristemente pela claraboia escura, o fez voltar ao quarto.

A Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox foram convocadas para um conselho durante o jantar do dia seguinte. Quando a mesa foi retirada, o Sr. Dombey abriu a discussão exigindo saber, com franqueza e sem esconder nada, se havia algo de errado com Paul e o que o Sr. Pilkins dissera a respeito dele.

English → - Pois a criança não é tão robusta quanto eu gostaria - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Meu querido Paul - respondeu a Sra. Chick - , com seu excelente discernimento de sempre, que tenho a fraqueza de invejar toda vez que estou com você - e acredito que a Srta. Tox também -

- Ah, minha querida! - disse a Srta. Tox suavemente. - Como poderia ser diferente? Embora seja ousado aspirar a tal nível, se a ave da noite puder... mas não incomodarei o Sr. Dombey com esse pensamento. Trata-se apenas do bulbul.

O Sr. Dombey inclinou a cabeça com respeito solene, reconhecendo os bulbuls como uma instituição antiga.

- Com seu excelente discernimento de sempre, meu querido Paul - continuou a Sra. Chick - , você encontrou imediatamente o ponto principal. Nosso querido menino é tão robusto quanto poderíamos desejar. A verdade é que sua mente é demais para ele. Sua alma é grande demais para o corpo. E a maneira como essa criança querida fala! - disse a Sra. Chick, balançando a cabeça. - Ninguém acreditaria. Lucretia, pense no que ele disse ainda ontem sobre funerais!

English → - Receio - disse o Sr. Dombey, interrompendo-a com irritação - que algumas daquelas pessoas lá em cima sugiram assuntos impróprios à criança. Ontem à noite ele me falou de seus... de seus ossos - disse o Sr. Dombey, enfatizando a palavra com raiva. - Que direito alguém tem de se ocupar dos... dos ossos de meu filho? Suponho que ele não seja um esqueleto vivo.

- Muito longe disso - disse a Sra. Chick com uma expressão indescritível.

- Espero que não - respondeu o irmão. - E funerais outra vez! Quem fala de funerais com a criança? Creio que não somos agentes funerários, acompanhantes de enterro nem coveiros.

- Muito longe disso - interrompeu a Sra. Chick, com a mesma expressão profunda de antes.

- Então quem põe essas ideias na cabeça dele? - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Ontem à noite fiquei realmente chocado e alarmado. Quem põe essas coisas na cabeça dele, Louisa?

- Meu querido Paul - disse a Sra. Chick após um momento de silêncio - , não adianta perguntar. Direi com toda sinceridade que não considero Wickam uma pessoa de espírito muito alegre, ou o que se poderia chamar de uma...

English → - Uma filha de Momo - sugeriu a Srta. Tox suavemente.

- Exatamente - disse a Sra. Chick. - Mas ela é extremamente atenciosa e útil, e nada presunçosa. Na verdade, nunca vi mulher mais obediente. Eu diria isso a favor dela mesmo se estivesse sendo julgada perante um tribunal.

- Bem, Louisa, no momento você não está sendo julgada perante um tribunal - respondeu o Sr. Dombey com irritação - , portanto isso não importa.

- Meu querido Paul - disse a Sra. Chick em tom de advertência - , você precisa falar comigo com bondade, ou será o meu fim. Ao mesmo tempo, surgiu nas pálpebras da Sra. Chick uma vermelhidão de aviso que sempre anunciava chuva, a menos que o tempo mudasse imediatamente.

- Eu estava perguntando, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey com a voz mudada, após uma pausa adequada - , sobre a saúde e o verdadeiro estado de Paul.

English → - Se a querida criança - disse a Sra. Chick, no tom de quem resumia algo já combinado por todos, embora o dissesse pela primeira vez - ficou um pouco enfraquecida pela última doença e não está com a saúde vigorosa que desejaríamos; e se tem alguma fraqueza temporária no corpo e às vezes parece prestes a perder, por um momento, o uso de seus...

A Sra. Chick teve medo de dizer “membros” depois da recente objeção do Sr. Dombey a “ossos”, por isso esperou uma sugestão da Srta. Tox. Fiel a seu papel, a Srta. Tox arriscou: - Partes.

- Partes! - repetiu o Sr. Dombey.

- Creio que o médico mencionou pernas esta manhã, minha querida Louisa, não foi? - disse a Srta. Tox.

English → - É claro que mencionou, minha querida - respondeu a Sra. Chick com suave censura. - Como pode me perguntar? Você o ouviu. Digo que, se nosso querido Paul perder temporariamente o uso das pernas, esses incidentes são comuns a muitas crianças de sua idade e não podem ser evitados por nenhum cuidado ou cautela. Quanto antes você entender e admitir isso, Paul, melhor. Se tem alguma dúvida sobre quanto cuidado, cautela, afeto e sacrifício foram dedicados ao pequeno Paul, gostaria que a questão fosse submetida a seu médico ou a qualquer um de seus criados nesta casa. Chame Towlinson - disse a Sra. Chick. - Creio que ele não tem preconceito a nosso favor; muito pelo contrário. Gostaria de ouvir que acusação Towlinson pode fazer!

- Certamente você sabe, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey - , que não questiono sua devoção e seu afeto naturais pelo futuro chefe de minha família.

English → - Fico feliz em ouvir isso, Paul - disse a Sra. Chick. - Mas você realmente é muito estranho e às vezes fala de maneira muito esquisita, embora eu saiba que não faça por mal. Se a alma de seu querido menino é grande demais para o corpo, Paul, você deve lembrar de quem é a culpa - quero dizer, a quem ele puxou - e aceitar isso da melhor forma possível. Ele é tão parecido com o papai quanto poderia ser. As pessoas notaram isso nas ruas. Disseram-me que até o oficial da paróquia percebeu, já na época do batizado. Ele é um homem muito respeitável, com filhos próprios. Deve saber.

- Creio que o Sr. Pilkins examinou Paul esta manhã? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Sim - respondeu a irmã. - A Srta. Tox e eu estávamos presentes. Estamos sempre presentes; fazemos questão disso. O Sr. Pilkins tem examinado Paul há vários dias, e acredito que seja um homem muito competente. Diz que não é nada digno de menção, o que posso confirmar, se isso o consola. Mas hoje recomendou os ares do mar. Com muita sabedoria, Paul, tenho certeza.

English → - Ares do mar - repetiu o Sr. Dombey, olhando para a irmã.

- Não há nada alarmante nisso - disse a Sra. Chick. - Meus George e Frederick receberam a recomendação de ares do mar quando tinham mais ou menos a idade dele, e isso também me foi recomendado muitas vezes. Concordo plenamente com você, Paul, que talvez certos assuntos sejam mencionados sem cuidado lá em cima diante dele, assuntos nos quais seria melhor que sua pequena mente não se aprofundasse. Mas, com uma criança tão perspicaz, realmente não vejo como isso poderia ser evitado. Se fosse uma criança comum, não significaria nada. Assim como a Srta. Tox, penso que uma breve ausência desta casa, o ar de Brighton e o treinamento físico e mental de uma pessoa sensata como a Sra. Pipchin, por exemplo...

- Quem é a Sra. Pipchin, Louisa? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey, horrorizado com a apresentação tão familiar de um nome que jamais ouvira.

English → - A Sra. Pipchin, meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã - , é uma senhora idosa - a Srta. Tox conhece toda a história dela - que há algum tempo dedica toda a energia de sua mente, com o maior sucesso, ao estudo e ao cuidado de crianças pequenas, e que tem excelentes relações sociais. O marido dela morreu de desgosto ao... como você disse que o marido dela morreu de desgosto, minha querida? Esqueci as circunstâncias exatas.

- Enquanto bombeava água para fora das minas peruanas - respondeu a Srta. Tox.

- É claro que ele próprio não operava a bomba - disse a Sra. Chick, olhando para o irmão. A explicação realmente parecia necessária, pois a Srta. Tox falara como se ele tivesse morrido junto à alavanca da bomba. - Mas investiu dinheiro no projeto, que fracassou. Creio que a maneira como a Sra. Pipchin cuida das crianças é extraordinária. Ouço elogiá-la em círculos particulares desde que eu tinha... meu Deus... esta altura! Os olhos da Sra. Chick vagaram pela estante perto do busto do Sr. Pitt, cerca de três metros acima do chão.

English → - Talvez eu deva dizer, meu caro senhor - observou a Srta. Tox com um rubor inocente - , já que a história da Sra. Pipchin foi tão diretamente atribuída a meu conhecimento, que o elogio feito por sua doce irmã é plenamente merecido. Muitas senhoras e cavalheiros, hoje membros interessantes da sociedade, devem muito aos cuidados dela. A humilde pessoa que lhe fala já esteve sob sua responsabilidade. Creio que até jovens da nobreza conhecem seu estabelecimento.

- Devo entender que essa respeitável senhora dirige um estabelecimento, Srta. Tox? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey com condescendência.

- Realmente não sei - respondeu a senhora - se tenho o direito de chamá-lo assim. Certamente não é uma escola preparatória. Eu me expressaria corretamente - disse a Srta. Tox com especial doçura - se o chamasse de uma pensão muito seleta para crianças pequenas?

- Em escala extremamente limitada e especial - sugeriu a Sra. Chick, olhando para o irmão.

English → - Ah! É a própria exclusividade! - disse a Srta. Tox.

Havia algum valor nisso. O fato de o marido da Sra. Pipchin ter morrido de desgosto por causa das minas peruanas soava impressionante e respeitável. Além disso, o Sr. Dombey estava quase apavorado com a ideia de Paul permanecer onde estava por uma única hora depois que o médico recomendara sua mudança. Tal demora interromperia a estrada que a criança precisava percorrer, devagar mesmo nas melhores condições, antes de alcançar a meta. A recomendação da Sra. Pipchin feita pela Sra. Chick e pela Srta. Tox teve grande influência sobre ele, pois sabia que elas tinham ciúme de qualquer interferência nos cuidados da criança. Jamais considerou que talvez elas apenas quisessem dividir uma responsabilidade sobre a qual ele tinha opiniões firmes, como acabara de mostrar. O Sr. Dombey voltou a pensar no marido que morrera de desgosto por causa das minas peruanas. Bem, era uma maneira muito respeitável de morrer.

English → - Suponhamos que, após fazermos investigações amanhã, decidamos mandar Paul a Brighton para ficar com essa senhora. Quem iria com ele? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey após refletir.

- Acho que, no momento, você não poderia mandar a criança a lugar nenhum sem Florence, meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã, hesitante. - Ele tem uma verdadeira obsessão por ela. É muito jovem, você sabe, e tem seus caprichos.

O Sr. Dombey desviou a cabeça, caminhou devagar até a estante, abriu-a com a chave e trouxe um livro para ler.

- Mais alguém, Louisa? - perguntou sem levantar os olhos enquanto virava as páginas.

- Wickam, é claro. Eu diria que Wickam seria mais do que suficiente - respondeu a irmã. - Com Paul sob os cuidados da Sra. Pipchin, dificilmente você poderia mandar alguém que lhe impusesse mais limitações. Naturalmente, você mesmo iria até lá ao menos uma vez por semana.

- É claro - disse o Sr. Dombey. Depois ficou uma hora olhando para uma única página sem ler uma só palavra.

English → A famosa Sra. Pipchin era uma velha extraordinariamente feia e desagradável. Tinha o corpo curvado, o rosto manchado como mármore ruim, nariz adunco e um olho cinzento e duro que parecia capaz de ser martelado numa bigorna sem sofrer dano. Pelo menos quarenta anos haviam se passado desde que as minas peruanas causaram a morte do Sr. Pipchin, mas sua viúva ainda usava bombazina preta de um tom tão opaco, profundo, morto e sombrio que nem a luz a gás conseguia iluminá-la depois do anoitecer, e sua presença bastava para apagar qualquer número de velas. As pessoas costumavam chamá-la de “grande administradora” de crianças. Seu segredo era dar-lhes tudo de que não gostavam e nada do que gostavam, método que supostamente melhorava muito o temperamento delas. Era uma velha tão amarga que se poderia acreditar que a maquinaria peruana fora usada de modo errado e bombeara dela toda gota de alegria e bondade humana, em vez de esvaziar as minas.

English → O castelo dessa ogra domadora de crianças ficava numa rua lateral íngreme de Brighton. Ali o solo era especialmente calcário, pedregoso e estéril, e as casas, particularmente frágeis e finas. Os pequenos jardins da frente produziam misteriosamente apenas calêndulas, não importava o que neles se plantasse, e caracóis eram encontrados constantemente agarrados como ventosas às portas e a outros lugares públicos que não deveriam enfeitar. No inverno, não se conseguia expulsar o ar do Castelo; no verão, não se conseguia fazê-lo entrar. O vento ecoava sem parar, fazendo a casa soar como uma grande concha que os moradores precisavam manter junto aos ouvidos dia e noite, quisessem ou não. Naturalmente, a casa não tinha cheiro fresco. Na janela da sala da frente, que jamais era aberta, a Sra. Pipchin guardava vasos de plantas que acrescentavam seu próprio odor de terra. Eram também excelentes exemplos de plantas apropriadas para cercar a Sra. Pipchin. Meia dúzia de cactos se torcia ao redor de ripas como cobras peludas; outra planta estendia grandes garras como uma lagosta verde; várias trepadeiras tinham folhas pegajosas; e um vaso incômodo pendia do teto. Parecia ter transbordado depois de ferver e, ao roçar com suas longas pontas verdes nas pessoas embaixo, lembrava-lhes aranhas. A casa da Sra. Pipchin possuía uma quantidade extraordinária de aranhas, embora, na estação apropriada, talvez se orgulhasse ainda mais das tesourinhas.

English → A Sra. Pipchin cobrava preços altos de todos que podiam pagá-los e raramente suavizava sua constante amargura por alguém. Por isso, as pessoas a consideravam “uma velha senhora de firmeza extraordinária, com conhecimento científico do caráter infantil”. Usando essa reputação e a história do coração partido do Sr. Pipchin, ela conseguira ganhar, ano após ano, uma renda razoavelmente suficiente desde a morte do marido. Três dias depois de a Sra. Chick mencioná-la pela primeira vez, essa excelente velha senhora teve a satisfação de esperar um belo acréscimo à renda, vindo do bolso do Sr. Dombey, e recebeu Florence e seu irmãozinho Paul como moradores do Castelo.

English → A Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox haviam levado as crianças na noite anterior, que todos passaram num hotel, e acabavam de partir de carruagem para voltar para casa. A Sra. Pipchin ficou de costas para o fogo, inspecionando os recém-chegados como um velho soldado. Sua sobrinha de meia-idade era sua escrava bondosa e dedicada, embora tivesse uma aparência magra e rígida e sofresse muito com furúnculos no nariz. Ela retirava o colarinho limpo que o mestre Bitherstone usara para a inspeção. A Srta. Pankey, a única outra pensionista pequena naquele momento, acabara de ser enviada à Masmorra do Castelo - uma sala vazia nos fundos usada para castigos - porque fungara três vezes diante das visitas.

- Bem, senhor - disse a Sra. Pipchin a Paul - , acha que vai gostar de mim?

- Acho que não vou gostar nada da senhora - respondeu Paul. - Quero ir embora. Esta não é minha casa.

English → - Não. É minha - respondeu a Sra. Pipchin.

- É uma casa muito desagradável - disse Paul.

- Há um lugar ainda pior nela - disse a Sra. Pipchin - onde trancamos nossos meninos maus.

- Ele já esteve lá? - perguntou Paul, apontando para o mestre Bitherstone.

A Sra. Pipchin assentiu com a cabeça. Durante o resto do dia, Paul ficou ocupado examinando o mestre Bitherstone da cabeça aos pés e observando cada mudança em seu rosto, com o interesse inspirado por um menino que passara por experiências misteriosas e terríveis.

English → À uma hora, tiveram uma refeição composta principalmente de cereais e legumes. A Srta. Pankey, um pedacinho dócil de criança de olhos azuis, que era esfregada vigorosamente todas as manhãs e parecia correr o risco de desaparecer por completo, foi trazida do confinamento pela própria ogra. A Sra. Pipchin ensinou-lhe que ninguém que fungasse diante de visitas iria para o Céu. Depois de essa grande verdade ser firmemente ensinada, a Srta. Pankey foi recompensada com arroz. Mais tarde, repetiu a oração de agradecimento habitual do Castelo, que incluía uma frase especial agradecendo à Sra. Pipchin pelo bom jantar. Berinthia, sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin, comeu carne de porco fria. A saúde da Sra. Pipchin exigia comida quente, por isso ela teve uma refeição especial de costeletas de carneiro, trazidas muito quentes entre dois pratos e com cheiro delicioso.

English → Choveu depois do jantar, por isso não puderam caminhar na praia, e a saúde da Sra. Pipchin exigia que ela descansasse após comer costeletas. Assim, as crianças foram com Berry - outro nome de Berinthia - para a Masmorra. Era uma sala vazia com vista para uma parede de calcário e um barril de água, tornada assustadora por uma lareira quebrada sem fogão. Com companhia, porém, era o melhor lugar da casa. Berry brincou com elas ali e pareceu gostar das brincadeiras agitadas tanto quanto elas. Quando a Sra. Pipchin bateu com raiva na parede, como o Fantasma de Cock Lane ressuscitado, elas pararam, e Berry lhes contou histórias em sussurros até o crepúsculo.

No chá havia bastante leite misturado com água, pão com manteiga, um pequeno bule preto para a Sra. Pipchin e Berry, e torradas com manteiga sem limite para a Sra. Pipchin, trazidas muito quentes como as costeletas. Embora a Sra. Pipchin ficasse muito engordurada por fora ao comê-las, isso não a amolecia por dentro. Continuava feroz como sempre, e seu duro olho cinzento não se tornava mais gentil.

English → Depois do chá, Berry tirou uma pequena caixa de costura com o Pavilhão Real desenhado na tampa e começou a trabalhar ativamente. A Sra. Pipchin pôs os óculos, abriu um grande livro revestido de pano verde e começou a cochilar. Sempre que percebia que se inclinava para a frente em direção ao fogo e despertava, dava um peteleco no nariz do mestre Bitherstone por ele também estar cochilando.

Por fim chegou a hora de as crianças dormirem e, depois das orações, foram para a cama. A pequena Srta. Pankey tinha medo de dormir sozinha no escuro, por isso a Sra. Pipchin sempre fazia questão de conduzi-la pessoalmente escada acima como uma ovelha. Era animador ouvir a Srta. Pankey gemer por muito tempo depois, no pior quarto, enquanto a Sra. Pipchin entrava de vez em quando para sacudi-la. Por volta das nove e meia, o cheiro de uma glândula de vitela quente - a saúde da Sra. Pipchin não lhe permitia dormir sem uma - misturou-se ao odor habitual da casa, que a Sra. Wickam chamava de “cheiro de construção”. Pouco depois, o sono caiu sobre o Castelo.

English → O café da manhã seguinte foi parecido com o chá da noite anterior, exceto que a Sra. Pipchin comeu um pãozinho em vez de torradas e pareceu um pouco mais irritada quando acabou. O mestre Bitherstone leu em voz alta para os outros uma genealogia do Gênesis, sabiamente escolhida pela Sra. Pipchin, e percorreu os nomes com a facilidade e a clareza de alguém tropeçando numa esteira. Depois disso, a Srta. Pankey foi levada para ser esfregada, e o mestre Bitherstone, para que lhe fizessem outra coisa com água salgada, da qual sempre voltava muito azulado e triste. Enquanto isso, Paul e Florence foram à praia com Wickam, que chorava o tempo todo. Por volta do meio-dia, a Sra. Pipchin dirigiu algumas Primeiras Leituras. Seu sistema não estimulava a mente infantil a crescer e se abrir como uma flor jovem; em vez disso, ela a abria à força como uma ostra. Por isso, as lições morais costumavam ser violentas e chocantes. Mesmo no desfecho mais brando, o herói - um menino levado - raramente era morto por algo menos terrível que um leão ou um urso.

English → Assim era a vida na casa da Sra. Pipchin. O Sr. Dombey chegava aos sábados, e Florence e Paul iam tomar chá em seu hotel. Passavam todo o domingo com ele e geralmente saíam a cavalo antes do jantar. Nessas ocasiões, o Sr. Dombey parecia multiplicar-se como os atacantes de Falstaff: em vez de ser um homem vestido de burel, tornava-se doze. A noite de domingo era a mais triste da semana, pois a Sra. Pipchin sempre fazia questão de ficar especialmente mal-humorada aos domingos à noite. A Srta. Pankey geralmente voltava muito aflita da casa de uma tia em Rottingdean. Todos os parentes do mestre Bitherstone estavam na Índia e, entre os cultos, ele era obrigado a sentar-se perfeitamente ereto, com a cabeça encostada na parede da sala, sem mover mãos nem pés. Seu espírito infantil sofria tanto que, numa noite de domingo, perguntou a Florence se ela conhecia algum caminho de volta para Bengala.

English → As pessoas geralmente diziam que a Sra. Pipchin seguia um sistema com as crianças, e sem dúvida seguia. Certamente, as crianças indomáveis voltavam para casa bastante dóceis depois de passar alguns meses sob seu teto acolhedor. Também se dizia que era muito admirável a Sra. Pipchin ter se dedicado a essa vida, sacrificado seus sentimentos e resistido com firmeza às dificuldades depois que o Sr. Pipchin morreu de desgosto por causa das minas peruanas.

Paul conseguia ficar por qualquer tempo em sua pequena poltrona junto ao fogo, encarando essa admirável velha senhora. Nunca parecia se cansar enquanto olhava fixamente para a Sra. Pipchin. Não gostava dela nem tinha medo, mas, em seus estados de espírito velhos e sérios, ela lhe parecia estranhamente fascinante. Ficava ali sentado, olhando para ela e aquecendo as mãos, depois olhando para ela de novo, até às vezes confundir a própria ogra Sra. Pipchin. Certa vez, quando estavam sozinhos, ela perguntou em que ele estava pensando.

English → [Ilustração]

- Na senhora - disse Paul sem a menor hesitação.

- E o que está pensando a meu respeito? - perguntou a Sra. Pipchin.

- Estou pensando em como a senhora deve ser velha - disse Paul.

- O senhor não deve dizer coisas assim, jovem cavalheiro - respondeu a velha senhora. - Isso não pode acontecer.

- Por que não? - perguntou Paul.

- Porque não é educado - disse a Sra. Pipchin com aspereza.

- Não é educado? - disse Paul.

"Não."

"Não é educado", disse Paul inocentemente. "Wickam diz que a senhora come todas as costeletas de carneiro e as torradas."

"Wickam", respondeu a Sra. Pipchin, ficando vermelha, "é uma moça malvada, insolente e sem-vergonha."

"O que isso quer dizer?" perguntou Paul.

"Não se preocupe com isso, senhor", respondeu a Sra. Pipchin. "Lembre-se do menino que foi chifrado até a morte por um touro louco porque fazia perguntas."

"Se o touro era louco", disse Paul, "como ele sabia que o menino tinha feito perguntas? Ninguém pode cochichar segredos para um touro louco. Não acredito nessa história."

English → "O senhor não acredita, senhor?" repetiu a Sra. Pipchin, espantada.

"Não", disse Paul.

"Nem se por acaso fosse um touro manso, seu pequeno descrente?" perguntou a Sra. Pipchin.

Paul não tinha considerado a história dessa maneira. Sua conclusão dependia de o touro ser louco, por isso, naquele momento, aceitou a derrota. Mas continuou claramente pensando no assunto e pretendia encurralar a Sra. Pipchin mais tarde. Até aquela velha durona achou prudente recuar até ele esquecer o tema.

English → A partir de então, a Sra. Pipchin pareceu sentir por Paul a mesma estranha atração que ele sentia por ela. Ela o fazia levar a cadeira para junto dela, perto do fogo. Ele se sentava entre ela e o guarda-fogo, com o rostinho luminoso quase perdido contra o vestido preto dela, estudando cada linha e ruga de seu rosto e fitando seu duro olho cinzento até que ela às vezes o fechava e fingia cochilar. Seu velho gato preto costumava se enrolar no pé central do guarda-fogo, ronronando com orgulho e piscando para as chamas até suas pupilas estreitas parecerem dois pontos de exclamação. Sem querer faltar ao respeito, a velha senhora poderia ser uma bruxa, com Paul e o gato como seus dois espíritos familiares. Enquanto os três estavam sentados junto ao fogo, combinaria com a cena se numa noite de vento forte eles subissem voando pela chaminé e nunca mais fossem vistos.

English → Isso, porém, nunca aconteceu. Depois de escurecer, o gato, Paul e a Sra. Pipchin estavam sempre em seus lugares habituais. Evitando a companhia do jovem Bitherstone, Paul continuava, noite após noite, a estudar a Sra. Pipchin, o gato e o fogo como se fossem um livro de magia em três volumes.

A Sra. Wickam criou sua própria explicação para o comportamento estranho de Paul. Seu desânimo aumentava por causa da vista confusa de chaminés de seu quarto, do som do vento e da tristeza geral - ou do aspecto medonho, como dizia com força - de sua vida atual. De tudo isso, tirava as conclusões mais sombrias. A Sra. Pipchin procurava impedir que sua própria 'mocinha insolente', nome que dava a qualquer criada, falasse com a Sra. Wickam. Passava muito tempo escondida atrás das portas e saltava para fora sempre que a moça se aproximava do quarto da Sra. Wickam. Berry, porém, podia conversar ali quando seus intermináveis deveres permitiam, e a Sra. Wickam lhe contava todas as suas preocupações.

English → "Como ele é um menino bonito quando está dormindo!" disse Berry certa noite, parando para olhar Paul na cama enquanto levava o jantar da Sra. Wickam.

"Ah!" suspirou a Sra. Wickam. "É bom que seja."

"Ele também não é feio quando está acordado", observou Berry.

"Não, senhora. Ah, não. A Betsey Jane do meu tio também não era", disse a Sra. Wickam.

Berry parecia querer entender a ligação entre Paul Dombey e Betsey Jane, a filha do tio da Sra. Wickam.

"A esposa do meu tio", continuou a Sra. Wickam, "morreu como a mãe dele. A filha do meu tio se comportava exatamente como o jovem Paul."

"Comportava-se assim? A senhora não acha que ele sofre pela mãe, acha?" argumentou Berry, sentando-se na beira da cama. "Ele não pode se lembrar de nada sobre ela, Sra. Wickam. É impossível."

"Não, senhora", disse a Sra. Wickam. "A filha do meu tio também não podia. Mas às vezes dizia coisas muito estranhas, tinha um olhar muito estranho, agia de modo muito estranho e era estranha em todos os sentidos. Às vezes, a filha do meu tio fazia o sangue das pessoas gelar!"

English → "Como?" perguntou Berry.

"Eu não teria passado a noite inteira acordada e sozinha com Betsey Jane", disse a Sra. Wickam, "nem que no dia seguinte a senhorita desse a Wickam seu próprio negócio. Eu não conseguiria, Srta. Berry."

Naturalmente, a Srta. Berry perguntou por quê. Mas, como algumas senhoras em sua condição costumam fazer, a Sra. Wickam seguiu despreocupada sua própria linha de pensamento.

"Betsey Jane", disse a Sra. Wickam, "era uma criança tão doce quanto alguém poderia desejar ver. Eu não poderia desejar uma mais doce. Ela tinha sobrevivido a todas as doenças que uma criança podia ter. Cãibras eram tão comuns para ela", acrescentou a Sra. Wickam, "quanto furúnculos são para a senhorita, Srta. Berry." A Srta. Berry franziu o nariz sem querer.

"Mas Betsey Jane", disse a Sra. Wickam, baixando a voz e olhando ao redor do quarto e para Paul na cama, "tinha sido vigiada no berço pela mãe morta. Não sei dizer como nem quando, nem se a querida criança sabia, mas a mãe velava por Betsey Jane, Srta. Berry!" Com o rosto pálido, os olhos úmidos e a voz trêmula, a Sra. Wickam tornou a olhar com medo pelo quarto e para Paul.

English → "Que absurdo!" exclamou a Srta. Berry, um tanto ofendida com a ideia.

"Pode chamar de absurdo! Não fico ofendida, senhorita. Espero que sua consciência lhe permita achar que é absurdo; isso fará bem ao seu ânimo neste - perdoe minha franqueza - cemitério de lugar, que está acabando comigo. O jovem Paul está um pouco inquieto no sono. Por favor, dê leves tapinhas nas costas dele."

"Claro que a senhora acha que a mãe dele também cuidou dele?" perguntou Berry, fazendo com delicadeza o que lhe pediram.

"Betsey Jane", respondeu a Sra. Wickam em seu tom mais solene, "sofreu como essa criança sofreu e mudou como ele mudou. Muitas vezes eu a vi sentada, pensando e pensando, como ele. Muitas vezes a vi parecer velha, velha, velha, como ele. Muitas vezes a ouvi falar exatamente como ele. Considero essa criança e Betsey Jane inteiramente iguais, Srta. Berry."

"A filha do seu tio está viva?" perguntou Berry.

English → "Sim, senhorita, ela está viva", respondeu a Sra. Wickam com ar de triunfo, pois a Srta. Berry claramente esperava o contrário. "E é casada com um gravador de prata. Ah, sim, senhorita, ELA está viva", disse a Sra. Wickam, dando forte ênfase à palavra.

Como alguém claramente estava morto, a sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin perguntou quem era.

"Eu não gostaria de deixá-la inquieta", respondeu a Sra. Wickam, continuando a jantar. "Não me pergunte."

Essa era a maneira mais certa de fazer Berry perguntar de novo. Por isso, a Srta. Berry repetiu a pergunta. Depois de alguma resistência e relutância, a Sra. Wickam pousou a faca, tornou a olhar pelo quarto e para Paul na cama e respondeu:

"Ela se apegava às pessoas. Alguns apegos eram estranhos; outros eram do tipo que se poderia esperar, apenas mais fortes que o normal. Todas morreram."

Isso foi tão inesperado e terrível para a sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin que ela se sentou ereta na borda dura da cama, respirando depressa e encarando a Sra. Wickam com evidente pavor.

English → A Sra. Wickam agitou discretamente o indicador esquerdo na direção da cama onde Florence estava. Depois apontou várias vezes para o chão, logo abaixo do qual ficava a sala onde a Sra. Pipchin comia regularmente suas torradas.

"Lembre-se das minhas palavras, Srta. Berry", disse a Sra. Wickam, "e agradeça por o jovem Paul não gostar demais da senhorita. Eu agradeço por ele não gostar demais de mim, garanto, embora não haja muito pelo que viver - perdoe minha franqueza - nesta prisão de casa!"

Em sua emoção, a Srta. Berry talvez tenha dado tapinhas fortes demais em Paul ou interrompido o movimento constante que o acalmava. Nesse instante, ele se virou na cama e logo acordou. Sentou-se, com o cabelo quente e molhado por causa de um sonho infantil, e chamou Florence.

Ao primeiro som da voz dele, Florence saiu da cama. Imediatamente se inclinou sobre o travesseiro de Paul e cantou até que ele adormecesse de novo. A Sra. Wickam balançou a cabeça, deixou cair várias lágrimas, mostrou o pequeno grupo a Berry e ergueu os olhos para o teto.

English → "Ele está dormindo agora, querida", disse a Sra. Wickam depois de uma pausa. "É melhor voltar para a cama. Você não está com frio?"

"Não, ama", disse Florence, rindo. "Nem um pouco."

"Ah!" suspirou a Sra. Wickam. Tornou a balançar a cabeça e sugeriu em silêncio à atenta Berry: "Em pouco tempo, alguns de nós estarão frios o bastante!"

Berry pegou a bandeja do jantar simples, que a Sra. Wickam já tinha terminado, e lhe desejou boa-noite.

"Boa-noite, senhorita!" respondeu Wickam em voz baixa. "Boa-noite! Sua tia é uma senhora idosa, Srta. Berry, e a senhorita muitas vezes deve ter esperado por isso."

A Sra. Wickam acompanhou essa despedida consoladora com uma expressão de profunda tristeza. Sozinha de novo com as duas crianças, percebeu o vento soprando de modo lamentoso e entregou-se à melancolia - o luxo mais barato e acessível - até ser vencida pelo sono.

English → A sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin não esperava realmente encontrar aquele admirável dragão morto sobre o tapete da lareira ao descer. Mesmo assim, sentiu-se aliviada ao vê-la especialmente mal-humorada e severa, parecendo decidida a viver muito e consolar todos que a conheciam. Na semana seguinte, a Sra. Pipchin não mostrou sinal algum de enfraquecimento. Sua comida habitual continuou a desaparecer regularmente, embora Paul a estudasse tão atentamente quanto antes, sentado em seu lugar de costume entre as saias pretas dela e o guarda-fogo.

Ao fim daquela semana, Paul não estava mais forte do que quando chegou, embora seu rosto parecesse muito mais saudável. Conseguiram uma pequena carruagem para que ele pudesse ficar deitado com conforto, com um livro do alfabeto e outras leituras elementares, e ser levado à beira-mar. Fiel a seus gostos incomuns, rejeitou o menino de rosto corado sugerido para puxá-la. Em vez dele, escolheu o avô do rapaz: um velho magro, de rosto azedo, vestido com um traje gasto de oleado, endurecido e ressecado por anos na água salgada, que cheirava como uma praia coberta de algas na maré baixa.

English → Com aquele notável acompanhante puxando-o, Florence sempre caminhando a seu lado e a sombria Wickam vindo atrás, Paul ia todos os dias até a beira do oceano. Ali ficava sentado ou deitado na carruagem durante horas. Nada o incomodava mais do que a companhia de outras crianças, com exceção de Florence, que ele sempre queria por perto.

"Por favor, vá embora", dizia a qualquer criança que viesse lhe fazer companhia. "Obrigado, mas não quero você aqui."

Talvez uma vozinha perto de seu ouvido perguntasse como ele estava.

"Estou muito bem, obrigado", respondia. "Mas, por favor, vá brincar."

Então ele se virava e observava a criança ir embora. Dizia a Florence: "Não precisamos de mais ninguém, precisamos? Dê-me um beijo, Floy."

Nessas ocasiões, ele não gostava nem da companhia de Wickam e ficava satisfeito quando ela se afastava, como costumava fazer, para apanhar conchas e conhecer pessoas. Seu lugar favorito era muito solitário e distante da maioria dos visitantes. Com Florence sentada a seu lado, costurando, lendo ou conversando, o vento em seu rosto e a água subindo ao redor das rodas de sua cama, ele não queria mais nada.

English → "Floy", perguntou ele certo dia, "onde fica a Índia, onde moram os amigos daquele menino?"

"Ah, fica muito, muito longe", disse Florence, erguendo os olhos do trabalho.

"A semanas de distância?" perguntou Paul.

"Sim, querido. São muitas semanas de viagem, dia e noite."

Depois de um minuto em silêncio, Paul disse: "Se você estivesse na Índia, Floy, eu... o que foi que mamãe fez? Esqueci."

"Amou-me!" respondeu Florence.

"Não, não. Eu não amo você agora, Floy? O que foi? Morreu. Se você estivesse na Índia, eu morreria, Floy."

Ela largou depressa o trabalho, apoiou a cabeça no travesseiro dele e o acariciou. Disse que também morreria se ele estivesse lá. Ele logo ficaria melhor.

"Ah, já estou muito melhor!" respondeu ele. "Não é isso que quero dizer. Quero dizer que morreria de tanta tristeza e solidão, Floy!"

Em outra ocasião, no mesmo lugar, ele adormeceu e descansou tranquilamente por muito tempo. De repente acordou, escutou, sentou-se depressa e continuou ouvindo.

English → Florence perguntou o que ele achava ter ouvido.

"Quero saber o que ele diz", respondeu, olhando-a fixamente. "O mar, Floy. O que ele fica dizendo?"

Ela lhe disse que era apenas o som das ondas rolando.

"Sim, sim", disse ele. "Mas sei que elas estão sempre dizendo alguma coisa - sempre a mesma coisa. Que lugar existe lá?" Ele se sentou e olhou ansiosamente para o horizonte.

Ela lhe disse que havia outro país do outro lado do mar. Mas ele respondeu que não era isso que queria dizer. Referia-se a um lugar mais distante - muito mais distante.

Muitas vezes depois disso, no meio das conversas, ele parava para tentar entender o que as ondas diziam sem cessar. Erguia-se no leito e olhava para aquela região invisível e distante.

CAPÍTULO IX. Em que o Guarda-Marinha de Madeira se mete em Apuros

English → O jovem Walter Gay tinha forte gosto por romance e maravilhas. Seu tutor, o velho Solomon Gills, não o tinha enfraquecido muito com a dura experiência prática. Por isso, a aventura de Florence com a Boa Sra. Brown despertava em Walter um interesse extraordinário. Ele guardava com carinho a lembrança, sobretudo da parte em que a ajudara, até que ela se tornou a criança mimada de sua imaginação e passou a fazer ali tudo o que queria.

English → A lembrança daqueles acontecimentos e da participação de Walter talvez tivesse ficado ainda mais encantadora por causa dos sonhos dominicais do velho Sol e do capitão Cuttle. Quase todo domingo, um daqueles bons amigos fazia referências misteriosas a Richard Whittington. O capitão Cuttle chegara a comprar uma antiga balada que por muito tempo ficara pendurada, junto de muitas outras, em sua maioria marítimas, num muro da Commercial Road. Ela contava o namoro e o casamento de um jovem e promissor trabalhador do carvão com a 'adorável Peg', talentosa filha do mestre e coproprietário de um navio de Newcastle. O capitão Cuttle via uma ligação profunda entre essa história emocionante e Walter e Florence. Ficava tão comovido que, nos aniversários e em alguns outros dias festivos que não eram domingos, cantava a música inteira aos berros na salinha dos fundos, prolongando a palavra 'Pe-e-eg' no fim de cada verso em homenagem à heroína.

English → Um menino franco, generoso e de coração aberto raramente analisa os próprios sentimentos, por mais fortes que sejam, e Walter teria dificuldade para explicar os seus. Gostava muito do cais onde encontrara Florence e até das ruas pouco atraentes pelas quais tinham voltado para casa. Guardava no quarto os sapatos que tantas vezes tinham caído dos pés dela e, na salinha dos fundos, desenhava muitos retratos imaginários da Boa Sra. Brown. Talvez passasse a se vestir com um pouco mais de cuidado depois daquele dia memorável. Em seu tempo livre, certamente gostava de caminhar perto da casa do Sr. Dombey, com a vaga esperança de cruzar com Florence. No entanto, todos esses sentimentos eram inteiramente juvenis e inocentes. Florence era bonita, e era agradável admirar um rosto bonito. Ela estivera fraca e indefesa, e Walter se orgulhava de tê-la protegido e ajudado. Ela era profundamente grata, e ele adorava ver essa gratidão brilhando em seu rosto. Florence era negligenciada e tratada com frieza, e o jovem coração dele se interessava pela criança desprezada em sua casa sombria e imponente.

English → Assim, talvez umas seis vezes ao longo do ano, Walter tirou o chapéu para Florence na rua, e ela parou para apertar sua mão. A Sra. Wickam conhecia a história do encontro dos dois e já estava acostumada com isso. Com seu costume de alterar nomes, sempre o chamava de 'jovem Graves' e não prestava atenção. A Srta. Nipper, porém, ficava à espera desses encontros. Seu sensível coração juvenil favorecia Walter em segredo por causa da boa aparência dele e acreditava que seus sentimentos eram correspondidos.

English → Desse modo, Walter não esqueceu Florence; ao contrário, lembrava-se dela com clareza cada vez maior. Tratava o início aventureiro da amizade e seus detalhes especiais como uma história agradável que encantava sua imaginação, e não como fatos comuns que o envolviam. Em sua mente, tudo isso tornava Florence mais extraordinária, mas não Walter. Às vezes imaginava como teria sido grandioso se tivesse partido para o mar no dia seguinte ao encontro, realizado maravilhas, ficado anos longe e voltado como almirante de todas as cores do golfinho - ou pelo menos como capitão com dragonas ofuscantes. Então se casaria com Florence, já adulta e linda, apesar dos dentes, da gravata e da corrente do relógio do Sr. Dombey, e a levaria triunfalmente para alguma costa azul distante. Mas esses sonhos raramente transformavam a placa de bronze da Dombey e Filho numa promessa dourada ou faziam brilhar suas claraboias sujas. Quando o capitão Cuttle e o tio Sol falavam de Richard Whittington e das filhas dos patrões, Walter sabia que compreendia sua verdadeira posição na Dombey e Filho muito melhor do que eles.

English → Assim, Walter continuava a fazer seu trabalho diário com alegria, cuidado e bom humor. Percebia as ideias excessivamente esperançosas do tio Sol e do capitão Cuttle, mas alimentava mil sonhos vagos ainda menos prováveis do que os deles. Essa era sua situação durante o período na casa da Sra. Pipchin. Parecia um pouco mais velho, mas não muito, e continuava o mesmo rapaz ágil, alegre e distraído que certa vez entrara correndo na sala à frente do tio Sol e dos hóspedes imaginários e segurara uma luz enquanto ele trazia o Madeira.

"Tio Sol", disse Walter, "acho que o senhor não está bem. Não comeu nada no café da manhã. Se continuar assim, vou trazer um médico."

"Ele não pode me dar o que preciso, meu rapaz", disse o tio Sol. "Pelo menos, se puder, então seu negócio vai bem - e nesse caso ele não me daria."

English → "Do que o senhor precisa, tio? Clientes?"

"Sim", respondeu Solomon com um suspiro. "Clientes ajudariam."

"Ora essa, tio!" disse Walter, pousando a xícara com estrondo e batendo na mesa. "Quando vejo multidões subindo e descendo a rua o dia inteiro e passando diante da loja a cada minuto, quase tenho vontade de sair correndo, agarrar alguém, trazê-lo para dentro e obrigá-lo a comprar cinquenta libras em instrumentos, à vista. Por que está olhando pela porta?" continuou Walter, dirigindo-se em silêncio a um velho senhor de cabelo empoado que examinava atentamente uma luneta naval. "Isso não ajuda. Eu também poderia fazer isso. Entre e compre!"

O velho senhor, porém, satisfez sua curiosidade e foi embora com calma.

"Lá vai ele!" disse Walter. "Todos são assim. Mas, tio... estou falando, tio Sol!" O velho estava mergulhado em pensamentos e não respondera ao primeiro chamado. "Não perca a esperança. Não fique triste, tio. Quando as encomendas chegarem, serão tantas que o senhor não conseguirá atender a todas."

English → "Já não poderei atendê-las quando chegarem, meu rapaz", respondeu Solomon Gills. "Elas nunca voltarão a esta loja enquanto eu estiver aqui."

"Tio, o senhor não pode mesmo falar assim!" insistiu Walter. "Por favor, não fale!"

O velho Sol tentou parecer alegre e sorriu do outro lado da pequena mesa da maneira mais agradável que conseguiu.

"Não há nada além dos problemas de sempre, há, tio?" perguntou Walter. Apoiou os cotovelos na bandeja de chá e se inclinou para falar com mais intimidade e bondade. "Se houver, seja sincero comigo, tio, e conte tudo."

"Não, não, não", respondeu o velho Sol. "Além do habitual? Não, não. Por que haveria algo pior que o habitual?"

Walter balançou a cabeça, desconfiado. "É isso que quero saber", disse, "e o senhor pergunta a mim! Vou lhe dizer uma coisa, tio. Quando o vejo assim, quase lamento morar com o senhor."

English → O velho Sol arregalou os olhos, surpreso.

"Sim. Embora ninguém jamais tenha sido mais feliz com o senhor do que eu sou e sempre fui, quase lamento morar com o senhor quando vejo que alguma coisa o preocupa."

"Sei que fico um pouco sombrio nessas ocasiões", disse Solomon, esfregando as mãos com humildade.

English → "O que quero dizer, tio Sol", continuou Walter, inclinando-se ainda mais para dar um tapinha em seu ombro, "é que, em vez de mim, o senhor deveria ter uma esposinha simpática e rechonchuda sentada aqui, servindo o chá. Seria uma velha senhora confortável, excelente e acolhedora, perfeita para o senhor, que saberia como cuidar de você e mantê-lo animado. Eu o amo tanto quanto qualquer sobrinho já amou, e certamente devo amá-lo, mas sou apenas um sobrinho. Quando o senhor está triste e preocupado, não posso ser a companhia que ela teria se tornado anos atrás. Eu daria qualquer coisa para animá-lo, mas, sempre que vejo algo lhe pesando na mente, lamento que não tenha por perto alguém melhor do que um rapaz desajeitado e rude como eu. Tenho vontade de consolá-lo, tio, mas não tenho jeito - não tenho jeito", repetiu Walter, inclinando-se ainda mais para apertar a mão do tio.

English → "Wally, meu querido rapaz", disse Solomon, "se aquela velha senhora acolhedora tivesse ocupado seu lugar nesta sala há quarenta e cinco anos, eu nunca poderia ter gostado mais dela do que gosto de você."

"Eu sei disso, tio Sol", respondeu Walter. "Deus o abençoe, eu sei. Mas, se ela estivesse aqui, o senhor não carregaria sozinho todo o peso dos segredos dolorosos. Ela saberia ajudá-lo a dividi-los, e eu não sei."

"Sim, sim, você sabe", respondeu o fabricante de instrumentos.

"Então o que há de errado, tio Sol?" perguntou Walter com carinho. "Vamos, conte. O que há de errado?"

Solomon Gills insistiu que nada estava errado. Afirmou isso com tanta firmeza que o sobrinho só pôde fazer uma fraca tentativa de fingir que acreditava nele.

"Tudo o que posso dizer, tio Sol, é que, se houver..."

"Mas não há", disse Solomon.

English → "Muito bem", disse Walter. "Então não tenho mais nada a dizer, o que é uma sorte, pois está na hora de eu ir trabalhar. Voltarei mais tarde, quando estiver livre, para ver como o senhor está, tio. E lembre-se: se eu descobrir que me enganou, nunca mais acreditarei no senhor nem lhe contarei nada sobre o Sr. Carker Júnior!"

Solomon Gills riu e desafiou Walter a descobrir qualquer engano desse tipo. Walter foi aos escritórios da Dombey e Filho parecendo mais triste do que de costume, enquanto imaginava muitas maneiras impossíveis de fazer fortuna e dar independência financeira ao Guarda-Marinha de madeira.

Front Matter

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

# Dombey e Filho

por Charles Dickens

Dombey e Filho

por Charles Dickens

[Ilustração]

[Ilustração]

Sumário

Original English Version

# Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

Dombey and Son

by Charles Dickens

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Contents

Tradução Integral em Português

# Dombey and Son

por Charles Dickens

Dombey e Filho

por Charles Dickens

[Ilustração]

[Ilustração]

Sumário

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

CAPÍTULO I. Dombey e Filho. CAPÍTULO II. Planos Oportunos para uma Emergência Até nas Famílias Mais Bem Organizadas. CAPÍTULO III. O Sr. Dombey como Homem, Pai e Chefe do Lar. CAPÍTULO IV. Mais Personagens Aparecem pela Primeira Vez Nestas Aventuras. CAPÍTULO V. O Progresso e o Batizado de Paul. CAPÍTULO VI. A Segunda Perda de Paul. CAPÍTULO VII. Um Breve Olhar sobre a Casa e os Sentimentos da Srta. Tox. CAPÍTULO VIII. O Progresso, o Crescimento e o Caráter de Paul. CAPÍTULO IX. O Guarda-Marinha de Madeira se Mete em Problemas. CAPÍTULO X. O que Acontece Depois do Desastre do Guarda-Marinha. CAPÍTULO XI. Paul Entra em um Novo Cenário. CAPÍTULO XII. A Educação de Paul. CAPÍTULO XIII. Notícias Marítimas e Negócios do Escritório. CAPÍTULO XIV. Paul Fica Mais Antiquado e Volta para Casa nas Férias. CAPÍTULO XV. A Extraordinária Esperteza do Capitão Cuttle e um Novo Futuro para Walter Gay. CAPÍTULO XVI. O que as Ondas Sempre Diziam. CAPÍTULO XVII. O Capitão Cuttle Resolve um Assunto para os Jovens. CAPÍTULO XVIII. Pai e Filha. CAPÍTULO XIX. Walter Vai Embora. CAPÍTULO XX. O Sr. Dombey Faz uma Viagem. CAPÍTULO XXI. Novos Rostos. CAPÍTULO XXII. Um Pouco de Administração pelo Sr. Carker, o Gerente. CAPÍTULO XXIII. Florence Sozinha e o Guarda-Marinha Misterioso. CAPÍTULO XXIV. O Estudo de um Coração Amoroso. CAPÍTULO XXV. Notícias Estranhas do Tio Sol. CAPÍTULO XXVI. Sombras do Passado e do Futuro. CAPÍTULO XXVII. Sombras Mais Profundas. CAPÍTULO XXVIII. Mudanças. CAPÍTULO XXIX. A Sra. Chick Abre os Olhos. CAPÍTULO XXX. O Período Antes do Casamento. CAPÍTULO XXXI. O Casamento. CAPÍTULO XXXII. O Guarda-Marinha de Madeira se Despedaça. CAPÍTULO XXXIII. Contrastes. CAPÍTULO XXXIV. Outra Mãe e Filha. CAPÍTULO XXXV. O Casal Feliz. CAPÍTULO XXXVI. Festa de Inauguração da Casa. CAPÍTULO XXXVII. Mais de um Aviso. CAPÍTULO XXXVIII. A Srta. Tox Renova uma Velha Amizade. CAPÍTULO XXXIX. Novas Aventuras do Capitão Edward Cuttle, Marinheiro. CAPÍTULO XL. Relações Familiares. CAPÍTULO XLI. Novas Vozes nas Ondas. CAPÍTULO XLII. Confidencial e Acidental. CAPÍTULO XLIII. As Vigílias da Noite. CAPÍTULO XLIV. Uma Separação. CAPÍTULO XLV. O Agente Fiel. CAPÍTULO XLVI. Reconhecimento e Reflexão. CAPÍTULO XLVII. O Raio. CAPÍTULO XLVIII. A Fuga de Florence. CAPÍTULO XLIX. O Guarda-Marinha Faz uma Descoberta. CAPÍTULO L. A Queixa do Sr. Toots. CAPÍTULO LI. O Sr. Dombey e o Mundo. CAPÍTULO LII. Informação Secreta. CAPÍTULO LIII. Mais Informações. CAPÍTULO LIV. Os Fugitivos. CAPÍTULO LV. Rob, o Moedor, Perde seu Lugar. CAPÍTULO LVI. Várias Pessoas Ficam Encantadas, e o Game Chicken Fica Aborrecido. CAPÍTULO LVII. Outro Casamento. CAPÍTULO LVIII. Depois de Algum Tempo. CAPÍTULO LIX. Castigo. CAPÍTULO LX. Principalmente sobre Casamento. CAPÍTULO LXI. Tornando-se Mais Bondoso. CAPÍTULO LXII. O Fim. PREFÁCIO DE 1848. PREFÁCIO DE 1867.

Original English Version

CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son CHAPTER II. In which Timely Provision is made for an Emergency that will sometimes arise in the best-regulated Families CHAPTER III. In which Mr Dombey, as a Man and a Father, is seen at the Head of the Home-Department CHAPTER IV. In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these Adventures CHAPTER V. Paul’s Progress and Christening CHAPTER VI. Paul’s Second Deprivation CHAPTER VII. A Bird’s-eye Glimpse of Miss Tox’s Dwelling-place: also of the State of Miss Tox’s Affections CHAPTER VIII. Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character CHAPTER IX. In which the Wooden Midshipman gets into Trouble CHAPTER X. Containing the Sequel of the Midshipman’s Disaster CHAPTER XI. Paul’s Introduction to a New Scene CHAPTER XII. Paul’s Education CHAPTER XIII. Shipping Intelligence and Office Business CHAPTER XIV. Paul grows more and more Old-fashioned, and goes Home for the Holidays CHAPTER XV. Amazing Artfulness of Captain Cuttle, and a new Pursuit for Walter Gay CHAPTER XVI. What the Waves were always saying CHAPTER XVII. Captain Cuttle does a little Business for the Young People CHAPTER XVIII. Father and Daughter CHAPTER XIX. Walter goes away CHAPTER XX. Mr Dombey goes upon a Journey CHAPTER XXI. New Faces CHAPTER XXII. A Trifle of Management by Mr Carker the Manager CHAPTER XXIII. Florence solitary, and the Midshipman mysterious CHAPTER XXIV. The Study of a Loving Heart CHAPTER XXV. Strange News of Uncle Sol CHAPTER XXVI. Shadows of the Past and Future CHAPTER XXVII. Deeper Shadows CHAPTER XXVIII. Alterations CHAPTER XXIX. The Opening of the Eyes of Mrs Chick CHAPTER XXX. The interval before the Marriage CHAPTER XXXI. The Wedding CHAPTER XXXII. The Wooden Midshipman goes to Pieces CHAPTER XXXIII. Contrasts CHAPTER XXXIV. Another Mother and Daughter CHAPTER XXXV. The Happy Pair CHAPTER XXXVI. Housewarming CHAPTER XXXVII. More Warnings than One CHAPTER XXXVIII. Miss Tox improves an Old Acquaintance CHAPTER XXXIX. Further Adventures of Captain Edward Cuttle, Mariner CHAPTER XL. Domestic Relations CHAPTER XLI. New Voices in the Waves CHAPTER XLII. Confidential and Accidental CHAPTER XLIII. The Watches of the Night CHAPTER XLIV. A Separation CHAPTER XLV. The Trusty Agent CHAPTER XLVI. Recognizant and Reflective CHAPTER XLVII. The Thunderbolt CHAPTER XLVIII. The Flight of Florence CHAPTER XLIX. The Midshipman makes a Discovery CHAPTER L. Mr Toots’s Complaint CHAPTER LI. Mr Dombey and the World CHAPTER LII. Secret Intelligence CHAPTER LIII. More Intelligence CHAPTER LIV. The Fugitives CHAPTER LV. Rob the Grinder loses his Place CHAPTER LVI. Several People delighted, and the Game Chicken disgusted CHAPTER LVII. Another Wedding CHAPTER LVIII. After a Lapse CHAPTER LIX. Retribution CHAPTER LX. Chiefly Matrimonial CHAPTER LXI. Relenting CHAPTER LXII. Final PREFACE OF 1848 PREFACE OF 1867

Tradução Integral em Português

CAPÍTULO I. Dombey and Son CAPÍTULO II. Em que se tomam Providências Oportunas para uma Emergência que às vezes surge nas Famílias mais bem-organizadas CAPÍTULO III. Em que o senhor Dombey, como Homem e Pai, é visto à Frente do Departamento Doméstico CAPÍTULO IV. Em que se fazem mais algumas Primeiras Aparições no Palco destas Aventuras CAPÍTULO V. O Progresso e o Batizado de Paul CAPÍTULO VI. A Segunda Privação de Paul CAPÍTULO VII. Um Vislumbre a Voo de Pássaro da Morada da senhorita Tox: e também do Estado dos Afetos da senhorita Tox CAPÍTULO VIII. Novos Progressos, Crescimento e Caráter de Paul CAPÍTULO IX. Em que o Guarda-Marinha de Madeira se mete em Apuros CAPÍTULO X. Que contém a Sequela do Desastre do Guarda-Marinha CAPÍTULO XI. A Introdução de Paul a um Novo Cenário CAPÍTULO XII. A Educação de Paul CAPÍTULO XIII. Notícias Marítimas e Negócios do Escritório CAPÍTULO XIV. Paul torna-se cada vez mais Antiquado e vai para Casa nas Férias CAPÍTULO XV. A Espantosa Astúcia do Capitão Cuttle, e uma nova Ocupação para Walter Gay CAPÍTULO XVI. O que as Ondas sempre diziam CAPÍTULO XVII. O Capitão Cuttle trata de um pequeno Negócio para os Jovens CAPÍTULO XVIII. Pai e Filha CAPÍTULO XIX. Walter parte CAPÍTULO XX. O senhor Dombey empreende uma Viagem CAPÍTULO XXI. Novos Rostos CAPÍTULO XXII. Uma Pequena Manobra do senhor Carker, o Gerente CAPÍTULO XXIII. Florence solitária, e o Guarda-Marinha misterioso CAPÍTULO XXIV. O Estudo de um Coração Amoroso CAPÍTULO XXV. Estranhas Notícias do Tio Sol CAPÍTULO XXVI. Sombras do Passado e do Futuro CAPÍTULO XXVII. Sombras mais Profundas CAPÍTULO XXVIII. Mudanças CAPÍTULO XXIX. A Abertura dos Olhos da senhora Chick CAPÍTULO XXX. O intervalo antes do Casamento CAPÍTULO XXXI. As Núpcias CAPÍTULO XXXII. O Guarda-Marinha de Madeira despedaça-se CAPÍTULO XXXIII. Contrastes CAPÍTULO XXXIV. Outra Mãe e Filha CAPÍTULO XXXV. O Casal Feliz CAPÍTULO XXXVI. A Festa de Inauguração da Casa CAPÍTULO XXXVII. Mais de um Aviso CAPÍTULO XXXVIII. A senhorita Tox cultiva uma Velha Amizade CAPÍTULO XXXIX. Novas Aventuras do Capitão Edward Cuttle, Marinheiro CAPÍTULO XL. Relações Domésticas CAPÍTULO XLI. Novas Vozes nas Ondas CAPÍTULO XLII. Confidencial e Acidental CAPÍTULO XLIII. As Vigílias da Noite CAPÍTULO XLIV. Uma Separação CAPÍTULO XLV. O Agente de Confiança CAPÍTULO XLVI. Reconhecimento e Reflexão CAPÍTULO XLVII. O Raio CAPÍTULO XLVIII. A Fuga de Florence CAPÍTULO XLIX. O Guarda-Marinha faz uma Descoberta CAPÍTULO L. A Enfermidade do senhor Toots CAPÍTULO LI. O senhor Dombey e o Mundo CAPÍTULO LII. Informações Secretas CAPÍTULO LIII. Mais Informações CAPÍTULO LIV. Os Fugitivos CAPÍTULO LV. Rob the Grinder perde o Emprego CAPÍTULO LVI. Várias Pessoas encantadas, e o Game Chicken enojado CAPÍTULO LVII. Outro Casamento CAPÍTULO LVIII. Após um Lapso de Tempo CAPÍTULO LIX. O Castigo CAPÍTULO LX. Sobretudo Matrimonial CAPÍTULO LXI. O Abrandamento CAPÍTULO LXII. Final PREFÁCIO DE 1848 PREFÁCIO DE 1867

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER I. Dombey and Son

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Dombey estava sentado numa grande poltrona ao lado da cama, num canto do quarto escuro. Seu filho estava bem agasalhado numa pequena cama de cesto sobre um sofá baixo, bem diante do fogo. Estava tão perto das chamas que parecia um bolinho novo que precisava ser tostado até dourar.

Dombey tinha cerca de quarenta e oito anos; seu filho, cerca de quarenta e oito minutos. Dombey era um pouco calvo e avermelhado. Embora bonito e bem constituído, parecia sério e orgulhoso demais para ser agradável. Seu filho também era calvo e vermelho. Embora certamente fosse um belo bebê, ainda parecia um pouco amassado e manchado. O Tempo e a Preocupação haviam marcado a testa de Dombey, como trabalhadores marcam uma árvore que um dia será derrubada. O rosto do bebê tinha mil pequenas linhas. Primeiro, o enganador Tempo as alisaria; depois, usaria sua foice para deixar marcas mais profundas.

Original English Version

Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new.

Dombey was about eight-and-forty years of age. Son about eight-and-forty minutes. Dombey was rather bald, rather red, and though a handsome well-made man, too stern and pompous in appearance, to be prepossessing. Son was very bald, and very red, and though (of course) an undeniably fine infant, somewhat crushed and spotty in his general effect, as yet. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations.

Tradução Integral em Português

Dombey estava sentado num canto do quarto escurecido, na grande poltrona junto à cama, e Filho jazia bem agasalhado num pequeno berço de cesto, cuidadosamente disposto sobre um sofá baixo bem diante do fogo e colado a ele, como se sua constituição fosse análoga à de um bolinho inglês e fosse essencial tostá-lo até dourar enquanto ainda era muito novo.

Dombey tinha cerca de quarenta e oito anos de idade. O Filho, cerca de quarenta e oito minutos. Dombey era um tanto calvo, um tanto corado e, embora fosse um homem bem-apessoado e bem-feito, demasiado severo e pomposo na aparência para ser cativante. O Filho era muito calvo e muito corado e, embora fosse (claro) uma criança inegavelmente bela, ainda um tanto amassado e manchado no seu efeito geral. Na fronte de Dombey, o Tempo e seu irmão Cuidado haviam gravado algumas marcas, como numa árvore destinada a cair a seu devido tempo - gêmeos implacáveis que são, a percorrer a passos largos as suas florestas humanas, entalhando por onde passam - enquanto o semblante do Filho era cruzado por mil pequenas rugas que o mesmo traiçoeiro Tempo teria prazer em alisar e desgastar com a parte plana de sua foice, como preparação da superfície para as suas operações mais profundas.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Dombey estava encantado com o acontecimento tão esperado. Não parava de sacudir a pesada corrente de ouro do relógio sob o elegante casaco azul, cujos botões brilhavam à fraca luz do fogo. Seu filho mantinha os punhos minúsculos bem fechados. À sua maneira frágil, parecia pronto para lutar contra a vida por ela ter chegado tão inesperadamente.

- A Casa voltará a ser, Sra. Dombey - disse o Sr. Dombey - , Dombey e Filho não apenas no nome, mas de fato. - Com os olhos semicerrados, como se lesse o nome entre flores e respirasse seu perfume, acrescentou com profundo prazer: - Dom-bey e Filho!

As palavras o enterneceram tanto que ele acrescentou uma expressão carinhosa ao nome da Sra. Dombey. Hesitou, pois raramente falava assim, e disse: - Sra. Dombey, minha... minha querida.

Uma breve expressão de fraca surpresa passou pelo rosto da mulher doente quando ela ergueu os olhos para ele.

- Ele será batizado de Paul, minha... Sra. Dombey... é claro.

Original English Version

Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly.

“The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be not only in name but in fact Dombey and Son;” and he added, in a tone of luxurious satisfaction, with his eyes half-closed as if he were reading the name in a device of flowers, and inhaling their fragrance at the same time; “Dom-bey and Son!”

The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs Dombey’s name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.”

A transient flush of faint surprise overspread the sick lady’s face as she raised her eyes towards him.

“He will be christened Paul, my - Mrs Dombey - of course.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Dombey, exultante com o acontecimento tão longamente aguardado, fez tinir e retinir a pesada corrente de ouro do relógio que pendia por baixo de seu impecável casaco azul, cujos botões cintilavam fosforescentemente aos débeis raios da lareira distante. O Filho, com os punhozinhos encolhidos e cerrados, parecia, à sua débil maneira, erguer a guarda contra a existência por esta ter caído sobre ele de modo tão inesperado.

- A Casa há de ser mais uma vez, senhora Dombey - disse o senhor Dombey - , não só de nome, mas de fato, Dombey and Son. - E acrescentou, num tom de deleitosa satisfação, com os olhos semicerrados, como se lesse o nome num desenho de flores e ao mesmo tempo inalasse a sua fragrância: - Dom-bey and Son!

As palavras tiveram uma influência tão abrandadora que ele acrescentou um termo de carinho ao nome da senhora Dombey (não sem alguma hesitação, por ser homem pouco afeito àquela forma de tratamento) e disse: - Senhora Dombey, minha... minha querida.

Um rubor passageiro de leve surpresa espalhou-se pelo rosto da senhora enferma quando ela ergueu os olhos para ele.

- Ele será batizado com o nome de Paul, minha... senhora Dombey... naturalmente.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Ela repetiu debilmente: - É claro - , ou melhor, apenas formou as palavras com os lábios, e fechou os olhos novamente.

- O nome do pai, Sra. Dombey, e do avô! Como eu gostaria que o avô estivesse vivo hoje! É um pouco inconveniente ter de escrever “Júnior” - disse o Sr. Dombey, fingindo assinar o nome sobre o joelho - , mas isso é apenas particular e pessoal. Não afeta as cartas da Casa. A assinatura continua a mesma. - E tornou a dizer “Dombey e Filho” exatamente no mesmo tom.

Essas três palavras expressavam a única ideia da vida do Sr. Dombey. Ele acreditava que a Terra existia para Dombey e Filho negociarem, e que o Sol e a Lua iluminavam seu trabalho. Rios e mares carregavam seus navios; arco-íris prometiam bom tempo; ventos ajudavam ou atrapalhavam seus negócios; e estrelas e planetas se moviam para proteger um sistema que tinha Dombey e Filho no centro. Até abreviações comuns ganhavam novos sentidos para ele. A.D. não significava Anno Domini, mas anno Dombei - e Filho.

Original English Version

She feebly echoed, “Of course,” or rather expressed it by the motion of her lips, and closed her eyes again.

“His father’s name, Mrs Dombey, and his grandfather’s! I wish his grandfather were alive this day! There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior,” said Mr Dombey, making a fictitious autograph on his knee; “but it is merely of a private and personal complexion. It doesn’t enter into the correspondence of the House. Its signature remains the same.” And again he said “Dombey and Son,” in exactly the same tone as before.

Those three words conveyed the one idea of Mr Dombey’s life. The earth was made for Dombey and Son to trade in, and the sun and moon were made to give them light. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre. Common abbreviations took new meanings in his eyes, and had sole reference to them. A. D. had no concern with Anno Domini, but stood for anno Dombei - and Son.

Tradução Integral em Português

Ela repetiu debilmente: - Naturalmente. - Ou antes, exprimiu-o pelo movimento dos lábios, e tornou a fechar os olhos.

- O nome de seu pai, senhora Dombey, e de seu avô! Quisera eu que seu avô estivesse vivo neste dia! Há certo inconveniente na necessidade de escrever Júnior - disse o senhor Dombey, traçando uma assinatura fictícia sobre o joelho - , mas isso é de natureza meramente privada e pessoal. Não entra na correspondência da Casa. A sua assinatura permanece a mesma. - E de novo disse: - Dombey and Son - exatamente no mesmo tom de antes.

Aquelas três palavras encerravam a única ideia da vida do senhor Dombey. A terra fora feita para que Dombey and Son nela negociassem, e o sol e a lua foram feitos para lhes dar luz. Rios e mares foram formados para fazer flutuar os seus navios; os arco-íris lhes davam promessa de bom tempo; os ventos sopravam a favor ou contra os seus empreendimentos; estrelas e planetas giravam em suas órbitas para preservar inviolável um sistema de que eles eram o centro. Abreviações comuns adquiriam novos sentidos aos seus olhos, e diziam respeito unicamente a eles. A. D. nada tinha a ver com Anno Domini, mas significava anno Dombei - and Son.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Como o pai antes dele, o Sr. Dombey havia passado, ao longo da vida e da morte, de Filho a Dombey. Por quase vinte anos representara sozinho a Firma, e durante dez deles fora casado. Alguns diziam que sua esposa já não tinha coração para lhe dar, que sua felicidade pertencia ao passado e que ela aceitava em silêncio sua vida desfeita no presente. Era improvável que tais comentários chegassem ao Sr. Dombey, e ninguém os rejeitaria com maior firmeza. Dombey e Filho negociavam peles de animais, nunca corações; deixavam essas mercadorias tolas para jovens, escolas e livros. O Sr. Dombey acreditava que casar-se com ele devia honrar e agradar qualquer mulher sensata. Até a mulher menos ambiciosa deveria se orgulhar da esperança de dar um novo sócio a uma Casa como aquela. A Sra. Dombey se casara conhecendo todas essas vantagens. Via todos os dias a posição social dele, sentava-se à cabeceira da mesa e recebia os convidados com perfeita elegância. Portanto, concluiu o Sr. Dombey, ela devia ter sido feliz; não tinha como deixar de ser.

Original English Version

He had risen, as his father had before him, in the course of life and death, from Son to Dombey, and for nearly twenty years had been the sole representative of the Firm. Of those years he had been married, ten - married, as some said, to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past, and who was content to bind her broken spirit to the dutiful and meek endurance of the present. Such idle talk was little likely to reach the ears of Mr Dombey, whom it nearly concerned; and probably no one in the world would have received it with such utter incredulity as he, if it had reached him. Dombey and Son had often dealt in hides, but never in hearts. They left that fancy ware to boys and girls, and boarding-schools and books. Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself _must_, in the nature of things, be gratifying and honourable to any woman of common sense. That the hope of giving birth to a new partner in such a House, could not fail to awaken a glorious and stirring ambition in the breast of the least ambitious of her sex. That Mrs Dombey had entered on that social contract of matrimony: almost necessarily part of a genteel and wealthy station, even without reference to the perpetuation of family Firms: with her eyes fully open to these advantages. That Mrs Dombey had had daily practical knowledge of his position in society. That Mrs Dombey had always sat at the head of his table, and done the honours of his house in a remarkably lady-like and becoming manner. That Mrs Dombey must have been happy. That she couldn’t help it.

Tradução Integral em Português

Ele ascendera, como seu pai antes dele, no curso da vida e da morte, de Filho a Dombey, e por quase vinte anos fora o único representante da Firma. Desses anos, dez os passara casado - casado, como diziam alguns, com uma dama sem coração para lhe dar; cuja felicidade estava no passado e que se contentava em atrelar o seu espírito quebrantado à dócil e submissa resignação do presente. Tais conversas ociosas dificilmente chegariam aos ouvidos do senhor Dombey, a quem tão de perto diziam respeito; e provavelmente ninguém no mundo as teria recebido com tão absoluta incredulidade quanto ele, se lhe houvessem chegado. Dombey and Son muitas vezes negociara em couros, mas nunca em corações. Deixavam essa mercadoria de fantasia para meninos e meninas, e internatos, e livros. O senhor Dombey teria raciocinado: que uma aliança matrimonial com ele _devia_, na natureza das coisas, ser gratificante e honrosa para qualquer mulher de bom senso. Que a esperança de dar à luz um novo sócio de tal Casa não podia deixar de despertar uma gloriosa e arrebatadora ambição no peito da menos ambiciosa de seu sexo. Que a senhora Dombey firmara aquele contrato social do matrimônio - parte quase necessária de uma condição nobre e abastada, mesmo sem referência à perpetuação das Firmas de família - de olhos plenamente abertos a essas vantagens. Que a senhora Dombey tivera diário e prático conhecimento da posição dele na sociedade. Que a senhora Dombey sempre se sentara à cabeceira de sua mesa e fizera as honras de sua casa de maneira notavelmente distinta e conveniente. Que a senhora Dombey devia ter sido feliz. Que não podia deixar de sê-lo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Havia apenas um problema, e até o Sr. Dombey admitiria que era importante: esperaram muito para que sua esperança se realizasse. A Bíblia diz corretamente que a esperança adiada adoece o coração. O Sr. Dombey diria isso com superioridade, pois respeitava até a Bíblia principalmente como uma parte do mesmo grande mundo que também continha Dombey e Filho. Estavam casados havia dez anos e, até aquele dia, enquanto ele sacudia a corrente de ouro do relógio ao lado da cama, não tinham tido nenhum filho.

Pelo menos, nenhum filho que valesse a pena mencionar. Uma menina nascera cerca de seis anos antes. Aquela criança entrara no quarto sem ser vista e agora se escondia timidamente num canto, de onde podia ver o rosto da mãe. Mas que valor tinha uma menina para Dombey e Filho? Na riqueza e na honra do nome da Casa, ela era apenas uma moeda falsa que não podia ser investida - um mau negócio, nada mais.

Original English Version

Or, at all events, with one drawback. Yes. That he would have allowed. With only one; but that one certainly involving much. With the drawback of hope deferred. That hope deferred, which, (as the Scripture very correctly tells us, Mr Dombey would have added in a patronising way; for his highest distinct idea even of Scripture, if examined, would have been found to be; that as forming part of a general whole, of which Dombey and Son formed another part, it was therefore to be commended and upheld) maketh the heart sick. They had been married ten years, and until this present day on which Mr Dombey sat jingling and jingling his heavy gold watch-chain in the great arm-chair by the side of the bed, had had no issue.

- To speak of; none worth mentioning. There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother’s face. But what was a girl to Dombey and Son! In the capital of the House’s name and dignity, such a child was merely a piece of base coin that couldn’t be invested - a bad Boy - nothing more.

Tradução Integral em Português

Ou, em todo caso, com uma única ressalva. Sim. Essa ele admitiria. Uma só; mas essa, por certo, envolvendo muita coisa. A ressalva da esperança adiada. Aquela esperança adiada que (como muito acertadamente nos diz a Escritura, teria acrescentado o senhor Dombey de modo condescendente; pois a sua mais elevada ideia distinta acerca da própria Escritura, se bem examinada, se revelaria ser esta: que, por constituir parte de um todo geral do qual Dombey and Son formava outra parte, era por isso digna de louvor e sustentáculo) adoece o coração. Estavam casados havia dez anos e, até o presente dia em que o senhor Dombey ali se sentava a fazer tinir e retinir a pesada corrente de ouro do relógio, na grande poltrona ao lado da cama, não tinham tido descendência.

- Que merecesse menção; nenhuma digna de nota. Havia uns seis anos nascera uma menina, e a criança, que se esgueirara para dentro do quarto sem ser notada, agachava-se agora timidamente num canto de onde podia ver o rosto da mãe. Mas que era uma menina para Dombey and Son! No capital do nome e da dignidade da Casa, uma tal criança não passava de uma moeda falsa que não podia ser investida - um mau Menino - nada mais.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A taça de satisfação do Sr. Dombey estava tão cheia naquele momento que ele achou que podia poupar uma ou duas gotas até para a filhinha, que para ele era como poeira à margem do caminho.

Então ele disse: - Florence, pode ir olhar seu lindo irmão, se quiser, suponho. Não toque nele!

A menina olhou atentamente para o casaco azul e a gravata branca e rígida. Junto com as botas que rangiam e o relógio que fazia um tique-taque alto, essas coisas formavam sua ideia de pai. Mas seus olhos voltaram imediatamente ao rosto da mãe, e ela não se moveu nem respondeu.

- Ela é tão insensível a um irmão quanto a todas as outras coisas - disse o Sr. Dombey consigo mesmo. A descoberta parecia confirmar uma opinião que ele já tinha, e isso o deixou bastante satisfeito.

No instante seguinte, a senhora abriu os olhos e viu a menina. A criança correu até ela, ficou na ponta dos pés para esconder melhor o rosto no abraço da mãe e agarrou-se a ela com um amor desesperado, muito mais forte do que se esperaria de sua idade.

Original English Version

Mr Dombey’s cup of satisfaction was so full at this moment, however, that he felt he could afford a drop or two of its contents, even to sprinkle on the dust in the by-path of his little daughter.

So he said, “Florence, you may go and look at your pretty brother, if you like, I daresay. Don’t touch him!”

The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered.

“Her insensibility is as proof against a brother as against every thing else,” said Mr Dombey to himself He seemed so confirmed in a previous opinion by the discovery, as to be quite glad of it.”

Next moment, the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and, standing on tiptoe, the better to hide her face in her embrace, had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years.

Tradução Integral em Português

O cálice de satisfação do senhor Dombey estava, contudo, tão cheio naquele momento que ele sentiu poder dispor de uma gota ou duas do seu conteúdo, mesmo para aspergir sobre o pó no atalho de sua filhinha.

Disse então: - Florence, podes ir olhar o teu lindo irmãozinho, se quiseres, suponho eu. Não lhe toques!

A criança lançou um olhar penetrante ao casaco azul e à rígida gravata branca que, junto com um par de botas rangentes e um relógio de tique-taque muito ruidoso, encarnavam a sua ideia de pai; mas os olhos voltaram-lhe imediatamente ao rosto da mãe, e ela nem se moveu nem respondeu.

- A insensibilidade dela é tão à prova de um irmão quanto de qualquer outra coisa - disse o senhor Dombey consigo mesmo. Parecia tão confirmado numa opinião anterior por aquela descoberta que chegava a ficar bastante satisfeito com ela.

No instante seguinte, a senhora abrira os olhos e vira a criança; e a criança correra para ela; e, na ponta dos pés, para melhor esconder o rosto em seu abraço, agarrara-se a ela com uma afeição desesperada muito em desacordo com os seus anos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Meu Deus! - disse o Sr. Dombey, levantando-se irritado. - Tenho certeza de que isso é muito imprudente e agitado. Por favor, chamem a ama da Srta. Florence. Realmente, essa mulher deveria ter mais cuida...

- Espere! Talvez seja melhor eu pedir ao Dr. Peps que suba novamente. Vou descer. Vou descer. Nem preciso lhe pedir - acrescentou, parando ao lado do sofá perto do fogo - que cuide especialmente deste jovem cavalheiro, Sra...

- Blockitt, senhor? - sugeriu a ama. Era uma mulher sorridente cujas maneiras refinadas haviam desbotado com a idade. Não ousou declarar o próprio nome como fato, apenas o ofereceu como uma sugestão delicada.

- Cuide especialmente deste jovem cavalheiro, Sra. Blockitt.

- Não, senhor, decerto. Lembro-me de quando a Srta. Florence nasceu...

Original English Version

“Oh Lord bless me!” said Mr Dombey, rising testily. “A very ill-advised and feverish proceeding this, I am sure. Please to ring there for Miss Florence’s nurse. Really the person should be more care-”

“Wait! I - had better ask Doctor Peps if he’ll have the goodness to step upstairs again perhaps. I’ll go down. I’ll go down. I needn’t beg you,” he added, pausing for a moment at the settee before the fire, “to take particular care of this young gentleman, Mrs - - ”

“Blockitt, Sir?” suggested the nurse, a simpering piece of faded gentility, who did not presume to state her name as a fact, but merely offered it as a mild suggestion.

“Of this young gentleman, Mrs Blockitt.”

“No, Sir, indeed. I remember when Miss Florence was born - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Oh, Deus me valha! - disse o senhor Dombey, erguendo-se irritado. - Um procedimento muito insensato e febril, disso estou certo. Queiram tocar a campainha para chamar a ama da senhorita Florence. Realmente, essa pessoa devia ter mais cuida...

- Esperem! É... melhor perguntar ao Doutor Peps se terá a bondade de subir novamente, talvez. Vou descer. Vou descer. Não preciso pedir-lhe - acrescentou, detendo-se um instante junto ao sofá diante da lareira - que tenha cuidado especial com este jovem cavalheiro, senhora...

- Blockitt, senhor? - sugeriu a ama, um exemplar afetado de fidalguia desbotada, que não presumia declarar o próprio nome como um fato, mas apenas o oferecia como uma branda sugestão.

- ...com este jovem cavalheiro, senhora Blockitt.

- Não, senhor, de fato. Lembro-me de quando a senhorita Florence nasceu...

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Sim, sim, sim - disse o Sr. Dombey, inclinando-se sobre a cama de cesto e franzindo levemente a testa. - A Srta. Florence estava muito bem, mas isto é diferente. Este jovem cavalheiro tem um grande futuro a cumprir. Um grande futuro, pequenino! - Falando com o bebê, levou uma das mãozinhas aos lábios e a beijou. Depois, aparentemente com medo de que aquele gesto carinhoso prejudicasse sua dignidade, afastou-se de modo bastante desajeitado.

O Dr. Parker Peps era um dos médicos da corte e famoso por ajudar famílias importantes a terem mais filhos. Andava de um lado para o outro na sala, com as mãos atrás das costas. O cirurgião da família o observava com admiração sem fim. Durante seis semanas, esse cirurgião contara a todos os pacientes, amigos e conhecidos sobre o caso, dizendo que esperava ser chamado a qualquer hora, dia ou noite, para trabalhar ao lado do Dr. Parker Peps.

- Bem, senhor - disse o Dr. Parker Peps com uma voz cheia e profunda, abafada para a ocasião como a aldrava da porta - , sua visita despertou um pouco sua querida esposa?

Original English Version

“Ay, ay, ay,” said Mr Dombey, bending over the basket bedstead, and slightly bending his brows at the same time. “Miss Florence was all very well, but this is another matter. This young gentleman has to accomplish a destiny. A destiny, little fellow!” As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips, and kissed it; then, seeming to fear that the action involved some compromise of his dignity, went, awkwardly enough, away.

Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep.

“Well, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a round, deep, sonorous voice, muffled for the occasion, like the knocker; “do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Sim, sim, sim - disse o senhor Dombey, inclinando-se sobre o berço de vime e franzindo ligeiramente o cenho ao mesmo tempo. - A senhorita Florence estava muito bem, mas isto é outra coisa. Este jovem cavalheiro tem um destino a cumprir. Um destino, meu pequeno! - E, ao apostrofar assim a criança, levou uma das mãos aos lábios e beijou-a; depois, parecendo temer que o gesto implicasse algum comprometimento de sua dignidade, afastou-se, de modo bastante desajeitado.

O Doutor Parker Peps, um dos Médicos da Corte e homem de imensa reputação por assistir ao aumento das grandes famílias, andava de um lado para outro na sala de visitas, com as mãos atrás das costas, para a indizível admiração do Cirurgião da família, que durante as últimas seis semanas viera regularmente alardeando o caso entre todos os seus pacientes, amigos e conhecidos, como um em que estava, de hora em hora, dia e noite, na expectativa de ser convocado, em conjunto com o Doutor Parker Peps.

- Então, senhor - disse o Doutor Parker Peps numa voz redonda, profunda e sonora, abafada para a ocasião, como a aldrava da porta - , encontra a sua cara senhora minimamente reanimada pela sua visita?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Talvez a tenha estimulado? - acrescentou debilmente o médico da família. Ao mesmo tempo, fez uma reverência ao médico famoso, como se dissesse: “Perdoe-me por falar, mas esta família é um contato importante.”

A pergunta deixou o Sr. Dombey muito desconfortável. Ele pensara tão pouco na paciente que não conseguia responder. Disse que ficaria agradecido se o Dr. Parker Peps subisse novamente.

- Ótimo! Não devemos esconder do senhor - disse o Dr. Parker Peps - que Sua Graça, a Duquesa, está sem forças... Peço desculpas; confundi os nomes. Quero dizer, sua bondosa esposa. Ela demonstra certa fraqueza e uma falta geral de energia que preferiríamos não...

- Ver - interrompeu o médico da família, fazendo outra reverência.

- Exatamente - disse o Dr. Parker Peps. - Preferiríamos não ver isso. Parece que o organismo de Lady Cankaby... Perdoe-me, quero dizer, da Sra. Dombey. Confundo os nomes dos meus casos...

Original English Version

“Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.”

Mr Dombey was quite discomfited by the question. He had thought so little of the patient, that he was not in a condition to answer it. He said that it would be a satisfaction to him, if Doctor Parker Peps would walk upstairs again.

“Good! We must not disguise from you, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that there is a want of power in Her Grace the Duchess - I beg your pardon; I confound names; I should say, in your amiable lady. That there is a certain degree of languor, and a general absence of elasticity, which we would rather - not - ”

“See,” interposed the family practitioner with another inclination of the head.

“Quite so,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “which we would rather not see. It would appear that the system of Lady Cankaby - excuse me: I should say of Mrs Dombey: I confuse the names of cases - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Estimulada, por assim dizer? - disse o clínico da família debilmente, curvando-se ao mesmo tempo diante do Doutor, como que a dizer: - Perdoem que me intrometa com uma palavra, mas esta é uma relação valiosa.

O senhor Dombey ficou totalmente desconcertado com a pergunta. Tão pouco pensara na paciente que não estava em condições de respondê-la. Disse que seria uma satisfação para ele se o Doutor Parker Peps subisse novamente.

- Pois bem! Não devemos ocultar-lhe, senhor - disse o Doutor Parker Peps - , que há uma falta de vigor em Sua Graça a Duquesa... perdão; confundo os nomes; devia dizer, em sua amável senhora. Que há certo grau de langor, e uma ausência geral de elasticidade, que preferiríamos... não...

- Ver - interpôs o clínico da família com outra inclinação de cabeça.

- Exatamente - disse o Doutor Parker Peps - , que preferiríamos não ver. Ao que parece, o organismo de Lady Cankaby... desculpe-me: devia dizer, da senhora Dombey: confundo os nomes dos casos...

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- São tantos - murmurou o médico da família. - Tenho certeza de que ninguém poderia esperar outra coisa. Seria espantoso se não os confundisse, com a grande clínica do Dr. Parker Peps no West End.

- Obrigado - disse o médico. - Exatamente. Como eu dizia, o corpo de nossa paciente parece ter sofrido um choque. Ela só poderá se recuperar fazendo um grande e forte...

- E vigoroso - murmurou o médico da família.

- Exatamente - concordou o médico. - Um esforço forte e vigoroso. O Sr. Pilkins aqui, como médico desta família - e tenho certeza de que ninguém poderia ser mais qualificado para essa posição...

- Oh! - murmurou o médico da família. - Que elogio vindo de Sir Hubert Stanley!

- É bondade sua dizer isso - respondeu o Dr. Parker Peps. - Por causa de sua posição, o Sr. Pilkins conhece a saúde normal da paciente, o que é muito útil quando formamos uma opinião nessas ocasiões. Ele concorda comigo que a Natureza precisa fazer agora um esforço vigoroso. Se nossa interessante amiga, a Condessa de Dombey... Peço desculpas, a Sra. Dombey... não for...

Original English Version

“So very numerous,” murmured the family practitioner - “can’t be expected I’m sure - quite wonderful if otherwise - Doctor Parker Peps’s West-End practice - ”

“Thank you,” said the Doctor, “quite so. It would appear, I was observing, that the system of our patient has sustained a shock, from which it can only hope to rally by a great and strong - ”

“And vigorous,” murmured the family practitioner.

“Quite so,” assented the Doctor - “and vigorous effort. Mr Pilkins here, who from his position of medical adviser in this family - no one better qualified to fill that position, I am sure.”

“Oh!” murmured the family practitioner. “‘Praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!’”

“You are good enough,” returned Doctor Parker Peps, “to say so. Mr Pilkins who, from his position, is best acquainted with the patient’s constitution in its normal state (an acquaintance very valuable to us in forming our opinions in these occasions), is of opinion, with me, that Nature must be called upon to make a vigorous effort in this instance; and that if our interesting friend the Countess of Dombey - I _beg_ your pardon; Mrs Dombey - should not be - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Tão numerosos - murmurou o clínico da família - , não se pode esperar, tenho certeza... seria de admirar se fosse de outro modo... a clientela do West-End do Doutor Parker Peps...

- Obrigado - disse o Doutor - , exatamente. Ao que parece, dizia eu, o organismo de nossa paciente sofreu um abalo do qual só pode esperar refazer-se por meio de um grande e forte...

- E vigoroso - murmurou o clínico da família.

- Exatamente - assentiu o Doutor - , e vigoroso esforço. O senhor Pilkins, aqui presente, que, por sua posição de conselheiro médico desta família... ninguém mais qualificado para ocupar tal posição, tenho certeza.

- Oh! - murmurou o clínico da família. - “Louvor vindo de Sir Hubert Stanley!”

- O senhor tem a bondade - retorquiu o Doutor Parker Peps - de assim dizer. O senhor Pilkins, que, por sua posição, melhor conhece a constituição da paciente em seu estado normal (conhecimento muito valioso para nós na formação de nossas opiniões nestas ocasiões), é de opinião, como eu, que se deve apelar à Natureza para que faça um vigoroso esforço neste caso; e que, se a nossa interessante amiga, a Condessa de Dombey... _perdão_; a senhora Dombey... não estiver em...

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Capaz - disse o médico da família.

- De fazer - disse o Dr. Parker Peps.

- Esse esforço - disse o médico da família.

- Com sucesso - disseram os dois ao mesmo tempo.

- Então - acrescentou sozinho o Dr. Parker Peps, muito sério - , poderá surgir uma crise que ambos lamentaremos sinceramente.

Depois de dizer isso, olharam para o chão por alguns segundos. Então o Dr. Parker Peps fez um sinal silencioso, e eles subiram. O médico da família abriu a porta para o famoso profissional e o seguiu com a mais humilde cortesia.

Seria injusto dizer que essa notícia não afetou o Sr. Dombey à sua maneira. Ele não era um homem que pudesse ser chamado propriamente de surpreso ou chocado. Ainda assim, sentia que, se a esposa adoecesse e morresse, ficaria muito triste. Seria como se algo valioso desaparecesse de entre a prataria, os móveis e os outros bens da casa - algo cuja perda ele lamentaria de verdade. Seu pesar seria, naturalmente, calmo, prático, digno de um cavalheiro e controlado.

Original English Version

“Able,” said the family practitioner.

“To make,” said Doctor Parker Peps.

“That effort,” said the family practitioner.

“Successfully,” said they both together.

“Then,” added Doctor Parker Peps, alone and very gravely, “a crisis might arise, which we should both sincerely deplore.”

With that, they stood for a few seconds looking at the ground. Then, on the motion - made in dumb show - of Doctor Parker Peps, they went upstairs; the family practitioner opening the room door for that distinguished professional, and following him out, with most obsequious politeness.

To record of Mr Dombey that he was not in his way affected by this intelligence, would be to do him an injustice. He was not a man of whom it could properly be said that he was ever startled, or shocked; but he certainly had a sense within him, that if his wife should sicken and decay, he would be very sorry, and that he would find a something gone from among his plate and furniture, and other household possessions, which was well worth the having, and could not be lost without sincere regret. Though it would be a cool, business-like, gentlemanly, self-possessed regret, no doubt.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Condições - disse o clínico da família.

- De fazer - disse o Doutor Parker Peps.

- Esse esforço - disse o clínico da família.

- Com êxito - disseram ambos a uma só voz.

- Então - acrescentou o Doutor Parker Peps, sozinho e muito gravemente - , poderia sobrevir uma crise que ambos sinceramente deploraríamos.

Com isso, ficaram por alguns segundos a olhar para o chão. Depois, ao gesto - feito em pantomima - do Doutor Parker Peps, subiram; o clínico da família abrindo a porta do quarto para aquele distinto profissional e seguindo-o para fora com a mais obsequiosa cortesia.

Registrar do senhor Dombey que ele não foi, à sua maneira, afetado por essa notícia seria cometer com ele uma injustiça. Não era homem de quem se pudesse propriamente dizer que alguma vez se sobressaltasse ou chocasse; mas por certo tinha dentro de si a noção de que, se a esposa adoecesse e definhasse, ele ficaria muito pesaroso, e de que sentiria falta de algo entre a sua baixela, os seus móveis e demais bens domésticos, algo bem digno de se possuir e que não poderia perder-se sem sincero pesar. Embora fosse, sem dúvida, um pesar frio, metódico, cavalheiresco e senhor de si.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Seus pensamentos logo foram interrompidos pelo ruído de roupas na escada. Então uma senhora entrou depressa na sala. Já passara um pouco da meia-idade, mas se vestia como uma mulher muito mais jovem, sobretudo com um vestido muito apertado. Correu até ele com o rosto e o corpo contorcidos pela emoção contida, jogou os braços em torno de seu pescoço e disse com a voz sufocada:

- Meu querido Paul! Ele é um Dombey por completo!

- Bem, bem! - respondeu o irmão, pois o Sr. Dombey era irmão dela. - Acho que ele se parece com a família. Não se agite, Louisa.

- É muita tolice minha - disse Louisa, sentando-se e tirando o lenço - , mas ele é... ele é um Dombey tão perfeito!

O Sr. Dombey tossiu.

- É tão extraordinário que chega a ser ridículo - disse Louisa, sorrindo entre lágrimas que não eram muito intensas. - Ele pertence tão completamente à nossa família. Nunca vi nada igual em toda a minha vida!

Original English Version

His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice,

“My dear Paul! He’s quite a Dombey!”

“Well, well!” returned her brother - for Mr Dombey was her brother - “I think he is like the family. Don’t agitate yourself, Louisa.”

“It’s very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down, and taking out her pocket-handkerchief, “but he’s - he’s such a perfect Dombey!”

Mr Dombey coughed.

“It’s so extraordinary,” said Louisa; smiling through her tears, which indeed were not overpowering, “as to be perfectly ridiculous. So completely our family. _I_ never saw anything like it in my life!”

Tradução Integral em Português

As suas meditações sobre o assunto foram logo interrompidas, primeiro pelo roçagar de roupas na escada e depois pela súbita irrupção no quarto de uma dama já mais além da meia-idade do que aquém, mas trajada de maneira muito juvenil, sobretudo quanto à justeza do corpete, a qual, correndo até ele com uma espécie de contração no rosto e no porte, expressiva de uma emoção reprimida, atirou-lhe os braços ao pescoço e disse, em voz sufocada:

- Meu caro Paul! Ele é um autêntico Dombey!

- Ora, ora! - retorquiu o irmão dela, pois o senhor Dombey era seu irmão. - Acho que ele se parece com a família. Não te agites, Louisa.

- É muita tolice minha - disse Louisa, sentando-se e tirando o lenço de bolso - , mas ele é... ele é um Dombey tão perfeito!

O senhor Dombey tossiu.

- É tão extraordinário - disse Louisa, sorrindo em meio às lágrimas, que na verdade não eram avassaladoras - , que chega a ser perfeitamente ridículo. Tão completamente da nossa família. _Eu_ nunca vi coisa igual em toda a minha vida!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Mas o que está acontecendo com a própria Fanny? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey. - Como está Fanny?

- Meu querido Paul - respondeu Louisa - , não é nada. Acredite em mim, não é nada. Ela certamente está exausta, mas não chega perto do que sofri com George ou Frederick. Só precisa fazer um esforço. Se a querida Fanny fosse uma Dombey! Mas tenho certeza de que conseguirá. Como é seu dever, é claro que fará o esforço. Meu querido Paul, sei que é fraqueza e tolice minha tremer da cabeça aos pés, mas me sinto tão estranha que preciso lhe pedir uma taça de vinho e um pedaço daquele bolo.

O Sr. Dombey lhe deu rapidamente o vinho e o bolo de uma bandeja sobre a mesa.

- Não vou brindar a você, Paul - disse Louisa. - Vou brindar ao pequeno Dombey. Meu Deus! Ele é a coisa mais espantosa que já conheci, porque é um Dombey tão perfeito.

Original English Version

“But what is this about Fanny, herself?” said Mr Dombey. “How is Fanny?”

“My dear Paul,” returned Louisa, “it’s nothing whatever. Take my word, it’s nothing whatever. There is exhaustion, certainly, but nothing like what I underwent myself, either with George or Frederick. An effort is necessary. That’s all. If dear Fanny were a Dombey! - But I daresay she’ll make it; I have no doubt she’ll make it. Knowing it to be required of her, as a duty, of course she’ll make it. My dear Paul, it’s very weak and silly of me, I know, to be so trembly and shaky from head to foot; but I am so very queer that I must ask you for a glass of wine and a morsel of that cake.”

Mr Dombey promptly supplied her with these refreshments from a tray on the table.

“I shall not drink my love to you, Paul,” said Louisa: “I shall drink to the little Dombey. Good gracious me! - it’s the most astonishing thing I ever knew in all my days, he’s such a perfect Dombey.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Mas o que há a respeito da própria Fanny? - disse o senhor Dombey. - Como está Fanny?

- Meu caro Paul - retorquiu Louisa - , não é absolutamente nada. Fica com a minha palavra, não é absolutamente nada. Há exaustão, por certo, mas nada comparável ao que eu mesma padeci, seja com George, seja com Frederick. É preciso um esforço. É só isso. Se a querida Fanny fosse uma Dombey!... Mas ouso crer que ela o fará; não tenho dúvida de que o fará. Sabendo que isso lhe é exigido, como um dever, é claro que o fará. Meu caro Paul, é muita fraqueza e tolice minha, bem sei, estar assim trêmula e abalada da cabeça aos pés; mas sinto-me tão esquisita que preciso pedir-te uma taça de vinho e um pedaço daquele bolo.

O senhor Dombey prontamente lhe forneceu esses refrescos de uma bandeja sobre a mesa.

- Não beberei à tua saúde, Paul - disse Louisa - , beberei ao pequeno Dombey. Santo Deus!... é a coisa mais espantosa que conheci em todos os meus dias, ele é um Dombey tão perfeito.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Louisa encerrou essa opinião com uma risada curta e nervosa que se transformou em lágrimas. Depois ergueu os olhos e esvaziou a taça.

- Sei que é fraqueza e tolice minha - repetiu ela - tremer da cabeça aos pés e deixar meus sentimentos me dominarem por completo, mas não consigo evitar. Quando desci depois de ver a querida Fanny e aquela coisinha pequenininha, pensei que cairia pela janela da escada. - Suas últimas palavras infantis vieram de uma lembrança súbita e muito clara do bebê.

Então alguém bateu suavemente à porta.

- Sra. Chick - disse do lado de fora uma voz feminina muito suave - , como está agora, minha querida amiga?

- Meu querido Paul - disse Louisa em voz baixa enquanto se levantava - , é a Srta. Tox. Ela é a pessoa mais bondosa! Eu nunca teria conseguido vir aqui sem ela. Srta. Tox, este é meu irmão, o Sr. Dombey. Paul, querido, esta é minha amiga muito especial, a Srta. Tox.

Original English Version

Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears, Louisa cast up her eyes, and emptied her glass.

“I know it’s very weak and silly of me,” she repeated, “to be so trembly and shaky from head to foot, and to allow my feelings so completely to get the better of me, but I cannot help it. I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny, and that tiddy ickle sing.” These last words originated in a sudden vivid reminiscence of the baby.

They were succeeded by a gentle tap at the door.

“Mrs Chick,” said a very bland female voice outside, “how are you now, my dear friend?”

“My dear Paul,” said Louisa in a low voice, as she rose from her seat, “it’s Miss Tox. The kindest creature! I never could have got here without her! Miss Tox, my brother Mr Dombey. Paul, my dear, my very particular friend Miss Tox.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Extinguindo essa manifestação de opinião numa breve risada histérica que terminou em lágrimas, Louisa ergueu os olhos ao céu e esvaziou a taça.

- Sei que é muita fraqueza e tolice minha - repetiu - estar assim trêmula e abalada da cabeça aos pés e deixar que os meus sentimentos me dominem por completo, mas não posso evitá-lo. Julguei que fosse cair pela janela da escada quando descia de ver a querida Fanny e aquela coisinha lindinha. - Estas últimas palavras brotaram de uma súbita e viva reminiscência do bebê.

Seguiu-se-lhes uma suave batida à porta.

- Senhora Chick - disse do lado de fora uma voz feminina muito melíflua - , como está a senhora agora, minha querida amiga?

- Meu caro Paul - disse Louisa em voz baixa, erguendo-se do assento - , é a senhorita Tox. A criatura mais gentil! Eu jamais teria chegado aqui sem ela! Senhorita Tox, meu irmão, o senhor Dombey. Paul, meu caro, minha amiga muito particular, a senhorita Tox.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A senhora apresentada era alta e magra, com uma aparência tão desbotada que parecia ter perdido aos poucos suas cores originais na lavagem. Tirando isso, era a imagem perfeita da cortesia e do desejo de agradar. Passara tanto tempo ouvindo os outros com admiração, olhando como se gravasse para sempre as imagens deles na alma, que sua cabeça agora se inclinava permanentemente para um lado. Suas mãos frequentemente se erguiam sozinhas em súbita admiração, e seus olhos se comportavam de modo parecido. Sua voz era extremamente suave. Seu nariz muito grande e curvo tinha uma pequena saliência no meio da ponte e apontava firmemente para baixo, em direção ao rosto, como se estivesse decidido a nunca se empinar diante de nada.

Original English Version

The lady thus specially presented, was a long lean figure, wearing such a faded air that she seemed not to have been made in what linen-drapers call “fast colours” originally, and to have, by little and little, washed out. But for this she might have been described as the very pink of general propitiation and politeness. From a long habit of listening admiringly to everything that was said in her presence, and looking at the speakers as if she were mentally engaged in taking off impressions of their images upon her soul, never to part with the same but with life, her head had quite settled on one side. Her hands had contracted a spasmodic habit of raising themselves of their own accord as in involuntary admiration. Her eyes were liable to a similar affection. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything.

Tradução Integral em Português

A dama assim especialmente apresentada era uma figura alta e magra, de aspecto tão desbotado que parecia não ter sido feita, de início, no que os comerciantes de tecidos chamam de “cores firmes”, e ter, aos poucos, desbotado por lavagem. Não fosse isso, poderia ter sido descrita como a própria flor da conciliação e da polidez universais. De um longo hábito de escutar com admiração tudo quanto se dizia em sua presença, e de fitar os que falavam como se estivesse mentalmente ocupada em imprimir as imagens deles em sua alma, para delas nunca se separar senão com a vida, a cabeça se lhe pendera de todo para um lado. As mãos haviam contraído o hábito espasmódico de erguer-se por conta própria, como em admiração involuntária. Os olhos estavam sujeitos a igual afecção. Tinha a voz mais suave que jamais se ouvira; e o nariz, estupendamente aquilino, tinha um pequeno nó bem no centro, ou pedra-angular, da cana, de onde tendia para baixo em direção ao rosto, como numa invencível determinação de nunca torcer-se de desdém por coisa alguma.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

As roupas da Srta. Tox eram respeitáveis e boas, mas pareciam estreitas, angulosas e um tanto pequenas. Ela costumava usar florzinhas estranhas e fracas nos chapéus e toucas, e capins incomuns às vezes apareciam em seu cabelo. As pessoas notavam que as duas pontas de cada gola, babado, punho ou outro artigo leve que usava nunca se encontravam sem luta. Suas peles de inverno - pequenas capas, boás e regalos - ficavam rígidas e eriçadas, nunca lisas. Ela carregava com frequência bolsinhas cujos fechos soavam como pequenas pistolas ao fechar. Quando vestida para ocasiões especiais, usava um medalhão muito simples que mostrava um velho olho apagado, sem expressão pensativa. Esses detalhes fizeram as pessoas acreditar que a Srta. Tox tinha apenas uma pequena renda própria, que usava com o maior cuidado possível. Talvez seus passos curtos e cuidadosos reforçassem essa ideia, pois dividia um passo normal em dois ou três, como se tivesse aprendido a aproveitar ao máximo todas as coisas.

Original English Version

Miss Tox’s dress, though perfectly genteel and good, had a certain character of angularity and scantiness. She was accustomed to wear odd weedy little flowers in her bonnets and caps. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. She had furry articles for winter wear, as tippets, boas, and muffs, which stood up on end in rampant manner, and were not at all sleek. She was much given to the carrying about of small bags with snaps to them, that went off like little pistols when they were shut up; and when full-dressed, she wore round her neck the barrenest of lockets, representing a fishy old eye, with no approach to speculation in it. These and other appearances of a similar nature, had served to propagate the opinion, that Miss Tox was a lady of what is called a limited independence, which she turned to the best account. Possibly her mincing gait encouraged the belief, and suggested that her clipping a step of ordinary compass into two or three, originated in her habit of making the most of everything.

Tradução Integral em Português

O vestuário da senhorita Tox, embora perfeitamente distinto e de boa qualidade, tinha certo caráter de angulosidade e escassez. Costumava usar florzinhas estranhas e esguias em suas toucas e coifas. Gramíneas esquisitas eram por vezes percebidas em seu cabelo; e observavam os curiosos, de todos os seus colarinhos, folhos, peitilhos, punhos e demais artigos vaporosos - na verdade de tudo quanto usava e que tivesse duas pontas destinadas a unir-se - , que as duas pontas nunca estavam em bons termos e não chegavam a encontrar-se sem uma luta. Tinha artigos de pele para uso de inverno, como estolas, boás e regalos, que se eriçavam de modo desabrido e não eram nada lustrosos. Era muito dada a andar carregando bolsinhas de fecho, que estalavam como pistolinhas quando se fechavam; e, quando em traje de gala, usava ao pescoço o mais estéril dos medalhões, representando um velho olho peixento, sem o menor vislumbre de especulação nele. Essas e outras aparências de natureza semelhante haviam servido para propagar a opinião de que a senhorita Tox era uma dama de uma independência, como se costuma dizer, limitada, da qual ela tirava o melhor proveito. É possível que o seu andar afetado alimentasse a crença, e sugerisse que o fato de repartir um passo de extensão comum em dois ou três provinha do seu hábito de tirar o máximo de tudo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Tenho certeza - disse a Srta. Tox com uma reverência muito profunda - de que ser apresentada ao Sr. Dombey é uma honra que desejo há muito tempo, embora mal esperasse recebê-la agora. Minha querida Sra. Chick... Posso chamá-la de Louisa?

A Sra. Chick segurou a mão da Srta. Tox, apoiou nela a base da taça de vinho, conteve uma lágrima e disse em voz baixa: - Deus a abençoe!

- Minha querida Louisa, então - disse a Srta. Tox - , minha doce amiga, como está agora?

- Melhor - respondeu a Sra. Chick. - Tome um pouco de vinho. Você esteve quase tão ansiosa quanto eu, então tenho certeza de que precisa.

O Sr. Dombey naturalmente serviu o vinho. Também encheu de novo a taça da irmã enquanto ela olhava para outro lado e a segurava reta e firme, sem perceber o que ele fazia. Depois ela a encarou surpresa e disse: - Meu querido Paul, o que você fez?

- A Srta. Tox, Paul - continuou a Sra. Chick, ainda segurando a mão dela - , sabia como eu estava interessada no acontecimento esperado de hoje e como tremia da cabeça aos pés enquanto aguardava. Ela estava fazendo um pequeno presente para Fanny, que prometi entregar. A Srta. Tox é maravilhosamente habilidosa.

Original English Version

“I am sure,” said Miss Tox, with a prodigious curtsey, “that to have the honour of being presented to Mr Dombey is a distinction which I have long sought, but very little expected at the present moment. My dear Mrs Chick - may I say Louisa!”

Mrs Chick took Miss Tox’s hand in hers, rested the foot of her wine-glass upon it, repressed a tear, and said in a low voice, “God bless you!”

“My dear Louisa then,” said Miss Tox, “my sweet friend, how are you now?”

“Better,” Mrs Chick returned. “Take some wine. You have been almost as anxious as I have been, and must want it, I am sure.”

Mr Dombey of course officiated, and also refilled his sister’s glass, which she (looking another way, and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while, and then regarded with great astonishment, saying, “My dear Paul, what have you been doing!”

“Miss Tox, Paul,” pursued Mrs Chick, still retaining her hand, “knowing how much I have been interested in the anticipation of the event of today, and how trembly and shaky I have been from head to foot in expectation of it, has been working at a little gift for Fanny, which I promised to present. Miss Tox is ingenuity itself.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Estou certa - disse a senhorita Tox, com uma prodigiosa mesura - de que ter a honra de ser apresentada ao senhor Dombey é uma distinção que há muito almejei, mas bem pouco esperava no momento presente. Minha cara senhora Chick... posso dizer Louisa!

A senhora Chick tomou a mão da senhorita Tox na sua, apoiou nela o pé da taça de vinho, reprimiu uma lágrima e disse em voz baixa: - Deus a abençoe!

- Minha cara Louisa, então - disse a senhorita Tox - , minha doce amiga, como está a senhora agora?

- Melhor - respondeu a senhora Chick. - Tome um pouco de vinho. A senhora esteve quase tão ansiosa quanto eu, e há de precisar dele, tenho certeza.

O senhor Dombey, é claro, oficiou, e tornou também a encher a taça da irmã, a qual (olhando para outro lado e sem consciência da intenção dele) manteve todo esse tempo direita e firme, e depois contemplou com grande espanto, dizendo: - Meu caro Paul, o que foi que fizeste!

- A senhorita Tox, Paul - prosseguiu a senhora Chick, ainda lhe retendo a mão - , sabendo o quanto me interessei pela expectativa do acontecimento de hoje, e o quão trêmula e abalada da cabeça aos pés eu estive à espera dele, andou trabalhando num pequeno presente para Fanny, que prometi entregar. A senhorita Tox é a própria engenhosidade.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox. - Por favor, não diga isso.

- É apenas uma almofadinha de alfinetes para a penteadeira, Paul - continuou a irmã. - Naturalmente, essas coisinhas parecem sem importância para os homens - não temos o direito de esperar o contrário - , mas as mulheres se interessam por elas.

- A Srta. Tox é muito bondosa - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- E eu digo, direi e preciso dizer - continuou a irmã, pressionando a base da taça sobre a mão da Srta. Tox a cada frase - que a Srta. Tox combinou lindamente a mensagem com a ocasião. Eu, pessoalmente, chamo “Bem-vindo, pequeno Dombey” de poesia!

- Essa é a mensagem? - perguntou o irmão.

- Essa é a mensagem - respondeu Louisa.

Original English Version

“My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox. “Don’t say so.”

“It is only a pincushion for the toilette table, Paul,” resumed his sister; “one of those trifles which are insignificant to your sex in general, as it’s very natural they should be - we have no business to expect they should be otherwise - but to which we attach some interest.”

“Miss Tox is very good,” said Mr Dombey.

“And I do say, and will say, and must say,” pursued his sister, pressing the foot of the wine-glass on Miss Tox’s hand, at each of the three clauses, “that Miss Tox has very prettily adapted the sentiment to the occasion. I call ‘Welcome little Dombey’ Poetry, myself!”

“Is that the device?” inquired her brother.

“That is the device,” returned Louisa.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Minha cara Louisa - disse a senhorita Tox. - Não diga isso.

- É apenas uma almofada de alfinetes para a penteadeira, Paul - retomou a irmã - ; uma dessas ninharias insignificantes para o vosso sexo em geral, como é bem natural que sejam - não temos o direito de esperar que sejam de outro modo - , mas às quais nós atribuímos algum interesse.

- A senhorita Tox é muito boa - disse o senhor Dombey.

- E eu digo, e hei de dizer, e devo dizer - prosseguiu a irmã, apertando o pé da taça de vinho sobre a mão da senhorita Tox a cada uma das três orações - , que a senhorita Tox adaptou muito graciosamente a frase à ocasião. “Bem-vindo, pequeno Dombey” eu chamo de Poesia!

- É esse o dístico? - indagou o irmão.

- É esse o dístico - respondeu Louisa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Mas, por favor, lembre-se, minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox numa voz baixa, séria e suplicante - , de que somente a incerteza do resultado me fez tomar tamanha liberdade. “Bem-vindo, jovem mestre Dombey” teria combinado muito melhor com meus sentimentos, como você sabe. Mas espero que a incerteza ligada aos bebês desculpe palavras que, de outro modo, poderiam parecer íntimas demais. - Enquanto falava, a Srta. Tox fez uma reverência elegante ao Sr. Dombey, e ele a aceitou com gentileza. Gostou tanto até desse pequeno reconhecimento de Dombey e Filho que sua irmã, a Sra. Chick, provavelmente tinha mais influência sobre ele do que qualquer outra pessoa, embora ele fingisse considerá-la apenas uma pessoa fraca, porém bondosa.

- Meu querido Paul - recomeçou de repente a senhora, depois de observar o rosto dele em silêncio por alguns instantes - , realmente não sei se rio ou choro quando olho para você. Você me lembra tanto aquele querido bebê lá em cima.

Original English Version

“But do me the justice to remember, my dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox in a tone of low and earnest entreaty, “that nothing but the - I have some difficulty in expressing myself - the dubiousness of the result would have induced me to take so great a liberty: ‘Welcome, Master Dombey,’ would have been much more congenial to my feelings, as I am sure you know. But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged. Even the sort of recognition of Dombey and Son, conveyed in the foregoing conversation, was so palatable to him, that his sister, Mrs Chick - though he affected to consider her a weak good-natured person - had perhaps more influence over him than anybody else.

“My dear Paul,” that lady broke out afresh, after silently contemplating his features for a few moments, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I look at you, I declare, you do so remind me of that dear baby upstairs.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Mas faça-me a justiça de lembrar, minha cara Louisa - disse a senhorita Tox num tom de baixa e sincera súplica - , que nada senão a... tenho certa dificuldade em exprimir-me... a incerteza do resultado me teria induzido a tomar tão grande liberdade: “Bem-vindo, senhorzinho Dombey” teria sido muito mais condizente com os meus sentimentos, como a senhora bem sabe. Mas a incerteza que acompanha esses angélicos forasteiros há de, espero, desculpar o que de outro modo pareceria uma familiaridade injustificável. - A senhorita Tox fez uma graciosa vênia ao falar, em favor do senhor Dombey, que aquele cavalheiro reconheceu com gentileza. Até mesmo aquela espécie de reconhecimento de Dombey and Son, contido na conversa anterior, lhe era tão agradável ao paladar que a irmã, a senhora Chick - embora ele fingisse considerá-la uma pessoa fraca e bonachona - , tinha talvez mais influência sobre ele do que qualquer outra pessoa.

- Meu caro Paul - irrompeu de novo a dama, após contemplar-lhe em silêncio as feições por alguns instantes - , não sei se rio ou choro quando te olho, declaro, de tanto que me fazes lembrar aquele querido bebê lá em cima.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Bem! - disse a Sra. Chick com um sorriso doce. - Depois disso, perdoo Fanny por tudo!

A declaração soava verdadeiramente cristã, e a Sra. Chick se sentiu melhor por dizê-la. Na verdade, não tinha nada de especial a perdoar à cunhada. Suas únicas queixas eram que Fanny ousara casar-se com seu irmão e dera à luz uma menina em vez de um menino. A Sra. Chick dissera muitas vezes que não era isso que esperava e que era uma retribuição ruim por toda a atenção e honra que Fanny recebera.

Naquele momento, o Sr. Dombey foi chamado às pressas para fora da sala, deixando as duas senhoras sozinhas. A Srta. Tox começou imediatamente a fazer movimentos súbitos e nervosos.

- Eu sabia que você admiraria meu irmão. Já tinha lhe dito, querida - disse Louisa. As mãos e os olhos da Srta. Tox mostraram quanto o admirava. - E quanto à riqueza dele, minha querida!

Original English Version

“Well!” said Mrs Chick, with a sweet smile, “after this, I forgive Fanny everything!”

It was a declaration in a Christian spirit, and Mrs Chick felt that it did her good. Not that she had anything particular to forgive in her sister-in-law, nor indeed anything at all, except her having married her brother - in itself a species of audacity - and her having, in the course of events, given birth to a girl instead of a boy: which, as Mrs Chick had frequently observed, was not quite what she had expected of her, and was not a pleasant return for all the attention and distinction she had met with.

Mr Dombey being hastily summoned out of the room at this moment, the two ladies were left alone together. Miss Tox immediately became spasmodic.

“I knew you would admire my brother. I told you so beforehand, my dear,” said Louisa. Miss Tox’s hands and eyes expressed how much. “And as to his property, my dear!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Pois bem! - disse a senhora Chick, com um doce sorriso. - Depois disto, perdoo tudo a Fanny!

Era uma declaração em espírito cristão, e a senhora Chick sentiu que lhe fazia bem. Não que tivesse algo em particular a perdoar em sua cunhada, nem, na verdade, coisa alguma, exceto o ter esta desposado o seu irmão - em si mesmo uma espécie de audácia - e o ter, no curso dos acontecimentos, dado à luz uma menina em vez de um menino: o que, como a senhora Chick frequentemente observara, não era bem o que dela esperara, nem uma grata retribuição por toda a atenção e distinção que lhe fora dispensada.

Sendo o senhor Dombey às pressas chamado para fora do quarto naquele momento, as duas damas ficaram a sós. A senhorita Tox tornou-se imediatamente espasmódica.

- Eu sabia que a senhora admiraria o meu irmão. Já lhe havia dito de antemão, minha cara - disse Louisa. As mãos e os olhos da senhorita Tox exprimiram o quanto. - E quanto à fortuna dele, minha cara!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah! - disse a Srta. Tox com profunda emoção.

- Enorme!

- Mas os modos dele, minha querida Louisa! - disse a Srta. Tox. - Sua presença! Sua dignidade! Nenhum retrato que já vi mostra nem a metade dessas qualidades. Ele é tão imponente, tão firme, tão largo no peito e tão ereto! É como um Duque de York feito de dinheiro, minha querida, e nada menos! É assim que eu o descreveria.

- Ora, meu querido Paul! - exclamou a irmã quando ele voltou. - Você está muito pálido! Há alguma coisa errada?

- Lamento dizer, Louisa, que me contaram que Fanny...

- Ora, meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã, levantando-se - , não acredite nisso. Não se deixe abalar sem motivo. Lembre-se de quanto você é importante para a sociedade. Não permita que palavras descuidadas de pessoas que deveriam saber melhor o preocupem. Estou realmente surpresa com elas.

- Espero saber, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey com rigidez - , como me comportar diante do mundo.

Original English Version

“Ah!” said Miss Tox, with deep feeling.

“Im-mense!”

“But his deportment, my dear Louisa!” said Miss Tox. “His presence! His dignity! No portrait that I have ever seen of anyone has been half so replete with those qualities. Something so stately, you know: so uncompromising: so very wide across the chest: so upright! A pecuniary Duke of York, my love, and nothing short of it!” said Miss Tox. “That’s what _I_ should designate him.”

“Why, my dear Paul!” exclaimed his sister, as he returned, “you look quite pale! There’s nothing the matter?”

“I am sorry to say, Louisa, that they tell me that Fanny - ”

“Now, my dear Paul,” returned his sister rising, “don’t believe it. Do not allow yourself to receive a turn unnecessarily. Remember of what importance you are to society, and do not allow yourself to be worried by what is so very inconsiderately told you by people who ought to know better. Really I’m surprised at them.”

“I hope I know, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, stiffly, “how to bear myself before the world.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah! - disse a senhorita Tox, com profundo sentimento.

- I-mensa!

- Mas o porte dele, minha cara Louisa! - disse a senhorita Tox. - A sua presença! A sua dignidade! Nenhum retrato que eu jamais tenha visto de quem quer que fosse esteve tão repleto dessas qualidades, nem pela metade. Algo tão majestoso, sabe: tão inflexível: tão largo de peito: tão empertigado! Um Duque de York em matéria pecuniária, minha querida, e nada menos que isso! - disse a senhorita Tox. - É assim que _eu_ o designaria.

- Ora, meu caro Paul! - exclamou a irmã, quando ele voltou. - Estás tão pálido! Não há nada de errado?

- Lamento dizer, Louisa, que me informam de que Fanny...

- Ora, meu caro Paul - retorquiu a irmã, erguendo-se - , não acredites nisso. Não permitas que te abalem sem necessidade. Lembra-te da importância que tens para a sociedade, e não te deixes atormentar pelo que te é tão inconsideradamente dito por pessoas que deviam saber melhor das coisas. Realmente, estou surpresa com elas.

- Espero saber, Louisa - disse o senhor Dombey, com rigidez - , como comportar-me diante do mundo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ninguém sabe melhor, meu querido Paul. Ninguém sabe nem a metade. Quem duvidasse disso seria realmente ignorante e desprezível.

- Realmente ignorante e desprezível! - repetiu suavemente a Srta. Tox.

- Mas - continuou Louisa - , se você confia na minha experiência, Paul, pode ter certeza de que Fanny só precisa fazer um esforço. E deve ser incentivada - e, se necessário, pressionada - a fazer esse esforço. - Enquanto falava, Louisa tirou o chapéu e ajeitou a touca e as luvas de maneira prática. - Agora, meu querido Paul, suba comigo.

O Sr. Dombey costumava seguir os conselhos da irmã pelo motivo já explicado. Também confiava de verdade nela como uma mulher casada, experiente e enérgica. Por isso, concordou e a seguiu imediatamente até o quarto da doente.

A senhora estava deitada na cama exatamente como ele a deixara, segurando a filhinha contra o peito. A menina se agarrava a ela com a mesma força de antes. Não levantou a cabeça, não afastou a face macia do rosto da mãe, não olhou para as pessoas ao redor, não falou, não se moveu nem derramou uma lágrima.

Original English Version

“Nobody better, my dear Paul. Nobody half so well. They would be ignorant and base indeed who doubted it.”

“Ignorant and base indeed!” echoed Miss Tox softly.

“But,” pursued Louisa, “if you have any reliance on my experience, Paul, you may rest assured that there is nothing wanting but an effort on Fanny’s part. And that effort,” she continued, taking off her bonnet, and adjusting her cap and gloves, in a business-like manner, “she must be encouraged, and really, if necessary, urged to make. Now, my dear Paul, come upstairs with me.”

Mr Dombey, who, besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned, had really faith in her as an experienced and bustling matron, acquiesced; and followed her, at once, to the sick chamber.

The lady lay upon her bed as he had left her, clasping her little daughter to her breast. The child clung close about her, with the same intensity as before, and never raised her head, or moved her soft cheek from her mother’s face, or looked on those who stood around, or spoke, or moved, or shed a tear.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ninguém melhor, meu caro Paul. Ninguém nem pela metade tão bem. Ignorantes e vis deveras seriam os que disso duvidassem.

- Ignorantes e vis deveras! - repetiu a senhorita Tox baixinho.

- Mas - prosseguiu Louisa - , se tens alguma confiança na minha experiência, Paul, podes ficar certo de que nada falta senão um esforço da parte de Fanny. E esse esforço - continuou, tirando a touca e ajeitando a coifa e as luvas de maneira metódica - ela deve ser encorajada, e, na verdade, se necessário, instada a fazer. Agora, meu caro Paul, sobe comigo.

O senhor Dombey, que, além de ser em geral influenciado pela irmã pela razão já mencionada, tinha realmente fé nela como matrona experiente e diligente, anuiu; e seguiu-a, de imediato, ao quarto da enferma.

A senhora jazia na cama tal como ele a deixara, estreitando ao peito a filhinha. A criança agarrava-se a ela com a mesma intensidade de antes, e nunca erguia a cabeça, nem afastava a face macia do rosto da mãe, nem olhava para os que estavam ao redor, nem falava, nem se movia, nem vertia uma lágrima.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ela fica inquieta sem a menina - sussurrou o médico ao Sr. Dombey. - Achamos melhor trazê-la de volta.

- Não há nada que possa ser feito? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

O médico balançou a cabeça. - Não podemos fazer mais nada.

As janelas estavam abertas, e o crepúsculo avançava lá fora.

O cheiro forte dos remédios que haviam tentado enchia o quarto, mas não trazia frescor algum ao ar pesado e fraco que a senhora respirava.

Havia um silêncio solene ao redor da cama. Os dois médicos olhavam para o corpo imóvel com tanta compaixão e tão pouca esperança que, por um momento, a Sra. Chick esqueceu o que pretendia fazer. Logo, porém, reuniu a coragem e aquilo que chamava de presença de espírito. Sentou-se ao lado da cama e falou no tom baixo e cuidadoso de quem tenta acordar alguém adormecido:

- Fanny! Fanny!

A única resposta foi o tique-taque alto do relógio do Sr. Dombey e do relógio do Dr. Parker Peps. No silêncio, eles pareciam disputar uma corrida.

Original English Version

“Restless without the little girl,” the Doctor whispered Mr Dombey. “We found it best to have her in again.”

“Can nothing be done?” asked Mr Dombey.

The Doctor shook his head. “We can do no more.”

The windows stood open, and the twilight was gathering without.

The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room, but had no fragrance in the dull and languid air the lady breathed.

There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper:

“Fanny! Fanny!”

There was no sound in answer but the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch, which seemed in the silence to be running a race.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Inquieta sem a menininha - cochichou o Doutor ao senhor Dombey. - Achamos melhor trazê-la de volta.

- Nada se pode fazer? - perguntou o senhor Dombey.

O Doutor balançou a cabeça. - Nada mais podemos fazer.

As janelas estavam abertas, e o crepúsculo se adensava lá fora.

O cheiro dos restauradores que se haviam experimentado era pungente no quarto, mas não tinha fragrância alguma no ar baço e lânguido que a senhora respirava.

Havia uma quietude tão solene em torno da cama, e os dois assistentes médicos pareciam contemplar a forma impassível com tanta compaixão e tão pouca esperança, que a senhora Chick se viu por um momento desviada de seu propósito. Mas, reunindo logo coragem, e o que ela chamava de presença de espírito, sentou-se à cabeceira e disse, no tom baixo e preciso de quem se esforça por despertar um adormecido:

- Fanny! Fanny!

Não houve som em resposta senão o alto tique-taque do relógio do senhor Dombey e do relógio do Doutor Parker Peps, que, no silêncio, pareciam disputar uma corrida.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Fanny, minha querida - disse a Sra. Chick, fingindo alegria - , o Sr. Dombey veio vê-la. Você não quer falar com ele? Eles querem colocar seu menininho - o bebê, Fanny; acho que você mal o viu ainda - na cama. Mas não podem fazer isso até que você desperte um pouco. Não acha que está na hora de despertar um pouco? Hein?

Ela aproximou o ouvido da cama e escutou. Ao mesmo tempo, olhou para os outros e ergueu um dedo.

- Hein? - repetiu ela. - O que você disse, Fanny? Não ouvi.

Não houve palavra nem som em resposta. O relógio do Sr. Dombey e o do Dr. Parker Peps pareciam correr ainda mais depressa.

Original English Version

“Fanny, my dear,” said Mrs Chick, with assumed lightness, “here’s Mr Dombey come to see you. Won’t you speak to him? They want to lay your little boy - the baby, Fanny, you know; you have hardly seen him yet, I think - in bed; but they can’t till you rouse yourself a little. Don’t you think it’s time you roused yourself a little? Eh?”

She bent her ear to the bed, and listened: at the same time looking round at the bystanders, and holding up her finger.

“Eh?” she repeated, “what was it you said, Fanny? I didn’t hear you.”

No word or sound in answer. Mr Dombey’s watch and Dr Parker Peps’s watch seemed to be racing faster.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Fanny, minha querida - disse a senhora Chick, com fingida leveza - , aqui está o senhor Dombey vindo ver-te. Não queres falar com ele? Querem pôr o teu menininho na cama... o bebê, Fanny, sabes; mal o viste ainda, creio eu... mas não podem enquanto não te reanimares um pouco. Não achas que já é hora de te reanimares um pouco? Hein?

Inclinou o ouvido para a cama e escutou; ao mesmo tempo olhando em torno para os presentes e erguendo o dedo.

- Hein? - repetiu. - O que foi que disseste, Fanny? Não te ouvi.

Nenhuma palavra ou som em resposta. O relógio do senhor Dombey e o relógio do Doutor Parker Peps pareciam correr mais depressa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ora, realmente, minha querida Fanny - disse a cunhada, mudando de posição e, apesar de si mesma, falando com menos confiança e mais seriedade - , vou ter de ficar muito zangada com você se não despertar. Você precisa fazer um esforço, talvez um esforço enorme e doloroso que não se sinta capaz de fazer. Mas este é um mundo de esforços, Fanny, e nunca devemos desistir quando tanta coisa depende de nós. Vamos! Tente! Terei mesmo de repreendê-la se não tentar!

Durante a pausa que se seguiu, a corrida foi feroz e furiosa. Os relógios pareciam empurrar um ao outro e fazer o rival tropeçar.

- Fanny! - disse Louisa, olhando ao redor enquanto seu medo aumentava. - Apenas olhe para mim. Abra os olhos para mostrar que me ouve e me entende, está bem? Meu Deus, senhores, o que pode ser feito?

Os dois médicos trocaram um olhar por cima da cama. Então o médico se inclinou e sussurrou ao ouvido da criança. A menina não entendeu o que ele queria dizer, por isso virou para ele o rosto completamente pálido e os olhos escuros e profundos, sem afrouxar nem um pouco o abraço.

Original English Version

“Now, really, Fanny my dear,” said the sister-in-law, altering her position, and speaking less confidently, and more earnestly, in spite of herself, “I shall have to be quite cross with you, if you don’t rouse yourself. It’s necessary for you to make an effort, and perhaps a very great and painful effort which you are not disposed to make; but this is a world of effort you know, Fanny, and we must never yield, when so much depends upon us. Come! Try! I must really scold you if you don’t!”

The race in the ensuing pause was fierce and furious. The watches seemed to jostle, and to trip each other up.

“Fanny!” said Louisa, glancing round, with a gathering alarm. “Only look at me. Only open your eyes to show me that you hear and understand me; will you? Good Heaven, gentlemen, what is to be done!”

The two medical attendants exchanged a look across the bed; and the Physician, stooping down, whispered in the child’s ear. Not having understood the purport of his whisper, the little creature turned her perfectly colourless face and deep dark eyes towards him; but without loosening her hold in the least.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ora, realmente, Fanny minha querida - disse a cunhada, mudando de posição e falando com menos confiança e mais fervor, a despeito de si mesma - , terei de ficar bem zangada contigo, se não te reanimares. É necessário que faças um esforço, e talvez um esforço muito grande e penoso que não estás disposta a fazer; mas este é um mundo de esforço, sabes, Fanny, e nunca devemos ceder quando tanta coisa depende de nós. Vamos! Tenta! Terei mesmo de ralhar contigo se não o fizeres!

A corrida na pausa seguinte foi feroz e furiosa. Os relógios pareciam acotovelar-se e derrubar um ao outro.

- Fanny! - disse Louisa, olhando em torno, com um alarme crescente. - Olha só para mim. Abre ao menos os olhos para me mostrar que me ouves e me entendes; queres? Santo Céu, senhores, o que se há de fazer!

Os dois assistentes médicos trocaram um olhar por cima da cama; e o Médico, inclinando-se, cochichou ao ouvido da criança. Não tendo compreendido o sentido de seu cochicho, a pequena criatura voltou para ele o rosto perfeitamente descorado e os olhos fundos e escuros; mas sem afrouxar o abraço no mínimo que fosse.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Ele repetiu o sussurro.

- Mamãe! - disse a criança.

Mesmo naquele momento extremo, a vozinha familiar e tão amada trouxe um sinal de consciência. Por um instante, as pálpebras fechadas tremeram, a narina se moveu e surgiu a sombra mais leve de um sorriso.

- Mamãe! - gritou a criança, soluçando alto. - Ah, querida mamãe! Ah, querida mamãe!

O médico afastou delicadamente os cachos soltos da criança do rosto e da boca da mãe. Que tristeza: como eles repousavam imóveis, e como havia pouco fôlego para movê-los!

E assim, agarrada àquela pequena tábua de salvação em seus braços, a mãe foi levada para o mar escuro e desconhecido que cerca o mundo inteiro.

Original English Version

The whisper was repeated.

“Mama!” said the child.

The little voice, familiar and dearly loved, awakened some show of consciousness, even at that ebb. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen.

“Mama!” cried the child sobbing aloud. “Oh dear Mama! oh dear Mama!”

The Doctor gently brushed the scattered ringlets of the child, aside from the face and mouth of the mother. Alas how calm they lay there; how little breath there was to stir them!

Thus, clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world.

Tradução Integral em Português

O cochicho foi repetido.

- Mamãe! - disse a criança.

A vozinha, familiar e ternamente amada, despertou algum sinal de consciência, mesmo naquele refluxo. Por um instante, as pálpebras cerradas tremeram, e as narinas fremiram, e a mais tênue sombra de um sorriso se deixou ver.

- Mamãe! - gritou a criança, soluçando alto. - Oh, querida Mamãe! oh, querida Mamãe!

O Doutor afastou suavemente os cachos esparsos da criança do rosto e da boca da mãe. Ai, quão calmos ali repousavam; quão pouco alento havia para os agitar!

Assim, agarrada firmemente àquela frágil tábua entre os braços, a mãe partiu à deriva pelo mar escuro e desconhecido que rola em torno de todo o mundo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER II. In which Timely Provision is made for an Emergency that will sometimes arise in the best-regulated Families.

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Nunca deixarei de me felicitar - disse a Sra. Chick - por ter dito, quando eu não fazia ideia do que nos esperava, como se algo me inspirasse, que perdoava a pobre e querida Fanny por tudo. Aconteça o que acontecer, isso sempre deverá me consolar!

A Sra. Chick fez essa importante observação na sala de visitas, depois de descer da inspeção das costureiras no andar de cima, que preparavam as roupas de luto da família. Disse aquilo para o benefício do Sr. Chick. Ele era um cavalheiro corpulento e calvo, de rosto muito grande, sempre com as mãos nos bolsos. Tinha uma tendência natural a assobiar e cantarolar melodias, mas sabia que esses sons eram impróprios numa casa de luto e agora se esforçava para contê-los.

- Não se canse demais, Loo - disse o Sr. Chick - , ou acabará doente, com espasmos, já estou vendo. Right tol loor rul! Minha nossa, esqueci! Hoje estamos aqui e amanhã já partimos!

Original English Version

I shall never cease to congratulate myself,” said Mrs Chick,” on having said, when I little thought what was in store for us, - really as if I was inspired by something, - that I forgave poor dear Fanny everything. Whatever happens, that must always be a comfort to me!”

Mrs Chick made this impressive observation in the drawing-room, after having descended thither from the inspection of the mantua-makers upstairs, who were busy on the family mourning. She delivered it for the behoof of Mr Chick, who was a stout bald gentleman, with a very large face, and his hands continually in his pockets, and who had a tendency in his nature to whistle and hum tunes, which, sensible of the indecorum of such sounds in a house of grief, he was at some pains to repress at present.

“Don’t you over-exert yourself, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you’ll be laid up with spasms, I see. Right tol loor rul! Bless my soul, I forgot! We’re here one day and gone the next!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Nunca deixarei de me felicitar - disse a senhora Chick - por ter dito, quando eu mal imaginava o que nos aguardava, como se algo de fato me inspirasse, que eu perdoava tudo à pobre e querida Fanny. Aconteça o que acontecer, isso há de ser sempre um consolo para mim!

A senhora Chick fez essa impressionante observação na sala de visitas, depois de ter descido até ali da inspeção às costureiras lá em cima, ocupadas com o luto da família. Proferiu-a em benefício do senhor Chick, um cavalheiro corpulento e calvo, de rosto muito grande, com as mãos perpetuamente enfiadas nos bolsos, e dotado por natureza da tendência de assobiar e cantarolar melodias, as quais, consciente da inconveniência de tais sons numa casa enlutada, ele se esforçava por reprimir no momento.

- Não se esgote demais, Loo - disse o senhor Chick - , ou vai acabar de cama, com espasmos, estou vendo. Rá-tol-lol-rol! Deus me valha, esqueci! Hoje estamos aqui, amanhã já não!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Sra. Chick respondeu apenas com um olhar de reprovação e depois continuou o que dizia.

- Espero sinceramente - disse ela - que este acontecimento comovente sirva de aviso para todos nós aprendermos a despertar e a fazer a tempo o esforço que nos for exigido. Há uma lição moral em tudo, se apenas escolhermos aproveitá-la. Será culpa nossa se esquecermos esta.

O Sr. Chick rompeu o silêncio grave que se seguiu à observação cantarolando a melodia estranhamente inadequada “There Was a Cobbler”. Parou, um pouco constrangido, e disse que sem dúvida era culpa nossa se não aprendêssemos com ocasiões tristes como aquela.

- Eu pensaria que ocasiões assim poderiam ser aproveitadas melhor, Sr. C. - respondeu a esposa após uma breve pausa - do que introduzindo a dança do colégio ou as palavras igualmente tolas e insensíveis rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow! O Sr. Chick de fato murmurara essas palavras, e a Sra. Chick as repetiu com um desprezo esmagador.

Original English Version

Mrs Chick contented herself with a glance of reproof, and then proceeded with the thread of her discourse.

“I am sure,” she said, “I hope this heart-rending occurrence will be a warning to all of us, to accustom ourselves to rouse ourselves, and to make efforts in time where they’re required of us. There’s a moral in everything, if we would only avail ourselves of it. It will be our own faults if we lose sight of this one.”

Mr Chick invaded the grave silence which ensued on this remark with the singularly inappropriate air of “A cobbler there was;” and checking himself, in some confusion, observed, that it was undoubtedly our own faults if we didn’t improve such melancholy occasions as the present.

“Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn.

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhora Chick contentou-se com um olhar de censura e prosseguiu então o fio de seu discurso.

- Tenho certeza - disse ela - de que espero que esse acontecimento dilacerante sirva de advertência a todos nós, para que nos acostumemos a nos animar, a nos sacudir e a fazer esforços a tempo, quando nos são exigidos. Há uma moral em tudo, se ao menos soubéssemos aproveitá-la. Será culpa nossa se perdermos esta de vista.

O senhor Chick invadiu o grave silêncio que se seguiu a essa observação com a melodia singularmente inoportuna de «Era uma vez um sapateiro»; e, contendo-se, um tanto confuso, observou que decerto a culpa era nossa se não tirássemos proveito de ocasiões tão melancólicas como a presente.

- O que poderia ser mais bem aproveitado, quero crer, senhor C. - retorquiu a esposa, após breve pausa - , do que com a introdução, seja da dança marinheira do colégio, seja da observação igualmente vazia e insensível de rumpti-didi, au-au-au! - na qual, de fato, o senhor Chick se permitira, entredentes, e que a senhora Chick repetiu num tom de desprezo fulminante.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- É apenas um hábito, minha querida - alegou o Sr. Chick.

- Bobagem! Um hábito! - respondeu a esposa. - Se você é uma pessoa racional, não dê desculpas tão ridículas. Um hábito! Se eu adquirisse o hábito, como você chama, de andar no teto como as moscas, imagino que ouviria muita coisa a respeito.

Tal hábito provavelmente chamaria alguma atenção, por isso o Sr. Chick não ousou discordar.

- Bow-wow-wow! - repetiu a Sra. Chick, colocando um desprezo terrível no último som. - Você parece mais um cantor profissional com raiva do que um homem da sua posição!

- Como está o bebê, Loo? - perguntou o Sr. Chick, mudando de assunto.

- De qual bebê você está falando? - respondeu a Sra. Chick.

- Do pobre bebê que perdeu a mãe - disse o Sr. Chick. - Não conheço nenhum outro, minha querida.

- Você não conhece nenhum outro - retrucou a Sra. Chick. - Eu ia dizer que deveria se envergonhar.

Original English Version

“Merely habit, my dear,” pleaded Mr Chick.

“Nonsense! Habit!” returned his wife. “If you’re a rational being, don’t make such ridiculous excuses. Habit! If I was to get a habit (as you call it) of walking on the ceiling, like the flies, I should hear enough of it, I daresay.”

It appeared so probable that such a habit might be attended with some degree of notoriety, that Mr Chick didn’t venture to dispute the position.

“Bow-wow-wow!” repeated Mrs Chick with an emphasis of blighting contempt on the last syllable. “More like a professional singer with the hydrophobia, than a man in your station of life!”

“How’s the Baby, Loo?” asked Mr Chick: to change the subject.

“What Baby do you mean?” answered Mrs Chick.

“The poor bereaved little baby,” said Mr Chick. “I don’t know of any other, my dear.”

“You don’t know of any other,” retorted Mrs Chick. “More shame for you, I was going to say.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Mero hábito, minha querida - alegou o senhor Chick.

- Bobagem! Hábito! - retrucou a esposa. - Se você é um ser racional, não invente desculpas tão ridículas. Hábito! Se eu criasse o hábito (como você diz) de andar pelo teto, feito as moscas, ia ouvir horrores por causa disso, aposto.

Parecia tão provável que semelhante hábito viesse acompanhado de algum grau de notoriedade, que o senhor Chick não se arriscou a contestar a afirmação.

- Au-au-au! - repetiu a senhora Chick, com uma ênfase de desdém aniquilador na última sílaba. - Mais parece um cantor profissional com hidrofobia do que um homem da sua posição!

- Como vai o Bebê, Loo? - perguntou o senhor Chick, para mudar de assunto.

- Que Bebê? - respondeu a senhora Chick.

- O pobre bebezinho órfão - disse o senhor Chick. - Não conheço nenhum outro, minha querida.

- Não conhece nenhum outro - retrucou a senhora Chick. - Devia ter vergonha, é o que eu ia dizer.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O Sr. Chick pareceu surpreso.

- Nenhuma pessoa sensata acreditaria na manhã que tive, com aquela sala de jantar lá embaixo cheia de uma enorme massa de bebês.

- Uma massa de bebês! - repetiu o Sr. Chick, olhando ao redor, alarmado.

- A maioria dos homens teria percebido - disse a Sra. Chick - que, como a pobre e querida Fanny já não está conosco - aquelas minhas palavras sempre me trarão alívio e consolo - , e aqui ela enxugou os olhos, - precisamos encontrar uma ama.

- Oh! Ah! - disse o Sr. Chick. - Toor-ru!... Isto é, assim é a vida. Espero que tenha encontrado alguém adequado, minha querida.

- Na verdade, não encontrei - disse a Sra. Chick - e, pelo que vejo, dificilmente encontrarei. Enquanto isso, a pobre criança pode morrer de fome. Paul é muito exigente - naturalmente, é claro, pois depositou todas as esperanças nesse único menino. Ele encontra tantos defeitos em cada candidata que não vejo chance alguma de chegarmos a um acordo. Enquanto isso, é claro, a criança está...

Original English Version

Mr Chick looked astonished.

“I am sure the morning I have had, with that dining-room downstairs, one mass of babies, no one in their senses would believe.”

“One mass of babies!” repeated Mr Chick, staring with an alarmed expression about him.

“It would have occurred to most men,” said Mrs Chick, “that poor dear Fanny being no more, - those words of mine will always be a balm and comfort to me,” here she dried her eyes; “it becomes necessary to provide a Nurse.”

“Oh! Ah!” said Mr Chick. “Toor-ru! - such is life, I mean. I hope you are suited, my dear.”

“Indeed I am not,” said Mrs Chick; “nor likely to be, so far as I can see, and in the meantime the poor child seems likely to be starved to death. Paul is so very particular - naturally so, of course, having set his whole heart on this one boy - and there are so many objections to everybody that offers, that I don’t see, myself, the least chance of an arrangement. Meanwhile, of course, the child is - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

O senhor Chick ficou atônito.

- Tenho certeza de que ninguém em seu juízo perfeito acreditaria na manhã que eu tive, com aquela sala de jantar lá embaixo, uma massa só de bebês.

- Uma massa só de bebês! - repetiu o senhor Chick, olhando à sua volta com uma expressão alarmada.

- Teria ocorrido à maioria dos homens - disse a senhora Chick - que, não estando mais entre nós a pobre e querida Fanny... aquelas minhas palavras hão de ser sempre um bálsamo e um consolo para mim - e aqui enxugou os olhos - , torna-se necessário providenciar uma Ama.

- Ah! Sim! - disse o senhor Chick. - Tur-ru!... quero dizer, assim é a vida. Espero que tenha achado o que servia, minha querida.

- Pois não achei - disse a senhora Chick - ; nem é provável que ache, pelo que vejo, e nesse meio-tempo a pobre criança corre o risco de morrer de fome. O Paul é tão exigente... naturalmente, é claro, tendo posto todo o coração neste único menino... e há tantas objeções a cada uma que se apresenta, que, de minha parte, não vejo a menor chance de um arranjo. Enquanto isso, é claro, a criança está...

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Indo para o Diabo - disse o Sr. Chick, pensativo. - Sem dúvida.

No entanto, a expressão indignada da Sra. Chick diante da ideia de um Dombey ir para lá o advertiu de que dissera a coisa errada. Tentando corrigir o erro com uma sugestão inteligente, acrescentou:

- Não poderiam usar um bule por algum tempo?

Se ele quisesse encerrar o assunto de imediato, não poderia ter feito melhor. Depois de olhá-lo em silêncio por vários instantes, a Sra. Chick disse esperar que ele não tivesse falado apenas para irritá-la, pois isso faria pouca honra ao seu coração. Também esperava que não tivesse falado sério, pois isso faria pouca honra à sua cabeça. Como, por mais otimista que fosse, jamais poderia fazer uma observação mais ofensiva à natureza humana em geral, ela pediu que encerrassem ali a discussão.

Original English Version

“Going to the Devil,” said Mr Chick, thoughtfully, “to be sure.”

Admonished, however, that he had committed himself, by the indignation expressed in Mrs Chick’s countenance at the idea of a Dombey going there; and thinking to atone for his misconduct by a bright suggestion, he added:

“Couldn’t something temporary be done with a teapot?”

If he had meant to bring the subject prematurely to a close, he could not have done it more effectually. After looking at him for some moments in silent resignation, Mrs Chick said she trusted he hadn’t said it in aggravation, because that would do very little honour to his heart. She trusted he hadn’t said it seriously, because that would do very little honour to his head. As in any case, he couldn’t, however sanguine his disposition, hope to offer a remark that would be a greater outrage on human nature in general, we would beg to leave the discussion at that point.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Indo para o Diabo - disse o senhor Chick, pensativo - , com certeza.

Advertido, contudo, de que se comprometera, pela indignação estampada no semblante da senhora Chick à ideia de um Dombey ir para lá; e pensando em redimir sua má conduta com uma sugestão brilhante, acrescentou:

- Não se poderia arranjar algo provisório com um bule de chá?

Se sua intenção fosse encerrar o assunto prematuramente, não o teria conseguido de modo mais eficaz. Depois de fitá-lo por alguns instantes em silenciosa resignação, a senhora Chick disse que confiava que ele não o dissera por provocação, pois isso pouco honraria seu coração. Confiava que ele não o dissera a sério, pois isso pouco honraria seu juízo. Como, de todo modo, ele não poderia, por mais otimista que fosse seu feitio, esperar formular um comentário que constituísse ultraje maior à natureza humana em geral, rogaríamos deixar a discussão nesse ponto.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Sra. Chick então caminhou majestosamente até a janela e espiou pela persiana, atraída pelo som de rodas. O Sr. Chick percebeu que o destino estava contra ele naquele momento, por isso não disse mais nada e foi embora. Mas o Sr. Chick nem sempre perdia. Muitas vezes conseguia a vantagem e, nessas ocasiões, castigava Louisa com dureza. Em suas brigas conjugais, eram em geral um casal bem combinado e equilibrado, que dava tanto quanto recebia. Normalmente era muito difícil adivinhar quem venceria. Muitas vezes, quando o Sr. Chick parecia derrotado, recuperava-se de repente, virava a situação, figurativamente batia as mesas contra os ouvidos da Sra. Chick e arrasava tudo à sua frente. Como a Sra. Chick podia surpreendê-lo com reveses semelhantes, suas pequenas batalhas costumavam ser incertas e, por isso, muito animadas.

A Srta. Tox chegara na carruagem cujas rodas eles acabavam de ouvir e entrou correndo na sala, sem fôlego.

Original English Version

Mrs Chick then walked majestically to the window and peeped through the blind, attracted by the sound of wheels. Mr Chick, finding that his destiny was, for the time, against him, said no more, and walked off. But it was not always thus with Mr Chick. He was often in the ascendant himself, and at those times punished Louisa roundly. In their matrimonial bickerings they were, upon the whole, a well-matched, fairly-balanced, give-and-take couple. It would have been, generally speaking, very difficult to have betted on the winner. Often when Mr Chick seemed beaten, he would suddenly make a start, turn the tables, clatter them about the ears of Mrs Chick, and carry all before him. Being liable himself to similar unlooked for checks from Mrs Chick, their little contests usually possessed a character of uncertainty that was very animating.

Miss Tox had arrived on the wheels just now alluded to, and came running into the room in a breathless condition.

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhora Chick dirigiu-se então majestosamente à janela e espiou por entre a persiana, atraída pelo ruído de rodas. O senhor Chick, percebendo que seu destino, por ora, lhe era contrário, nada mais disse e afastou-se. Mas nem sempre era assim com o senhor Chick. Muitas vezes era ele quem estava por cima, e nessas ocasiões castigava Louisa sem dó. Em suas desavenças conjugais, eram, no conjunto, um casal bem-emparelhado, equilibrado, de toma-lá-dá-cá. Em geral, teria sido muito difícil apostar no vencedor. Muitas vezes, quando o senhor Chick parecia derrotado, dava de repente um arranco, virava o jogo, sacudia-o em torno das orelhas da senhora Chick e levava tudo de roldão. Sujeito ele próprio a reveses igualmente inesperados por parte da senhora Chick, suas pequenas contendas costumavam ter um caráter de incerteza deveras animador.

A Srta. Tox chegara no veículo cujas rodas acabavam de ser mencionadas e entrou correndo na sala, sem fôlego.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox - , a vaga continua aberta?

- Minha boa alma, sim - disse a Sra. Chick.

- Então, minha querida Louisa - respondeu a Srta. Tox - , espero e acredito... Mas espere só um momento, querida, e apresentarei as pessoas.

A Srta. Tox desceu correndo tão depressa quanto havia subido. Ajudou as pessoas a sair da carruagem de aluguel e logo as conduziu até a sala.

Ficou então claro que ela não usara a palavra “pessoas” no sentido jurídico ou comercial, em que pode significar um indivíduo, mas como uma palavra para um grupo inteiro. A Srta. Tox conduziu uma jovem rechonchuda e saudável, de faces rosadas e rosto de maçã, carregando um bebê. Uma jovem mais nova, menos rechonchuda, mas também com rosto de maçã, segurava pelas mãos duas crianças rechonchudas e de rosto de maçã. Outro menino rechonchudo e de rosto de maçã caminhava sozinho. Por último veio um homem rechonchudo e de rosto de maçã, carregando mais um menino rechonchudo e de rosto de maçã. Ele pôs o menino no chão e lhe disse num sussurro rouco que “segurasse a mão do irmão Johnny”.

Original English Version

“My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “is the vacancy still unsupplied?”

“You good soul, yes,” said Mrs Chick.

“Then, my dear Louisa,” returned Miss Tox, “I hope and believe - but in one moment, my dear, I’ll introduce the party.”

Running downstairs again as fast as she had run up, Miss Tox got the party out of the hackney-coach, and soon returned with it under convoy.

It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Minha querida Louisa - disse a senhorita Tox - , a vaga ainda está por preencher?

- Está sim, sua boa alma - disse a senhora Chick.

- Então, minha querida Louisa - retomou a senhorita Tox - , espero e creio... mas num instante, minha querida, apresento-lhe a parte.

Descendo a escada correndo tão depressa quanto a subira, a senhorita Tox tirou a parte da carruagem de aluguel e logo voltou com ela sob escolta.

Revelou-se então que ela usara a palavra não em sua acepção jurídica ou comercial, na qual designa apenas um indivíduo, mas como substantivo coletivo, ou seja, significando muitos: pois a senhorita Tox conduzia uma jovem roliça, de faces rosadas, sadia, rosto de maçã, com um bebê nos braços; uma jovem mais nova, não tão roliça, mas também de rosto de maçã, que levava pela mão uma criança roliça e de rosto de maçã de cada lado; outro menino roliço e igualmente de rosto de maçã, que caminhava sozinho; e, por fim, um homem roliço e de rosto de maçã, que trazia nos braços mais um menino roliço e de rosto de maçã, o qual pôs de pé no chão e admoestou, num sussurro rouco, a «gruda direito no teu irmão Johnny».

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

[Ilustração]

- Minha querida Louisa - disse a Srta. Tox - , eu sabia de sua grande ansiedade e queria ajudar, por isso corri até o Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females, que você havia esquecido, e perguntei se conheciam alguém adequado. Disseram que não. Garanto-lhe, querida, que a resposta quase me fez perder as esperanças por você. Mas uma das Royal Married Females ouviu minha pergunta e lembrou à diretora outra mulher que voltara para casa e provavelmente seria inteiramente satisfatória. Assim que ouvi isso e a diretora confirmou - excelentes referências e caráter impecável - , peguei o endereço, minha querida, e saí correndo outra vez.

- Isso é bem próprio da querida e bondosa Tox que você é! - disse Louisa.

Original English Version

[Illustration]

“My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “knowing your great anxiety, and wishing to relieve it, I posted off myself to the Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females,” which you had forgot, and put the question, Was there anybody there that they thought would suit? No, they said there was not. When they gave me that answer, I do assure you, my dear, I was almost driven to despair on your account. But it did so happen, that one of the Royal Married Females, hearing the inquiry, reminded the matron of another who had gone to her own home, and who, she said, would in all likelihood be most satisfactory. The moment I heard this, and had it corroborated by the matron - excellent references and unimpeachable character - I got the address, my dear, and posted off again.”

“Like the dear good Tox, you are!” said Louisa.

Tradução Integral em Português

[Ilustração]

- Minha querida Louisa - disse a senhorita Tox - , conhecendo sua grande aflição e desejando aliviá-la, tratei eu mesma de correr às Reais Mulheres Casadas da Rainha Charlotte, de que a senhora se esquecera, e fiz a pergunta: haveria ali alguém que julgassem apropriada? Não, disseram, não havia. Quando me deram essa resposta, garanto-lhe, minha querida, quase me vi arrastada ao desespero por sua causa. Mas quis o acaso que uma das Reais Casadas, ao ouvir a indagação, lembrasse à matrona de uma outra que voltara à própria casa e que, disse ela, com toda a probabilidade seria das mais satisfatórias. No instante em que ouvi isso, e o tive corroborado pela matrona - excelentes referências e caráter irrepreensível - , peguei o endereço, minha querida, e saí correndo de novo.

- Como você é boa, minha querida Tox! - disse Louisa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- De modo algum - respondeu a Srta. Tox. - Não diga isso. Quando cheguei à casa - o lugar mais limpo, querida! Poderia jantar no chão - , encontrei a família inteira sentada à mesa. Achei que nenhuma descrição deles deixaria você e o Sr. Dombey tão seguros quanto vê-los todos juntos, por isso trouxe todos para cá. Este cavalheiro - disse a Srta. Tox, apontando para o homem de rosto de maçã - é o pai. Poderia dar um passo à frente, senhor?

O homem de rosto de maçã obedeceu timidamente e ficou na primeira fila, rindo baixinho e sorrindo.

- Esta é a esposa dele, é claro - disse a Srta. Tox, destacando a jovem com o bebê. - Como vai, Polly?

- Estou muito bem, obrigada, senhora - disse Polly.

Para ajudar Polly a falar com naturalidade, a Srta. Tox fez a pergunta do modo amistoso, porém superior, que poderia usar com uma velha conhecida que não via havia duas semanas.

Original English Version

“Not at all,” returned Miss Tox. “Don’t say so. Arriving at the house (the cleanest place, my dear! You might eat your dinner off the floor), I found the whole family sitting at table; and feeling that no account of them could be half so comfortable to you and Mr Dombey as the sight of them all together, I brought them all away. This gentleman,” said Miss Tox, pointing out the apple-faced man, “is the father. Will you have the goodness to come a little forward, Sir?”

The apple-faced man having sheepishly complied with this request, stood chuckling and grinning in a front row.

“This is his wife, of course,” said Miss Tox, singling out the young woman with the baby. “How do you do, Polly?”

“I’m pretty well, I thank you, Ma’am,” said Polly.

By way of bringing her out dexterously, Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn’t seen for a fortnight or so.

Tradução Integral em Português

- De modo algum - retomou a senhorita Tox. - Não diga isso. Ao chegar à casa (o lugar mais limpo, minha querida! Podia-se comer no chão), encontrei a família inteira sentada à mesa; e sentindo que nenhum relato a respeito deles poderia ser metade tão reconfortante para a senhora e o senhor Dombey quanto vê-los todos juntos, trouxe-os a todos comigo. Este cavalheiro - disse a senhorita Tox, apontando o homem de rosto de maçã - é o pai. Faria a gentileza de dar um passinho à frente, senhor?

Tendo o homem de rosto de maçã atendido, encabulado, a essa solicitação, ficou a rir e a arreganhar os dentes na primeira fila.

- Esta é a esposa dele, naturalmente - disse a senhorita Tox, destacando a jovem com o bebê. - Como vai, Polly?

- Vou bem, obrigada, senhora - disse Polly.

A fim de fazê-la desabrochar com habilidade, a senhorita Tox formulara a pergunta como que em condescendência a uma velha conhecida que não via havia uns quinze dias.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Fico contente em saber - disse a Srta. Tox. - A outra jovem é a irmã solteira dela. Mora com a família e cuidaria das crianças. Seu nome é Jemima. Como vai, Jemima?

- Estou muito bem, obrigada, senhora - respondeu Jemima.

- Fico muito contente em saber - disse a Srta. Tox. - Espero que continue bem. Cinco filhos. O mais novo tem seis semanas. O belo menininho com a ferida no nariz é o mais velho. Creio - disse a Srta. Tox, olhando para a família - que a ferida não é uma doença natural, mas foi causada por um acidente?

O homem de rosto de maçã pareceu rosnar: - Ferro de passar.

- Perdão, senhor - disse a Srta. Tox. - O senhor disse...?

- Ferro de passar - repetiu ele.

- Ah, sim - disse a Srta. Tox. - Sim! É verdade. Eu me esqueci. Enquanto a mãe estava fora, a criancinha cheirou um ferro de passar quente. O senhor tem toda a razão. Quando chegamos à porta, ia ter a bondade de me dizer que trabalha como...?

Original English Version

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Miss Tox. “The other young woman is her unmarried sister who lives with them, and would take care of her children. Her name’s Jemima. How do you do, Jemima?”

“I’m pretty well, I thank you, Ma’am,” returned Jemima.

“I’m very glad indeed to hear it,” said Miss Tox. “I hope you’ll keep so. Five children. Youngest six weeks. The fine little boy with the blister on his nose is the eldest. The blister, I believe,” said Miss Tox, looking round upon the family, “is not constitutional, but accidental?”

The apple-faced man was understood to growl, “Flat iron.”

“I beg your pardon, Sir,” said Miss Tox, “did you - ”

“Flat iron,” he repeated.

“Oh yes,” said Miss Tox. “Yes! quite true. I forgot. The little creature, in his mother’s absence, smelt a warm flat iron. You’re quite right, Sir. You were going to have the goodness to inform me, when we arrived at the door that you were by trade a - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Fico contente em saber - disse a senhorita Tox. - A outra jovem é a irmã solteira dela, que mora com eles e cuidaria das crianças. Chama-se Jemima. Como vai, Jemima?

- Vou bem, obrigada, senhora - respondeu Jemima.

- Fico muitíssimo contente em saber - disse a senhorita Tox. - Espero que continue assim. Cinco filhos. O caçula com seis semanas. O belo menininho com a bolha no nariz é o mais velho. A bolha, creio eu - disse a senhorita Tox, correndo o olhar pela família - , não é de nascença, mas acidental?

Entendeu-se que o homem de rosto de maçã resmungou: - Ferro de passar.

- Perdão, senhor - disse a senhorita Tox - , o senhor disse...

- Ferro de passar - repetiu ele.

- Ah, sim - disse a senhorita Tox. - Sim! Perfeitamente. Esqueci-me. A criaturinha, na ausência da mãe, farejou um ferro de passar quente. Tem toda a razão, senhor. O senhor ia ter a bondade de me informar, quando chegamos à porta, que era de profissão...

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Foguista - disse o homem.

- Um estrangulador! - disse a Srta. Tox, completamente chocada.

- Foguista - disse o homem. - Máquina a vapor.

- Ah! Sim! - respondeu a Srta. Tox, olhando para ele com atenção, embora ainda parecesse compreender apenas em parte o que ele queria dizer.

- E o senhor gosta disso?

- Gosto do quê, senhora? - perguntou o homem.

- Disso - respondeu a Srta. Tox. - Do seu trabalho.

- Ah! Gosto bastante, senhora. Às vezes as cinzas entram aqui - disse ele, tocando o peito - e fazem um homem falar com voz áspera, como estou falando agora. Mas são as cinzas, senhora, não mau humor.

A Srta. Tox entendeu tão pouco da resposta que teve dificuldade para continuar o assunto. Mas a Sra. Chick a ajudou interrogando Polly de modo minucioso e reservado sobre ela própria, os filhos, a certidão de casamento, as referências e outros assuntos. Polly passou pela prova sem problema algum. A Sra. Chick então foi apresentar seu relatório no quarto do irmão, levando consigo os dois pequenos Toodles mais rosados como forte prova do que diria. Toodle era o sobrenome do grupo de rostos de maçã.

Original English Version

“Stoker,” said the man.

“A choker!” said Miss Tox, quite aghast.

“Stoker,” said the man. “Steam ingine.”

“Oh-h! Yes!” returned Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him, and seeming still to have but a very imperfect understanding of his meaning.

“And how do you like it, Sir?”

“Which, Mum?” said the man.

“That,” replied Miss Tox. “Your trade.”

“Oh! Pretty well, Mum. The ashes sometimes gets in here;” touching his chest: “and makes a man speak gruff, as at the present time. But it is ashes, Mum, not crustiness.”

Miss Tox seemed to be so little enlightened by this reply, as to find a difficulty in pursuing the subject. But Mrs Chick relieved her, by entering into a close private examination of Polly, her children, her marriage certificate, testimonials, and so forth. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Toodle being the family name of the apple-faced family.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Foguista - disse o homem.

- Um engasgador?! - exclamou a senhorita Tox, completamente horrorizada.

- Foguista - disse o homem. - Máquina a vapô.

- Ah-h! Sim! - respondeu a senhorita Tox, olhando-o pensativa e parecendo ainda ter uma compreensão muito imperfeita do que ele queria dizer.

- E gosta do ofício, senhor?

- De quê, sinhora? - disse o homem.

- Disso - respondeu a senhorita Tox. - Do seu ofício.

- Ah! Muito, sinhora. A cinza às vezes entra por aqui - tocando o peito - e faz a gente falar grosso, como agora. Mas é cinza, sinhora, não é grosseria.

A senhorita Tox pareceu tão pouco esclarecida com essa resposta que teve dificuldade em prosseguir no assunto. Mas a senhora Chick a socorreu, entabulando um cerrado exame particular de Polly, seus filhos, sua certidão de casamento, seus atestados e assim por diante. Saindo Polly ilesa dessa provação, a senhora Chick retirou-se com seu relatório para o quarto do irmão e, como comentário enfático e corroboração dele, levou consigo os dois Toodles mais corados. Toodle sendo o sobrenome da família de rosto de maçã.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Desde a morte da esposa, o Sr. Dombey permanecera em seu próprio quarto, perdido em sonhos sobre a juventude, a educação e o futuro do filho bebê. Algo mais frio e pesado que o normal repousava no fundo de seu coração frio. Contudo, era mais uma percepção da perda da criança do que da sua própria, e isso despertava nele uma tristeza quase furiosa. Construíra tantas esperanças sobre aquela vida e seu progresso, mas agora tudo corria perigo desde o início por causa de uma necessidade tão comum. A ideia de que Dombey e Filho pudesse cair por falta de uma ama era profundamente humilhante. Ainda assim, em seu orgulho e ciúme, ele odiava amargamente pensar que o primeiro passo para realizar seu maior desejo dependia de uma criada contratada. Por algum tempo, ela seria para a criança tudo aquilo que nem mesmo o casamento com o Sr. Dombey fizera de sua esposa. Por isso, toda vez que rejeitava uma nova candidata, sentia um prazer secreto. Agora, porém, já não podia continuar dividido entre esses dois sentimentos. Isso era ainda mais verdadeiro porque Polly Toodle parecia não ter defeito algum depois que sua irmã descrevera as qualificações dela e elogiara calorosamente a amizade incansável da Srta. Tox.

Original English Version

Mr Dombey had remained in his own apartment since the death of his wife, absorbed in visions of the youth, education, and destination of his baby son. Something lay at the bottom of his cool heart, colder and heavier than its ordinary load; but it was more a sense of the child’s loss than his own, awakening within him an almost angry sorrow. That the life and progress on which he built such hopes, should be endangered in the outset by so mean a want; that Dombey and Son should be tottering for a nurse, was a sore humiliation. And yet in his pride and jealousy, he viewed with so much bitterness the thought of being dependent for the very first step towards the accomplishment of his soul’s desire, on a hired serving-woman who would be to the child, for the time, all that even his alliance could have made his own wife, that in every new rejection of a candidate he felt a secret pleasure. The time had now come, however, when he could no longer be divided between these two sets of feelings. The less so, as there seemed to be no flaw in the title of Polly Toodle after his sister had set it forth, with many commendations on the indefatigable friendship of Miss Tox.

Tradução Integral em Português

O senhor Dombey permanecera em seus aposentos desde a morte da esposa, absorto em visões da juventude, da educação e do destino do filho recém-nascido. Algo repousava no fundo de seu frio coração, mais frio e mais pesado que seu fardo habitual; mas era antes um sentimento da perda para a criança do que da sua própria, despertando nele uma dor quase colérica. Que a vida e o progresso sobre os quais erguia tamanhas esperanças viessem a ser postos em risco, logo de início, por uma carência tão vil; que Dombey and Son estivesse a cambalear em busca de uma ama, era uma humilhação pungente. E, no entanto, em seu orgulho e ciúme, encarava com tal amargura o pensamento de depender, para o primeiríssimo passo rumo à realização do desejo de sua alma, de uma serviçal assalariada que seria para a criança, por algum tempo, tudo o que nem mesmo a sua aliança poderia ter feito da própria esposa, que em cada nova recusa de uma candidata sentia um prazer secreto. Chegara agora, contudo, o momento em que já não podia mais dividir-se entre esses dois conjuntos de sentimentos. Tanto menos porquanto não parecia haver falha alguma no título de Polly Toodle, depois que sua irmã o expusera, com muitos elogios à infatigável amizade da senhorita Tox.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Estas crianças parecem saudáveis - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Mas, meu Deus, imagine-as reivindicando algum tipo de parentesco com Paul um dia!

- Mas que parentesco existe? - começou Louisa.

- Existe? - repetiu o Sr. Dombey, que não pretendia compartilhar com a irmã o pensamento que expressara sem perceber. - Você perguntou se existe, Louisa?

- Quero dizer, pode existir...?

- É claro que não existe nenhum - disse o Sr. Dombey com severidade. - Suponho que o mundo inteiro saiba disso. A dor não me tornou tolo, Louisa. Leve-os embora! Quero ver essa mulher e o marido dela.

A Sra. Chick levou embora o delicado par de crianças Toodle e logo voltou com o casal adulto mais resistente que o irmão mandara trazer.

Original English Version

“These children look healthy,” said Mr Dombey. “But my God, to think of their some day claiming a sort of relationship to Paul!”

“But what relationship is there!” Louisa began -

“Is there!” echoed Mr Dombey, who had not intended his sister to participate in the thought he had unconsciously expressed. “Is there, did you say, Louisa!”

“Can there be, I mean - ”

“Why none,” said Mr Dombey, sternly. “The whole world knows that, I presume. Grief has not made me idiotic, Louisa. Take them away, Louisa! Let me see this woman and her husband.”

Mrs Chick bore off the tender pair of Toodles, and presently returned with that tougher couple whose presence her brother had commanded.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Estas crianças parecem saudáveis - disse o senhor Dombey. - Mas, meu Deus, pensar que um dia poderão reivindicar uma espécie de parentesco com Paul!

- Mas que parentesco pode haver! - começou Louisa.

- Haver! - repetiu o senhor Dombey, que não pretendera que a irmã tomasse parte no pensamento que exprimira sem querer. - Haver, foi o que você disse, Louisa!

- Pode haver, quero dizer...

- Ora, nenhum - disse o senhor Dombey, severo. - O mundo inteiro sabe disso, presumo. O luto não me tornou idiota, Louisa. Leve-as embora, Louisa! Deixe-me ver essa mulher e o marido.

A senhora Chick levou o terno par de Toodles e logo voltou com o casal mais rústico cuja presença o irmão ordenara.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Minha boa mulher - disse o Sr. Dombey, virando-se na poltrona como uma peça única, e não como um homem com braços, pernas e articulações - , entendo que é pobre e deseja ganhar dinheiro amamentando o menininho, meu filho, que perdeu cedo demais aquilo que nunca poderá ser substituído. Não me oponho a que melhore o conforto de sua família dessa maneira. Pelo que posso perceber, parece digna de ajuda. Mas, antes de entrar em minha casa nessa função, devo impor uma ou duas condições. Enquanto estiver aqui, deverá ser sempre conhecida como... digamos, Richards, um nome comum e conveniente. Tem alguma objeção a ser chamada de Richards? É melhor consultar seu marido.

- Bem? - disse o Sr. Dombey após uma pausa bastante longa. - O que seu marido diz sobre você ser chamada de Richards?

Original English Version

“My good woman,” said Mr Dombey, turning round in his easy chair, as one piece, and not as a man with limbs and joints, “I understand you are poor, and wish to earn money by nursing the little boy, my son, who has been so prematurely deprived of what can never be replaced. I have no objection to your adding to the comforts of your family by that means. So far as I can tell, you seem to be a deserving object. But I must impose one or two conditions on you, before you enter my house in that capacity. While you are here, I must stipulate that you are always known as - say as Richards - an ordinary name, and convenient. Have you any objection to be known as Richards? You had better consult your husband.”

“Well?” said Mr Dombey, after a pretty long pause. “What does your husband say to your being called Richards?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Minha boa mulher - disse o senhor Dombey, virando-se em sua poltrona como um bloco único, e não como um homem de membros e articulações - , entendo que a senhora é pobre e deseja ganhar dinheiro amamentando o menininho, meu filho, tão prematuramente privado do que jamais poderá ser substituído. Não tenho objeção a que a senhora acrescente por esse meio aos confortos de sua família. Pelo que posso ver, a senhora parece pessoa merecedora. Mas devo impor-lhe uma ou duas condições, antes que entre em minha casa nessa qualidade. Enquanto aqui estiver, faço questão de estipular que seja sempre conhecida como... digamos, como Richards... um nome comum e conveniente. Tem alguma objeção a ser conhecida como Richards? É melhor consultar seu marido.

- E então? - disse o senhor Dombey, após uma pausa bem longa. - O que diz seu marido a respeito de a senhora ser chamada de Richards?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O marido apenas ria baixinho e sorria, passando continuamente a mão direita pela boca e molhando a palma. A Sra. Toodle cutucou-o com o cotovelo duas ou três vezes, mas não adiantou. Então fez uma reverência respeitosa e respondeu que talvez, se tivesse de ser chamada por outro nome, isso devesse ser considerado no salário.

- Ah, é claro - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Quero que isto seja inteiramente uma questão de salário. Agora, Richards, se amamentar meu filho sem mãe, quero que se lembre sempre disto. Receberá um pagamento generoso em troca do cumprimento de certos deveres. Enquanto os cumprir, desejo que veja sua família o mínimo possível. Quando esses deveres deixarem de ser necessários ou realizados, e o pagamento cessar, terminará toda ligação entre nós. Entendeu?

A Sra. Toodle parecia incerta se havia entendido. Quanto ao próprio Toodle, não havia dúvida alguma de que estava completamente confuso.

Original English Version

As the husband did nothing but chuckle and grin, and continually draw his right hand across his mouth, moistening the palm, Mrs Toodle, after nudging him twice or thrice in vain, dropped a curtsey and replied “that perhaps if she was to be called out of her name, it would be considered in the wages.”

“Oh, of course,” said Mr Dombey. “I desire to make it a question of wages, altogether. Now, Richards, if you nurse my bereaved child, I wish you to remember this always. You will receive a liberal stipend in return for the discharge of certain duties, in the performance of which, I wish you to see as little of your family as possible. When those duties cease to be required and rendered, and the stipend ceases to be paid, there is an end of all relations between us. Do you understand me?”

Mrs Toodle seemed doubtful about it; and as to Toodle himself, he had evidently no doubt whatever, that he was all abroad.

Tradução Integral em Português

Como o marido nada fizesse senão rir e arreganhar os dentes, passando continuamente a mão direita pela boca para umedecer a palma, a senhora Toodle, depois de cutucá-lo em vão duas ou três vezes, fez uma mesura e respondeu «que talvez, se ela fosse chamada por um nome que não era o seu, isso fosse levado em conta no salário».

- Ah, claro - disse o senhor Dombey. - Desejo fazer disso, por inteiro, uma questão de salário. Pois bem, Richards, se a senhora amamentar meu filho enlutado, quero que se lembre sempre disto. Receberá um generoso estipêndio em troca do cumprimento de certos deveres, no desempenho dos quais desejo que veja o mínimo possível de sua própria família. Quando esses deveres deixarem de ser exigidos e prestados, e o estipêndio deixar de ser pago, cessam todas as relações entre nós. Compreende-me?

A senhora Toodle pareceu ter dúvidas quanto a isso; e, quanto ao próprio Toodle, era evidente que não tinha dúvida alguma de que estava completamente perdido.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Você tem seus próprios filhos - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Nosso acordo não exige que se afeiçoe ao meu filho nem que meu filho se afeiçoe a você. Não espero nem desejo nada assim. Muito pelo contrário. Quando sair daqui, terá concluído algo que é apenas um acordo comercial, uma questão de contratar e ser contratada, e ficará longe. A criança deixará de se lembrar de você, e você poderá deixar de se lembrar da criança.

A Sra. Toodle, com um pouco mais de cor nas faces do que antes, disse que esperava saber qual era o seu lugar.

- Espero que saiba, Richards - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Não tenho dúvida de que sabe muito bem. É algo tão simples e claro que dificilmente poderia ser diferente. Louisa, minha querida, combine o dinheiro com Richards e deixe que ela o receba quando e como desejar. Sr... seja qual for o seu nome, gostaria de falar com o senhor.

Original English Version

“You have children of your own,” said Mr Dombey. “It is not at all in this bargain that you need become attached to my child, or that my child need become attached to you. I don’t expect or desire anything of the kind. Quite the reverse. When you go away from here, you will have concluded what is a mere matter of bargain and sale, hiring and letting: and will stay away. The child will cease to remember you; and you will cease, if you please, to remember the child.”

Mrs Toodle, with a little more colour in her cheeks than she had had before, said “she hoped she knew her place.”

“I hope you do, Richards,” said Mr Dombey. “I have no doubt you know it very well. Indeed it is so plain and obvious that it could hardly be otherwise. Louisa, my dear, arrange with Richards about money, and let her have it when and how she pleases. Mr what’s-your name, a word with you, if you please!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- A senhora tem filhos seus - disse o senhor Dombey. - Não faz parte de modo algum deste acordo que a senhora venha a se afeiçoar ao meu filho, ou que o meu filho venha a se afeiçoar à senhora. Não espero nem desejo nada dessa natureza. Muito pelo contrário. Quando for embora daqui, terá concluído o que é mera questão de compra e venda, de contratação e aluguel: e permanecerá afastada. A criança deixará de se lembrar da senhora; e a senhora deixará, se lhe aprouver, de se lembrar da criança.

A senhora Toodle, com um pouco mais de cor nas faces do que antes, disse que «esperava conhecer o seu lugar».

- Espero que conheça, Richards - disse o senhor Dombey. - Não tenho dúvida de que o conhece muito bem. Aliás, é tão claro e evidente que dificilmente poderia ser de outro modo. Louisa, minha querida, acerte com Richards a questão do dinheiro, e deixe que ela o receba quando e como quiser. Senhor como-é-mesmo-seu-nome, uma palavrinha com o senhor, por favor!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Toodle seguia a esposa para fora da sala, mas essas palavras o detiveram à porta. Ele voltou e ficou sozinho diante do Sr. Dombey. Era um homem forte, de corpo solto e ombros curvados, que caminhava pesadamente e tinha uma aparência áspera e peluda. As roupas pendiam nele sem cuidado. Tinha muito cabelo e suíças, talvez escurecidos pela fumaça e pelo pó de carvão, mãos duras e cheias de nós e uma testa quadrada, tão grosseira quanto a casca de um carvalho. Em todos os sentidos, era o oposto do Sr. Dombey. O Sr. Dombey pertencia à classe dos cavalheiros ricos de rosto bem barbeado e roupas impecáveis, que parecem lisos e novos como notas recém-impressas e dão a impressão de ser mantidos rígidos e apertados por duchas de ouro.

- Creio que o senhor tem um filho? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Quatro, senhor. Quatro meninos e uma menina. Todos vivos!

- Ora, o senhor mal tem condições de sustentá-los! - disse o Sr. Dombey.

Original English Version

Thus arrested on the threshold as he was following his wife out of the room, Toodle returned and confronted Mr Dombey alone. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths.

“You have a son, I believe?” said Mr Dombey.

“Four on ’em, Sir. Four hims and a her. All alive!”

“Why, it’s as much as you can afford to keep them!” said Mr Dombey.

Tradução Integral em Português

Detido assim à soleira, quando seguia a esposa para fora da sala, Toodle voltou e ficou frente a frente com o senhor Dombey, a sós. Era um sujeito forte, desengonçado, de ombros arredondados, de andar arrastado e cabeludo, em quem as roupas assentavam com desleixo: com bastante cabelo e costeletas, escurecidos em sua tonalidade natural, talvez, pela fumaça e o pó de carvão: mãos duras e nodosas: e uma testa quadrada, de grão tão áspero quanto a casca de um carvalho. Um contraste completo, em todos os aspectos, ao senhor Dombey, que era um daqueles cavalheiros abastados, de barba rente e cabelo aparado, lustrosos e crocantes como notas de banco novas, e que parecem artificialmente retesados e apertados, como que pela ação estimulante de duchas douradas.

- O senhor tem um filho, creio? - disse o senhor Dombey.

- Quatro deles, senhor. Quatro machos e uma fêmea. Todos vivos!

- Ora, mal deve dar para o senhor sustentá-los! - disse o senhor Dombey.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Só há uma coisa no mundo que eu poderia custear ainda menos, senhor.

- O que é?

- Para perdê-los, senhor.

- Você sabe ler? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Bem, não muito, senhor.

- Sabe escrever?

- Com giz, senhor?

- Com qualquer coisa?

- Acho que conseguiria escrever um pouco com giz, se fosse preciso - disse Toodle depois de pensar por um momento.

- E, no entanto - disse o Sr. Dombey - você tem uns trinta e dois ou trinta e três anos, suponho?

- Mais ou menos isso, suponho, senhor - respondeu Toodle depois de pensar um pouco mais.

- Então por que você não aprende? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Eu vou aprender, senhor. Um dos meus meninos vai me ensinar quando tiver idade suficiente e já tiver ido à escola.

- Bem - disse o Sr. Dombey. Ele olhou atentamente e com certa frieza para Toodle, que permanecia observando o cômodo, sobretudo o teto, enquanto continuava passando a mão pela boca. - Você ouviu o que acabei de dizer à sua esposa?

Original English Version

“I couldn’t hardly afford but one thing in the world less, Sir.”

“What is that?”

“To lose ’em, Sir.”

“Can you read?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Why, not partickk’ller, Sir.”

“Write?”

“With chalk, Sir?”

“With anything?”

“I could make shift to chalk a little bit, I think, if I was put to it,” said Toodle after some reflection.

“And yet,” said Mr Dombey, “you are two or three and thirty, I suppose?”

“Thereabouts, I suppose, Sir,” answered Toodle, after more reflection

“Then why don’t you learn?” asked Mr Dombey.

“So I’m a going to, Sir. One of my little boys is a going to learn me, when he’s old enough, and been to school himself.”

“Well,” said Mr Dombey, after looking at him attentively, and with no great favour, as he stood gazing round the room (principally round the ceiling) and still drawing his hand across and across his mouth. “You heard what I said to your wife just now?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Quase não tinha como me dar ao luxo de nem uma coisa a menos no mundo, senhor.

- E o que é?

- Perder eles, senhor.

- Sabe ler? - perguntou o senhor Dombey.

- Ora, não em particulá, senhor.

- Escrever?

- Com giz, senhor?

- Com qualquer coisa?

- Acho que, se me obrigassem, dava pra rabiscar um tiquinho com giz - disse Toodle após certa reflexão.

- E, no entanto - disse o senhor Dombey - , o senhor deve ter uns trinta e dois ou trinta e três anos, suponho?

- Por aí, eu acho, senhor - respondeu Toodle, após mais reflexão

- Então por que não aprende? - perguntou o senhor Dombey.

- Pois é o que vou fazer, senhor. Um dos meus meninos vai me ensinar, quando tiver idade e já tiver ido à escola.

- Bem - disse o senhor Dombey, depois de fitá-lo com atenção, e sem grande simpatia, enquanto ele ficava a olhar pela sala (principalmente para o teto) e a passar a mão pela boca, sem parar. - O senhor ouviu o que eu disse à sua esposa agorinha?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Polly ouviu - disse Toodle, apontando o chapéu por cima do ombro na direção da porta, com total confiança na esposa. - Está tudo certo.

- Mas estou perguntando se você ouviu. Suponho que sim e que entendeu? - continuou o Sr. Dombey.

“Eu ouvi”, disse Toodle, “mas não sei se entendi direito, senhor, porque não tenho estudo e as palavras eram - com o devido perdão - um tanto difíceis. Mas Polly ouviu. Está tudo certo.”

- Já que você parece deixar tudo por conta dela - disse o Sr. Dombey, frustrado em seu plano de explicar suas ideias com mais firmeza ao marido, como a pessoa mais forte - suponho que não adianta dizer nada a você.

- Não adianta mesmo - disse Toodle. - Polly ouviu. Ela é esperta, senhor.

- Então não vou prendê-lo por mais tempo - respondeu o Sr. Dombey, decepcionado. - Onde você trabalhou durante toda a vida?

Original English Version

“Polly heerd it,” said Toodle, jerking his hat over his shoulder in the direction of the door, with an air of perfect confidence in his better half. “It’s all right.”

“But I ask you if you heard it. You did, I suppose, and understood it?” pursued Mr Dombey.

“I heerd it,” said Toodle, “but I don’t know as I understood it rightly Sir, “account of being no scholar, and the words being - ask your pardon - rayther high. But Polly heerd it. It’s all right.”

“As you appear to leave everything to her,” said Mr Dombey, frustrated in his intention of impressing his views still more distinctly on the husband, as the stronger character, “I suppose it is of no use my saying anything to you.”

“Not a bit,” said Toodle. “Polly heerd it. She’s awake, Sir.”

“I won’t detain you any longer then,” returned Mr Dombey, disappointed. “Where have you worked all your life?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- A Polly ouviu - disse Toodle, apontando o chapéu por sobre o ombro na direção da porta, com um ar de perfeita confiança na cara-metade. - Tá tudo certo.

- Mas eu pergunto se o senhor ouviu. Ouviu, suponho, e entendeu? - insistiu o senhor Dombey.

- Eu ouvi - disse Toodle - , mas não sei se entendi direito, senhor, por conta de eu não ser estudado, e as palavras serem... com licença... meio empoladas. Mas a Polly ouviu. Tá tudo certo.

- Como o senhor parece deixar tudo por conta dela - disse o senhor Dombey, frustrado em sua intenção de gravar suas ideias ainda mais nitidamente no marido, como caráter mais forte - , suponho que de nada adiante eu lhe dizer o que quer que seja.

- Nadinha - disse Toodle. - A Polly ouviu. Ela é esperta, senhor.

- Então não o deterei mais - retomou o senhor Dombey, desapontado. - Onde o senhor trabalhou a vida toda?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Principalmente debaixo da terra, senhor, até eu me casar. Então passei a trabalhar na superfície. Vou trabalhar em uma dessas ferrovias quando estiverem funcionando de verdade.

Então acrescentou, em um de seus sussurros roucos: - Pretendemos criar o pequeno Biler para esse tipo de trabalho. O Sr. Dombey perguntou com arrogância quem era o pequeno Biler.

- O mais velho deles, senhor - disse Toodle com um sorriso. - Não é um nome comum. Tanto que, quando foi levado à igreja, o cavalheiro disse que não era um nome cristão e que não podia dá-lo a ele. Mas nós sempre o chamamos de Biler mesmo assim, pois não queremos fazer mal algum. Não queremos, não.

- Você quer me dizer, homem - perguntou o Sr. Dombey, olhando para ele com evidente desagrado - que deu a uma criança o nome de uma caldeira?

- Não, não, senhor - respondeu Toodle, corrigindo bondosamente o engano. - Espero que não! Não, senhor. Foi por causa de uma CALDEIRA, senhor. A máquina a vapor foi quase como um padrinho para ele, então nós o chamamos de Biler, entende?

Original English Version

“Mostly underground, Sir, “till I got married. I come to the level then. I’m a going on one of these here railroads when they comes into full play.”

As he added in one of his hoarse whispers, “We means to bring up little Biler to that line,” Mr Dombey inquired haughtily who little Biler was.

“The eldest on ’em, Sir,” said Toodle, with a smile. “It ain’t a common name. Sermuchser that when he was took to church the gen’lm’n said, it wamm’t a chris’en one, and he couldn’t give it. But we always calls him Biler just the same. For we don’t mean no harm. Not we.”

“Do you mean to say, Man,” inquired Mr Dombey; looking at him with marked displeasure, “that you have called a child after a boiler?”

“No, no, Sir,” returned Toodle, with a tender consideration for his mistake. “I should hope not! No, Sir. Arter a BILER Sir. The Steamingine was a’most as good as a godfather to him, and so we called him Biler, don’t you see!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Quase sempre embaixo da terra, senhor, até eu casar. Aí subi pro nível do chão. Vou pra uma dessas estradas de ferro quando elas entrarem de vez em funcionamento.

Como acrescentasse, num de seus sussurros roucos, «A gente pretende criar o pequeno Biler pra esse ramo», o senhor Dombey perguntou, altivo, quem era o pequeno Biler.

- O mais velho deles, senhor - disse Toodle, com um sorriso. - Não é nome comum. Tanto assim que, quando levaram ele pra igreja, o senhô padre disse que não era nome de cristão e não podia dar. Mas a gente chama ele de Biler do mesmo jeito. Que a gente não faz por mal. Nós não.

- O senhor quer dizer, homem - indagou o senhor Dombey, olhando-o com marcado desagrado - , que deu a uma criança o nome de uma caldeira?

- Não, não, senhor - retorquiu Toodle, com terna consideração pelo engano do outro. - Deus me livre! Não, senhor. Foi por causa de uma CALDÊRA, senhor. A máquina a vapô foi quase um padrinho pra ele, e por isso chamamos ele de Biler, não tá vendo!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Assim como a última palha quebra as costas do camelo sobrecarregado, essa notícia esmagou o ânimo já abatido do Sr. Dombey. Ele indicou a porta ao pai de leite da criança, e o homem saiu de muito boa vontade. Depois, o Sr. Dombey trancou a porta e caminhou de um lado para o outro do cômodo em solitária aflição.

Seria cruel, e talvez não inteiramente verdadeiro, dizer que esses golpes em seu orgulho o feriram mais do que a morte da esposa. Ainda assim, certamente o fizeram sentir a morte dela com nova força e acrescentaram peso e amargura ao acontecimento. Ofendia profundamente seu sentimento de posse sobre a criança o fato de aquelas pessoas - mero pó da terra, como ele as considerava - serem necessárias para ele. Naturalmente, quanto mais isso o perturbava, mais lamentava o acontecimento que as tornara necessárias. Apesar de toda a sua dignidade rígida, impenetrável e serena, ele enxugava lágrimas que lhe cegavam os olhos enquanto andava pelo cômodo. Muitas vezes, com uma emoção que jamais permitiria que alguém visse, dizia: “Pobre pequeno!”

Original English Version

As the last straw breaks the laden camel’s back, this piece of information crushed the sinking spirits of Mr Dombey. He motioned his child’s foster-father to the door, who departed by no means unwillingly: and then turning the key, paced up and down the room in solitary wretchedness.

It would be harsh, and perhaps not altogether true, to say of him that he felt these rubs and gratings against his pride more keenly than he had felt his wife’s death: but certainly they impressed that event upon him with new force, and communicated to it added weight and bitterness. It was a rude shock to his sense of property in his child, that these people - the mere dust of the earth, as he thought them - should be necessary to him; and it was natural that in proportion as he felt disturbed by it, he should deplore the occurrence which had made them so. For all his starched, impenetrable dignity and composure, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced up and down his room; and often said, with an emotion of which he would not, for the world, have had a witness, “Poor little fellow!”

Tradução Integral em Português

Como a última palha quebra o dorso do camelo sobrecarregado, essa informação esmagou o ânimo já em declínio do senhor Dombey. Fez sinal ao pai adotivo de seu filho para que se retirasse - o que ele fez de modo nada relutante - e então, girando a chave, pôs-se a andar de um lado para outro da sala em solitária amargura.

Seria duro, e talvez não de todo verdadeiro, dizer dele que sentia esses atritos e arranhões contra o seu orgulho mais agudamente do que sentira a morte da esposa: mas certamente eles lhe imprimiam aquele acontecimento com nova força, comunicando-lhe peso e amargura adicionais. Foi um rude choque para o seu sentimento de propriedade sobre o filho que aquela gente - o mero pó da terra, como os considerava - lhe fosse necessária; e era natural que, na proporção em que se sentia perturbado por isso, deplorasse o acontecimento que os tornara assim necessários. Apesar de toda a sua dignidade e compostura engomadas e impenetráveis, enxugou lágrimas que lhe embaçavam os olhos enquanto andava de um lado para outro do quarto; e muitas vezes dizia, com uma emoção de que por nada neste mundo teria querido uma testemunha: - Pobre coitadinho!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Talvez revelasse o orgulho do Sr. Dombey o fato de ele sentir pena de si mesmo por meio da criança. Não dizia: Pobre de mim. Não dizia: Pobre viúvo, obrigado a confiar na esposa de um trabalhador ignorante que passara a maior parte da vida debaixo da terra, embora a Morte jamais tivesse batido à porta daquele homem e quatro filhos se sentassem diariamente à sua mesa pobre. Em vez disso, dizia: Pobre pequeno!

Com essas palavras nos lábios, ocorreu-lhe um pensamento. Ele mostrava como todas as suas esperanças, medos e ideias eram fortemente atraídos para um único centro. Uma grande tentação estava sendo colocada diante daquela mulher. O bebê dela também era menino. Seria possível que ela trocasse as duas crianças?

Logo se convenceu de que havia rejeitado a ideia por ser fantasiosa e improvável, embora não pudesse negar que era possível. Mesmo assim, continuou pensando nela e imaginou qual seria sua situação se descobrisse tal fraude quando já estivesse velho. Um homem nessa posição conseguiria tirar do impostor tudo o que fora construído por tantos anos de hábito, confiança e crença, e entregar tudo a um estranho?

Original English Version

It may have been characteristic of Mr Dombey’s pride, that he pitied himself through the child. Not poor me. Not poor widower, confiding by constraint in the wife of an ignorant Hind who has been working “mostly underground” all his life, and yet at whose door Death had never knocked, and at whose poor table four sons daily sit - but poor little fellow!

Those words being on his lips, it occurred to him - and it is an instance of the strong attraction with which his hopes and fears and all his thoughts were tending to one centre - that a great temptation was being placed in this woman’s way. Her infant was a boy too. Now, would it be possible for her to change them?

Though he was soon satisfied that he had dismissed the idea as romantic and unlikely - though possible, there was no denying - he could not help pursuing it so far as to entertain within himself a picture of what his condition would be, if he should discover such an imposture when he was grown old. Whether a man so situated would be able to pluck away the result of so many years of usage, confidence, and belief, from the impostor, and endow a stranger with it?

Tradução Integral em Português

Talvez fosse próprio do orgulho do senhor Dombey que ele se compadecesse de si mesmo através da criança. Não pobre de mim. Não pobre viúvo, obrigado por força das circunstâncias a confiar na esposa de um ignorante Bronco que trabalhara «quase sempre embaixo da terra» a vida inteira e a cuja porta, no entanto, a Morte jamais batera, e a cuja pobre mesa quatro filhos se sentam todos os dias... mas pobre coitadinho!

Estando essas palavras em seus lábios, ocorreu-lhe - e é um exemplo da forte atração com que suas esperanças, seus temores e todos os seus pensamentos tendiam a um único centro - que uma grande tentação estava sendo posta no caminho daquela mulher. O bebê dela também era menino. Ora, seria possível a ela trocá-los?

Embora logo se convencesse de que descartara a ideia como romanesca e improvável - ainda que possível, não se podia negar - , não conseguiu deixar de segui-la ao ponto de conceber dentro de si um quadro do que seria a sua condição, se viesse a descobrir semelhante impostura já velho. Se um homem em tal situação seria capaz de arrancar ao impostor o fruto de tantos anos de convívio, confiança e crença, e conferi-lo a um estranho?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Mas tais pensamentos eram inúteis. Isso não podia acontecer. Um instante depois, decidiu que podia acontecer, mas que mulheres como ela eram sempre vigiadas e não tinham oportunidade de executar tal plano, mesmo que fossem perversas o bastante para concebê-lo. Depois, lembrou-se de quão poucos casos assim pareciam ter ocorrido. Em seguida, perguntou-se se não ocorreriam sem jamais serem descobertos.

À medida que sua emoção incomum diminuía, essas dúvidas desapareceram aos poucos. Contudo, restou sombra suficiente delas para que decidisse firmemente vigiar Richards de perto, sem parecer fazê-lo. Agora mais calmo, considerou a baixa posição social da mulher uma vantagem, pois criava grande distância entre ela e a criança e tornaria a separação fácil e natural. Dali, seus pensamentos passaram para a futura glória de Dombey e Filho. Por enquanto, afastou a lembrança da esposa com um ou dois suspiros em homenagem.

Original English Version

But it was idle speculating thus. It couldn’t happen. In a moment afterwards he determined that it could, but that such women were constantly observed, and had no opportunity given them for the accomplishment of such a design, even when they were so wicked as to entertain it. In another moment, he was remembering how few such cases seemed to have ever happened. In another moment he was wondering whether they ever happened and were not found out.

As his unusual emotion subsided, these misgivings gradually melted away, though so much of their shadow remained behind, that he was constant in his resolution to look closely after Richards himself, without appearing to do so. Being now in an easier frame of mind, he regarded the woman’s station as rather an advantageous circumstance than otherwise, by placing, in itself, a broad distance between her and the child, and rendering their separation easy and natural. Thence he passed to the contemplation of the future glories of Dombey and Son, and dismissed the memory of his wife, for the time being, with a tributary sigh or two.

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas era ocioso especular assim. Não poderia acontecer. Um instante depois, determinou que poderia, sim, mas que tais mulheres eram constantemente vigiadas, e não se lhes dava oportunidade alguma para a realização de semelhante desígnio, ainda quando fossem perversas a ponto de acalentá-lo. No instante seguinte, lembrava-se de quão poucos casos desses pareciam ter algum dia ocorrido. No instante seguinte, perguntava-se se alguma vez ocorriam sem serem descobertos.

À medida que sua emoção incomum ia cedendo, esses receios pouco a pouco se dissiparam, embora tanto de sua sombra permanecesse que ele se manteve firme na resolução de vigiar de perto a própria Richards, sem parecer fazê-lo. Estando agora em estado de espírito mais tranquilo, considerou a condição social da mulher antes uma circunstância vantajosa do que outra coisa, por estabelecer, em si mesma, uma larga distância entre ela e a criança, tornando fácil e natural a separação de ambas. Daí passou à contemplação das glórias futuras de Dombey and Son, e afastou a memória da esposa, por ora, com um ou dois suspiros de tributo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Enquanto isso, a Sra. Chick e Richards acertaram as condições com a ajuda da Srta. Tox. Com muita cerimônia, Richards recebeu o bebê Dombey como se ele fosse uma condecoração oficial. Com muitas lágrimas e beijos, entregou seu próprio bebê a Jemima. Então trouxeram taças de vinho para animar a família abatida. A Srta. Tox ocupou-se em dar pequenos goles às crianças menores e as preparou para a profissão perigosa do pai com rapidez surpreendente: em quinze segundos, fez quatro delas engasgarem.

- O senhor também vai tomar uma taça, não vai? - disse a Srta. Tox quando Toodle apareceu.

- Obrigado, senhora, já que insiste - disse Toodle.

- E o senhor está muito contente por deixar sua querida e boa esposa em uma casa tão confortável, não está? - disse a Srta. Tox, assentindo e piscando discretamente para ele.

- Não, senhora - disse Toodle. - Bebo para desejar que ela volte.

Isso fez Polly chorar mais do que nunca. Como mulher casada experiente, a Sra. Chick temeu que tamanha tristeza pudesse prejudicar o pequeno Dombey. - Pode até azedar o leite - sussurrou à Srta. Tox, e rapidamente veio em socorro.

Original English Version

Meanwhile terms were ratified and agreed upon between Mrs Chick and Richards, with the assistance of Miss Tox; and Richards being with much ceremony invested with the Dombey baby, as if it were an Order, resigned her own, with many tears and kisses, to Jemima. Glasses of wine were then produced, to sustain the drooping spirits of the family; and Miss Tox, busying herself in dispensing “tastes” to the younger branches, bred them up to their father’s business with such surprising expedition, that she made chokers of four of them in a quarter of a minute.

“You’ll take a glass yourself, Sir, won’t you?” said Miss Tox, as Toodle appeared.

“Thankee, Mum,” said Toodle, “since you are suppressing.”

“And you’re very glad to leave your dear good wife in such a comfortable home, ain’t you, Sir?” said Miss Tox, nodding and winking at him stealthily.

“No, Mum,” said Toodle. “Here’s wishing of her back agin.”

Polly cried more than ever at this. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue.

Tradução Integral em Português

Enquanto isso, os termos foram ratificados e acordados entre a senhora Chick e Richards, com o auxílio da senhorita Tox; e Richards, investida com muita cerimônia do bebê Dombey, como se fosse uma Comenda, entregou o seu, com muitas lágrimas e beijos, a Jemima. Serviram-se então taças de vinho, para sustentar o ânimo abatido da família; e a senhorita Tox, atarefada em distribuir «goles» aos ramos mais novos, criou-os para o ofício do pai com tão surpreendente presteza que fez engasgar quatro deles num quarto de minuto.

- O senhor também não vai tomar uma taça, senhor? - disse a senhorita Tox, quando Toodle apareceu.

- Obrigado, sinhora - disse Toodle - , já que a senhora tá suprimindo.

- E o senhor está muito contente de deixar sua querida e boa esposa num lar tão confortável, não está, senhor? - disse a senhorita Tox, acenando e piscando-lhe às escondidas.

- Não, sinhora - disse Toodle. - Fico aqui é torcendo pra ela voltar.

Ao ouvir isso, Polly chorou mais do que nunca. De modo que a senhora Chick, que tinha suas apreensões matronais de que essa entrega à dor pudesse ser prejudicial ao pequeno Dombey ( - um azedume, isso sim - sussurrou à senhorita Tox), acorreu em socorro.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

“Seu filhinho ficará muito bem com sua irmã Jemima, Richards”, disse a Sra. Chick. “Você só precisa fazer um esforço - este é um mundo de esforço, sabe - para ser realmente muito feliz. Já tiraram suas medidas para as roupas de luto, não foi, Richards?”

- Si-im, senhora - soluçou Polly.

- E vão servir lindamente, eu sei - disse a Sra. Chick - porque a mesma moça fez muitos vestidos para mim. E com os melhores tecidos!

- Minha nossa, você ficará tão elegante - disse a Srta. Tox - que seu marido não vai reconhecê-la. Vai, senhor?

- Eu a reconheceria - disse Toodle com rudeza - de qualquer jeito e em qualquer lugar.

Era evidente que Toodle não se deixaria conquistar.

- Quanto à sua alimentação, Richards - continuou a Sra. Chick - o melhor de tudo estará à sua disposição. Você pedirá seu próprio jantar todos os dias, e tenho certeza de que qualquer coisa que desejar será fornecida tão prontamente como se você fosse uma dama.

Original English Version

“Your little child will thrive charmingly with your sister Jemima, Richards,” said Mrs Chick; “and you have only to make an effort - this is a world of effort, you know, Richards - to be very happy indeed. You have been already measured for your mourning, haven’t you, Richards?”

“Ye - es, Ma’am,” sobbed Polly.

“And it’ll fit beautifully. I know,” said Mrs Chick, “for the same young person has made me many dresses. The very best materials, too!”

“Lor, you’ll be so smart,” said Miss Tox, “that your husband won’t know you; will you, Sir?”

“I should know her,” said Toodle, gruffly, “anyhows and anywheres.”

Toodle was evidently not to be bought over.

“As to living, Richards, you know,” pursued Mrs Chick, “why, the very best of everything will be at your disposal. You will order your little dinner every day; and anything you take a fancy to, I’m sure will be as readily provided as if you were a Lady.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Seu filhinho vai medrar às mil maravilhas com sua irmã Jemima, Richards - disse a senhora Chick - ; e você só tem de fazer um esforço... este é um mundo de esforço, como sabe, Richards... para ser muito feliz. Você já foi tirar as medidas do seu luto, não foi, Richards?

- Fu... i, senhora - soluçou Polly.

- E há de assentar lindamente. Sei disso - disse a senhora Chick - , pois a mesma moça já me fez muitos vestidos. E dos melhores tecidos, ainda por cima!

- Nossa, você vai ficar tão elegante - disse a senhorita Tox - que seu marido nem vai reconhecê-la; não é, senhor?

- Eu reconhecia ela - disse Toodle, com aspereza - de qualquer jeito e em qualquer lugar.

Toodle, era evidente, não se deixava comprar.

- Quanto à comida, Richards, veja bem - prosseguiu a senhora Chick - , ora, o que houver de melhor estará à sua disposição. Você encomendará todo dia o seu jantarzinho; e qualquer coisa de que tiver vontade, tenho certeza, lhe será fornecida tão prontamente como se você fosse uma Dama.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Sim, com certeza! - disse a Srta. Tox, continuando com grande simpatia. - E quanto à cerveja porter, ela poderá tomar quanto quiser, não é, Louisa?

- Ah, certamente! - respondeu a Sra. Chick no mesmo tom. - Embora deva limitar um pouco os legumes, sabe, minha querida.

- E talvez os picles - sugeriu a Srta. Tox.

- Fora essas exceções - disse Louisa - ela poderá escolher tudo por conta própria e não terá restrição alguma, minha querida.

“E então, é claro”, disse a Srta. Tox, “por mais que ela ame seu querido filhinho - e tenho certeza, Louisa, de que você não a culpa por amá-lo?”

- Ah, não! - exclamou a Sra. Chick com bondade.

- Ainda assim - continuou a Srta. Tox - ela naturalmente deve se interessar pela criança sob seus cuidados. Deve considerar um privilégio observar um pequeno anjo das classes superiores desenvolver-se dia após dia, alimentando-se da mesma fonte comum. Não é verdade, Louisa?

Original English Version

“Yes to be sure!” said Miss Tox, keeping up the ball with great sympathy. “And as to porter! - quite unlimited, will it not, Louisa?”

“Oh, certainly!” returned Mrs Chick in the same tone. “With a little abstinence, you know, my dear, in point of vegetables.”

“And pickles, perhaps,” suggested Miss Tox.

“With such exceptions,” said Louisa, “she’ll consult her choice entirely, and be under no restraint at all, my love.”

“And then, of course, you know,” said Miss Tox, “however fond she is of her own dear little child - and I’m sure, Louisa, you don’t blame her for being fond of it?”

“Oh no!” cried Mrs Chick, benignantly.

“Still,” resumed Miss Tox, “she naturally must be interested in her young charge, and must consider it a privilege to see a little cherub connected with the superior classes, gradually unfolding itself from day to day at one common fountain - is it not so, Louisa?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Isso mesmo, com certeza! - disse a senhorita Tox, mantendo a bola no ar com grande simpatia. - E quanto à cerveja preta!... totalmente à vontade, não é, Louisa?

- Ah, sem dúvida! - respondeu a senhora Chick no mesmo tom. - Com uma pequena abstinência, veja bem, minha querida, no tocante a legumes.

- E picles, talvez - sugeriu a senhorita Tox.

- Com tais exceções - disse Louisa - , ela consultará inteiramente o próprio gosto e não terá restrição alguma, meu bem.

- E então, é claro, veja bem - disse a senhorita Tox - , por mais afeiçoada que ela seja ao seu próprio filhinho querido... e tenho certeza, Louisa, de que você não a censura por gostar dele?

- Ah, não! - exclamou a senhora Chick, benignamente.

- Ainda assim - retomou a senhorita Tox - , ela naturalmente há de se interessar por seu jovem protegido, e há de considerar um privilégio ver um pequeno querubim ligado às classes superiores desabrochar aos poucos, dia após dia, na mesma fonte comum... não é assim, Louisa?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Sem dúvida alguma! - disse a Sra. Chick. - Veja, minha querida, ela já está bastante satisfeita e confortável. Pretende despedir-se da irmã Jemima, de seus pequenos queridos e de seu bom e honesto marido com o coração leve e um sorriso, não pretende, minha querida?

- Ah, sim! - exclamou a Srta. Tox. - É claro que sim!

Apesar de tudo isso, a pobre Polly abraçou cada um deles em grande aflição. Quando finalmente chegou ao marido, não conseguiu decidir-se a deixá-lo. Por fim, ele se soltou com delicadeza depois de lhe oferecer o seguinte conselho simbólico:

- Polly, minha velha, faça o que fizer, minha querida, mantenha a cabeça erguida e lute por baixo. Essa é a única regra que conheço capaz de levar alguém pela vida. Você sempre manteve a cabeça erguida e lutou por baixo, Polly. Faça isso agora, ou Bricks já não é o mesmo. Deus a abençoe, Polly! Jemima e eu cumpriremos nosso dever por você. Quanto ao seu dever aqui, mantenha a cabeça erguida e lute por baixo, Polly, e não poderá errar!

Original English Version

“Most undoubtedly!” said Mrs Chick. “You see, my love, she’s already quite contented and comfortable, and means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima and her little pets, and her good honest husband, with a light heart and a smile; don’t she, my dear?”

“Oh yes!” cried Miss Tox. “To be sure she does!”

Notwithstanding which, however, poor Polly embraced them all round in great distress, and coming to her spouse at last, could not make up her mind to part from him, until he gently disengaged himself, at the close of the following allegorical piece of consolation:

“Polly, old “ooman, whatever you do, my darling, hold up your head and fight low. That’s the only rule as I know on, that’ll carry anyone through life. You always have held up your head and fought low, Polly. Do it now, or Bricks is no longer so. God bless you, Polly! Me and J’mima will do your duty by you; and with relating to your’n, hold up your head and fight low, Polly, and you can’t go wrong!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Sem a menor dúvida! - disse a senhora Chick. - Veja bem, meu bem, ela já está bastante contente e à vontade, e tenciona dizer adeus à irmã Jemima e aos seus queridinhos, e ao seu bom e honesto marido, de coração leve e com um sorriso; não é, minha querida?

- Ah, sim! - exclamou a senhorita Tox. - Com certeza que sim!

Não obstante o que, porém, a pobre Polly abraçou todos eles em grande aflição e, chegando por fim ao esposo, não conseguiu decidir-se a separar-se dele, até que ele gentilmente se desvencilhou, ao término da seguinte peça alegórica de consolo:

- Polly, minha velha, faça o que fizer, meu bem, mantém a cabeça erguida e briga por baixo. É a única regra que eu conheço que carrega a gente pela vida afora. Tu sempre mantiveste a cabeça erguida e brigaste por baixo, Polly. Faz isso agora, ou o Bricks já não é mais o Bricks. Deus te abençoe, Polly! Eu e a J'mima vamos cumprir teu dever por ti; e no que toca aos teus, mantém a cabeça erguida e briga por baixo, Polly, e não tem como errar!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Fortalecida por esse segredo de ouro, Polly finalmente fugiu para evitar uma despedida mais pessoal das crianças. Mas seu plano não teve o sucesso que merecia. O segundo menor menino percebeu sua intenção e imediatamente começou a subir as escadas atrás dela, arrastando-se com braços e pernas, se podemos usar essa expressão estranha. O mais velho, conhecido na família como Biler em memória da máquina a vapor, bateu com as botas um ritmo selvagem de tristeza, e o restante da família juntou-se a ele.

Uma quantidade de laranjas e moedas de meio penny foi enfiada sem ordem nas mãos de cada pequeno Toodle, acalmando a primeira violência de sua tristeza. A família logo foi levada para casa na carruagem alugada que os esperava. Sob os cuidados de Jemima, as crianças lotaram a janela e deixaram cair laranjas e moedas por todo o caminho. O Sr. Toodle preferiu viajar atrás da carruagem, entre os ferros pontudos, pois era o tipo de transporte que conhecia melhor.

Original English Version

Fortified by this golden secret, Polly finally ran away to avoid any more particular leave-taking between herself and the children. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family.

A quantity of oranges and halfpence thrust indiscriminately on each young Toodle, checked the first violence of their regret, and the family were speedily transported to their own home, by means of the hackney-coach kept in waiting for that purpose. The children, under the guardianship of Jemima, blocked up the window, and dropped out oranges and halfpence all the way along. Mr Toodle himself preferred to ride behind among the spikes, as being the mode of conveyance to which he was best accustomed.

Tradução Integral em Português

Fortalecida por esse segredo de ouro, Polly finalmente saiu correndo para evitar qualquer despedida mais pormenorizada entre ela e as crianças. Mas o estratagema mal teve o êxito que merecia; pois o segundo menino mais novo, adivinhando-lhe a intenção, começou no mesmo instante a trepar escada acima atrás dela - se essa palavra de duvidosa etimologia for admissível - sobre os braços e as pernas; enquanto o mais velho (conhecido na família pelo nome de Biler, em memória da máquina a vapor) batia um rufo demoníaco com as botas, exprimindo o pesar; no que foi acompanhado pelo resto da família.

Uma quantidade de laranjas e moedas de meio pêni, enfiadas indistintamente nas mãos de cada pequeno Toodle, conteve o primeiro ímpeto de sua mágoa, e a família foi prontamente transportada de volta à sua casa, por meio da carruagem de aluguel mantida à espera para esse fim. As crianças, sob a guarda de Jemima, entupiram a janela e foram deixando cair laranjas e moedas de meio pêni por todo o caminho. O próprio senhor Toodle preferiu ir atrás, entre os espigões, por ser esse o modo de transporte a que estava mais acostumado.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER III. In which Mr Dombey, as a Man and a Father, is seen at the Head of the Home-Department

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O funeral da falecida senhora fora realizado para total satisfação tanto do agente funerário quanto de toda a vizinhança. Os vizinhos costumam ser críticos nesses assuntos e se ofendem facilmente com qualquer falta ou falha nas cerimônias. Depois, os vários membros da casa do Sr. Dombey voltaram a seus lugares habituais no sistema doméstico. Aquele pequeno mundo, como o grande mundo lá fora, era capaz de esquecer seus mortos com facilidade. A cozinheira disse que a patroa fora uma senhora de temperamento calmo; a governanta disse que a morte chegava para todos; o mordomo disse que ninguém imaginaria aquilo; a criada disse que mal conseguia acreditar; e o lacaio disse que parecia exatamente um sonho. Então esgotaram o assunto e começaram a achar que até suas roupas de luto estavam ficando velhas e sem brilho.

Original English Version

The funeral of the deceased lady having been “performed” to the entire satisfaction of the undertaker, as well as of the neighbourhood at large, which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point, and is prone to take offence at any omissions or short-comings in the ceremonies, the various members of Mr Dombey’s household subsided into their several places in the domestic system. That small world, like the great one out of doors, had the capacity of easily forgetting its dead; and when the cook had said she was a quiet-tempered lady, and the house-keeper had said it was the common lot, and the butler had said who’d have thought it, and the housemaid had said she couldn’t hardly believe it, and the footman had said it seemed exactly like a dream, they had quite worn the subject out, and began to think their mourning was wearing rusty too.

Tradução Integral em Português

Tendo o funeral da falecida senhora sido «realizado» para inteira satisfação do agente funerário, bem como da vizinhança em geral, que costuma mostrar-se ranzinza em tal assunto e é propensa a ofender-se com quaisquer omissões ou deficiências nas cerimônias, os vários membros da criadagem do senhor Dombey acomodaram-se em seus respectivos lugares no sistema doméstico. Aquele pequeno mundo, tal como o grande lá fora, tinha a capacidade de esquecer facilmente os seus mortos; e depois que a cozinheira dissera que ela fora uma senhora de temperamento tranquilo, e a governanta dissera que aquele era o destino comum, e o mordomo dissera quem haveria de imaginar, e a arrumadeira dissera que mal podia acreditar, e o lacaio dissera que aquilo parecia exatamente um sonho, já haviam esgotado por completo o assunto, e começavam a achar que o seu luto também ia ficando puído.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Para Richards, mantida no andar de cima em uma espécie de prisão honrosa, o começo da nova vida parecia frio e cinzento. A grande casa do Sr. Dombey ficava no lado sombreado de uma rua alta, escura e terrivelmente elegante entre Portland Place e Bryanstone Square. Era uma casa de esquina com amplos espaços abaixo do nível da rua. Janelas gradeadas olhavam carrancudas para os porões, enquanto portas de aparência torta encaravam as latas de lixo. A casa, grandiosa mas sombria, tinha os fundos arredondados, contendo uma série inteira de salas de visitas. Elas davam para um pátio de cascalho onde duas árvores magras, com troncos e galhos enegrecidos, chacoalhavam em vez de farfalhar, pois a fumaça secara suas folhas. O sol de verão só alcançava a rua perto da hora do café da manhã. Chegava com carroças de água, vendedores de roupas usadas, pessoas vendendo gerânios, o consertador de guarda-chuvas e o homem que tocava o pequeno sino de um relógio holandês enquanto caminhava. O sol logo partia e não voltava naquele dia. Bandas e espetáculos ambulantes de Punch o seguiam, deixando a rua entregue aos realejos mais tristes e aos ratos brancos, com um porco-espinho ocasional para variar. Ao entardecer, os mordomos cujas famílias jantavam fora começavam a ficar junto às portas, e o acendedor de lampiões fracassava todas as noites na tentativa de iluminar a rua com gás.

Original English Version

On Richards, who was established upstairs in a state of honourable captivity, the dawn of her new life seemed to break cold and grey. Mr Dombey’s house was a large one, on the shady side of a tall, dark, dreadfully genteel street in the region between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square. It was a corner house, with great wide areas containing cellars frowned upon by barred windows, and leered at by crooked-eyed doors leading to dustbins. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. The summer sun was never on the street, but in the morning about breakfast-time, when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men, and the people with geraniums, and the umbrella-mender, and the man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas.

Tradução Integral em Português

Para Richards, instalada no andar de cima em estado de honroso cativeiro, a aurora de sua nova vida parecia romper fria e cinzenta. A casa do senhor Dombey era grande, no lado sombrio de uma rua alta, escura e terrivelmente aristocrática, na região entre Portland Place e Bryanstone Square. Era uma casa de esquina, com amplos fossos que abrigavam porões carrancudos sob janelas gradeadas, espreitados por portas de olhos tortos que davam para as latas de lixo. Era uma casa de sombrio aparato, com uma parte posterior em curva, contendo toda uma sequência de salas de visita que davam para um pátio de cascalho, onde duas árvores esquálidas, de troncos e ramos enegrecidos, mais chocalhavam do que sussurravam, tão ressequidas de fumaça estavam as suas folhas. O sol de verão nunca batia naquela rua, exceto de manhã, à hora do café, quando chegava junto com os carros-pipa e os trapeiros, e a gente dos gerânios, e o consertador de guarda-chuvas, e o homem que fazia tilintar o sininho do relógio holandês enquanto passava. Logo se ia embora, para não voltar mais naquele dia; e as bandas de música e os teatrinhos de Punch que iam atrás dele a deixavam à mercê dos mais lúgubres realejos, e dos ratos brancos; com um porco-espinho de vez em quando, para variar o espetáculo; até que os mordomos cujas famílias jantavam fora começavam a postar-se às portas das casas no crepúsculo, e o acendedor de lampiões fazia o seu fracasso noturno na tentativa de iluminar a rua com gás.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A casa era tão vazia e sem vida por dentro quanto por fora. Depois do funeral, o Sr. Dombey mandou cobrir os móveis, talvez para preservá-los para o filho que estava no centro de todos os seus planos. Mandou retirar a decoração dos cômodos, exceto daqueles que reservou para si no térreo. Mesas e cadeiras foram empilhadas no meio dos aposentos e cobertas com grandes lençóis brancos, transformando-se em formas misteriosas. Jornais cobriam puxadores de campainhas, persianas e espelhos, exibindo trechos de notícias sobre mortes e assassinatos terríveis. Cada lustre, envolto em tecido protetor, parecia uma lágrima enorme pendurada no olho do teto. Cheiros de sepulturas e lugares úmidos saíam das chaminés. Em seu retrato, a senhora morta e enterrada parecia assustadora sob faixas pálidas. Cada rajada de vento trazia da esquina, junto aos estábulos vizinhos, pedaços da palha espalhada diante da casa durante sua doença. Restos embolorados ainda se agarravam à vizinhança. Alguma força invisível sempre atraía esses pedaços para a entrada da casa suja e vazia logo em frente, onde pareciam falar tristemente às janelas do Sr. Dombey.

Original English Version

It was as blank a house inside as outside. When the funeral was over, Mr Dombey ordered the furniture to be covered up - perhaps to preserve it for the son with whom his plans were all associated - and the rooms to be ungarnished, saving such as he retained for himself on the ground floor. Accordingly, mysterious shapes were made of tables and chairs, heaped together in the middle of rooms, and covered over with great winding-sheets. Bell-handles, window-blinds, and looking-glasses, being papered up in journals, daily and weekly, obtruded fragmentary accounts of deaths and dreadful murders. Every chandelier or lustre, muffled in holland, looked like a monstrous tear depending from the ceiling’s eye. Odours, as from vaults and damp places, came out of the chimneys. The dead and buried lady was awful in a picture-frame of ghastly bandages. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows.

Tradução Integral em Português

Por dentro a casa era tão vazia quanto por fora. Terminado o funeral, o senhor Dombey mandou cobrir os móveis - talvez para conservá-los para o filho a quem todos os seus planos estavam associados - e desguarnecer os aposentos, salvo os que reservava para si no andar térreo. Assim, formas misteriosas foram feitas de mesas e cadeiras, empilhadas no meio dos cômodos e cobertas com grandes mortalhas. Os puxadores das campainhas, as cortinas e os espelhos, embrulhados em jornais diários e semanais, exibiam fragmentárias notícias de mortes e assassinatos medonhos. Cada lustre ou candelabro, amortalhado em pano de linho, parecia uma lágrima monstruosa pendente do olho do teto. Odores, como de cavernas e lugares úmidos, saíam das chaminés. A senhora morta e sepultada tornava-se pavorosa dentro de uma moldura de pavorosas ataduras. Cada rajada de vento que se levantava trazia, redemoinhando pela esquina vinda das cavalariças vizinhas, alguns fragmentos da palha que fora espalhada diante da casa quando ela estava doente, cujos restos mofados ainda se agarravam à vizinhança: e estes, sempre atraídos por alguma força invisível para a soleira da suja casa de alugar bem em frente, dirigiam uma lúgubre eloquência às janelas do senhor Dombey.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Os aposentos particulares do Sr. Dombey podiam ser alcançados pelo hall. Incluíam uma sala de estar; uma biblioteca que na verdade era um quarto de vestir, onde os cheiros de papel fino e de vários tipos de couro competiam com o odor de muitos pares de botas; e, além dela, uma pequena sala envidraçada para o café da manhã, parecida com uma estufa, com vista para as duas árvores e geralmente para alguns gatos errantes. Os três cômodos se abriam uns para os outros. Todas as manhãs, enquanto o Sr. Dombey tomava o café em um dos dois primeiros aposentos, e todas as tardes, quando voltava para jantar, uma campainha chamava Richards à sala envidraçada para andar de um lado para o outro com o bebê. Nessas ocasiões, ela via o Sr. Dombey sentado ao fundo, na escuridão, entre os móveis pesados, olhando para a criança. O pai dele morara na casa por anos, e grande parte dela era antiquada e sombria. Richards começou a imaginá-lo em sua solidão como um prisioneiro sozinho numa cela ou um fantasma estranho de quem ninguém podia se aproximar nem compreender. Em poucos dias, sua mente simples deu ao Sr. Dombey todo o mistério e a escuridão da casa. Enquanto caminhava pela sala envidraçada ou se sentava ali acalmando o bebê, muitas vezes por horas quando a noite caía, às vezes tentava enxergar a escuridão além e descobrir como ele parecia e o que fazia. Contudo, sabia que ele podia vê-la claramente, por isso só ousava olhar em sua direção às escondidas e por um instante. Assim, nada descobria, e o Sr. Dombey continuava sendo apenas uma sombra em seu esconderijo.

Original English Version

The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. These three rooms opened upon one another. In the morning, when Mr Dombey was at his breakfast in one or other of the two first-mentioned of them, as well as in the afternoon when he came home to dinner, a bell was rung for Richards to repair to this glass chamber, and there walk to and fro with her young charge. From the glimpses she caught of Mr Dombey at these times, sitting in the dark distance, looking out towards the infant from among the dark heavy furniture - the house had been inhabited for years by his father, and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim - she began to entertain ideas of him in his solitary state, as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell, or a strange apparition that was not to be accosted or understood. Mr Dombey came to be, in the course of a few days, invested in his own person, to her simple thinking, with all the mystery and gloom of his house. As she walked up and down the glass room, or sat hushing the baby there - which she very often did for hours together, when the dusk was closing in, too - she would sometimes try to pierce the gloom beyond, and make out how he was looking and what he was doing. Sensible that she was plainly to be seen by him, however, she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time. Consequently she made out nothing, and Mr Dombey in his den remained a very shade.

Tradução Integral em Português

Os aposentos que o senhor Dombey reservara para sua própria morada eram acessíveis a partir do vestíbulo, e consistiam numa sala de estar; numa biblioteca, que na verdade era um vestiário, de modo que o cheiro de papel acetinado, velino, marroquim e couro da Rússia disputava ali com o cheiro de diversos pares de botas; e numa espécie de estufa ou pequena sala de café envidraçada mais além, com vista para as árvores já mencionadas e, de modo geral, para alguns gatos à espreita. Esses três cômodos abriam-se uns para os outros. De manhã, quando o senhor Dombey tomava o café num ou noutro dos dois primeiros, bem como à tarde, quando voltava para casa para jantar, tocava-se uma campainha para que Richards se dirigisse àquela câmara de vidro, e ali andasse de um lado para outro com o seu jovem tutelado. Pelos vislumbres que colhia do senhor Dombey nessas ocasiões, sentado na distância escura, olhando para o menino por entre os móveis pesados e escuros - a casa fora habitada durante anos por seu pai, e em muitos de seus arranjos era antiquada e sombria - , ela começou a formar ideias a respeito dele em seu estado solitário, como se fosse um prisioneiro isolado numa cela, ou uma aparição estranha a quem não se devia dirigir a palavra nem se podia compreender. O senhor Dombey passou a estar, no correr de poucos dias, investido em sua própria pessoa, ao pensamento simples dela, de todo o mistério e a melancolia de sua casa. Enquanto andava de um lado para outro da sala de vidro, ou ali ficava sentada embalando o bebê - o que muitas vezes fazia por horas a fio, também quando o crepúsculo se fechava - , ela às vezes tentava perscrutar a penumbra além, e distinguir como ele estava e o que fazia. Consciente, porém, de que ele podia vê-la com clareza, jamais ousava espiar naquela direção a não ser muito furtivamente e por um instante de cada vez. Por conseguinte, nada distinguia, e o senhor Dombey, em seu covil, permanecia uma mera sombra.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A mãe de leite do pequeno Paul Dombey vivera essa vida e o conduzira por ela durante várias semanas. Certo dia, voltou ao andar de cima depois de um passeio triste pelos sombrios aposentos formais. Nunca saía sem a Sra. Chick, que aparecia nas manhãs bonitas, geralmente com a Srta. Tox, para levar Richards e o bebê para tomar ar - ou melhor, para fazê-los marchar solenemente pela calçada como um funeral ambulante. Enquanto Richards estava sentada em seu quarto, a porta se abriu lenta e silenciosamente, e uma garotinha de olhos escuros espiou para dentro.

- Deve ser a Srta. Florence, de volta da casa da tia - pensou Richards, que nunca vira a criança. - Espero que esteja bem, senhorita.

- Esse é meu irmão? - perguntou a criança, apontando para o bebê.

- Sim, minha linda - respondeu Richards. - Venha beijá-lo.

Mas, em vez de se aproximar, a criança olhou seriamente para o rosto dela e disse:

Original English Version

Little Paul Dombey’s foster-mother had led this life herself, and had carried little Paul through it for some weeks; and had returned upstairs one day from a melancholy saunter through the dreary rooms of state (she never went out without Mrs Chick, who called on fine mornings, usually accompanied by Miss Tox, to take her and Baby for an airing - or in other words, to march them gravely up and down the pavement, like a walking funeral); when, as she was sitting in her own room, the door was slowly and quietly opened, and a dark-eyed little girl looked in.

“It’s Miss Florence come home from her aunt’s, no doubt,” thought Richards, who had never seen the child before. “Hope I see you well, Miss.”

“Is that my brother?” asked the child, pointing to the Baby.

“Yes, my pretty,” answered Richards. “Come and kiss him.”

But the child, instead of advancing, looked her earnestly in the face, and said:

Tradução Integral em Português

A ama de leite do pequeno Paul Dombey levara ela mesma essa vida, e conduzira o pequeno Paul através dela por algumas semanas; e certo dia voltara para o andar de cima de um melancólico passeio pelos tristes aposentos de gala (nunca saía sem a senhora Chick, que a visitava nas manhãs bonitas, geralmente acompanhada da senhorita Tox, para levar a ela e ao bebê a tomar ar - ou, por outras palavras, para conduzi-los gravemente de cima a baixo pela calçada, como um funeral ambulante); quando, estando ela sentada em seu próprio quarto, a porta se abriu lenta e silenciosamente, e uma menininha de olhos escuros espiou para dentro.

- É a senhorita Florence que voltou da casa da tia, sem dúvida - pensou Richards, que nunca vira a criança antes. - Espero que esteja bem, senhorita.

- Aquele é o meu irmão? - perguntou a criança, apontando para o bebê.

- Sim, minha linda - respondeu Richards. - Venha dar-lhe um beijo.

Mas a criança, em vez de aproximar-se, olhou-a fixamente no rosto e disse:

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- O que você fez com a minha mamãe?

- Deus abençoe essa criaturinha! - exclamou Richards. - Que pergunta triste! O que eu fiz? Nada, senhorita.

- O que fizeram com a minha mamãe? - perguntou a criança, exatamente com o mesmo olhar e o mesmo jeito.

- Nunca vi nada tão comovente em toda a minha vida! - disse Richards, imaginando naturalmente um de seus próprios filhos perguntando por ela nas mesmas circunstâncias. - Aproxime-se, minha querida senhorita! Não tenha medo de mim.

- Não tenho medo de você - disse a criança, aproximando-se. - Mas quero saber o que fizeram com a minha mamãe.

Enquanto permanecia diante da mulher e olhava em seus olhos, o coração da criança ficou tão cheio de emoção que ela precisou apertar a mãozinha contra o peito e mantê-la ali. Contudo, tinha um propósito firme que impedia tanto seu corpo delicado quanto seu olhar investigador de vacilar.

Original English Version

“What have you done with my Mama?”

“Lord bless the little creeter!” cried Richards, “what a sad question! I done? Nothing, Miss.”

“What have they done with my Mama?” inquired the child, with exactly the same look and manner.

“I never saw such a melting thing in all my life!” said Richards, who naturally substituted for this child one of her own, inquiring for herself in like circumstances. “Come nearer here, my dear Miss! Don’t be afraid of me.”

“I am not afraid of you,” said the child, drawing nearer. “But I want to know what they have done with my Mama.”

Her heart swelled so as she stood before the woman, looking into her eyes, that she was fain to press her little hand upon her breast and hold it there. Yet there was a purpose in the child that prevented both her slender figure and her searching gaze from faltering.

Tradução Integral em Português

- O que a senhora fez com a minha Mamãe?

- Deus abençoe a criaturinha! - exclamou Richards. - Que pergunta triste! Eu, fazer? Nada, senhorita.

- O que fizeram com a minha Mamãe? - indagou a criança, com exatamente o mesmo olhar e a mesma maneira.

- Nunca vi coisa tão comovente em toda a minha vida! - disse Richards, que naturalmente punha no lugar dessa criança um dos seus próprios filhos, indagando por ela em circunstâncias semelhantes. - Chegue mais perto, minha querida senhorita! Não tenha medo de mim.

- Não tenho medo da senhora - disse a criança, aproximando-se. - Mas quero saber o que fizeram com a minha Mamãe.

O coração inchou-lhe tanto enquanto estava diante da mulher, olhando-a nos olhos, que ela se viu forçada a apertar a mãozinha contra o peito e ali mantê-la. Havia, no entanto, na criança uma determinação que impedia tanto a sua franzina figura como o seu olhar perscrutador de vacilar.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Minha querida - disse Richards - você está usando esse bonito vestido preto para se lembrar da sua mamãe.

- Posso me lembrar da minha mamãe - respondeu a criança, enquanto seus olhos se enchiam de lágrimas - com qualquer vestido.

- Mas as pessoas usam preto para se lembrar daqueles que partiram.

- Partiram para onde? - perguntou a criança.

- Venha sentar-se ao meu lado - disse Richards - e vou lhe contar uma história.

A pequena Florence logo entendeu que a história responderia à sua pergunta. Deixou de lado o chapéu que segurara até então e sentou-se em um banquinho aos pés da ama, olhando para o rosto dela.

“Era uma vez”, disse Richards, “uma senhora - uma senhora muito boa - e sua filhinha a amava profundamente.”

- Uma senhora muito boa, e sua filhinha a amava profundamente - repetiu a criança.

- Quando Deus decidiu que chegara o momento certo, a senhora adoeceu e morreu.

A criança estremeceu.

- Ela morreu e nunca mais poderia ser vista por ninguém na Terra. Foi enterrada no chão onde as árvores crescem.

Original English Version

“My darling,” said Richards, “you wear that pretty black frock in remembrance of your Mama.”

“I can remember my Mama,” returned the child, with tears springing to her eyes, “in any frock.”

“But people put on black, to remember people when they’re gone.”

“Where gone?” asked the child.

“Come and sit down by me,” said Richards, “and I’ll tell you a story.”

With a quick perception that it was intended to relate to what she had asked, little Florence laid aside the bonnet she had held in her hand until now, and sat down on a stool at the Nurse’s feet, looking up into her face.

“Once upon a time,” said Richards, “there was a lady - a very good lady, and her little daughter dearly loved her.”

“A very good lady and her little daughter dearly loved her,” repeated the child.

“Who, when God thought it right that it should be so, was taken ill and died.”

The child shuddered.

“Died, never to be seen again by anyone on earth, and was buried in the ground where the trees grow.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Minha querida - disse Richards - , você usa esse lindo vestidinho preto em lembrança de sua Mamãe.

- Eu consigo lembrar da minha Mamãe - respondeu a criança, com lágrimas brotando-lhe nos olhos - com qualquer vestido.

- Mas as pessoas se vestem de preto para lembrar das pessoas quando elas partem.

- Partem para onde? - perguntou a criança.

- Venha sentar-se ao meu lado - disse Richards - , e eu lhe conto uma história.

Com a rápida percepção de que aquilo se destinava a tratar do que ela perguntara, a pequena Florence pôs de lado a touca que segurara na mão até então, e sentou-se num tamborete aos pés da ama, erguendo o olhar para o rosto dela.

- Era uma vez - disse Richards - uma senhora... uma senhora muito boa, e a sua filhinha a amava ternamente.

- Uma senhora muito boa, e a sua filhinha a amava ternamente - repetiu a criança.

- Que, quando Deus julgou justo que assim fosse, adoeceu e morreu.

A criança estremeceu.

- Morreu, para nunca mais ser vista por ninguém na terra, e foi enterrada no chão onde as árvores crescem.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- O chão frio? - disse a criança, estremecendo de novo.

- Não! O chão quente - respondeu Polly, aproveitando o momento - onde sementinhas feias se transformam em belas flores, grama, trigo e muitas outras coisas. É onde as pessoas boas se transformam em anjos luminosos e voam para o Céu!

A criança abaixara a cabeça, mas agora a ergueu novamente e ficou olhando atentamente para Polly.

“Então, deixe-me ver”, disse Polly. Ela estava bastante confusa com o olhar sério da criança, com seu próprio desejo de consolá-la, com o súbito sucesso e com sua pouca confiança nas próprias capacidades. “Então, quando essa senhora morreu, onde quer que a levassem ou colocassem, ela foi para DEUS! E essa senhora pediu a Ele”, continuou Polly, profundamente emocionada porque acreditava de coração em cada palavra, “que ensinasse sua filhinha a ter certeza disso no coração, a saber que sua mãe estava feliz lá e ainda a amava, e a esperar e se esforçar - ah, durante toda a vida - para encontrá-la lá um dia e nunca, nunca, nunca mais se separar dela.”

Original English Version

“The cold ground?” said the child, shuddering again.

“No! The warm ground,” returned Polly, seizing her advantage, “where the ugly little seeds turn into beautiful flowers, and into grass, and corn, and I don’t know what all besides. Where good people turn into bright angels, and fly away to Heaven!”

The child, who had dropped her head, raised it again, and sat looking at her intently.

“So; let me see,” said Polly, not a little flurried between this earnest scrutiny, her desire to comfort the child, her sudden success, and her very slight confidence in her own powers. “So, when this lady died, wherever they took her, or wherever they put her, she went to GOD! and she prayed to Him, this lady did,” said Polly, affecting herself beyond measure; being heartily in earnest, “to teach her little daughter to be sure of that in her heart: and to know that she was happy there and loved her still: and to hope and try - Oh, all her life - to meet her there one day, never, never, never to part any more.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- No chão frio? - disse a criança, estremecendo de novo.

- Não! No chão morno - respondeu Polly, aproveitando a sua vantagem - , onde as sementinhas feias se transformam em belas flores, e em grama, e trigo, e não sei mais o quê. Onde as pessoas boas se transformam em anjos radiantes e voam para o Céu!

A criança, que baixara a cabeça, ergueu-a de novo, e ficou olhando para ela com atenção.

- Então; deixe-me ver - disse Polly, não pouco atrapalhada entre aquele exame atento, o seu desejo de consolar a criança, o seu súbito êxito e a sua escassíssima confiança nas próprias forças. - Então, quando essa senhora morreu, para onde quer que a tenham levado, ou onde quer que a tenham posto, ela foi para DEUS! e rezou a Ele, essa senhora rezou - disse Polly, comovendo-se além de toda medida, pois estava sinceramente compenetrada - , para que ensinasse a sua filhinha a ter disso certeza no coração: e a saber que ela estava feliz lá e ainda a amava: e a esperar e a tentar - Oh, por toda a sua vida - encontrá-la lá um dia, para nunca, nunca, nunca mais se separarem.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Era a minha mamãe! - exclamou a criança, levantando-se de um salto e abraçando o pescoço de Polly.

- E o coração da criança - disse Polly, trazendo Florence para junto do peito - o coração da filhinha estava tão cheio dessa verdade que, mesmo quando a ouviu de uma ama desconhecida que não sabia contá-la direito, mas era também uma pobre mãe e nada mais, encontrou consolo nela. Não se sentiu tão sozinha. Soluçou e chorou junto ao peito da ama, afeiçoou-se ao bebê deitado no colo dela e... pronto, pronto, pronto! - disse Polly, alisando os cachos da criança e deixando lágrimas caírem sobre eles. - Pronto, pobre querida!

- Ora, Srta. Floy! Seu pai não vai ficar bravo! - exclamou uma voz rápida junto à porta. Pertencia a uma garota baixa, de cabelos castanhos e jeito muito adulto, com catorze anos, narizinho arrebitado e olhos negros como contas brilhantes. - Quando lhe disseram especialmente que não fosse incomodar a ama de leite!

Original English Version

“It was my Mama!” exclaimed the child, springing up, and clasping her round the neck.

“And the child’s heart,” said Polly, drawing her to her breast: “the little daughter’s heart was so full of the truth of this, that even when she heard it from a strange nurse that couldn’t tell it right, but was a poor mother herself and that was all, she found a comfort in it - didn’t feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap - and - there, there, there!” said Polly, smoothing the child’s curls and dropping tears upon them. “There, poor dear!”

“Oh well, Miss Floy! And won’t your Pa be angry neither!” cried a quick voice at the door, proceeding from a short, brown, womanly girl of fourteen, with a little snub nose, and black eyes like jet beads. “When it was “tickerlerly given out that you wasn’t to go and worrit the wet nurse.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Era a minha Mamãe! - exclamou a criança, pondo-se de pé num salto e abraçando-a pelo pescoço.

- E o coração da criança - disse Polly, apertando-a contra o peito - , o coração da filhinha estava tão cheio da verdade daquilo que, mesmo ao ouvi-lo de uma ama estranha que não sabia contá-lo direito, mas era ela própria uma pobre mãe e nada mais, encontrou nele um consolo - não se sentiu tão sozinha - soluçou e chorou no seio dela - afeiçoou-se ao bebê que jazia em seu colo - e... pronto, pronto, pronto! - disse Polly, alisando os cachos da criança e deixando cair sobre eles as suas lágrimas. - Pronto, pobre querida!

- Ora essa, senhorita Floy! E o seu Papai não vai ficar zangado, não é mesmo! - bradou uma voz ligeira à porta, vinda de uma moça baixa, morena e desenvolta, de catorze anos, com um narizinho arrebitado e olhos pretos como contas de azeviche. - Quando foi dito bem 'partikularmente' que a senhorita não devia vir amolar a ama de leite.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ela não me incomoda - respondeu Polly, surpresa. - Gosto muito de crianças.

- Ah, mas desculpe, Sra. Richards, isso não importa, sabe - respondeu a garota de olhos negros. Ela era tão afiada e mordaz que parecia fazer os olhos das pessoas lacrimejarem. - Posso gostar muito de caramujos-do-mar, Sra. Richards, mas isso não significa que deva comê-los no chá.

- Bem, isso não importa - disse Polly.

- Ah, obrigada, Sra. Richards. Não importa? - respondeu a garota afiada. - Mas, por favor, lembre-se de que a Srta. Floy está sob meus cuidados, enquanto o jovem Paul está sob os seus.

- Mas não precisamos brigar - disse Polly.

- Ah, não, Sra. Richards - respondeu a garota fogosa. - De modo algum, não quero isso, não precisamos lidar uma com a outra dessa maneira, já que a Srta. Floy é permanente e o jovem Paul é temporário. A garota fogosa usava apenas breves pausas de vírgula. Sempre que possível, disparava tudo o que tinha a dizer em uma só frase e num único fôlego.

Original English Version

“She don’t worry me,” was the surprised rejoinder of Polly. “I am very fond of children.”

“Oh! but begging your pardon, Mrs Richards, that don’t matter, you know,” returned the black-eyed girl, who was so desperately sharp and biting that she seemed to make one’s eyes water. “I may be very fond of pennywinkles, Mrs Richards, but it don’t follow that I’m to have ’em for tea.”

“Well, it don’t matter,” said Polly.

“Oh, thank’ee, Mrs Richards, don’t it!” returned the sharp girl. “Remembering, however, if you’ll be so good, that Miss Floy’s under my charge, and Master Paul’s under your’n.”

“But still we needn’t quarrel,” said Polly.

“Oh no, Mrs Richards,” rejoined Spitfire. “Not at all, I don’t wish it, we needn’t stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.” Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ela não me amola - foi a réplica surpresa de Polly. - Eu gosto muito de crianças.

- Ah! mas com todo o respeito, senhora Richards, isso não vem ao caso, a senhora sabe - retrucou a moça de olhos pretos, que era tão desesperadamente afiada e mordaz que parecia fazer os olhos da gente lacrimejar. - Eu posso gostar muito de caramujos, senhora Richards, mas daí não se segue que eu deva comê-los no chá.

- Bem, não vem ao caso - disse Polly.

- Ah, obrigada, senhora Richards, não vem mesmo! - retrucou a moça mordaz. - Lembrando, porém, se a senhora tiver a bondade, que a senhorita Floy está aos meus cuidados, e o menino Paul aos seus.

- Mesmo assim, não precisamos brigar - disse Polly.

- Ah, não, senhora Richards - replicou Fúria. - De modo algum, não é o que desejo, não precisamos ficar nesse pé, sendo a senhorita Floy uma permanência, e o menino Paul um provisório. - Fúria não usava senão pausas de vírgula; disparando o que tivesse a dizer numa só frase, e num só fôlego, se possível.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- A Srta. Florence acabou de voltar para casa, não foi? - perguntou Polly.

- Sim, Sra. Richards, ela acabou de chegar. E aqui está a senhorita, Srta. Floy, antes de completar quinze minutos em casa, esfregando o rosto molhado nas caras roupas de luto que a Sra. Richards está usando por sua mãe! Com essa reclamação, a jovem garota fogosa, cujo verdadeiro nome era Susan Nipper, arrancou a criança de sua nova amiga com a mesma força de quem arranca um dente. Contudo, parecia agir mais por cumprir seus deveres com rigor excessivo do que por qualquer crueldade deliberada.

- Ela ficará muito feliz agora que voltou para casa - disse Polly, assentindo para Florence com um sorriso encorajador no rosto saudável. - E ficará muito contente ao ver seu querido papai esta noite.

- Minha nossa, Sra. Richards! - exclamou a Srta. Nipper, interrompendo-a bruscamente. - Não diga isso. Ver seu querido papai, é? Eu gostaria de vê-la conseguir!

Original English Version

“Miss Florence has just come home, hasn’t she?” asked Polly.

“Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. But she seemed to do it, more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions, than with any deliberate unkindness.

“She’ll be quite happy, now she has come home again,” said Polly, nodding to her with an encouraging smile upon her wholesome face, “and will be so pleased to see her dear Papa tonight.”

“Lork, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, taking up her words with a jerk. “Don’t. See her dear Papa indeed! I should like to see her do it!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- A senhorita Florence acabou de chegar em casa, não foi? - perguntou Polly.

- Sim, senhora Richards, acabou de chegar, e olhe, senhorita Floy, antes de estar em casa nem um quarto de hora, já vai esfregar o seu rosto molhado no caro luto que a senhora Richards está usando pela sua Mãe! - Com essa reprimenda, a jovem Fúria, cujo verdadeiro nome era Susan Nipper, arrancou a criança da nova amiga com um puxão - como se fosse um dente. Mas parecia fazê-lo mais no exercício excessivamente rígido de suas funções oficiais do que por qualquer maldade deliberada.

- Ela vai ficar muito feliz, agora que voltou para casa - disse Polly, acenando-lhe com um sorriso encorajador em seu rosto saudável - , e vai gostar tanto de ver o seu querido Papai esta noite.

- Credo, senhora Richards! - bradou a senhorita Nipper, agarrando-lhe as palavras num repelão. - Nada disso. Ver o querido Papai, essa é boa! Bem que eu queria vê-la fazer isso!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ela não vai? - perguntou Polly.

- Nossa, não, Sra. Richards. O pai dela se preocupa demais com outra pessoa. Mesmo antes de essa pessoa existir, ela nunca foi a favorita dele. Meninas são um desperdício nesta casa, Sra. Richards, eu lhe garanto.

A criança olhou depressa de uma ama para a outra, como se entendesse e sentisse o que haviam dito.

- Você me surpreende! - exclamou Polly. - O Sr. Dombey não a viu desde...?

- Não - interrompeu Susan Nipper. - Nem uma vez desde então. Durante meses e meses antes disso, ele mal olhava para ela. Acho que não teria reconhecido a própria filha se a encontrasse na rua, e acho que também não a reconheceria se a encontrasse lá amanhã. Quanto a mim - disse a pequena Foguinho com uma risadinha - , duvido que ele sequer saiba que existo.

- Que linda querida! - disse Richards, referindo-se à pequena Florence, não à Srta. Nipper.

Original English Version

“Won’t she then?” asked Polly.

“Lork, Mrs Richards, no, her Pa’s a deal too wrapped up in somebody else, and before there was a somebody else to be wrapped up in she never was a favourite, girls are thrown away in this house, Mrs Richards, I assure you.”

The child looked quickly from one nurse to the other, as if she understood and felt what was said.

“You surprise me!” cried Polly. “Hasn’t Mr Dombey seen her since - ”

“No,” interrupted Susan Nipper. “Not once since, and he hadn’t hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months, and I don’t think he’d have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets, or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow, Mrs Richards, as to me,” said Spitfire, with a giggle, “I doubt if he’s aweer of my existence.”

“Pretty dear!” said Richards; meaning, not Miss Nipper, but the little Florence.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Então ela não vai? - perguntou Polly.

- Credo, senhora Richards, não, o Papai dela está ocupado demais embevecido por outra pessoa, e antes de haver outra pessoa por quem se embevecer ela nunca foi a preferida, as meninas são desprezadas nesta casa, senhora Richards, eu lhe garanto.

A criança olhou depressa de uma ama para a outra, como se compreendesse e sentisse o que era dito.

- A senhora me surpreende! - bradou Polly. - O senhor Dombey não a vê desde...?

- Não - interrompeu Susan Nipper. - Nem uma vez desde então, e mal pusera os olhos nela antes disso durante meses e meses, e não creio que a reconhecesse como filha se a encontrasse na rua, nem a reconheceria como filha se viesse a encontrá-la na rua amanhã, senhora Richards, e quanto a mim - disse Fúria, com uma risadinha - , duvido que ele esteja ciente da minha existência.

- Pobre querida! - disse Richards, referindo-se, não à senhorita Nipper, mas à pequena Florence.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah! Posso lhe dizer que há uma pessoa feroz a menos de cem milhas de onde estamos conversando, Sra. Richards - sempre excetuando os presentes - disse Susan Nipper. - Bom dia, Sra. Richards. Agora, Srta. Floy, venha comigo. Não fique para trás como uma criança malcriada e perversa que não aprende nada com os castigos. Venha!

Apesar da ordem e apesar de Susan Nipper puxá-la com força suficiente para quase deslocar seu ombro direito, a pequena Florence se soltou e beijou carinhosamente a nova amiga.

- Meu Deus! Mesmo depois de dizerem tão claramente que ninguém devia ter intimidade demais com a Sra. Richards! - exclamou Susan. - Muito bem, Srta. Floy!

- Deus abençoe esta doce criança! - disse Richards. - Adeus, querida!

- Adeus! - respondeu a criança. - Deus a abençoe! Logo virei vê-la de novo, e você virá me ver, não é? Susan vai permitir. Não vai, Susan?

Original English Version

“Oh! there’s a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we’re now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,” said Susan Nipper; “wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don’t go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don’t!”

In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately.

“Oh dear! after it was given out so “tickerlerly, that Mrs Richards wasn’t to be made free with!” exclaimed Susan. “Very well, Miss Floy!”

“God bless the sweet thing!” said Richards, “Good-bye, dear!”

“Good-bye!” returned the child. “God bless you! I shall come to see you again soon, and you’ll come to see me? Susan will let us. Won’t you, Susan?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah! há um Tártaro a menos de cem milhas do lugar onde agora conversamos, posso lhe dizer, senhora Richards, sempre excetuada a presente companhia, é claro - disse Susan Nipper. - Desejo-lhe um bom dia, senhora Richards, agora, senhorita Floy, venha comigo, e não fique se atrasando feito uma criança malcriada e perversa a quem os castigos de nada servem de exemplo, não fique!

Apesar de assim admoestada, e apesar também de certos puxões da parte de Susan Nipper, tendentes a deslocar-lhe o ombro direito, a pequena Florence desvencilhou-se e beijou a nova amiga com afeto.

- Ai, meu Deus! depois de ter sido dito tão 'partikularmente' que não se devia tomar liberdades com a senhora Richards! - exclamou Susan. - Muito bem, senhorita Floy!

- Deus abençoe a doçura! - disse Richards. - Adeus, querida!

- Adeus! - respondeu a criança. - Deus a abençoe! Eu venho vê-la de novo em breve, e a senhora vem me ver? A Susan deixa. Não deixa, Susan?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A pequena Foguinho era em geral bondosa, embora seguisse uma escola de educação infantil que acreditava que a infância, como o dinheiro, precisava ser muito sacudida, chacoalhada e empurrada para continuar brilhante. Quando Florence apelou a ela com gestos carinhosos e afagos, Susan cruzou os bracinhos, balançou a cabeça e deixou uma expressão mais branda entrar em seus olhos negros muito arregalados.

- Não é certo pedir isso, Srta. Floy, porque sabe que não consigo negar nada à senhorita. Mas a Sra. Richards e eu veremos o que pode ser feito, se ela concordar. Veja, Sra. Richards, posso desejar viajar até a China, mas talvez não saiba como sair das Docas de Londres.

Richards concordou com essa ideia.

- Esta casa não está exatamente cheia de risadas e comemorações - disse a Srta. Nipper - , portanto não há necessidade de ficarmos mais solitárias do que o necessário. Suas Toxes e Chickses podem arrancar meus dois dentes duplos da frente, Sra. Richards, mas isso não é motivo para eu lhes oferecer a dentadura inteira.

Original English Version

Spitfire seemed to be in the main a good-natured little body, although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood, like money, must be shaken and rattled and jostled about a good deal to keep it bright. For, being thus appealed to with some endearing gestures and caresses, she folded her small arms and shook her head, and conveyed a relenting expression into her very-wide-open black eyes.

“It ain’t right of you to ask it, Miss Floy, for you know I can’t refuse you, but Mrs Richards and me will see what can be done, if Mrs Richards likes, I may wish, you see, to take a voyage to Chaney, Mrs Richards, but I mayn’t know how to leave the London Docks.”

Richards assented to the proposition.

“This house ain’t so exactly ringing with merry-making,” said Miss Nipper, “that one need be lonelier than one must be. Your Toxes and your Chickses may draw out my two front double teeth, Mrs Richards, but that’s no reason why I need offer ’em the whole set.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Fúria parecia ser, no fundo, uma criaturinha de bom coração, embora discípula daquela escola de formadores da ideia jovem que sustenta que a infância, tal como o dinheiro, deve ser sacudida, chacoalhada e empurrada bastante para se manter reluzente. Pois, sendo assim apelada com alguns gestos e carícias carinhosas, cruzou os bracinhos, sacudiu a cabeça e deixou transparecer uma expressão de brandura em seus olhos pretos escancarados.

- Não é bonito da senhorita pedir isso, senhorita Floy, pois sabe que não sei lhe recusar, mas a senhora Richards e eu veremos o que se pode fazer, se a senhora Richards quiser, eu bem posso, sabe, ter vontade de fazer uma viagem à Chiná, senhora Richards, mas não saber como deixar as Docas de Londres.

Richards concordou com a proposição.

- Esta casa não anda exatamente a ressoar de folguedos - disse a senhorita Nipper - a ponto de a gente precisar ficar mais sozinha do que é forçoso. As suas Tox e as suas Chick que me arranquem os dois dentes da frente, senhora Richards, mas isso não é razão para eu lhes oferecer a dentadura inteira.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Richards também concordou com essa ideia claramente sensata.

- Portanto, estou certamente disposta - disse Susan Nipper - a viver em amizade com a senhora, Sra. Richards, enquanto o pequeno Paul continuar como membro permanente da casa, se pudermos planejar um meio sem desobedecer abertamente às ordens. Mas, meu Deus, Srta. Floy, ainda não tirou as roupas de sair, sua criança levada! Venha!

Com essas palavras, Susan Nipper avançou sobre a menina num ímpeto de força e a arrastou para fora da sala.

Em meio à tristeza e ao abandono, a criança era tão gentil, quieta e paciente. Tinha tanto amor que ninguém parecia querer e uma compreensão tão triste que ninguém parecia se importar em ferir, que o coração de Polly doeu quando ela ficou novamente sozinha. Durante aquele encontro simples entre Polly e a menina sem mãe, o coração materno de Polly fora tocado tão profundamente quanto o da criança. Como Florence, ela sentiu que, a partir daquele momento, compartilhavam confiança e interesse uma pela outra.

Original English Version

This proposition was also assented to by Richards, as an obvious one.

“So I’m agreeable, I’m sure,” said Susan Nipper, “to live friendly, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul continues a permanency, if the means can be planned out without going openly against orders, but goodness gracious Miss Floy, you haven’t got your things off yet, you naughty child, you haven’t, come along!”

With these words, Susan Nipper, in a transport of coercion, made a charge at her young ward, and swept her out of the room.

The child, in her grief and neglect, was so gentle, so quiet, and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have, and so much sorrowful intelligence that no one seemed to mind or think about the wounding of, that Polly’s heart was sore when she was left alone again. In the simple passage that had taken place between herself and the motherless little girl, her own motherly heart had been touched no less than the child’s; and she felt, as the child did, that there was something of confidence and interest between them from that moment.

Tradução Integral em Português

Essa proposição foi igualmente admitida por Richards, como coisa evidente.

- Portanto estou de acordo, com certeza - disse Susan Nipper - , em viver em boa amizade, senhora Richards, enquanto o menino Paul continuar uma permanência, se der para arranjar os meios sem ir abertamente contra as ordens, mas santo Deus, senhorita Floy, a senhorita ainda não tirou as suas coisas, criança malcriada, não tirou, venha comigo!

Com essas palavras, Susan Nipper, num arroubo de coerção, arremeteu contra a sua jovem tutelada e arrastou-a para fora do quarto.

A criança, em sua tristeza e abandono, era tão dócil, tão quieta e tão pouco queixosa; possuía tanto afeto que ninguém parecia se importar de receber, e tanta inteligência dolorosa cujo ferimento ninguém parecia notar ou considerar, que o coração de Polly ficou dorido quando ela ficou novamente sozinha. Na simples cena que se passara entre ela e a menininha sem mãe, o seu próprio coração maternal fora tocado não menos que o da criança; e ela sentiu, como a criança sentia, que havia algo de confiança e interesse entre elas a partir daquele momento.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Embora o Sr. Toodle confiasse muito em Polly, ela provavelmente era apenas um pouco mais instruída e refinada do que ele. Passara a vida inteira trabalhando duro e com bom humor. Era uma pessoa sensata e constante, com ideias práticas sobre o açougueiro, o padeiro e quantos quartos de penny formavam um penny. Mas era um bom e simples exemplo de uma natureza que, em seu conjunto, é melhor, mais verdadeira, elevada e nobre que a natureza dos homens - mais rápida para sentir ternura, compaixão, renúncia e devoção, e muito mais fiel em conservá-las. Embora tivesse pouca instrução, talvez já naquele tempo pudesse ter ensinado ao Sr. Dombey uma primeira lição que assim não o atingiria como um raio no final.

Mas isso nos afasta da história. Naquele momento, Polly pensava apenas em aproveitar seu sucesso ao conquistar a simpatia da Srta. Nipper. Tentava encontrar um modo legítimo de ter a pequena Florence como ajudante, sem desobedecer a ninguém. Uma oportunidade surgiu naquela mesma noite.

Original English Version

Notwithstanding Mr Toodle’s great reliance on Polly, she was perhaps in point of artificial accomplishments very little his superior. She had been good-humouredly working and drudging for her life all her life, and was a sober steady-going person, with matter-of-fact ideas about the butcher and baker, and the division of pence into farthings. But she was a good plain sample of a nature that is ever, in the mass, better, truer, higher, nobler, quicker to feel, and much more constant to retain, all tenderness and pity, self-denial and devotion, than the nature of men. And, perhaps, unlearned as she was, she could have brought a dawning knowledge home to Mr Dombey at that early day, which would not then have struck him in the end like lightning.

But this is from the purpose. Polly only thought, at that time, of improving on her successful propitiation of Miss Nipper, and devising some means of having little Florence aide her, lawfully, and without rebellion. An opening happened to present itself that very night.

Tradução Integral em Português

Não obstante a grande confiança que o senhor Toodle depositava em Polly, ela talvez lhe fosse, em matéria de dotes artificiais, muito pouco superior. Trabalhara e labutara pela vida, de bom humor, a vida inteira, e era uma pessoa sóbria e ajuizada, com ideias práticas a respeito do açougueiro e do padeiro, e da divisão dos centavos em frações. Mas era uma boa e singela amostra de uma natureza que, no conjunto, é sempre melhor, mais verdadeira, mais elevada, mais nobre, mais pronta a sentir, e muito mais constante em conservar toda a ternura e piedade, toda a abnegação e devoção, do que a natureza dos homens. E, talvez, por mais inculta que fosse, ela poderia ter trazido ao senhor Dombey, naquele dia remoto, um conhecimento nascente que então não o teria fulminado no fim como um raio.

Mas isso está fora do propósito. Polly só pensava, naquele momento, em aperfeiçoar a sua bem-sucedida conciliação da senhorita Nipper, e em imaginar algum meio de ter a pequena Florence como sua auxiliar, licitamente e sem rebeldia. Uma oportunidade veio a apresentar-se naquela mesma noite.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Como de costume, alguém tocou a campainha para que Polly descesse à sala de vidro. Ela caminhava ali havia muito tempo com o bebê nos braços quando, para sua grande surpresa e aflição, o Sr. Dombey saiu de repente e parou diante dela. Primeiro, ela o vira apoiado no cotovelo à mesa. Depois, ele caminhara de um lado para o outro na sala do meio, aproximando-se um pouco mais das portas dobráveis abertas a cada volta, ou assim lhe pareceu.

- Boa noite, Richards.

Ele era exatamente o mesmo cavalheiro severo e rígido que parecera no primeiro dia dela. Tinha uma aparência tão dura que ela baixou os olhos e fez uma reverência sem querer.

- Como está o pequeno Paul, Richards?

- Crescendo muito bem, senhor, e saudável.

- Ele parece saudável - disse o Sr. Dombey. Olhou com grande interesse para o rostinho que ela descobriu para ele, embora fingisse não se importar muito. - Espero que lhe deem tudo de que precisa?

Original English Version

She had been rung down into the glass room as usual, and had walked about and about it a long time, with the baby in her arms, when, to her great surprise and dismay, Mr Dombey - whom she had seen at first leaning on his elbow at the table, and afterwards walking up and down the middle room, drawing, each time, a little nearer, she thought, to the open folding doors - came out, suddenly, and stopped before her.

“Good evening, Richards.”

Just the same austere, stiff gentleman, as he had appeared to her on that first day. Such a hard-looking gentleman, that she involuntarily dropped her eyes and her curtsey at the same time.

“How is Master Paul, Richards?”

“Quite thriving, Sir, and well.”

“He looks so,” said Mr Dombey, glancing with great interest at the tiny face she uncovered for his observation, and yet affecting to be half careless of it. “They give you everything you want, I hope?”

Tradução Integral em Português

Fora chamada, como de costume, para descer à sala de vidro, e caminhara de um lado para outro por muito tempo, com o bebê nos braços, quando, para grande surpresa e consternação sua, o senhor Dombey - a quem ela vira a princípio apoiado no cotovelo sobre a mesa, e depois andando de um lado para outro na sala do meio, aproximando-se, de cada vez, um pouco mais, pareceu-lhe, das portas de folha abertas - saiu, de súbito, e parou diante dela.

- Boa noite, Richards.

O mesmíssimo cavalheiro austero e empertigado que lhe aparecera naquele primeiro dia. Um cavalheiro de aspecto tão severo que ela involuntariamente baixou os olhos e fez a reverência ao mesmo tempo.

- Como está o menino Paul, Richards?

- Vai muito bem, senhor, e de saúde.

- É o que parece - disse o senhor Dombey, lançando com grande interesse um olhar ao rostinho que ela descobriu para que ele o observasse, e ainda assim fingindo estar meio indiferente a ele. - Dão-lhe tudo de que precisa, espero?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah, sim, obrigada, senhor.

No entanto, ela acrescentou à resposta uma hesitação tão evidente que o Sr. Dombey, que já se afastara, parou e tornou a se virar com um olhar interrogativo.

- Com sua licença, senhor, a criança tem muita disposição para observar as coisas - disse Richards, fazendo outra reverência - , e talvez seja um pouco monótono para ele lá em cima.

- Pedi que a levassem regularmente para tomar ar fresco - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Muito bem! Sairá com mais frequência. Fez bem em mencionar isso.

- Perdoe-me, senhor - disse Polly, hesitante - , mas já saímos com bastante frequência, obrigada.

- Então o que você quer? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Na verdade, senhor, não sei exatamente - disse Polly - , a menos que...

- Sim?

- Creio que nada torna as crianças tão vivas e alegres quanto ver outras crianças brincando ao redor delas, senhor - observou Polly, ganhando coragem.

- Acho que lhe disse quando veio para cá, Richards - falou o Sr. Dombey, franzindo a testa - , que queria que visse sua família o mínimo possível.

Original English Version

“Oh yes, thank you, Sir.”

She suddenly appended such an obvious hesitation to this reply, however, that Mr Dombey, who had turned away; stopped, and turned round again, inquiringly.

“If you please, Sir, the child is very much disposed to take notice of things,” said Richards, with another curtsey, “and - upstairs is a little dull for him, perhaps, Sir.”

“I begged them to take you out for airings, constantly,” said Mr Dombey. “Very well! You shall go out oftener. You’re quite right to mention it.”

“I beg your pardon, Sir,” faltered Polly, “but we go out quite plenty Sir, thank you.”

“What would you have then?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Indeed Sir, I don’t exactly know,” said Polly, “unless - ”

“Yes?”

“I believe nothing is so good for making children lively and cheerful, Sir, as seeing other children playing about ’em,” observed Polly, taking courage.

“I think I mentioned to you, Richards, when you came here,” said Mr Dombey, with a frown, “that I wished you to see as little of your family as possible.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah, sim, obrigada, senhor.

Ela, porém, acrescentou de repente a essa resposta uma hesitação tão evidente que o senhor Dombey, que se afastara, deteve-se e virou-se de novo, com um ar interrogativo.

- Se me permite, senhor, a criança é muito dada a reparar nas coisas - disse Richards, com outra reverência - e... lá em cima é talvez um pouco monótono para ele, senhor.

- Pedi que a levassem a passear, constantemente - disse o senhor Dombey. - Muito bem! A senhora sairá mais vezes. Faz muito bem em mencioná-lo.

- Peço perdão, senhor - balbuciou Polly - , mas nós saímos bastante, senhor, obrigada.

- O que quer então? - perguntou o senhor Dombey.

- Na verdade, senhor, não sei bem - disse Polly - , a não ser...

- Sim?

- Creio que nada faz tão bem para deixar as crianças vivas e alegres, senhor, como ver outras crianças brincando à volta delas - observou Polly, criando coragem.

- Creio que lhe mencionei, Richards, quando a senhora veio para cá - disse o senhor Dombey, franzindo o cenho - , que desejava que a senhora visse a sua família o menos possível.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah, certamente, senhor. Eu não estava pensando nisso de modo algum.

- Fico contente em saber - disse o Sr. Dombey depressa. - Pode continuar caminhando, se quiser.

Então ele desapareceu na sala interior. Polly teve a satisfação de sentir que ele compreendera totalmente mal seu propósito e que ela perdera sua aprovação sem avançar nem um pouco em direção ao objetivo.

Na noite seguinte, ao descer, ela o encontrou caminhando pela estufa. Parou à porta, surpresa com aquela visão incomum e sem saber se devia entrar ou recuar, mas ele a chamou. Logo ficou claro que a mente dele estava concentrada demais em Dombey e Filho para ter esquecido a sugestão dela.

- Se realmente acha que esse tipo de companhia faz bem à criança - disse ele com aspereza, como se nenhum tempo houvesse passado desde a sugestão dela - , onde está a Srta. Florence?

Original English Version

“Oh dear yes, Sir, I wasn’t so much as thinking of that.”

“I am glad of it,” said Mr Dombey hastily. “You can continue your walk if you please.”

With that, he disappeared into his inner room; and Polly had the satisfaction of feeling that he had thoroughly misunderstood her object, and that she had fallen into disgrace without the least advancement of her purpose.

Next night, she found him walking about the conservatory when she came down. As she stopped at the door, checked by this unusual sight, and uncertain whether to advance or retreat, he called her in. His mind was too much set on Dombey and Son, it soon appeared, to admit of his having forgotten her suggestion.

“If you really think that sort of society is good for the child,” he said sharply, as if there had been no interval since she proposed it, “where’s Miss Florence?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah, sim, senhor, eu nem sequer estava pensando nisso.

- Ainda bem - disse o senhor Dombey apressadamente. - Pode continuar o seu passeio, se quiser.

Com isso, ele desapareceu no seu aposento interior; e Polly teve a satisfação de sentir que ele compreendera inteiramente mal o seu objetivo, e que ela caíra em desgraça sem o menor avanço do seu propósito.

Na noite seguinte, encontrou-o andando pela estufa quando desceu. Ao deter-se à porta, contida por aquela visão insólita, e incerta se devia avançar ou recuar, ele a chamou para dentro. A sua mente estava demasiado fixa em Dombey e Filho, logo ficou claro, para admitir que houvesse esquecido a sugestão dela.

- Se realmente acha que esse tipo de convívio faz bem à criança - disse ele com aspereza, como se não houvesse decorrido intervalo algum desde que ela o propusera - , onde está a senhorita Florence?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Nada poderia ser melhor do que a Srta. Florence, senhor - disse Polly com entusiasmo - , mas entendi pela criada dela que não deviam...

O Sr. Dombey tocou a campainha e continuou caminhando até alguém atendê-la.

- Diga a todos que sempre permitam à Srta. Florence ficar com Richards quando quiser e sair com ela, e assim por diante. Diga que deixem as crianças juntas sempre que Richards desejar.

O ferro estava quente, e Richards o golpeou com coragem. Sua causa era boa, e isso a tornava ousada, embora tivesse um medo natural do Sr. Dombey. Pediu que mandassem a Srta. Florence descer naquele instante para fazer amizade com o irmãozinho.

Enquanto o criado saía para cumprir o pedido, Polly fingiu estar brincando com o bebê. No entanto, pareceu-lhe ver o Sr. Dombey mudar de cor e sua expressão se alterar por completo. Ele se virou depressa como se pretendesse retirar o que dissera, o que ela dissera, ou ambas as coisas, e apenas a vergonha o impediu.

Original English Version

“Nothing could be better than Miss Florence, Sir,” said Polly eagerly, “but I understood from her maid that they were not to - ”

Mr Dombey rang the bell, and walked till it was answered.

“Tell them always to let Miss Florence be with Richards when she chooses, and go out with her, and so forth. Tell them to let the children be together, when Richards wishes it.”

The iron was now hot, and Richards striking on it boldly - it was a good cause and she bold in it, though instinctively afraid of Mr Dombey - requested that Miss Florence might be sent down then and there, to make friends with her little brother.

She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Nada poderia ser melhor do que a senhorita Florence, senhor - disse Polly com entusiasmo - , mas entendi, pela criada dela, que não deviam...

O senhor Dombey tocou a campainha e ficou andando até que a atendessem.

- Digam-lhes que deixem sempre a senhorita Florence ficar com Richards quando ela quiser, e sair com ela, e assim por diante. Digam-lhes que deixem as crianças ficarem juntas, quando Richards o desejar.

O ferro estava agora quente, e Richards, malhando-o com ousadia - a causa era boa e ela ousada nela, embora instintivamente temerosa do senhor Dombey - , pediu que a senhorita Florence fosse mandada descer ali mesmo, naquele instante, para travar amizade com o irmãozinho.

Fingiu ninar a criança enquanto o criado se retirava naquele encargo, mas julgou ver que a cor do senhor Dombey mudara; que a expressão de seu rosto se alterara por completo; que ele se virou, apressadamente, como que para desdizer o que dissera, ou o que ela dissera, ou ambos, e só foi detido pela pura vergonha.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

E ela estava certa. Na última vez em que ele vira a filha desprezada, o triste abraço entre Florence e a mãe moribunda lhe revelara uma verdade e ao mesmo tempo o acusara. Por mais que se concentrasse no Filho em quem depositava esperanças tão grandes, não conseguia esquecer aquela cena final. Não conseguia esquecer que não tivera parte nela. No fundo das águas claras de amor e verdade estavam aquelas duas figuras abraçadas, enquanto ele permanecia na margem acima, olhando apenas como espectador. Não compartilhava o sentimento delas e estava completamente excluído.

Original English Version

And she was right. The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him. Let him be absorbed as he would in the Son on whom he built such high hopes, he could not forget that closing scene. He could not forget that he had had no part in it. That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth lay those two figures clasped in each other’s arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out.

Tradução Integral em Português

E tinha razão. Da última vez que vira a filha menosprezada, houvera, no triste abraço entre ela e a mãe moribunda, algo que fora, a um só tempo, uma revelação e uma censura para ele. Por mais que se absorvesse no Filho sobre quem edificava tão altas esperanças, não conseguia esquecer aquela cena derradeira. Não conseguia esquecer que nela não tivera parte alguma. Que, no fundo daquelas límpidas profundezas de ternura e verdade, jaziam aquelas duas figuras enlaçadas nos braços uma da outra, enquanto ele se mantinha na margem acima delas, olhando para baixo, mero espectador - não um partícipe com elas - inteiramente excluído.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Ele não conseguia retirar essas lembranças da mente. Através da névoa de seu orgulho, percebia parcialmente o que significavam, embora o sentido delas surgisse apenas em formas imperfeitas. Sua antiga indiferença pela pequena Florence transformou-se numa estranha inquietação. Ela era muito jovem e, aos olhos de todos menos os dele - e talvez até aos dele - , possuía mais do que a inocência e a confiança infantis comuns. Contudo, ele quase sentia que ela o observava e desconfiava dele. Era como se ela tivesse a pista de um segredo em seu coração cuja natureza nem ele mesmo compreendia bem. Era como se soubesse por instinto de uma corda áspera e desafinada dentro dele, e seu simples respirar pudesse fazê-la soar.

Original English Version

Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Young as she was, and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence, he almost felt as if she watched and distrusted him. As if she held the clue to something secret in his breast, of the nature of which he was hardly informed himself. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it.

Tradução Integral em Português

Incapaz de excluir essas coisas de sua lembrança, ou de manter a mente livre de tais formas imperfeitas do sentido de que estavam carregadas, na medida em que conseguiam tornar-se visíveis para ele através da névoa de seu orgulho, o seu anterior sentimento de indiferença para com a pequena Florence transformou-se numa inquietação de espécie extraordinária. Por mais nova que fosse, e possuindo, a quaisquer olhos que não os dele (e talvez também aos dele), ainda mais do que a habitual dose de simplicidade e confiança infantil, ele quase sentia como se ela o observasse e desconfiasse dele. Como se ela detivesse a chave de algo secreto em seu peito, cuja natureza ele próprio mal conhecia. Como se ela tivesse um conhecimento inato de uma corda dissonante e discordante dentro dele, e o seu próprio sopro pudesse fazê-la soar.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Desde o nascimento de Florence, o sentimento dele por ela fora simplesmente uma ausência de sentimento. Nunca chegara a não gostar dela; ela não lhe parecera importante o bastante, e ele não tivera tal disposição. Ela nunca fora de fato desagradável para ele. Mas agora o deixava desconfortável e perturbava sua paz. Ele teria preferido afastar por completo a ideia dela, se soubesse como. Talvez - quem pode explicar tais mistérios? - temesse começar a odiá-la.

Quando a pequena Florence apareceu timidamente, o Sr. Dombey parou de caminhar e olhou para ela. Se tivesse olhado com mais interesse e com os olhos de um pai, talvez lesse no olhar atento da menina todos os desejos e medos que a faziam hesitar. Ela queria desesperadamente correr até ele, abraçá-lo, esconder o rosto em seus braços e gritar: “Ah, pai, tente me amar! Não tenho mais ninguém!” Mas temia que ele a rejeitasse. Temia ser ousada demais e irritá-lo. Precisava profundamente de algum sinal de amor e encorajamento, e seu jovem coração, carregado além do limite, procurava um lugar natural onde repousar a tristeza e o afeto.

Original English Version

His feeling about the child had been negative from her birth. He had never conceived an aversion to her: it had not been worth his while or in his humour. She had never been a positively disagreeable object to him. But now he was ill at ease about her. She troubled his peace. He would have preferred to put her idea aside altogether, if he had known how. Perhaps - who shall decide on such mysteries! - he was afraid that he might come to hate her.

When little Florence timidly presented herself, Mr Dombey stopped in his pacing up and down and looked towards her. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection.

Tradução Integral em Português

O seu sentimento a respeito da criança fora negativo desde o nascimento dela. Nunca concebera aversão por ela: não valera o seu esforço nem estivera em seu humor. Ela nunca fora para ele um objeto positivamente desagradável. Mas agora ele estava desassossegado a respeito dela. Ela perturbava a sua paz. Ele teria preferido afastar por completo a ideia dela, se soubesse como. Talvez - quem há de decidir sobre tais mistérios! - temesse chegar a odiá-la.

Quando a pequena Florence se apresentou timidamente, o senhor Dombey deteve o seu vaivém e olhou em direção a ela. Se tivesse olhado com maior interesse e com olhos de pai, poderia ter lido no seu olhar penetrante os impulsos e os medos que a faziam vacilar; o desejo apaixonado de correr a agarrar-se a ele, chorando, enquanto escondia o rosto em seu abraço: «Oh pai, tente me amar! não há mais ninguém!»; o pavor de uma repulsa; o receio de ser ousada demais e de ofendê-lo; a lastimável necessidade em que se achava de alguma segurança e encorajamento; e como o seu jovem coração transbordante vagava à procura de algum pouso natural para a sua dor e o seu afeto.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Mas ele não viu nada disso. Viu-a parar indecisa à porta e olhar em sua direção, e não viu mais nada.

- Entre - disse ele. - Entre. Do que a criança tem medo?

Ela entrou. Depois de olhar ao redor com incerteza por um instante, ficou junto à porta, apertando com força as mãozinhas.

- Venha aqui, Florence - disse o pai com frieza. - Sabe quem eu sou?

- Sim, papai.

- Não tem nada para me dizer?

Lágrimas encheram seus olhos quando ela os ergueu depressa para o rosto dele, mas a expressão dele as congelou ali. Ela tornou a baixar o olhar e estendeu a mão trêmula.

O Sr. Dombey segurou-a frouxamente na própria mão e olhou para a menina por um instante, como se soubesse tão pouco quanto ela o que dizer ou fazer.

- Pronto! Seja uma boa menina - disse ele, dando palmadinhas na cabeça dela. Observou-a às escondidas, com um olhar perturbado e incerto. - Vá com Richards! Vá!

Original English Version

But he saw nothing of this. He saw her pause irresolutely at the door and look towards him; and he saw no more.

“Come in,” he said, “come in: what is the child afraid of?”

She came in; and after glancing round her for a moment with an uncertain air, stood pressing her small hands hard together, close within the door.

“Come here, Florence,” said her father, coldly. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Have you nothing to say to me?”

The tears that stood in her eyes as she raised them quickly to his face, were frozen by the expression it wore. She looked down again, and put out her trembling hand.

Mr Dombey took it loosely in his own, and stood looking down upon her for a moment, as if he knew as little as the child, what to say or do.

“There! Be a good girl,” he said, patting her on the head, and regarding her as it were by stealth with a disturbed and doubtful look. “Go to Richards! Go!”

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas ele nada viu disso. Viu-a deter-se irresoluta à porta e olhar em sua direção; e não viu mais nada.

- Entre - disse ele - , entre: de que a criança tem medo?

Ela entrou; e depois de relancear os olhos à sua volta por um momento, com um ar incerto, ficou apertando com força as mãozinhas uma contra a outra, bem junto à porta.

- Venha cá, Florence - disse o pai, friamente. - Sabe quem eu sou?

- Sim, Papai.

- Não tem nada a me dizer?

As lágrimas que lhe marejavam os olhos, quando ela os ergueu rapidamente para o rosto dele, foram geladas pela expressão que ele ostentava. Ela baixou de novo os olhos e estendeu a mãozinha trêmula.

O senhor Dombey tomou-a frouxamente na sua, e ficou a fitá-la por um momento, como se soubesse tão pouco quanto a criança o que dizer ou fazer.

- Pronto! Seja uma boa menina - disse ele, dando-lhe uma palmadinha na cabeça e observando-a, por assim dizer, às escondidas, com um olhar perturbado e hesitante. - Vá para Richards! Vá!

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Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Sua filhinha hesitou por mais um instante, como se ainda quisesse abraçá-lo ou ainda esperasse que ele a erguesse, acolhesse nos braços e beijasse. Ela olhou mais uma vez para o rosto dele. Ele achou que sua expressão era igual à que tivera quando se voltou para o médico naquela noite. Sem pensar, soltou a mão dela e se afastou.

Era fácil perceber que Florence ficava em grande desvantagem perto do pai. A presença dele não limitava apenas os pensamentos da criança; limitava também a graça e a liberdade naturais de seus movimentos. Enquanto brincava ao redor do irmão bebê naquela noite, raramente se mostrava tão encantadora e bonita quanto era normalmente. Às vezes, enquanto o Sr. Dombey caminhava de um lado para o outro, aproximava-se dela quando talvez o tivesse esquecido por um instante. Imediatamente, o jeito da menina mudava e se tornava forçado e constrangido.

Original English Version

His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still, or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her. She looked up in his face once more. He thought how like her expression was then, to what it had been when she looked round at the Doctor - that night - and instinctively dropped her hand and turned away.

It was not difficult to perceive that Florence was at a great disadvantage in her father’s presence. It was not only a constraint upon the child’s mind, but even upon the natural grace and freedom of her actions. As she sported and played about her baby brother that night, her manner was seldom so winning and so pretty as it naturally was, and sometimes when in his pacing to and fro, he came near her (she had, perhaps, for the moment, forgotten him) it changed upon the instant and became forced and embarrassed.

Tradução Integral em Português

A filhinha hesitou por mais um instante, como se quisesse agarrar-se a ele ainda, ou tivesse alguma esperança persistente de que ele a erguesse nos braços e a beijasse. Ela ergueu de novo o olhar para o rosto dele. Ele pensou como a sua expressão era então parecida com a que tivera quando ela se voltara para olhar o Doutor - naquela noite - e instintivamente soltou-lhe a mão e virou-se.

Não era difícil perceber que Florence estava em grande desvantagem na presença do pai. Aquilo era um constrangimento não só para a mente da criança, mas até para a graça e a liberdade naturais dos seus gestos. Enquanto brincava e folgava à volta do irmãozinho naquela noite, o seu jeito raramente era tão encantador e tão bonito como naturalmente era, e às vezes, quando, em seu vaivém, ele se aproximava dela (talvez ela, por um momento, o houvesse esquecido), o seu jeito mudava no mesmo instante e tornava-se forçado e constrangido.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Ainda assim, isso apenas tornou Polly mais decidida a continuar. Julgando o Sr. Dombey por seus próprios sentimentos, ela tinha muita confiança no apelo silencioso do vestido de luto da pobre pequena Florence. “É realmente duro”, pensou Polly, “se ele se afeiçoar apenas a uma criança sem mãe quando há outra, e menina, bem diante de seus olhos.”

Assim, Polly manteve Florence diante dos olhos dele pelo maior tempo possível. Cuidou tão bem do pequeno Paul que ficou muito claro que ele era bem mais animado com a irmã por perto. Quando chegou a hora de voltar ao andar de cima, Polly quis mandar Florence à sala interior para desejar boa noite ao pai. Mas a criança ficou assustada e recuou. Quando Polly insistiu de novo, Florence abriu as mãos diante dos olhos, como se quisesse esconder a própria falta de valor, e disse: “Ah, não, não! Ele não me quer. Ele não me quer!”

Original English Version

Still, Polly persevered with all the better heart for seeing this; and, judging of Mr Dombey by herself, had great confidence in the mute appeal of poor little Florence’s mourning dress. “It’s hard indeed,” thought Polly, “if he takes only to one little motherless child, when he has another, and that a girl, before his eyes.”

So, Polly kept her before his eyes, as long as she could, and managed so well with little Paul, as to make it very plain that he was all the livelier for his sister’s company. When it was time to withdraw upstairs again, she would have sent Florence into the inner room to say good-night to her father, but the child was timid and drew back; and when she urged her again, said, spreading her hands before her eyes, as if to shut out her own unworthiness, “Oh no, no! He don’t want me. He don’t want me!”

Tradução Integral em Português

Mesmo assim, Polly perseverava com tanto mais ânimo por ver aquilo; e, julgando o senhor Dombey por si mesma, tinha grande confiança no mudo apelo do pobre vestidinho de luto da pequena Florence. «É bem duro, na verdade», pensava Polly, «se ele se afeiçoa apenas a uma criancinha sem mãe, quando tem outra, e essa uma menina, diante dos olhos.»

Assim, Polly a manteve diante dos olhos dele o quanto pôde, e arranjou-se tão bem com o pequeno Paul a ponto de deixar muito claro que ele ficava bem mais animado com a companhia da irmã. Quando chegou a hora de recolher-se de novo ao andar de cima, ela teria mandado Florence ao aposento interior para dar boa-noite ao pai, mas a criança era tímida e recuava; e, quando insistiu de novo, disse, estendendo as mãos diante dos olhos, como que para ocultar a sua própria indignidade: «Oh não, não! Ele não me quer. Ele não me quer!»

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

[Ilustração]

A pequena discussão entre elas chamou a atenção do Sr. Dombey. Sentado à mesa com seu vinho, ele perguntou o que havia acontecido.

- A Srta. Florence teve medo de incomodá-lo, senhor, se entrasse para desejar boa noite - disse Richards.

- Não importa - respondeu o Sr. Dombey. - Pode deixá-la entrar e sair sem se preocupar comigo.

A criança recuou ao ouvi-lo e desapareceu antes que sua humilde amiga tornasse a olhar para ela.

No entanto, Polly ficou muito satisfeita com o sucesso de seu plano bondoso e com a habilidade com que o executara. Quando estava novamente em segurança no andar de cima, contou a história inteira à pequena Foguinho. A Srta. Nipper recebeu com bastante frieza tanto essa prova de confiança quanto a perspectiva de poderem conviver livremente no futuro. Demonstrou pouquíssimo entusiasmo ou alegria.

- Pensei que você ficaria contente - disse Polly.

- Ah, sim, Sra. Richards, estou muito contente, obrigada - respondeu Susan. De repente ficara tão ereta e rígida que parecia ter acrescentado mais uma barbatana ao espartilho.

Original English Version

[Illustration]

The little altercation between them had attracted the notice of Mr Dombey, who inquired from the table where he was sitting at his wine, what the matter was.

“Miss Florence was afraid of interrupting, Sir, if she came in to say good-night,” said Richards.

“It doesn’t matter,” returned Mr Dombey. “You can let her come and go without regarding me.”

The child shrunk as she listened - and was gone, before her humble friend looked round again.

However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Miss Nipper received that proof of her confidence, as well as the prospect of their free association for the future, rather coldly, and was anything but enthusiastic in her demonstrations of joy.

“I thought you would have been pleased,” said Polly.

“Oh yes, Mrs Richards, I’m very well pleased, thank you,” returned Susan, who had suddenly become so very upright that she seemed to have put an additional bone in her stays.

Tradução Integral em Português

[Ilustração]

A pequena altercação entre elas atraíra a atenção do senhor Dombey, que perguntou, da mesa onde estava sentado com o seu vinho, o que havia.

- A senhorita Florence teve medo de interromper, senhor, se entrasse para dar boa-noite - disse Richards.

- Não importa - respondeu o senhor Dombey. - Pode deixá-la ir e vir sem se importar comigo.

A criança encolheu-se ao escutar - e sumira, antes que a sua humilde amiga tornasse a olhar em volta.

Contudo, Polly não pouco se rejubilou com o êxito de seu plano bem-intencionado, e com a habilidade com que o levara a cabo: do que fez plena revelação a Fúria assim que se viu de novo a salvo, entrincheirada no andar de cima. A senhorita Nipper recebeu aquela prova de confiança, bem como a perspectiva do seu livre convívio dali por diante, com certa frieza, e foi tudo menos entusiástica em suas demonstrações de alegria.

- Pensei que a senhorita fosse ficar contente - disse Polly.

- Ah, sim, senhora Richards, estou muito contente, obrigada - respondeu Susan, que de repente se tornara tão empertigada que parecia ter enfiado mais um osso no espartilho.

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Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Você não demonstra - disse Polly.

- Ah! Como sou apenas permanente, ninguém poderia esperar que eu demonstrasse como uma pessoa temporária - disse Susan Nipper. - Vejo que as pessoas temporárias arrasam tudo à frente nesta casa. Mas, embora exista uma excelente parede sólida entre esta casa e a vizinha, talvez eu não queira exatamente ir para lá, Sra. Richards!

Original English Version

“You don’t show it,” said Polly.

“Oh! Being only a permanency I couldn’t be expected to show it like a temporary,” said Susan Nipper. “Temporaries carries it all before ’em here, I find, but though there’s a excellent party-wall between this house and the next, I mayn’t exactly like to go to it, Mrs Richards, notwithstanding!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Não parece - disse Polly.

- Ah! Sendo apenas uma permanência, não se pode esperar que eu o demonstre como uma provisória - disse Susan Nipper. - As provisórias é que mandam em tudo por aqui, pelo que vejo, mas embora haja uma excelente parede-meia entre esta casa e a vizinha, pode ser que eu não faça exatamente questão de ir até ela, senhora Richards, apesar de tudo!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER IV. In which some more First Appearances are made on the Stage of these Adventures

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Os escritórios de Dombey e Filho ficavam dentro dos limites da City de Londres. Estavam perto o bastante para ouvir os sinos de Bow quando o barulho das ruas não cobria suas vozes estridentes. Contudo, algumas vistas próximas sugeriam histórias aventureiras e românticas. Gog e Magog exibiam sua grandeza a apenas dez minutos dali. A Royal Exchange ficava perto, e o Banco da Inglaterra, com suas salas subterrâneas cheias de ouro e prata, “lá embaixo entre os mortos”, era seu esplêndido vizinho. Logo depois da esquina erguia-se a rica East India House, que fazia pensar em tecidos preciosos e joias, tigres, elefantes, liteiras de elefante, narguilés, guarda-sóis, palmeiras, palanquins e magníficos príncipes de pele morena sentados em tapetes, com chinelos muito curvados nas pontas. Por toda a vizinhança, viam-se quadros de navios avançando a toda vela para todas as partes do mundo, lojas prontas para equipar e enviar qualquer pessoa a qualquer lugar em meia hora e pequenos guardas-marinhas de madeira em uniformes navais fora de moda. Diante das portas das lojas de instrumentos náuticos, essas figuras observavam para sempre as carruagens de aluguel.

Original English Version

Though the offices of Dombey and Son were within the liberties of the City of London, and within hearing of Bow Bells, when their clashing voices were not drowned by the uproar in the streets, yet were there hints of adventurous and romantic story to be observed in some of the adjacent objects. Gog and Magog held their state within ten minutes’ walk; the Royal Exchange was close at hand; the Bank of England, with its vaults of gold and silver “down among the dead men” underground, was their magnificent neighbour. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages.

Tradução Integral em Português

Embora os escritórios de Dombey and Son ficassem dentro dos limites da City de Londres, e ao alcance dos sinos de Bow, quando suas vozes discordantes não eram abafadas pelo alarido das ruas, havia todavia, em alguns dos objetos vizinhos, indícios de histórias aventurosas e românticas. Gog e Magog mantinham sua majestade a dez minutos de caminhada; a Bolsa Real ficava ali perto; o Banco da Inglaterra, com seus cofres de ouro e prata “lá embaixo entre os mortos”, no subsolo, era seu magnífico vizinho. Bem na esquina erguia-se a rica Casa das Índias Orientais, transbordando de sugestões de tecidos e pedras preciosas, tigres, elefantes, palanquins de dorso de elefante, narguilés, sombrinhas, palmeiras, liteiras e suntuosos príncipes de tez morena sentados sobre tapetes, com as pontas das babuchas muito arrebitadas. Em qualquer ponto da vizinhança imediata podiam-se ver estampas de navios que velejavam a todo o pano rumo a todas as partes do mundo; armazéns de equipamentos prontos a despachar quem quer que fosse para onde quer que fosse, plenamente aparelhado em meia hora; e pequenos guarda-marinhas de madeira, em uniformes navais obsoletos, eternamente empregados diante das portas das lojas dos fabricantes de instrumentos náuticos em tomar a posição das carruagens de aluguel.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Um cavalheiro idoso de peruca galesa era o único proprietário de uma dessas figuras - aquela que se poderia facilmente chamar de a mais feita de madeira. Ela avançava sobre a calçada com a perna direita à frente e com uma suavidade insuportável. Suas fivelas de sapato e o colete de abas faziam muito pouco sentido, e diante do olho direito segurava uma peça de maquinaria grande demais para o corpo. O velho cavalheiro era dono daquele Guarda-Marinha e se orgulhava dele. Durante mais anos do que muitos guardas-marinhas reais e adultos haviam vivido, pagara ali aluguel, impostos, taxas e encargos. E certamente não faltavam na Marinha inglesa guardas-marinhas reais que haviam alcançado uma bela idade avançada.

Original English Version

Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy.

Tradução Integral em Português

Único senhor e proprietário de uma dessas efígies - daquela que se poderia chamar, familiarmente, a mais amadeirada de todas - daquela que se projetava sobre a calçada, perna direita à frente, com uma afabilidade das menos suportáveis, e trazia as fivelas dos sapatos e o colete de abas menos conciliáveis com a razão humana, e ostentava no olho direito a mais ofensivamente desproporcional peça de maquinaria - único senhor e proprietário daquele Guarda-Marinha, e orgulhoso dele também, um cavalheiro idoso de peruca galesa havia pagado aluguel, impostos, taxas e tributos por mais anos do que muitos guarda-marinhas de carne e osso já viveram; e guarda-marinhas que atingiram uma bem verdejante velhice não têm faltado à Marinha inglesa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O estoque do velho cavalheiro incluía cronômetros, barômetros, telescópios, bússolas, cartas, mapas, sextantes, quadrantes e exemplares de todo instrumento usado para guiar um navio, calcular sua posição ou realizar descobertas. Suas gavetas e prateleiras continham objetos de latão e vidro cujo topo, finalidade e lugar correto nos estojos de mogno apenas especialistas poderiam compreender. Tudo era apertado nos estojos mais justos, encaixado nos menores cantos, protegido pelas almofadas mais inconvenientes e aparafusado nos ângulos mais agudos, para que o balanço do mar não perturbasse sua calma científica. Cada objeto era feito extremamente compacto para economizar espaço. Tanta navegação prática era encaixada, acolchoada e aparafusada em cada caixa - fosse a caixa apenas uma placa plana ou tivesse forma de algo entre um chapéu de três pontas e uma estrela-do-mar, e essas eram caixas simples em comparação com outras - que a própria loja parecia afetada. Quase se transformava numa embarcação organizada e própria para navegar, que só precisaria de água livre suficiente, caso fosse lançada de repente, para chegar com segurança a qualquer ilha deserta do mundo.

Original English Version

The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Objects in brass and glass were in his drawers and on his shelves, which none but the initiated could have found the top of, or guessed the use of, or having once examined, could have ever got back again into their mahogany nests without assistance. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world.

Tradução Integral em Português

O estoque comercial desse velho cavalheiro compreendia cronômetros, barômetros, telescópios, bússolas, cartas, mapas, sextantes, quadrantes e espécimes de toda sorte de instrumento usado no traçado do rumo de um navio, ou na manutenção de seu cálculo de posição, ou na condução de suas descobertas. Objetos de latão e vidro havia em suas gavetas e sobre suas prateleiras, cujo topo ninguém, a não ser os iniciados, saberia achar, nem adivinhar o uso, nem, uma vez examinados, recolocar em seus ninhos de mogno sem auxílio. Tudo estava embutido nos estojos mais justos, encaixado nos cantos mais estreitos, protegido atrás das almofadas mais impertinentes e aparafusado nos ângulos mais agudos, para impedir que sua compostura filosófica fosse perturbada pelo balanço do mar. Precauções tão extraordinárias eram tomadas em cada caso para poupar espaço e manter a coisa compacta; e tanta navegação prática se achava ajustada, acolchoada e aparafusada em cada caixa (fosse a caixa uma mera placa, como algumas eram, ou algo entre um chapéu de dois bicos e uma estrela-do-mar, como eram outras, e essas ainda bem brandas e modestas em comparação com as demais); que a própria loja, tomada pela infecção geral, quase parecia tornar-se um aconchegante, marinheiro e bem-aparelhado empreendimento, faltando-lhe apenas bom espaço de mar, no caso de um lançamento inesperado, para singrar em segurança até qualquer ilha deserta do mundo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Muitos pequenos detalhes da vida doméstica do fabricante de instrumentos para navios, que se orgulhava de seu pequeno Guarda-Marinha, apoiavam essa ideia. A maioria de seus amigos era fornecedora de navios ou de atividades semelhantes, de modo que sempre havia autênticos biscoitos de bordo em sua mesa. Carnes e línguas secas, com um estranho gosto de corda, também eram comuns ali. Conservas apareciam em grandes potes de atacado com o rótulo “comerciante de todo tipo de provisões para navios”. Bebidas fortes eram servidas em garrafas quadradas e sem gargalo. Gravuras antigas de navios, com letras indicando seus diferentes mistérios, pendiam em molduras nas paredes. Os pratos mostravam a fragata Tartar navegando. Conchas estranhas, algas e musgos decoravam a lareira. Uma claraboia iluminava a pequena sala dos fundos revestida de madeira como a cabine de um navio.

Original English Version

Many minor incidents in the household life of the Ships’ Instrument-maker who was proud of his little Midshipman, assisted and bore out this fancy. His acquaintance lying chiefly among ship-chandlers and so forth, he had always plenty of the veritable ships’ biscuit on his table. It was familiar with dried meats and tongues, possessing an extraordinary flavour of rope yarn. Pickles were produced upon it, in great wholesale jars, with “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions” on the label; spirits were set forth in case bottles with no throats. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin.

Tradução Integral em Português

Muitos incidentes menores da vida doméstica do fabricante de instrumentos náuticos que se orgulhava de seu pequeno Guarda-Marinha assistiam e corroboravam essa fantasia. Como suas relações se davam principalmente entre fornecedores de navios e afins, ele sempre tinha sobre a mesa fartura do genuíno biscoito de bordo. Ela conhecia bem as carnes secas e as línguas, que possuíam um extraordinário sabor de cordame. Picles ali se serviam, em grandes potes de atacado, com “negociante de toda sorte de Provisões de Bordo” no rótulo; bebidas espirituosas se dispunham em garrafas de caixa sem gargalo. Velhas estampas de navios, com referências alfabéticas aos seus diversos mistérios, pendiam emolduradas nas paredes; a Fragata Tártara em marcha figurava nos pratos; conchas exóticas, algas e musgos decoravam a cornija da lareira; a pequena saleta dos fundos, revestida de madeira, era iluminada por uma clarabóia, como uma cabine.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Ele também vivia ali como um capitão, sozinho com o sobrinho Walter, um menino de catorze anos que se parecia o bastante com um guarda-marinha para sustentar a ideia geral. Mas a semelhança terminava aí, pois o próprio Solomon Gills, normalmente chamado de velho Sol, não tinha aparência de marinheiro. Sua peruca galesa era a mais simples e teimosa que alguém já usara, e fazia com que ele se parecesse com qualquer coisa menos um aventureiro do mar. Era um velho lento, quieto e pensativo. Seus olhos eram vermelhos como dois pequenos sóis vistos através da neblina, e ele sempre parecia ter acabado de acordar. Talvez isso viesse de olhar durante três ou quatro dias por todos os instrumentos ópticos da loja e de repente voltar para descobrir o mundo verde. Sua aparência só mudava entre um traje completo cor de café, de corte quadrado e botões brilhantes, e o mesmo traje com calças amarelo-claras. Usava um babado de camisa muito arrumado e mantinha excelentes óculos na testa. Um enorme cronômetro repousava no bolso do colete. Em vez de duvidar daquele instrumento precioso, acreditaria que todos os relógios da City, e até o próprio Sol, haviam se unido numa conspiração contra ele. Durante muitos anos vivera assim na loja e na sala dos fundos, atrás do pequeno Guarda-Marinha. Toda noite subia regularmente para dormir num sótão barulhento, distante dos inquilinos. Ali, quando os confortáveis cavalheiros ingleses de baixo pouco ou nada sabiam sobre o tempo, o vento muitas vezes soprava como grandes canhões.

Original English Version

Here he lived too, in skipper-like state, all alone with his nephew Walter: a boy of fourteen who looked quite enough like a midshipman, to carry out the prevailing idea. But there it ended, for Solomon Gills himself (more generally called old Sol) was far from having a maritime appearance. To say nothing of his Welsh wig, which was as plain and stubborn a Welsh wig as ever was worn, and in which he looked like anything but a Rover, he was a slow, quiet-spoken, thoughtful old fellow, with eyes as red as if they had been small suns looking at you through a fog; and a newly-awakened manner, such as he might have acquired by having stared for three or four days successively through every optical instrument in his shop, and suddenly came back to the world again, to find it green. The only change ever known in his outward man, was from a complete suit of coffee-colour cut very square, and ornamented with glaring buttons, to the same suit of coffee-colour minus the inexpressibles, which were then of a pale nankeen. He wore a very precise shirt-frill, and carried a pair of first-rate spectacles on his forehead, and a tremendous chronometer in his fob, rather than doubt which precious possession, he would have believed in a conspiracy against it on part of all the clocks and watches in the City, and even of the very Sun itself. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns.

Tradução Integral em Português

Ali vivia ele também, à maneira de um capitão, sozinho com o sobrinho Walter: um menino de catorze anos que parecia bastante com um guarda-marinha para sustentar a ideia predominante. Mas aí é que terminava, pois o próprio Solomon Gills (mais comumente chamado velho Sol) estava longe de ter uma aparência marítima. Para não falar da peruca galesa, que era tão simples e teimosa quanto jamais se usou peruca galesa, e com a qual ele parecia tudo menos um Corsário, era um velho vagaroso, de fala mansa e pensativo, com olhos tão vermelhos como se fossem pequenos sóis a fitá-lo através de um nevoeiro; e um ar de quem acabara de despertar, tal como poderia ter adquirido de tanto espiar por três ou quatro dias seguidos através de todos os instrumentos ópticos da loja, e subitamente regressar ao mundo, para achá-lo verde. A única mudança já observada em sua aparência exterior consistia em passar de um traje completo cor de café, de corte muito quadrado e ornado de botões berrantes, ao mesmo traje cor de café menos os inexprimíveis, que então eram de um pálido nanquim. Usava um peitilho de camisa muito rigoroso, trazia um par de óculos de primeira sobre a testa e um tremendo cronômetro no bolso do colete, e antes de duvidar de tão precioso bem, acreditaria numa conspiração contra ele por parte de todos os relógios de parede e de bolso da City, e até do próprio Sol. Tal como era, tal fora na loja e na saleta atrás do pequeno Guarda-Marinha, por anos e anos; subindo regularmente ao convés, isto é, à cama, todas as noites, num sótão uivante afastado dos inquilinos, onde, quando os cavalheiros da Inglaterra que moravam confortavelmente lá embaixo mal faziam ideia do estado do tempo, muitas vezes soprava a bom soprar.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

São cinco e meia de uma tarde de outono quando o leitor conhece Solomon Gills. Ele verifica a hora no cronômetro perfeitamente confiável. Há mais de uma hora, a multidão habitual deixa a City ao fim do dia, e a maré humana ainda corre para o oeste. Como diz o Sr. Gills, “as ruas esvaziaram muito”. Parece provável que chova esta noite. Todos os instrumentos meteorológicos da loja dão leituras baixas e tristes, e a chuva já brilha no chapéu de três pontas do Guarda-Marinha de madeira.

- Onde será que Walter está? - disse Solomon Gills, depois de guardar cuidadosamente o cronômetro. - O jantar está pronto há meia hora, e nada de Walter!

O Sr. Gills virou-se no banco atrás do balcão e olhou através dos instrumentos na vitrine para ver se o sobrinho atravessava a rua. Não. Walter não estava entre os guarda-chuvas que balançavam. Certamente não era o menino dos jornais de boné impermeável que avançava lentamente pela placa de latão do lado de fora, escrevendo com o dedo o próprio nome sobre o nome do Sr. Gills.

Original English Version

It is half-past five o’clock, and an autumn afternoon, when the reader and Solomon Gills become acquainted. Solomon Gills is in the act of seeing what time it is by the unimpeachable chronometer. The usual daily clearance has been making in the City for an hour or more; and the human tide is still rolling westward. “The streets have thinned,” as Mr Gills says, “very much.” It threatens to be wet tonight. All the weatherglasses in the shop are in low spirits, and the rain already shines upon the cocked hat of the wooden Midshipman.

“Where’s Walter, I wonder!” said Solomon Gills, after he had carefully put up the chronometer again. “Here’s dinner been ready, half an hour, and no Walter!”

Turning round upon his stool behind the counter, Mr Gills looked out among the instruments in the window, to see if his nephew might be crossing the road. No. He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger.

Tradução Integral em Português

São cinco e meia, numa tarde de outono, quando o leitor e Solomon Gills travam conhecimento. Solomon Gills está no ato de verificar as horas pelo irrepreensível cronômetro. O costumeiro esvaziamento diário vem se processando na City há uma hora ou mais; e a maré humana ainda rola para o oeste. “As ruas rarearam”, como diz o senhor Gills, “bastante.” Ameaça chover esta noite. Todos os barômetros da loja estão abatidos, e a chuva já reluz sobre o chapéu de dois bicos do Guarda-Marinha de madeira.

- Onde estará o Walter! - disse Solomon Gills, depois de ter guardado cuidadosamente o cronômetro. - O jantar está pronto há meia hora, e nada de Walter!

Girando no banquinho atrás do balcão, o senhor Gills espiou por entre os instrumentos da vitrine, para ver se o sobrinho estaria atravessando a rua. Não. Ele não estava entre os guarda-chuvas oscilantes, e certamente não era o menino dos jornais, de boné de oleado, que se arrastava lentamente ao longo da placa de latão lá fora, escrevendo o próprio nome por cima do nome do senhor Gills com o dedo indicador.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Se eu não soubesse que ele gosta demais de mim para fugir e entrar num navio contra a minha vontade, começaria a me preocupar - disse o Sr. Gills, batendo com os nós dos dedos em dois ou três instrumentos meteorológicos. - Começaria mesmo. Tudo em baixa, hein! Muita umidade! Bem, estamos precisando.

- Creio - disse o Sr. Gills, soprando o pó da tampa de vidro de um estojo de bússola - que você não aponta mais diretamente para a sala dos fundos do que os desejos do menino, afinal. E a própria sala também não poderia apontar com mais exatidão. Norte certo. Nem a vigésima parte de um ponto da bússola para qualquer lado.

- Olá, tio Sol!

- Olá, meu rapaz! - exclamou o fabricante de instrumentos, virando-se depressa. - O quê! Então você está aqui?

Era um menino alegre e animado, recém-chegado de uma corrida para casa sob a chuva, de rosto claro, olhos brilhantes e cabelos cacheados.

- Bem, tio, como conseguiu passar o dia inteiro sem mim? O jantar está pronto? Estou com tanta fome.

Original English Version

“If I didn’t know he was too fond of me to make a run of it, and go and enter himself aboard ship against my wishes, I should begin to be fidgetty,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather-glasses with his knuckles. “I really should. All in the Downs, eh! Lots of moisture! Well! it’s wanted.”

“I believe,” said Mr Gills, blowing the dust off the glass top of a compass-case, “that you don’t point more direct and due to the back parlour than the boy’s inclination does after all. And the parlour couldn’t bear straighter either. Due north. Not the twentieth part of a point either way.”

“Halloa, Uncle Sol!”

“Halloa, my boy!” cried the Instrument-maker, turning briskly round. “What! you are here, are you?”

A cheerful looking, merry boy, fresh with running home in the rain; fair-faced, bright-eyed, and curly-haired.

“Well, Uncle, how have you got on without me all day? Is dinner ready? I’m so hungry.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Se eu não soubesse que ele gosta demais de mim para dar no pé e ir alistar-se num navio contra a minha vontade, começaria a ficar inquieto - disse o senhor Gills, batendo com os nós dos dedos em dois ou três barômetros. - De fato ficaria. Tudo baixando, hein! Muita umidade! Bem! está fazendo falta.

- Creio - disse o senhor Gills, soprando o pó da tampa de vidro de um estojo de bússola - que tu não apontas mais direto e certeiro para a saleta dos fundos do que aponta a inclinação do rapaz, afinal de contas. E a saleta também não poderia apontar mais reto. Norte franco. Nem a vigésima parte de um ponto para qualquer lado.

- Olá, tio Sol!

- Olá, meu rapaz! - exclamou o fabricante de instrumentos, virando-se lestamente. - O quê! então estás aqui?

Um menino de aspecto alegre e jovial, corado de ter corrido para casa na chuva; de rosto claro, olhos brilhantes e cabelos encaracolados.

- Então, tio, como passou o dia sem mim? O jantar está pronto? Estou com tanta fome.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Quanto a me virar - disse Solomon com bondade - , seria estranho se eu não conseguisse me virar muito melhor sem um jovem malandro como você do que com você. Quanto ao jantar estar pronto, está pronto e esperando por você há meia hora. Quanto a estar com fome, eu estou!

- Então venha, tio! - exclamou o menino. - Viva o almirante!

- Esqueça o almirante! - respondeu Solomon Gills. - Você quer dizer o Lorde Prefeito.

- Não quero! - exclamou o menino. - Viva o almirante! Viva o almirante! Em fren-te!

Diante dessa ordem, a peruca galesa e o homem que a usava foram levados sem resistência para a sala dos fundos, como se liderassem um grupo de quinhentos marinheiros no ataque a um navio. O tio Sol e o sobrinho logo comiam linguado frito, com um bife para vir depois.

- Viva para sempre o Lorde Prefeito, Wally! - disse Solomon. - Nada mais de almirantes. O Lorde Prefeito é o seu almirante.

Original English Version

“As to getting on,” said Solomon good-naturedly, “it would be odd if I couldn’t get on without a young dog like you a great deal better than with you. As to dinner being ready, it’s been ready this half hour and waiting for you. As to being hungry, I am!”

“Come along then, Uncle!” cried the boy. “Hurrah for the admiral!”

“Confound the admiral!” returned Solomon Gills. “You mean the Lord Mayor.”

“No I don’t!” cried the boy. “Hurrah for the admiral! Hurrah for the admiral! For-ward!”

At this word of command, the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour, as at the head of a boarding party of five hundred men; and Uncle Sol and his nephew were speedily engaged on a fried sole with a prospect of steak to follow.

“The Lord Mayor, Wally,” said Solomon, “for ever! No more admirals. The Lord Mayor’s your admiral.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Quanto a passar - disse Solomon com bom humor - , seria estranho se eu não pudesse passar sem um cachorrinho como tu muito melhor do que contigo. Quanto ao jantar estar pronto, está pronto há meia hora e à tua espera. Quanto a estar com fome, eu estou!

- Então vamos, tio! - exclamou o menino. - Viva o almirante!

- Maldito almirante! - retrucou Solomon Gills. - Tu queres dizer o Lorde Prefeito.

- Não quero, não! - exclamou o menino. - Viva o almirante! Viva o almirante! Em fren-te!

A essa voz de comando, a peruca galesa e quem a usava foram levados sem resistência para a saleta dos fundos, como à frente de um grupo de abordagem de quinhentos homens; e o tio Sol e o sobrinho logo se empenhavam num linguado frito, com a perspectiva de um bife a seguir.

- O Lorde Prefeito, Wally - disse Solomon - , para sempre! Chega de almirantes. O Lorde Prefeito é o teu almirante.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah, é mesmo? - disse o menino, balançando a cabeça. - Ora, o Porta-Espada é melhor do que ele. Às vezes desembainha a espada.

- E fica com uma figura muito ridícula quando faz isso, por todo o seu trabalho - respondeu o tio. - Escute-me, Wally, escute-me. Olhe para a lareira.

- Ora, quem pendurou minha caneca de prata ali num prego? - exclamou o menino.

- Eu pendurei - disse o tio. - Nada mais de canecas agora. Precisamos começar a beber em copos hoje, Walter. Somos homens de negócios. Pertencemos à City. Começamos nossa vida profissional esta manhã.

- Bem, tio - disse o menino - , beberei em qualquer coisa que quiser, desde que possa brindar à sua saúde. Um brinde a você, tio Sol, e viva o...

- Lorde Prefeito - interrompeu o velho.

- Ao Lorde Prefeito, aos xerifes, ao Conselho Municipal e às corporações - disse o rapaz. - Vida longa a todos eles!

Original English Version

“Oh, is he though!” said the boy, shaking his head. “Why, the Sword Bearer’s better than him. He draws his sword sometimes.”

“And a pretty figure he cuts with it for his pains,” returned the Uncle. “Listen to me, Wally, listen to me. Look on the mantelshelf.”

“Why who has cocked my silver mug up there, on a nail?” exclaimed the boy.

“I have,” said his Uncle. “No more mugs now. We must begin to drink out of glasses today, Walter. We are men of business. We belong to the City. We started in life this morning.”

“Well, Uncle,” said the boy, “I’ll drink out of anything you like, so long as I can drink to you. Here’s to you, Uncle Sol, and Hurrah for the - ”

“Lord Mayor,” interrupted the old man.

“For the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Common Council, and Livery,” said the boy. “Long life to ’em!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah, é mesmo! - disse o menino, sacudindo a cabeça. - Ora, o Porta-Espada é melhor do que ele. Esse pelo menos às vezes desembainha a espada.

- E que bela figura ele faz com ela, para seu proveito - retrucou o tio. - Escuta-me, Wally, escuta-me. Olha para cima da lareira.

- Ora, quem foi que pendurou o meu caneco de prata ali em cima, num prego? - exclamou o menino.

- Fui eu - disse o tio. - Chega de canecos agora. Devemos começar a beber em copos hoje, Walter. Somos homens de negócios. Pertencemos à City. Iniciamos nossa vida esta manhã.

- Pois bem, tio - disse o menino - , bebo no que o senhor quiser, contanto que possa beber à sua saúde. À sua, tio Sol, e viva o -

- Lorde Prefeito - interrompeu o velho.

- Ao Lorde Prefeito, aos Xerifes, ao Conselho Comunal e à Corporação - disse o menino. - Vida longa a eles!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O tio assentiu com grande satisfação. - E agora - disse ele - , conte-me alguma coisa sobre a Firma.

- Oh, não há muito o que contar sobre a Firma, tio - disse o rapaz enquanto comia. - Os escritórios são muito escuros. Na minha sala há uma grade alta diante da lareira, um cofre de ferro, cartões sobre navios que vão partir, um calendário, escrivaninhas, bancos, um tinteiro, livros, caixas e muitas teias de aranha. Numa teia acima da minha cabeça, uma mosca azul ressecada parece estar pendurada ali há anos.

- Nada mais? - perguntou o tio.

- Não, nada além de uma velha gaiola - não sei como foi parar lá - e um balde de carvão.

- Nenhum livro bancário, talão de cheques, conta ou outro sinal de riqueza chegando todos os dias? - perguntou o velho Sol. Olhou com esperança para o sobrinho através da névoa que sempre parecia cercá-lo, dando às palavras uma ênfase satisfeita.

- Ah, sim, suponho que haja bastante disso - respondeu o sobrinho com descuido - , mas essas coisas ficam na sala do Sr. Carker, do Sr. Morfin ou do Sr. Dombey.

Original English Version

The uncle nodded his head with great satisfaction. “And now,” he said, “let’s hear something about the Firm.”

“Oh! there’s not much to be told about the Firm, Uncle,” said the boy, plying his knife and fork. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.”

“Nothing else?” said the Uncle.

“No, nothing else, except an old birdcage (I wonder how that ever came there!) and a coal-scuttle.”

“No bankers’ books, or cheque books, or bills, or such tokens of wealth rolling in from day to day?” said old Sol, looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him, and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words.

“Oh yes, plenty of that I suppose,” returned his nephew carelessly; “but all that sort of thing’s in Mr Carker’s room, or Mr Morfin’s, or Mr Dombey’s.”

Tradução Integral em Português

O tio meneou a cabeça com grande satisfação. - E agora - disse ele - , contemos algo sobre a Firma.

- Ah! não há muito que contar sobre a Firma, tio - disse o menino, manejando a faca e o garfo. - É um conjunto de escritórios medonhamente escuros, e na sala em que fico há um alto guarda-fogo, e um cofre de ferro, e alguns cartazes sobre navios que vão zarpar, e um almanaque, e algumas escrivaninhas e banquinhos, e um tinteiro, e alguns livros, e algumas caixas, e um monte de teias de aranha, e numa delas, logo acima da minha cabeça, uma mosca-varejeira ressequida que parece estar pendurada ali desde não sei quando.

- Mais nada? - disse o tio.

- Não, mais nada, exceto uma velha gaiola de passarinho (imagino como é que ela foi parar ali!) e um balde de carvão.

- Nenhum livro de banqueiro, ou talão de cheques, ou letras de câmbio, ou tais sinais de riqueza a entrar dia após dia? - disse o velho Sol, olhando com ternura para o sobrinho de dentro do nevoeiro que sempre parecia envolvê-lo, e pondo uma ênfase untuosa nas palavras.

- Ah, sim, disso suponho que haja bastante - respondeu o sobrinho displicentemente - ; mas tudo isso fica na sala do senhor Carker, ou na do senhor Morfin, ou na do senhor Dombey.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- O Sr. Dombey esteve lá hoje? - perguntou o tio.

- Ah, sim! Entrou e saiu o dia inteiro.

- Suponho que ele não tenha notado você?

- Sim, notou. Foi até meu lugar - gostaria que ele não fosse tão sério e rígido, tio - e disse: “Ah, você é o filho do Sr. Gills, o fabricante de instrumentos náuticos.” “Sobrinho, senhor”, respondi. “Eu disse sobrinho, rapaz”, ele retrucou. Mas eu juraria que ele disse filho, tio.

- Provavelmente você se enganou. Não importa.

- Não, não importa, mas achei que ele não precisava ser tão ríspido. Não havia mal algum, mesmo que tivesse dito filho. Depois contou que o senhor falara com ele a meu respeito e que, por isso, encontrara trabalho para mim na Casa. Disse que eu devia ser atento e pontual, e então foi embora. Achei que ele não gostou muito de mim.

Original English Version

“Has Mr Dombey been there today?” inquired the Uncle.

“Oh yes! In and out all day.”

“He didn’t take any notice of you, I suppose?”.

“Yes he did. He walked up to my seat, - I wish he wasn’t so solemn and stiff, Uncle, - and said, ‘Oh! you are the son of Mr Gills the Ships’ Instrument-maker.’ ‘Nephew, Sir,’ I said. ‘I said nephew, boy,’ said he. But I could take my oath he said son, Uncle.”

“You’re mistaken I daresay. It’s no matter.”

“No, it’s no matter, but he needn’t have been so sharp, I thought. There was no harm in it though he did say son. Then he told me that you had spoken to him about me, and that he had found me employment in the House accordingly, and that I was expected to be attentive and punctual, and then he went away. I thought he didn’t seem to like me much.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- O senhor Dombey esteve lá hoje? - indagou o tio.

- Ah, sim! Entrando e saindo o dia todo.

- Não te deu atenção alguma, imagino?

- Deu, sim. Veio até o meu lugar - quem me dera ele não fosse tão solene e empertigado, tio - e disse: ‘Ah! você é o filho do senhor Gills, o fabricante de instrumentos náuticos.’ ‘Sobrinho, senhor’, disse eu. ‘Eu disse sobrinho, rapaz’, disse ele. Mas eu juraria que ele disse filho, tio.

- Estás enganado, ouso dizer. Não tem importância.

- Não, não tem importância, mas não precisava ter sido tão áspero, achei. Não havia nenhum mal nisso, ainda que tenha dito filho. Depois me disse que o senhor havia falado com ele a meu respeito, e que ele me arranjara emprego na Casa em consequência disso, e que se esperava que eu fosse atento e pontual, e então foi-se embora. Achei que ele não pareceu gostar muito de mim.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Suponho que você queira dizer - observou o fabricante de instrumentos - que não gostou muito dele?

- Bem, tio - respondeu o rapaz, rindo - , talvez seja verdade. Nunca pensei nisso.

Solomon ficou mais sério enquanto terminava o jantar e, de vez em quando, olhava para o rosto alegre do rapaz. Depois da refeição, quando retiraram a comida trazida de um restaurante próximo, acendeu uma vela e desceu a uma pequena adega. O sobrinho ficou na escada mofada e segurou obedientemente a luz. Após procurar no escuro, Solomon voltou com uma garrafa muito antiga, coberta de poeira e sujeira.

- Ora, tio Sol! - disse o rapaz. - O que está fazendo? Esse é o maravilhoso vinho da Madeira! Só existe mais uma garrafa!

O tio Sol assentiu para mostrar que sabia exatamente o que fazia. Em silêncio solene, tirou a rolha, encheu duas taças e colocou a garrafa e uma terceira taça limpa sobre a mesa.

Original English Version

“You mean, I suppose,” observed the Instrument-maker, “that you didn’t seem to like him much?”

“Well, Uncle,” returned the boy, laughing. “Perhaps so; I never thought of that.”

Solomon looked a little graver as he finished his dinner, and glanced from time to time at the boy’s bright face. When dinner was done, and the cloth was cleared away (the entertainment had been brought from a neighbouring eating-house), he lighted a candle, and went down below into a little cellar, while his nephew, standing on the mouldy staircase, dutifully held the light. After a moment’s groping here and there, he presently returned with a very ancient-looking bottle, covered with dust and dirt.

“Why, Uncle Sol!” said the boy, “what are you about? that’s the wonderful Madeira! - there’s only one more bottle!”

Uncle Sol nodded his head, implying that he knew very well what he was about; and having drawn the cork in solemn silence, filled two glasses and set the bottle and a third clean glass on the table.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Queres dizer, suponho - observou o fabricante de instrumentos - , que tu é que não pareceste gostar muito dele?

- Bem, tio - respondeu o menino, rindo. - Talvez; nunca pensei nisso.

Solomon ficou um pouco mais sério ao terminar o jantar, e olhava de quando em quando para o rosto radiante do menino. Concluído o jantar e retirada a toalha (a refeição havia sido trazida de uma casa de pasto vizinha), acendeu uma vela e desceu a um pequeno porão, enquanto o sobrinho, de pé na escada bolorenta, segurava a luz obedientemente. Depois de um instante tateando aqui e ali, voltou logo com uma garrafa de aspecto muito antigo, coberta de pó e sujeira.

- Ora, tio Sol! - disse o menino - , o que vai fazer? esse é o maravilhoso Madeira! - só resta mais uma garrafa!

O tio Sol meneou a cabeça, dando a entender que sabia muito bem o que estava fazendo; e, tendo tirado a rolha em solene silêncio, encheu dois copos e pôs a garrafa e um terceiro copo limpo sobre a mesa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Você beberá a outra garrafa, Wally - disse ele - , quando a boa sorte chegar: quando for bem-sucedido, respeitado e feliz. Nós a beberemos quando o começo que teve hoje o levar, como peço ao Céu que aconteça, a uma parte mais tranquila do caminho da vida, meu filho. Brindo a você!

Parte da névoa ao redor do velho Sol parecia ter entrado em sua garganta, pois sua voz estava rouca. Sua mão também tremia ao tocar a taça na do sobrinho. Mas, quando o vinho chegou aos lábios, bebeu-o com coragem e depois estalou os lábios.

- Querido tio - disse o rapaz, fingindo que o momento não era sério, embora tivesse os olhos cheios de lágrimas - , agradeço a honra e tudo mais. Agora proponho três vezes três vivas, e mais um, ao Sr. Solomon Gills. Viva! O senhor agradecerá quando bebermos juntos a última garrafa, não é, tio?

Original English Version

“You shall drink the other bottle, Wally,” he said, “when you come to good fortune; when you are a thriving, respected, happy man; when the start in life you have made today shall have brought you, as I pray Heaven it may! - to a smooth part of the course you have to run, my child. My love to you!”

Some of the fog that hung about old Sol seemed to have got into his throat; for he spoke huskily. His hand shook too, as he clinked his glass against his nephew’s. But having once got the wine to his lips, he tossed it off like a man, and smacked them afterwards.

“Dear Uncle,” said the boy, affecting to make light of it, while the tears stood in his eyes, “for the honour you have done me, et cetera, et cetera. I shall now beg to propose Mr Solomon Gills with three times three and one cheer more. Hurrah! and you’ll return thanks, Uncle, when we drink the last bottle together; won’t you?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Beberás a outra garrafa, Wally - disse ele - , quando chegares à boa fortuna; quando fores um homem próspero, respeitado e feliz; quando o início de vida que deste hoje te houver conduzido, como peço aos Céus que conduza! - a um trecho tranquilo do percurso que tens de correr, meu filho. À tua saúde!

Parte do nevoeiro que envolvia o velho Sol parecia ter-lhe entrado na garganta; pois falava com voz rouca. A mão também lhe tremia, ao tilintar o copo contra o do sobrinho. Mas, uma vez chegado o vinho aos lábios, virou-o de um trago, como homem, e depois estalou os lábios.

- Querido tio - disse o menino, fingindo levar a coisa na brincadeira, enquanto as lágrimas lhe brotavam nos olhos - , pela honra que me deu, et cetera, et cetera. Peço agora licença para propor um brinde ao senhor Solomon Gills com três vezes três hurras e mais um hurra por cima. Hurra! e o senhor há de agradecer, tio, quando bebermos juntos a última garrafa; não é?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Tocaram as taças novamente. Walter estava economizando o vinho, por isso tomou apenas um gole e ergueu a taça diante do olho com a expressão mais entendida que conseguiu fazer.

O tio o observou em silêncio por algum tempo. Quando seus olhos finalmente se encontraram, continuou em voz alta o assunto que ocupava seus pensamentos, como se tivesse falado o tempo todo.

- Veja, Walter - disse ele - , este negócio é realmente apenas um hábito para mim. Estou tão acostumado a ele que mal conseguiria viver sem ele, mas não há comércio algum. Quando aquele uniforme lá fora era usado, as pessoas podiam fazer fortunas, e faziam. Mas a concorrência, as novas invenções e as mudanças constantes me deixaram para trás. Mal sei onde estou, muito menos onde estão meus clientes.

- Não se preocupe com eles, tio!

- Desde que voltou do internato semanal em Peckham - e isso foi há dez dias - disse Solomon - , lembro-me de apenas uma pessoa ter entrado na loja.

Original English Version

They clinked their glasses again; and Walter, who was hoarding his wine, took a sip of it, and held the glass up to his eye with as critical an air as he could possibly assume.

His Uncle sat looking at him for some time in silence. When their eyes at last met, he began at once to pursue the theme that had occupied his thoughts, aloud, as if he had been speaking all the time.

“You see, Walter,” he said, “in truth this business is merely a habit with me. I am so accustomed to the habit that I could hardly live if I relinquished it: but there’s nothing doing, nothing doing. When that uniform was worn,” pointing out towards the little Midshipman, “then indeed, fortunes were to be made, and were made. But competition, competition - new invention, new invention - alteration, alteration - the world’s gone past me. I hardly know where I am myself, much less where my customers are.”

“Never mind ’em, Uncle!”

“Since you came home from weekly boarding-school at Peckham, for instance - and that’s ten days,” said Solomon, “I don’t remember more than one person that has come into the shop.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Tilintaram os copos de novo; e Walter, que economizava o vinho, tomou um gole e ergueu o copo à altura dos olhos com o ar mais crítico que conseguiu assumir.

O tio ficou algum tempo a olhá-lo em silêncio. Quando por fim seus olhares se encontraram, retomou logo, em voz alta, o tema que lhe ocupara os pensamentos, como se estivesse falando o tempo todo.

- Veja bem, Walter - disse ele - , na verdade este negócio é para mim apenas um hábito. Estou tão acostumado ao hábito que mal poderia viver se dele abrisse mão; mas não se faz nada, não se faz nada. Quando aquele uniforme era usado - apontando para o pequeno Guarda-Marinha - , então sim, fortunas havia por fazer, e se faziam. Mas concorrência, concorrência - invenção nova, invenção nova - mudança, mudança - o mundo passou por cima de mim. Mal sei onde eu próprio estou, quanto mais onde estão os meus fregueses.

- Não ligue para eles, tio!

- Desde que voltaste do internato semanal de Peckham, por exemplo - e já lá vão dez dias - disse Solomon - , não me lembro de mais de uma pessoa que tenha entrado na loja.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Duas, tio, não se lembra? Houve o homem que pediu troco para uma moeda de ouro...

- Essa é a pessoa - disse Solomon.

- Ora, tio! A mulher que perguntou o caminho para a barreira de Mile End não conta como alguém?

- Ah, é verdade - disse Solomon. - Eu me esqueci dela. Duas pessoas.

- É claro que não compraram nada - exclamou o rapaz.

- Não. Não compraram nada - disse Solomon calmamente.

- E não queriam nada - exclamou o rapaz.

- Não. Se quisessem alguma coisa, teriam ido a outra loja - disse Solomon no mesmo tom.

- Mas eram duas pessoas, tio - exclamou o rapaz, como se fosse uma grande vitória. - O senhor disse que havia apenas uma.

Original English Version

“Two, Uncle, don’t you recollect? There was the man who came to ask for change for a sovereign - ”

“That’s the one,” said Solomon.

“Why Uncle! don’t you call the woman anybody, who came to ask the way to Mile-End Turnpike?”

“Oh! it’s true,” said Solomon, “I forgot her. Two persons.”

“To be sure, they didn’t buy anything,” cried the boy.

“No. They didn’t buy anything,” said Solomon, quietly.

“Nor want anything,” cried the boy.

“No. If they had, they’d gone to another shop,” said Solomon, in the same tone.

“But there were two of ’em, Uncle,” cried the boy, as if that were a great triumph. “You said only one.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Duas, tio, não se recorda? Houve o homem que veio pedir troco de uma libra -

- Esse é o tal - disse Solomon.

- Ora, tio! o senhor não conta como ninguém a mulher que veio perguntar o caminho para a Barreira de Mile-End?

- Ah! é verdade - disse Solomon - , esqueci-me dela. Duas pessoas.

- Claro que não compraram nada - exclamou o menino.

- Não. Não compraram nada - disse Solomon, calmamente.

- Nem queriam nada - exclamou o menino.

- Não. Se quisessem, teriam ido a outra loja - disse Solomon, no mesmo tom.

- Mas eram duas, tio - exclamou o menino, como se aquilo fosse um grande triunfo. - O senhor disse que era só uma.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Depois de uma pausa, o velho continuou: - Bem, Wally, não somos como os habitantes da ilha de Robinson Crusoé, portanto não podemos viver de um homem que pede troco e de uma mulher que pede informações. Como eu disse, o mundo passou por mim. Não o culpo, mas já não o compreendo. Lojistas, aprendizes, negócios e mercadorias não são como antes. Sete oitavos do meu estoque estão fora de moda. Sou um homem antiquado numa loja antiquada, numa rua que mudou. Fiquei para trás no tempo e estou velho demais para alcançá-lo. Até o ruído distante do mundo à frente me confunde.

Walter ia falar, mas o tio ergueu a mão.

Original English Version

“Well, Wally,” resumed the old man, after a short pause: “not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe’s Island, we can’t live on a man who asks for change for a sovereign, and a woman who inquires the way to Mile-End Turnpike. As I said just now, the world has gone past me. I don’t blame it; but I no longer understand it. Tradesmen are not the same as they used to be, apprentices are not the same, business is not the same, business commodities are not the same. Seven-eighths of my stock is old-fashioned. I am an old-fashioned man in an old-fashioned shop, in a street that is not the same as I remember it. I have fallen behind the time, and am too old to catch it again. Even the noise it makes a long way ahead, confuses me.”

Walter was going to speak, but his Uncle held up his hand.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Pois bem, Wally - retomou o velho, depois de uma breve pausa - : não sendo como os Selvagens que apareceram na ilha de Robinson Crusoé, não podemos viver de um homem que pede troco de uma libra e de uma mulher que pergunta o caminho para a Barreira de Mile-End. Como eu dizia há pouco, o mundo passou por cima de mim. Não o censuro; mas já não o compreendo. Os comerciantes não são os mesmos de outrora, os aprendizes não são os mesmos, o negócio não é o mesmo, as mercadorias do ramo não são as mesmas. Sete oitavos do meu estoque estão fora de moda. Sou um homem fora de moda, numa loja fora de moda, numa rua que não é a mesma de que me lembro. Fiquei para trás no tempo, e estou velho demais para alcançá-lo de novo. Até o barulho que ele faz muito adiante me confunde.

Walter ia falar, mas o tio ergueu a mão.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- É por isso, Wally, que quero que entre cedo no mundo ocupado e siga seu caminho. Sou apenas o fantasma deste negócio; sua verdadeira vida desapareceu há muito tempo. Quando eu morrer, até o fantasma desaparecerá. Como esta loja claramente não é uma herança para você, usei quase o último dos meus antigos contatos para ajudá-lo. Algumas pessoas pensam que sou rico; por você, gostaria que estivessem certas. Mas, seja o que for que eu lhe deixe ou dê, um lugar numa Casa como a de Dombey o ajudará a usá-lo bem. Trabalhe muito, tente gostar do trabalho, conquiste uma independência segura e seja feliz!

- Farei tudo o que puder, tio, para merecer seu amor. Farei mesmo - disse o rapaz com seriedade.

- Sei que fará - disse Solomon. - Tenho certeza. - Saboreou ainda mais uma segunda taça do velho Madeira. - Quanto ao mar - continuou - , é muito bom nas histórias, Wally, mas não na vida real. Não serve de modo algum. É natural pensar nele entre todos estes objetos conhecidos, mas o mar não serve.

Original English Version

“Therefore, Wally - therefore it is that I am anxious you should be early in the busy world, and on the world’s track. I am only the ghost of this business - its substance vanished long ago; and when I die, its ghost will be laid. As it is clearly no inheritance for you then, I have thought it best to use for your advantage, almost the only fragment of the old connexion that stands by me, through long habit. Some people suppose me to be wealthy. I wish for your sake they were right. But whatever I leave behind me, or whatever I can give you, you in such a House as Dombey’s are in the road to use well and make the most of. Be diligent, try to like it, my dear boy, work for a steady independence, and be happy!”

“I’ll do everything I can, Uncle, to deserve your affection. Indeed I will,” said the boy, earnestly.

“I know it,” said Solomon. “I am sure of it,” and he applied himself to a second glass of the old Madeira, with increased relish. “As to the Sea,” he pursued, “that’s well enough in fiction, Wally, but it won’t do in fact: it won’t do at all. It’s natural enough that you should think about it, associating it with all these familiar things; but it won’t do, it won’t do.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Por isso, Wally - por isso é que anseio que entres cedo no mundo atarefado, e na trilha do mundo. Sou apenas o fantasma deste negócio - sua substância desvaneceu-se há muito; e, quando eu morrer, seu fantasma será sepultado. Como isto, portanto, não é herança para ti, achei melhor usar em teu proveito quase o único fragmento das velhas relações que me resta, por força de longo hábito. Certa gente me supõe rico. Quisera eu, por teu bem, que tivessem razão. Mas seja o que for que eu deixe, ou seja o que for que eu possa te dar, numa Casa como a de Dombey estás em condições de usá-lo bem e tirar dele o máximo proveito. Sê diligente, procura gostar disto, meu querido menino, trabalha por uma independência sólida, e sê feliz!

- Farei tudo o que puder, tio, para merecer o seu carinho. Farei mesmo - disse o menino, com fervor.

- Sei disso - disse Solomon. - Tenho certeza disso - e dedicou-se a um segundo copo do velho Madeira, com prazer redobrado. - Quanto ao Mar - prosseguiu - , isso está muito bem na ficção, Wally, mas não serve na prática: não serve de modo algum. É bem natural que penses nisso, associando-o a todas estas coisas familiares; mas não serve, não serve.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Entretanto, enquanto falava do mar, Solomon Gills esfregava as mãos com prazer secreto e olhava com grande satisfação para os objetos náuticos ao redor.

- Pense neste vinho - disse o velho Sol. - Ele viajou às Índias Orientais e voltou mais vezes do que consigo dizer, e uma vez deu a volta ao mundo. Pense nas noites totalmente escuras, nos ventos rugindo e nos mares revoltos.

- Os trovões, relâmpagos, chuva, granizo e todo tipo de tempestade - disse o rapaz.

- É claro - disse Solomon. - Este vinho passou por tudo isso. Pense em como a madeira e os mastros se esforçavam e rangiam, e como a tempestade assobiava e uivava entre as cordas e o aparelhamento.

- E como os homens subiam, competindo para serem os primeiros nas vergas a prender as velas geladas, enquanto o navio balançava e saltava como louco! - exclamou o sobrinho.

- Exatamente - disse Solomon. - Tudo isso aconteceu sobre o velho barril que continha este vinho. Ora, quando o Charming Sally afundou no...

Original English Version

Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment, as he talked of the sea, though; and looked on the seafaring objects about him with inexpressible complacency.

“Think of this wine for instance,” said old Sol, “which has been to the East Indies and back, I’m not able to say how often, and has been once round the world. Think of the pitch-dark nights, the roaring winds, and rolling seas:”

“The thunder, lightning, rain, hail, storm of all kinds,” said the boy.

“To be sure,” said Solomon, - “that this wine has passed through. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:”

“What a clambering aloft of men, vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails, while the ship rolls and pitches, like mad!” cried his nephew.

“Exactly so,” said Solomon: “has gone on, over the old cask that held this wine. Why, when the Charming Sally went down in the - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

Solomon Gills, contudo, esfregava as mãos com um ar de dissimulada fruição enquanto falava do mar; e contemplava os objetos marinheiros ao seu redor com inexprimível complacência.

- Pensa neste vinho, por exemplo - disse o velho Sol - , que foi às Índias Orientais e voltou não sei dizer quantas vezes, e deu uma volta ao mundo. Pensa nas noites pretas como breu, nos ventos bramindo, e nos mares revoltos:

- Nos trovões, relâmpagos, chuva, granizo, tempestades de toda sorte - disse o menino.

- Isso mesmo - disse Solomon - , por que passou este vinho. Pensa que ranger e estalar de cavernames e mastros: que assobiar e uivar do vendaval por entre cordames e enxárcias:

- Que subir de homens pelo cordame, disputando entre si quem primeiro se estenderia sobre as vergas para ferrar as velas geladas, enquanto o navio joga e arfa, como um louco! - exclamou o sobrinho.

- Exatamente - disse Solomon - , prosseguiu, por cima do velho barril que continha este vinho. Ora, quando a Charming Sally afundou no -

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- No mar Báltico, no meio da noite! Eram doze e vinte e cinco quando o relógio do capitão parou em seu bolso, enquanto ele jazia morto junto ao mastro principal, em 14 de fevereiro de 1749! - exclamou Walter com entusiasmo.

- Sim, exatamente! - exclamou o velho Sol. - Havia quinhentos barris de vinho assim a bordo. Todos, exceto o imediato, o primeiro-tenente, dois marinheiros e uma senhora num bote furado, abriram os barris, embriagaram-se e morreram bêbados. Cantaram “Rule Britannia” enquanto o navio afundava e terminaram juntos com um grito terrível.

- Mas quando o George the Second foi lançado contra a costa da Cornualha numa tempestade terrível, duas horas antes do amanhecer de 4 de março de 1771, levava quase duzentos cavalos. No começo da tempestade, os cavalos escaparam sob o convés, correram descontrolados e pisotearam uns aos outros até a morte. Seus gritos pareciam tão humanos que a tripulação pensou que o navio estava cheio de demônios. Alguns dos melhores marinheiros perderam a coragem e a razão e se jogaram no mar. No fim, apenas dois sobreviveram para contar a história.

Original English Version

“In the Baltic Sea, in the dead of night; five-and-twenty minutes past twelve when the captain’s watch stopped in his pocket; he lying dead against the main-mast - on the fourteenth of February, seventeen forty-nine!” cried Walter, with great animation.

“Ay, to be sure!” cried old Sol, “quite right! Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing ‘Rule Britannia’, when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.”

“But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, “seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- No Mar Báltico, em plena noite; doze e vinte e cinco quando o relógio do capitão parou no bolso; ele jazendo morto encostado ao mastro grande - no dia catorze de fevereiro de mil setecentos e quarenta e nove! - exclamou Walter, com grande animação.

- Ah, isso mesmo! - exclamou o velho Sol - , perfeitamente! Havia então quinhentos barris de vinho como este a bordo; e toda a tripulação (exceto o primeiro-imediato, o primeiro-tenente, dois marujos e uma dama, num bote que fazia água) pôs-se a arrombar os barris, embebedou-se e morreu bêbada, cantando ‘Rule Britannia’, quando o navio assentou e foi ao fundo, terminando com um pavoroso grito em coro.

- Mas quando o George the Second deu à costa, tio, no litoral da Cornualha, num vendaval lúgubre, duas horas antes do amanhecer, no dia quatro de março de setenta e um, tinha a bordo quase duzentos cavalos; e os cavalos, soltando-se lá embaixo, cedo no vendaval, e correndo de um lado para outro, e pisoteando-se uns aos outros até a morte, faziam tais ruídos, e soltavam tais gritos humanos, que a tripulação, crendo que o navio estava cheio de demônios, alguns dos melhores homens, perdendo o ânimo e a cabeça, atiraram-se ao mar em desespero, e só dois ficaram vivos, por fim, para contar a história.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- E quando - disse o velho Sol - , quando o Polyphemus...

- Um navio mercante particular das Índias Ocidentais, de 350 toneladas, comandado por John Brown, de Deptford, e pertencente à Wiggs e Companhia - exclamou Walter.

- Esse mesmo - disse Sol. - Quando pegou fogo à noite, a quatro dias de viagem com vento favorável do porto da Jamaica...

- Havia dois irmãos a bordo - interrompeu o sobrinho, falando depressa e alto. - Só havia lugar para um no último bote que não afundara, e nenhum dos irmãos aceitava partir. Por fim, o mais velho ergueu o mais novo pela cintura e o jogou no bote. Então o mais novo se levantou e gritou: “Querido Edward, pense na mulher que espera se casar com você em casa. Sou apenas um rapaz, e ninguém me espera. Salte e tome meu lugar!” Depois se jogou no mar.

Original English Version

“And when,” said old Sol, “when the Polyphemus - ”

“Private West India Trader, burden three hundred and fifty tons, Captain, John Brown of Deptford. Owners, Wiggs and Co.,” cried Walter.

“The same,” said Sol; “when she took fire, four days’ sail with a fair wind out of Jamaica Harbour, in the night - ”

“There were two brothers on board,” interposed his nephew, speaking very fast and loud, “and there not being room for both of them in the only boat that wasn’t swamped, neither of them would consent to go, until the elder took the younger by the waist, and flung him in. And then the younger, rising in the boat, cried out, ‘Dear Edward, think of your promised wife at home. I’m only a boy. No one waits at home for me. Leap down into my place!’ and flung himself in the sea!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- E quando - disse o velho Sol - , quando o Polyphemus -

- Cargueiro particular das Índias Ocidentais, arqueação de trezentas e cinquenta toneladas, capitão John Brown de Deptford. Armadores, Wiggs e Cia. - exclamou Walter.

- O mesmo - disse Sol - ; quando ele pegou fogo, a quatro dias de viagem com vento favorável a partir do Porto da Jamaica, à noite -

- Havia dois irmãos a bordo - interpôs o sobrinho, falando muito depressa e alto - , e como não havia lugar para ambos no único bote que não soçobrara, nenhum dos dois consentia em ir, até que o mais velho pegou o mais novo pela cintura e o atirou lá para dentro. E então o mais novo, erguendo-se no bote, gritou: ‘Querido Edward, pensa na tua noiva que te espera em casa. Eu sou apenas um menino. Ninguém me espera em casa. Salta para o meu lugar!’ e lançou-se ao mar!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O rapaz se levantara enquanto falava com profunda emoção. Seus olhos brilhantes e o rosto corado pareceram lembrar ao velho Sol algo que esquecera ou não conseguira ver através de sua névoa habitual. Um instante antes, Sol claramente pretendia contar mais histórias. Em vez disso, deu uma tosse curta e seca e disse: - Bem! Vamos mudar de assunto.

A verdade era que o tio simples amava secretamente aventuras maravilhosas, em parte porque seu ofício o ligava a elas. Incentivara muito o mesmo amor no sobrinho. Tudo o que pretendia alertar o rapaz contra uma vida de aventuras apenas aumentara seu desejo. Isso sempre acontece: todo livro ou história escrito para manter os meninos em terra parece naturalmente atraí-los para o oceano.

Original English Version

The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy, who had risen from his seat in the earnestness of what he said and felt, seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten, or that his encircling mist had hitherto shut out. Instead of proceeding with any more anecdotes, as he had evidently intended but a moment before, he gave a short dry cough, and said, “Well! suppose we change the subject.”

The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it. This is invariable. It would seem as if there never was a book written, or a story told, expressly with the object of keeping boys on shore, which did not lure and charm them to the ocean, as a matter of course.

Tradução Integral em Português

O olhar acendido e a cor subida do menino, que se erguera do assento no fervor do que dizia e sentia, pareceram lembrar ao velho Sol algo que ele esquecera, ou que a névoa que o cercava até então mantivera de fora. Em vez de prosseguir com mais anedotas, como evidentemente pretendera havia apenas um instante, deu uma tosse curta e seca, e disse: - Bem! que tal mudarmos de assunto.

A verdade é que o tio de espírito simples, em sua secreta atração pelo maravilhoso e pelo aventuroso - de que era, de certo modo, parente distante, por seu ofício - havia muito estimulado a mesma atração no sobrinho; e que tudo o que já se pusera diante do menino para dissuadi-lo de uma vida de aventura tivera o costumeiro e inexplicável efeito de aguçar-lhe o gosto por ela. Isto é invariável. Dir-se-ia que nunca se escreveu livro, nem se contou história, expressamente com o objetivo de manter os meninos em terra, que não os atraísse e encantasse rumo ao oceano, como coisa natural.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Um novo convidado juntou-se então ao pequeno grupo. Vestia um terno azul folgado e tinha um gancho no lugar da mão direita, sobrancelhas negras e grossas e uma bengala pesada e cheia de nós na mão esquerda. Um lenço solto de seda preta cercava seu pescoço, e a gola grande e áspera parecia uma pequena vela. A taça extra era claramente para ele, e ele sabia disso. Tirou o casaco grosseiro e pendurou o chapéu duro e brilhante num gancho especial atrás da porta. O chapéu deixara um círculo vermelho em torno da testa, como se ele tivesse usado uma tigela apertada. Depois levou uma cadeira até a taça limpa e se sentou. As pessoas chamavam aquele visitante de Capitão. Ele fora piloto, comandante de navio, corsário, ou talvez os três, e tinha por completo a aparência de um homem do mar.

Seu rosto moreno e firme se iluminou quando apertou a mão do tio e do sobrinho. Mas parecia usar pouquíssimas palavras e disse apenas:

Original English Version

But an addition to the little party now made its appearance, in the shape of a gentleman in a wide suit of blue, with a hook instead of a hand attached to his right wrist; very bushy black eyebrows; and a thick stick in his left hand, covered all over (like his nose) with knobs. He wore a loose black silk handkerchief round his neck, and such a very large coarse shirt collar, that it looked like a small sail. He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it. He was usually addressed as Captain, this visitor; and had been a pilot, or a skipper, or a privateersman, or all three perhaps; and was a very salt-looking man indeed.

His face, remarkable for a brown solidity, brightened as he shook hands with Uncle and nephew; but he seemed to be of a laconic disposition, and merely said:

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas um acréscimo ao pequeno grupo fez então sua aparição, sob a forma de um cavalheiro num amplo traje azul, com um gancho em vez de mão preso ao pulso direito; sobrancelhas negras muito espessas; e uma bengala grossa na mão esquerda, toda coberta (como o nariz) de nós. Trazia ao pescoço um lenço de seda preta solto, e um colarinho de camisa tão grande e grosseiro que parecia uma pequena vela. Era evidentemente a pessoa a que o copo de vinho suplente se destinava, e evidentemente o sabia; pois, tendo tirado o áspero sobretudo e pendurado, num prego particular atrás da porta, um chapéu tão duro e envernizado que a cabeça de uma pessoa sensível doeria só de vê-lo, e que lhe deixara na própria testa um vinco vermelho como se tivesse usado uma bacia apertada, trouxe uma cadeira para onde estava o copo limpo, e sentou-se atrás dele. Esse visitante era comumente tratado por Capitão; e tinha sido piloto, ou mestre, ou corsário, ou talvez as três coisas; e era, na verdade, um homem de bem salgado aspecto.

O rosto, notável por uma morena solidez, iluminou-se quando ele apertou as mãos do tio e do sobrinho; mas parecia ser de temperamento lacônico, e limitou-se a dizer:

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Como vão as coisas?

- Tudo bem - disse o Sr. Gills, empurrando a garrafa para ele.

Ele pegou a garrafa, examinou-a, cheirou-a e perguntou com grande expressão:

- A especial?

- A especial - respondeu o fabricante de instrumentos.

Ao ouvir isso, assobiou enquanto enchia a taça e pareceu achar que estavam realmente festejando.

- Walter! - disse ele, ajeitando o cabelo ralo com o gancho e depois apontando-o para o fabricante de instrumentos. - Olhe para ele! Ame! Honre! E obedeça! Procure sua lição religiosa até encontrar essas palavras e então dobre o canto da página. Sucesso, meu rapaz!

Ficou tão satisfeito com a citação e o conselho que repetiu as palavras em voz baixa e disse que as esquecera por quarenta anos.

- Mas sempre que precisei de duas ou três palavras na vida, soube onde encontrá-las, Gills - observou. - Isso acontece porque não desperdiço palavras como algumas pessoas.

Original English Version

“How goes it?”

“All well,” said Mr Gills, pushing the bottle towards him.

He took it up, and having surveyed and smelt it, said with extraordinary expression:

“The?”

“The,” returned the Instrument-maker.

Upon that he whistled as he filled his glass, and seemed to think they were making holiday indeed.

“Wal”r!” he said, arranging his hair (which was thin) with his hook, and then pointing it at the Instrument-maker, “Look at him! Love! Honour! And Obey! Overhaul your catechism till you find that passage, and when found turn the leaf down. Success, my boy!”

He was so perfectly satisfied both with his quotation and his reference to it, that he could not help repeating the words again in a low voice, and saying he had forgotten ’em these forty year.

“But I never wanted two or three words in my life that I didn’t know where to lay my hand upon ’em, Gills,” he observed. “It comes of not wasting language as some do.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Como vai isso?

- Tudo bem - disse o senhor Gills, empurrando a garrafa em sua direção.

Ele pegou-a, e, tendo-a examinado e cheirado, disse com extraordinária expressão:

- O tal?

- O tal - respondeu o fabricante de instrumentos.

Diante disso, ele assobiou enquanto enchia o copo, e pareceu achar que estavam de fato em dia de festa.

- Wal'r! - disse ele, ajeitando o cabelo (que era ralo) com o gancho, e depois apontando-o para o fabricante de instrumentos - , olha para ele! Amar! Honrar! E Obedecer! Vasculha o teu catecismo até achares essa passagem, e, quando a encontrares, dobra a página. Sucesso, meu rapaz!

Ficou tão perfeitamente satisfeito, tanto com a citação quanto com a referência que fizera a ela, que não pôde deixar de repetir as palavras de novo em voz baixa, e de dizer que as tinha esquecido havia quarenta anos.

- Mas nunca precisei em minha vida de duas ou três palavras que não soubesse onde pôr a mão sobre elas, Gills - observou. - Isso vem de não desperdiçar a língua como fazem alguns.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Talvez esse pensamento o tenha lembrado de que deveria aumentar seu estoque de palavras. De qualquer modo, ficou em silêncio até o velho Sol sair para acender as luzes da loja. Então se virou para Walter e, sem qualquer introdução, disse:

- Suponho que ele conseguiria fazer um relógio se tentasse?

- Eu não ficaria surpreso, Capitão Cuttle - respondeu o rapaz.

- E funcionaria! - disse o Capitão Cuttle, desenhando uma espécie de serpente no ar com o gancho. - Meu Deus, como esse relógio funcionaria!

Por um instante, perdeu-se em pensamentos sobre a velocidade daquele relógio imaginário e ficou olhando para o rapaz como se o rosto dele fosse o mostrador.

- Mas ele está cheio de ciência - observou, agitando o gancho na direção das mercadorias. - Olhe aqui! Isto é uma coleção inteira de ciências. Terra, ar ou água, tanto faz. Quer subir num balão? Ele consegue. Descer num sino de mergulho? Ele consegue. Quer colocar a Estrela Polar numa balança e pesá-la? Ele fará isso por você.

Original English Version

The reflection perhaps reminded him that he had better, like young Norval’s father, ‘increase his store.’ At any rate he became silent, and remained so, until old Sol went out into the shop to light it up, when he turned to Walter, and said, without any introductory remark: -

“I suppose he could make a clock if he tried?”

“I shouldn’t wonder, Captain Cuttle,” returned the boy.

“And it would go!” said Captain Cuttle, making a species of serpent in the air with his hook. “Lord, how that clock would go!”

For a moment or two he seemed quite lost in contemplating the pace of this ideal timepiece, and sat looking at the boy as if his face were the dial.

“But he’s chock-full of science,” he observed, waving his hook towards the stock-in-trade. “Look’ye here! Here’s a collection of ’em. Earth, air, or water. It’s all one. Only say where you’ll have it. Up in a balloon? There you are. Down in a bell? There you are. D’ye want to put the North Star in a pair of scales and weigh it? He’ll do it for you.”

Tradução Integral em Português

A reflexão talvez o lembrasse de que faria bem, como o pai do jovem Norval, em ‘aumentar o seu cabedal’. Fosse como fosse, calou-se, e assim permaneceu, até que o velho Sol saiu para a loja a fim de iluminá-la, ocasião em que se voltou para Walter e disse, sem qualquer observação introdutória: -

- Suponho que ele saberia fazer um relógio, se tentasse?

- Não me admiraria, Capitão Cuttle - respondeu o menino.

- E ele andaria! - disse o Capitão Cuttle, fazendo com o gancho uma espécie de serpente no ar. - Senhor, como andaria esse relógio!

Por um ou dois instantes pareceu inteiramente perdido a contemplar o andar desse cronômetro ideal, e ficou olhando para o menino como se seu rosto fosse o mostrador.

- Mas ele está abarrotado de ciência - observou, acenando com o gancho na direção do estoque. - Olha só aqui! Aqui há uma coleção deles. Terra, ar ou água. É tudo a mesma coisa. Basta dizeres onde a queres. Lá no alto, num balão? Aí tens. Lá no fundo, num sino de mergulho? Aí tens. Queres pôr a Estrela do Norte num par de balanças e pesá-la? Ele o faz para ti.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Essas palavras mostram que o Capitão Cuttle respeitava profundamente os instrumentos da loja. Em suas ideias, havia pouca ou nenhuma diferença entre vender tais instrumentos e inventá-los.

- Ah! - disse ele com um suspiro. - É maravilhoso entendê-los. Mas também é maravilhoso não entendê-los. Mal sei o que é melhor. É tão agradável sentar aqui e sentir que você poderia ser pesado, medido, ampliado, eletrificado ou transformado magneticamente de todas as maneiras possíveis, sem jamais saber como.

Somente o maravilhoso Madeira e a ocasião especial, em que a mente de Walter devia ser instruída, poderiam ter levado o Capitão a fazer um discurso tão longo. Ele próprio pareceu surpreso por aquilo explicar o prazer silencioso que sentira durante dez anos de jantares de domingo naquela sala. Agora mais triste e mais sábio, ficou pensando em silêncio e não disse mais nada.

- Vamos! - exclamou o homem que eles admiravam, ao voltar. - Antes de beber seu rum com água, Ned, precisamos terminar a garrafa.

Original English Version

It may be gathered from these remarks that Captain Cuttle’s reverence for the stock of instruments was profound, and that his philosophy knew little or no distinction between trading in it and inventing it.

“Ah!” he said, with a sigh, “it’s a fine thing to understand ’em. And yet it’s a fine thing not to understand ’em. I hardly know which is best. It’s so comfortable to sit here and feel that you might be weighed, measured, magnified, electrified, polarized, played the very devil with: and never know how.”

Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration. He seemed quite amazed himself at the manner in which it opened up to view the sources of the taciturn delight he had had in eating Sunday dinners in that parlour for ten years. Becoming a sadder and a wiser man, he mused and held his peace.

“Come!” cried the subject of this admiration, returning. “Before you have your glass of grog, Ned, we must finish the bottle.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Depreende-se dessas observações que a reverência do Capitão Cuttle pelo estoque de instrumentos era profunda, e que sua filosofia conhecia pouca ou nenhuma distinção entre comerciá-los e inventá-los.

- Ah! - disse ele, com um suspiro - , é uma bela coisa compreendê-los. E, no entanto, é uma bela coisa não compreendê-los. Mal sei o que é melhor. É tão reconfortante sentar-se aqui e sentir que se poderia ser pesado, medido, ampliado, eletrizado, polarizado, endiabrado de todo jeito: e nunca saber como.

Nada menos que o maravilhoso Madeira, aliado à ocasião (que tornava desejável aprimorar e alargar o espírito de Walter), poderia jamais ter-lhe soltado a língua a ponto de dar voz a essa prodigiosa oração. Ele próprio pareceu bastante espantado com a maneira como ela punha à vista as fontes do taciturno deleite que sentira em comer os jantares de domingo naquela saleta por dez anos. Tornando-se um homem mais triste e mais sábio, meditou e conservou-se em silêncio.

- Vamos! - exclamou o objeto dessa admiração, ao voltar. - Antes de tomares o teu copo de grogue, Ned, temos de terminar a garrafa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Pronto! - disse Ned, enchendo a taça. - Dê mais um pouco ao rapaz.

- Não quero mais, obrigado, tio!

- Sim, sim - disse Sol. - Mais um pouco. Terminaremos a garrafa brindando à Casa, Ned, à Casa de Walter. Talvez um dia uma parte dela seja sua. Quem sabe? Sir Richard Whittington casou-se com a filha de seu patrão.

- “Volte, Whittington, Lorde Prefeito de Londres, e quando for velho nunca a deixará” - interrompeu o Capitão. - Walter! Procure no livro, meu rapaz.

- E embora o Sr. Dombey não tenha filha - começou Sol.

- Sim, sim, ele tem, tio - disse o rapaz, corando e rindo.

- Tem? - exclamou o velho. - Na verdade, acho que tem mesmo.

Original English Version

“Stand by!” said Ned, filling his glass. “Give the boy some more.”

“No more, thank’e, Uncle!”

“Yes, yes,” said Sol, “a little more. We’ll finish the bottle, to the House, Ned - Walter’s House. Why it may be his House one of these days, in part. Who knows? Sir Richard Whittington married his master’s daughter.”

“‘Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London, and when you are old you will never depart from it,’” interposed the Captain. “Wal”r! Overhaul the book, my lad.”

“And although Mr Dombey hasn’t a daughter,” Sol began.

“Yes, yes, he has, Uncle,” said the boy, reddening and laughing.

“Has he?” cried the old man. “Indeed I think he has too.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- A postos! - disse Ned, enchendo o copo. - Dá mais um pouco ao menino.

- Chega, obrigado, tio!

- Sim, sim - disse Sol - , mais um pouquinho. Vamos terminar a garrafa, à Casa, Ned - à Casa de Walter. Ora, um dia destes ela pode vir a ser, em parte, a Casa dele. Quem sabe? Sir Richard Whittington casou-se com a filha do patrão.

- ‘Volta atrás, Whittington, Lorde Prefeito de Londres, e, quando fores velho, nunca dela te afastarás’ - interpôs o Capitão. - Wal'r! Vasculha o livro, meu rapaz.

- E embora o senhor Dombey não tenha uma filha - começou Sol.

- Tem, sim, tem, tio - disse o menino, ruborizando-se e rindo.

- Tem? - exclamou o velho. - De fato, creio que tem também.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah, eu sei que tem - disse o rapaz. - As pessoas no escritório falaram dela hoje. Dizem, tio e Capitão Cuttle - continuou em voz mais baixa - , que ele não gosta dela e a deixa esquecida entre os criados. Está tão decidido a levar o filho para a Casa que, embora a criança ainda seja um bebê, pretende verificar as contas com mais frequência e manter os livros com mais cuidado. Até o viram andando em segredo pelas docas, olhando com orgulho para seus navios e propriedades, como se celebrasse tudo o que ele e o filho possuirão juntos. É o que dizem. É claro que eu não sei.

- Vejam, ele já sabe tudo sobre ela - disse o fabricante de instrumentos.

- Que bobagem, tio - exclamou o rapaz, ainda corando e rindo como um menino. - Como posso evitar ouvir o que as pessoas me contam?

- Receio que o filho seja um pequeno obstáculo para nós no momento, Ned - disse o velho, continuando a brincadeira.

Original English Version

“Oh! I know he has,” said the boy. “Some of ’em were talking about it in the office today. And they do say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” lowering his voice, “that he’s taken a dislike to her, and that she’s left, unnoticed, among the servants, and that his mind’s so set all the while upon having his son in the House, that although he’s only a baby now, he is going to have balances struck oftener than formerly, and the books kept closer than they used to be, and has even been seen (when he thought he wasn’t) walking in the Docks, looking at his ships and property and all that, as if he was exulting like, over what he and his son will possess together. That’s what they say. Of course, I don’t know.”

“He knows all about her already, you see,” said the instrument-maker.

“Nonsense, Uncle,” cried the boy, still reddening and laughing, boy-like. “How can I help hearing what they tell me?”

“The son’s a little in our way at present, I’m afraid, Ned,” said the old man, humouring the joke.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah! eu sei que tem - disse o menino. - Alguns deles estavam falando disso no escritório hoje. E dizem, tio e Capitão Cuttle - baixando a voz - , que ele criou aversão a ela, e que ela vive largada, sem que ninguém lhe dê atenção, no meio dos criados, e que a mente dele está o tempo todo tão fixa em ter o filho na Casa que, embora ele seja apenas um bebê agora, vai mandar fazer balanços com mais frequência do que antes, e manter os livros mais rigorosamente do que costumava, e já foi até visto (quando pensava que não estava sendo) andando pelas Docas, olhando para os seus navios e a sua propriedade e tudo o mais, como se exultasse com o que ele e o filho hão de possuir juntos. É o que dizem. Claro que eu não sei.

- Ele já sabe tudo a respeito dela, como se vê - disse o fabricante de instrumentos.

- Bobagem, tio - exclamou o menino, ainda ruborizando-se e rindo, como menino. - Como posso deixar de ouvir o que me contam?

- O filho está um pouco no nosso caminho por ora, receio, Ned - disse o velho, entrando na brincadeira.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Um obstáculo muito grande - disse o Capitão.

- Mesmo assim, brindaremos a ele - continuou Sol. - Portanto, um brinde a Dombey e Filho.

- Ah, muito bem, tio - disse o rapaz alegremente. - Já que o senhor a mencionou, me ligou a ela e disse que sei tudo a seu respeito, vou melhorar o brinde com ousadia. Um brinde a Dombey... e Filho... e Filha!

Original English Version

“Very much,” said the Captain.

“Nevertheless, we’ll drink him,” pursued Sol. “So, here’s to Dombey and Son.”

“Oh, very well, Uncle,” said the boy, merrily. “Since you have introduced the mention of her, and have connected me with her and have said that I know all about her, I shall make bold to amend the toast. So here’s to Dombey - and Son - and Daughter!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Muito - disse o Capitão.

- Não obstante, brindaremos a ele - prosseguiu Sol. - Assim, à saúde de Dombey and Son.

- Ah, muito bem, tio - disse o menino, alegremente. - Já que o senhor introduziu a menção a ela, e me ligou a ela, e disse que eu sei tudo a seu respeito, atrever-me-ei a emendar o brinde. Assim, à saúde de Dombey - e Son - e Filha!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER V. Paul’s Progress and Christening

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O pequeno Paul ficava mais gordo e forte a cada dia, sem sofrer nenhum mal por causa do sangue dos Toodle. A Srta. Tox também o amava mais a cada dia. O Sr. Dombey valorizava sua devoção e começou a vê-la como uma mulher de excelente bom senso natural, cujos sentimentos mereciam elogio e incentivo. Em várias ocasiões, fez-lhe uma reverência especial. Até enviava mensagens grandiosas por meio da irmã, como: “Por favor, diga à sua amiga, Louisa, que ela é muito bondosa” ou “Diga à Srta. Tox que lhe sou grato”. Essas honras especiais impressionavam profundamente a Srta. Tox.

Talvez a Srta. Tox acreditasse que, como o Destino a escolhera para dar as boas-vindas ao pequeno Dombey antes do nascimento com uma almofada feita com os melhores alfinetes mistos de Kirby, Beard e Kirby, deveria recebê-lo em cada outra fase inicial da vida. Talvez sua enorme bondade a fizesse se oferecer como uma espécie de substituta para a mãe morta. Talvez conhecesse outros motivos. Somente a Srta. Tox poderia responder a essas perguntas naquele ponto da história da Firma. De todo modo, sua atenção e energia constantes perturbavam muito Richards, que emagrecia a cada hora sob seus cuidados e corria o risco de ser supervisionada até a morte.

Original English Version

Little Paul, suffering no contamination from the blood of the Toodles, grew stouter and stronger every day. Every day, too, he was more and more ardently cherished by Miss Tox, whose devotion was so far appreciated by Mr Dombey that he began to regard her as a woman of great natural good sense, whose feelings did her credit and deserved encouragement. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished.

Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death.

Tradução Integral em Português

O pequeno Paul, não sofrendo contaminação alguma do sangue dos Toodle, tornava-se mais robusto e mais forte a cada dia. A cada dia, também, era mais e mais ardentemente estimado pela senhorita Tox, cuja devoção foi apreciada pelo senhor Dombey a tal ponto que ele começou a considerá-la uma mulher de grande e natural bom senso, cujos sentimentos lhe faziam honra e mereciam encorajamento. Foi tão pródigo nessa condescendência que não só se curvou para ela, de um modo particular, em diversas ocasiões, como até confiou à irmã tão solenes reconhecimentos como “peço-te que digas à tua amiga, Louisa, que ela é muito bondosa”, ou “menciona à senhorita Tox, Louisa, que lhe estou agradecido”; particularidades que causaram profunda impressão na dama assim distinguida.

Se a senhorita Tox concebia que, tendo sido escolhida pelas Parcas para dar as boas-vindas ao pequeno Dombey antes mesmo de ele nascer, entre os Melhores Alfinetes Sortidos de Kirby, Beard e Kirby, disso naturalmente lhe cabia saudá-lo com todas as demais formas de boas-vindas em todas as demais etapas iniciais de sua existência - ou se a sua bondade transbordante a induzia a alistar-se voluntária na milícia doméstica como uma espécie de substituta de sua falecida Mamãe - ou se estava consciente de quaisquer outros motivos - são questões que, nesta fase da história da Firma, somente ela própria poderia ter resolvido. Nem têm elas muita relação com o fato (do qual não há dúvida) de que a constância e o zelo da senhorita Tox eram um pesado desânimo para Richards, que perdia carnes a cada hora sob o seu patrocínio e corria certo perigo de ser fiscalizada até a morte.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Srta. Tox dizia muitas vezes à Sra. Chick que nada se comparava ao seu interesse por tudo o que dizia respeito ao desenvolvimento daquela doce criança. Quem a observasse perceberia isso sem precisar ouvir. Ela supervisionava com alegria as inocentes refeições do jovem herdeiro, quase como se compartilhasse com Richards a propriedade delas. Ajudava com entusiasmo no banho e na troca de roupa. Dar remédio ao bebê despertava toda a sua solidariedade ativa. Certa vez, escondeu-se modestamente num armário quando a Sra. Chick levou o Sr. Dombey ao quarto das crianças para ver o filho se preparando para dormir. Vestindo apenas uma pequena e leve camisa de linho, Paul fez uma curta caminhada morro acima sobre o vestido de Richards. A Srta. Tox esqueceu que estava escondida e exclamou: “Ele não é lindo, Sr. Dombey? Não é um Cupido, senhor?” Depois quase caiu atrás da porta do armário, profundamente corada de vergonha.

- Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey à irmã certo dia - , realmente acho que devo dar um pequeno presente à sua amiga por ocasião do batizado de Paul. Desde o começo, ela se esforçou com tanto carinho pela criança e parece compreender tão bem sua posição - uma qualidade muito rara neste mundo, lamento dizer - que eu teria prazer em reconhecer sua bondade.

Original English Version

Miss Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child; and an observer of Miss Tox’s proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir, with ineffable satisfaction, almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. At the little ceremonies of the bath and toilette, she assisted with enthusiasm. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Is he not a Cupid, Sir!” and then almost sinking behind the closet door with confusion and blushes.

“Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, one day, to his sister, “I really think I must present your friend with some little token, on the occasion of Paul’s christening. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child’s behalf from the first, and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world, I am sorry to say), that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her.”

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhorita Tox tinha o hábito de assegurar com frequência à senhora Chick que nada podia exceder o seu interesse por tudo quanto se relacionasse ao desenvolvimento daquela doce criança; e um observador dos procedimentos da senhorita Tox poderia inferir outro tanto sem confirmação declarada. Ela presidia às inocentes refeições do jovem herdeiro com inefável satisfação, quase com um ar de coproprietária, ao lado de Richards, do espetáculo. Nas pequenas cerimônias do banho e da toalete, assistia com entusiasmo. A administração de doses infantis de remédio despertava toda a ativa compaixão de seu caráter; e, tendo em certa ocasião se escondido dentro de um armário (para onde fugira por pudor), quando o senhor Dombey foi introduzido no quarto das crianças pela irmã, para contemplar o filho, que, em vias de ser preparado para a cama, dava um breve passeio ladeira acima sobre o vestido de Richards, num casaquinho de linho curto e arejado, a senhorita Tox de tal modo se arrebatou para além do ignorante presente que, incapaz de conter-se, exclamou: “Não é ele belo, senhor Dombey! Não é ele um Cupido, senhor!”, e em seguida quase desapareceu atrás da porta do armário, de confusão e rubor.

- Louisa - disse o senhor Dombey, certo dia, à irmã - , penso realmente que devo presentear a tua amiga com alguma pequena lembrança, por ocasião do batizado de Paul. Ela se empenhou com tanto calor em favor da criança desde o início, e parece compreender tão perfeitamente a sua posição (mérito muito raro neste mundo, lamento dizer), que me seria realmente agradável distingui-la.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Isso não diminui as boas qualidades da Srta. Tox, mas, aos olhos do Sr. Dombey, as pessoas só compreendiam a própria posição quando respeitavam devidamente a dele. A grande qualidade delas não era apenas conhecerem a si mesmas, mas conhecerem a ele e se curvarem profundamente diante dele.

- Meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã - , você está apenas fazendo à Srta. Tox a justiça que eu sabia que um homem de sua compreensão faria. Acredito que, se há três palavras em inglês que ela respeita como quase sagradas, são “Dombey e Filho”.

- Bem - disse o Sr. Dombey - , acredito nisso. Isso é um grande mérito da Srta. Tox.

- Quanto a qualquer tipo de presente, meu querido Paul - continuou a irmã - , tenho certeza de que a Srta. Tox guardará e valorizará qualquer coisa que você lhe der como um objeto sagrado. Mas, se desejar, meu querido Paul, há outra maneira de mostrar sua gratidão pela amizade da Srta. Tox que a agradaria e honraria ainda mais.

Original English Version

Let it be no detraction from the merits of Miss Tox, to hint that in Mr Dombey’s eyes, as in some others that occasionally see the light, they only achieved that mighty piece of knowledge, the understanding of their own position, who showed a fitting reverence for his. It was not so much their merit that they knew themselves, as that they knew him, and bowed low before him.

“My dear Paul,” returned his sister, “you do Miss Tox but justice, as a man of your penetration was sure, I knew, to do. I believe if there are three words in the English language for which she has a respect amounting almost to veneration, those words are, Dombey and Son.”

“Well,” said Mr Dombey, “I believe it. It does Miss Tox credit.”

“And as to anything in the shape of a token, my dear Paul,” pursued his sister, “all I can say is that anything you give Miss Tox will be hoarded and prized, I am sure, like a relic. But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox’s friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Não seja isto detração dos méritos da senhorita Tox, ao insinuar-se que, aos olhos do senhor Dombey, como aos de alguns outros que de quando em quando veem a luz, só alcançavam aquela portentosa peça de conhecimento, a compreensão da própria posição, os que demonstravam a devida reverência pela dele. Não era tanto mérito seu conhecerem a si mesmos quanto o conhecerem a ele, e curvarem-se profundamente diante dele.

- Meu caro Paul - retorquiu a irmã - , tu fazes à senhorita Tox apenas justiça, como um homem de tua penetração haveria por certo, eu bem sabia, de fazer. Creio que, se há três palavras na língua inglesa por que ela nutre um respeito que quase chega à veneração, essas palavras são Dombey and Son.

- Pois bem - disse o senhor Dombey - , acredito. Isso faz honra à senhorita Tox.

- E, quanto a qualquer coisa em forma de lembrança, meu caro Paul - prosseguiu a irmã - , tudo o que posso dizer é que qualquer coisa que deres à senhorita Tox será entesourada e estimada, tenho certeza, como uma relíquia. Mas há um modo, meu caro Paul, de mostrar teu apreço pela amabilidade da senhorita Tox de uma maneira ainda mais lisonjeira e aceitável, se estiveres assim disposto.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Como assim? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey.

- Os padrinhos, é claro - continuou a Sra. Chick - são importantes por causa de suas relações e influência.

- Não sei por que deveriam ser importantes para meu filho - disse o Sr. Dombey com frieza.

- Muito verdadeiro, meu querido Paul - respondeu a Sra. Chick com uma demonstração incomum de energia para esconder a rapidez com que mudara de opinião. - Isso é exatamente a sua cara. Eu não deveria ter esperado outra coisa. Deveria saber que essa seria sua opinião. Talvez - hesitou novamente, insegura quanto ao caminho - talvez essa seja uma razão para você ter menos objeção a permitir que a Srta. Tox seja madrinha da querida criança, mesmo que atuasse apenas como representante de outra pessoa. Não preciso lhe dizer, Paul, que ela receberia isso como grande honra e distinção.

- Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey após uma breve pausa - não se pode supor...

- Certamente não - exclamou a Sra. Chick, apressando-se em evitar uma recusa. - Nunca pensei que se pudesse.

Original English Version

“How is that?” asked Mr Dombey.

“Godfathers, of course,” continued Mrs Chick, “are important in point of connexion and influence.”

“I don’t know why they should be, to my son,” said Mr Dombey, coldly.

“Very true, my dear Paul,” retorted Mrs Chick, with an extraordinary show of animation, to cover the suddenness of her conversion; “and spoken like yourself. I might have expected nothing else from you. I might have known that such would have been your opinion. Perhaps;” here Mrs Chick faltered again, as not quite comfortably feeling her way; “perhaps that is a reason why you might have the less objection to allowing Miss Tox to be godmother to the dear thing, if it were only as deputy and proxy for someone else. That it would be received as a great honour and distinction, Paul, I need not say.”

“Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, after a short pause, “it is not to be supposed - ”

“Certainly not,” cried Mrs Chick, hastening to anticipate a refusal, “I never thought it was.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Que modo é esse? - perguntou o senhor Dombey.

- Os padrinhos, é claro - continuou a senhora Chick - , são importantes em matéria de relações e influência.

- Não vejo por que haveriam de sê-lo, para o meu filho - disse o senhor Dombey, friamente.

- Muito verdade, meu caro Paul - replicou a senhora Chick, com extraordinária mostra de animação, para disfarçar a subitaneidade de sua conversão - ; e falado como só tu falarias. Eu não poderia esperar outra coisa de ti. Eu bem poderia ter sabido que essa seria a tua opinião. Talvez - aqui a senhora Chick vacilou de novo, como quem tateia o caminho sem se sentir de todo à vontade - , talvez seja essa uma razão para teres tanto menos objeção a permitir que a senhorita Tox seja madrinha do querido pequenino, ainda que fosse apenas como delegada e procuradora de algum outro alguém. Que seria recebido como grande honra e distinção, Paul, nem preciso dizer.

- Louisa - disse o senhor Dombey, após breve pausa - , não é de supor…

- Certamente que não - exclamou a senhora Chick, apressando-se a antecipar uma recusa - , nunca pensei que fosse.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O Sr. Dombey olhou para ela com impaciência.

- Não me agite, meu querido Paul - disse a irmã - porque isso acaba comigo. Estou longe de ser forte. Não tenho sido eu mesma desde que a pobre e querida Fanny morreu.

O Sr. Dombey lançou um olhar ao lenço que a irmã apertava contra os olhos e continuou:

- Não se pode supor, estou dizendo...

- E eu digo - murmurou a Sra. Chick - que nunca pensei que se pudesse.

- Meu Deus, Louisa! - disse o Sr. Dombey.

“Não, meu querido Paul”, protestou ela com dignidade chorosa, “precisam realmente me deixar falar. Não sou tão inteligente, lógica, eloquente ou qualquer outra coisa quanto você. Sei muito bem disso, e azar o meu. Mas, mesmo que estas fossem minhas últimas palavras - e últimas palavras deveriam ser muito solenes para você e para mim depois da pobre e querida Fanny - , eu ainda diria que nunca pensei que se pudesse. Mais do que isso”, acrescentou a Sra. Chick com dignidade ainda maior, como se tivesse guardado até então seu argumento mais forte, “nunca pensei uma única vez que se pudesse.”

Original English Version

Mr Dombey looked at her impatiently.

“Don’t flurry me, my dear Paul,” said his sister; “for that destroys me. I am far from strong. I have not been quite myself, since poor dear Fanny departed.”

Mr Dombey glanced at the pocket-handkerchief which his sister applied to her eyes, and resumed:

“It is not be supposed, I say - ”

“And I say,” murmured Mrs Chick, “that I never thought it was.”

“Good Heaven, Louisa!” said Mr Dombey.

“No, my dear Paul,” she remonstrated with tearful dignity, “I must really be allowed to speak. I am not so clever, or so reasoning, or so eloquent, or so anything, as you are. I know that very well. So much the worse for me. But if they were the last words I had to utter - and last words should be very solemn to you and me, Paul, after poor dear Fanny - I would still say I never thought it was. And what is more,” added Mrs Chick with increased dignity, as if she had withheld her crushing argument until now, “I never did think it was.”

Tradução Integral em Português

O senhor Dombey fitou-a com impaciência.

- Não me atrapalhes, meu caro Paul - disse a irmã - ; pois isso me arrasa. Estou longe de ser forte. Não tenho sido bem a mesma desde que a pobre e querida Fanny partiu.

O senhor Dombey lançou um olhar ao lenço que a irmã levava aos olhos, e retomou:

- Não é de supor, repito…

- E eu repito - murmurou a senhora Chick - que nunca pensei que fosse.

- Santo Deus, Louisa! - disse o senhor Dombey.

- Não, meu caro Paul - protestou ela, com lacrimosa dignidade - , é preciso que realmente me permitas falar. Não sou tão inteligente, nem tão sensata, nem tão eloquente, nem tão nada, como tu és. Isso eu sei muito bem. Tanto pior para mim. Mas, ainda que fossem as últimas palavras que eu tivesse a proferir - e as últimas palavras deveriam ser bem solenes para ti e para mim, Paul, depois da pobre e querida Fanny - , eu ainda diria que nunca pensei que fosse. E, o que é mais - acrescentou a senhora Chick com dignidade acrescida, como se houvesse guardado até então o seu argumento esmagador - , eu nunca pensei que fosse.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O Sr. Dombey foi até a janela e voltou.

Original English Version

Mr Dombey walked to the window and back again.

Tradução Integral em Português

O senhor Dombey caminhou até a janela e voltou.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

“Não se pode negar, Louisa”, disse ele. A Sra. Chick assumira firmemente sua posição e repetiu: “Sei que não se pode”, mas ele a ignorou. “Se eu aceitasse que alguém tem direito numa questão assim, muitas pessoas teriam sobre mim um direito maior do que a Srta. Tox. Mas não reconheço direito algum desse tipo. Quando chegar a hora, Paul e eu saberemos defender o que é nosso. Em outras palavras, a Casa será capaz de sustentar e preservar a si mesma e transmitir sua própria força sem essas ajudas comuns. Posso desprezar a ajuda externa que as pessoas geralmente procuram para os filhos, pois espero estar acima de precisar dela. Ficarei satisfeito se a infância de Paul correr bem e eu o vir preparado, sem perda de tempo, para a carreira a que está destinado. Mais tarde, ele poderá fazer os amigos poderosos que desejar enquanto preserva ativamente - e, se possível, amplia - a dignidade e o crédito da Firma. Até lá, talvez eu seja suficiente para ele, talvez tudo para ele. Não quero pessoas se colocando entre nós. Prefiro muito mais demonstrar minha gratidão pela bondade de uma pessoa merecedora como sua amiga. Portanto, que assim seja. Suponho que seu marido e eu serviremos bem como os outros padrinhos.”

Original English Version

“It is not to be supposed, Louisa,” he said (Mrs Chick had nailed her colours to the mast, and repeated “I know it isn’t,” but he took no notice of it), “but that there are many persons who, supposing that I recognised any claim at all in such a case, have a claim upon me superior to Miss Tox’s. But I do not. I recognise no such thing. Paul and myself will be able, when the time comes, to hold our own - the House, in other words, will be able to hold its own, and maintain its own, and hand down its own of itself, and without any such common-place aids. The kind of foreign help which people usually seek for their children, I can afford to despise; being above it, I hope. So that Paul’s infancy and childhood pass away well, and I see him becoming qualified without waste of time for the career on which he is destined to enter, I am satisfied. He will make what powerful friends he pleases in after-life, when he is actively maintaining - and extending, if that is possible - the dignity and credit of the Firm. Until then, I am enough for him, perhaps, and all in all. I have no wish that people should step in between us. I would much rather show my sense of the obliging conduct of a deserving person like your friend. Therefore let it be so; and your husband and myself will do well enough for the other sponsors, I daresay.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Não é de supor, Louisa - disse ele (a senhora Chick havia pregado o seu pavilhão ao mastro, e repetiu “eu sei que não é”, mas ele não lhe deu atenção) - , senão que há muitas pessoas que, supondo eu reconhecer alguma pretensão que fosse num caso como este, teriam sobre mim pretensão superior à da senhorita Tox. Mas não reconheço. Não reconheço nada disso. Paul e eu havemos de saber, quando chegar a hora, defender o que é nosso - a Casa, por outras palavras, saberá defender o que é seu, e manter o que é seu, e transmitir o que é seu por si mesma, sem quaisquer auxílios tão vulgares. A espécie de ajuda alheia que as pessoas em geral buscam para os filhos, posso dar-me ao luxo de desprezar; estando acima dela, espero. Contanto que a infância e a meninice de Paul transcorram bem, e eu o veja tornar-se apto, sem desperdício de tempo, para a carreira em que está destinado a ingressar, fico satisfeito. Ele fará quantos poderosos amigos lhe aprouver na vida futura, quando estiver mantendo - e estendendo, se tal for possível - a dignidade e o crédito da Firma. Até então, eu lhe basto, talvez, e sou-lhe tudo em tudo. Não desejo que ninguém se interponha entre nós. Prefiro de muito bom grado demonstrar o meu apreço pela obsequiosa conduta de uma pessoa meritória como a tua amiga. Portanto, que assim seja; e o teu marido e eu bem serviremos para os demais padrinhos, suponho.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Durante esse discurso grandioso e majestoso, o Sr. Dombey revelou de fato seus sentimentos secretos. Desconfiava profundamente de qualquer pessoa que pudesse se colocar entre ele e o filho. Temia com orgulho um rival ou parceiro no respeito e na obediência do menino. Recentemente começara a suspeitar que seu poder de dobrar e controlar a vontade alheia não era perfeito, e temia com ciúme qualquer segunda resistência ou derrota. Esses sentimentos eram então as chaves mestras de sua alma. Nunca fizera um amigo na vida. Sua natureza fria e distante nem procurara um nem encontrara um. Agora que toda a força daquela natureza estava concentrada em seu limitado plano de interesse e ambição paternos, sua corrente gelada não derreteu para correr livremente. Ao contrário, pareceu descongelar por um instante para receber seu fardo e depois congelar com ele num único bloco duro e inflexível.

Original English Version

In the course of these remarks, delivered with great majesty and grandeur, Mr Dombey had truly revealed the secret feelings of his breast. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. In all his life, he had never made a friend. His cold and distant nature had neither sought one, nor found one. And now, when that nature concentrated its whole force so strongly on a partial scheme of parental interest and ambition, it seemed as if its icy current, instead of being released by this influence, and running clear and free, had thawed for but an instant to admit its burden, and then frozen with it into one unyielding block.

Tradução Integral em Português

No curso destas observações, proferidas com grande majestade e grandeza, o senhor Dombey havia verdadeiramente revelado os sentimentos secretos de seu peito. Uma indescritível desconfiança de quem quer que se interpusesse entre ele e o filho; um altivo pavor de ter qualquer rival ou sócio no respeito e na deferência do menino; um agudo receio, adquirido havia pouco, de não ser infalível em seu poder de dobrar e submeter as vontades humanas; um ciúme igualmente agudo de qualquer segundo obstáculo ou contrariedade; eram esses, naquele tempo, as chaves-mestras de sua alma. Em toda a sua vida, nunca fizera um amigo. Sua natureza fria e distante nem procurara um, nem o encontrara. E agora, quando essa natureza concentrava toda a sua força tão intensamente num parcial projeto de interesse e ambição paternos, era como se a sua corrente gelada, em vez de ser libertada por essa influência e correr límpida e livre, houvesse degelado por apenas um instante para admitir o seu fardo, e então se congelasse com ele num só bloco inflexível.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Srta. Tox foi assim elevada à posição de madrinha do pequeno Paul por causa de sua insignificância. A partir daquela hora, foi escolhida e nomeada para o cargo. O Sr. Dombey também determinou que a cerimônia, já muito adiada, acontecesse sem nova demora. Sua irmã não esperava tamanho sucesso e saiu assim que pôde para contar à melhor amiga. O Sr. Dombey ficou sozinho na biblioteca. Já colocara a mão na corda da campainha para chamar Richards, como de costume, quando notou uma escrivaninha que pertencera à esposa falecida e fora retirada de um armário no quarto dela. Não era a primeira vez que a via. Carregava a chave no bolso. Depois de trancar a porta do aposento, levou a escrivaninha à mesa e a abriu com mão acostumada.

De baixo de uma folha com pedaços de papel rasgados e rejeitados, tirou uma carta inteira. Prendeu a respiração sem querer ao abri-la. A ação furtiva diminuiu um pouco sua postura arrogante. Então se sentou, apoiou a cabeça numa das mãos e leu a carta.

Original English Version

Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul, in virtue of her insignificance, Miss Tox was from that hour chosen and appointed to office; and Mr Dombey further signified his pleasure that the ceremony, already long delayed, should take place without further postponement. His sister, who had been far from anticipating so signal a success, withdrew as soon as she could, to communicate it to her best of friends; and Mr Dombey was left alone in his library. He had already laid his hand upon the bellrope to convey his usual summons to Richards, when his eye fell upon a writing-desk, belonging to his deceased wife, which had been taken, among other things, from a cabinet in her chamber. It was not the first time that his eye had lighted on it He carried the key in his pocket; and he brought it to his table and opened it now - having previously locked the room door - with a well-accustomed hand.

From beneath a leaf of torn and cancelled scraps of paper, he took one letter that remained entire. Involuntarily holding his breath as he opened this document, and “bating in the stealthy action something of his arrogant demeanour, he sat down, resting his head upon one hand, and read it through.

Tradução Integral em Português

Elevada assim ao madrinhado do pequeno Paul, em virtude de sua insignificância, a senhorita Tox foi daquela hora em diante escolhida e nomeada para o cargo; e o senhor Dombey de mais a mais manifestou seu desejo de que a cerimônia, já muito adiada, tivesse lugar sem outra delonga. Sua irmã, que estava longe de haver previsto tão assinalado êxito, retirou-se logo que pôde, para comunicá-lo à melhor de suas amigas; e o senhor Dombey ficou a sós em sua biblioteca. Já havia posto a mão na corda da sineta, para dirigir a Richards a sua chamada habitual, quando seu olhar recaiu sobre uma escrivaninha, que pertencera à esposa falecida e fora retirada, entre outras coisas, de um gabinete no quarto dela. Não era a primeira vez que o seu olhar pousava sobre ela. Trazia a chave no bolso; e trouxe-a agora até a mesa e abriu-a - depois de haver trancado a porta do aposento - com mão bem acostumada.

De sob uma camada de retalhos de papel rasgados e riscados, retirou uma carta que permanecera inteira. Sustendo involuntariamente o fôlego ao abrir esse documento, e perdendo, na furtiva ação, algo de seu arrogante porte, sentou-se, apoiando a cabeça numa das mãos, e leu-a de ponta a ponta.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Leu-a lenta e cuidadosamente, prestando muita atenção a cada sílaba. Além do cuidado pouco natural, que talvez revelasse um esforço igualmente grande, não deixou escapar emoção alguma. Depois de terminar, dobrou e desdobrou lentamente a carta várias vezes e então a rasgou com cuidado em pedaços. Conteve a mão quando ia jogá-los fora e os guardou no bolso, como se não confiasse nem na possibilidade de alguém reuni-los e decifrá-los. Em vez de chamar o pequeno Paul, como de costume, permaneceu sozinho durante toda a noite em seu aposento sem alegria.

Original English Version

He read it slowly and attentively, and with a nice particularity to every syllable. Otherwise than as his great deliberation seemed unnatural, and perhaps the result of an effort equally great, he allowed no sign of emotion to escape him. When he had read it through, he folded and refolded it slowly several times, and tore it carefully into fragments. Checking his hand in the act of throwing these away, he put them in his pocket, as if unwilling to trust them even to the chances of being re-united and deciphered; and instead of ringing, as usual, for little Paul, he sat solitary, all the evening, in his cheerless room.

Tradução Integral em Português

Leu-a devagar e com atenção, e com escrupulosa minúcia a cada sílaba. A não ser porque a sua grande deliberação parecia antinatural, e talvez fruto de um esforço igualmente grande, não deixou escapar sinal algum de emoção. Quando a leu por inteiro, dobrou-a e redobrou-a lentamente diversas vezes, e rasgou-a com cuidado em fragmentos. Detendo a mão no ato de atirá-los fora, guardou-os no bolso, como que relutante em confiá-los mesmo às probabilidades de virem a ser reunidos e decifrados; e, em vez de tocar a sineta, como de costume, para chamar o pequeno Paul, ficou solitário, toda a noite, em seu quarto sem alegria.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O quarto das crianças estava longe de ser solitário. A Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox passavam ali uma noite amigável, para grande irritação da Srta. Susan Nipper. A jovem aproveitava cada oportunidade para fazer caretas atrás da porta. Seus sentimentos eram tão fortes que precisava desse alívio mesmo sem ninguém para observar ou demonstrar simpatia. Antigamente, cavaleiros errantes aliviavam os sentimentos gravando o nome de suas damas em desertos e lugares selvagens onde provavelmente ninguém os leria. Do mesmo modo, Susan Nipper torcia seu pequeno nariz arrebitado para gavetas e guarda-roupas, guardava olhares de desprezo em armários, lançava olhares zombeteiros dentro de jarros de pedra e discutia e xingava no corredor.

As duas visitantes nada sabiam dos sentimentos da jovem. Felizes, acompanharam o pequeno Paul por todas as etapas de tirar a roupa, fazer exercícios leves, jantar e ir para a cama. Depois se sentaram para tomar chá diante do fogo. Graças a Polly, as duas crianças agora dormiam no mesmo quarto. Somente depois de as senhoras se acomodarem à mesa do chá e por acaso olharem para as caminhas é que se lembraram de Florence.

Original English Version

There was anything but solitude in the nursery; for there, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening, so much to the disgust of Miss Susan Nipper, that that young lady embraced every opportunity of making wry faces behind the door. Her feelings were so much excited on the occasion, that she found it indispensable to afford them this relief, even without having the comfort of any audience or sympathy whatever. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage.

The two interlopers, however, blissfully unconscious of the young lady’s sentiments, saw little Paul safe through all the stages of undressing, airy exercise, supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. The two children now lay, through the good offices of Polly, in one room; and it was not until the ladies were established at their tea-table that, happening to look towards the little beds, they thought of Florence.

Tradução Integral em Português

De tudo havia menos solidão no quarto das crianças; pois ali a senhora Chick e a senhorita Tox desfrutavam de um serão de convívio, para tamanho desgosto da senhorita Susan Nipper que a jovem aproveitava cada oportunidade para fazer caretas atrás da porta. Seus sentimentos se achavam de tal modo excitados na ocasião que ela julgava indispensável conceder-lhes esse alívio, mesmo sem ter o consolo de qualquer plateia ou solidariedade que fosse. Assim como os cavaleiros andantes de outrora aliviavam a alma gravando o nome de suas damas em desertos, ermos e outros lugares selvagens onde não havia probabilidade de jamais haver alguém para lê-los, assim também a senhorita Susan Nipper franzia o nariz arrebitado para dentro de gavetas e guarda-roupas, arquivava piscadelas de desdém em armários, derramava olhares oblíquos de escárnio em jarros de barro, e discutia e xingava alto pelo corredor.

As duas intrusas, contudo, ditosamente inconscientes dos sentimentos da jovem, viram o pequeno Paul a salvo através de todas as etapas do despir, do exercício ao ar, da ceia e da cama; e então se sentaram para o chá diante do fogo. As duas crianças jaziam agora, pelos bons ofícios de Polly, num só quarto; e não foi senão quando as damas se instalaram à mesa de chá que, dando por acaso com os olhos nas caminhas, elas se lembraram de Florence.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Como ela dorme profundamente! - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Bem, minha querida, ela faz muito exercício durante o dia - respondeu a Sra. Chick - porque brinca tanto ao redor do pequeno Paul.

- Ela é uma criança estranha - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Minha querida - respondeu a Sra. Chick em voz baixa - ela é exatamente como a mamãe!

- É mes-mo! - disse a Srta. Tox. - Ai, meu Deus!

A Srta. Tox falou com um tom de compaixão extraordinário, embora não tivesse ideia clara do motivo, exceto porque esperavam isso dela.

- Florence nunca, nunca, nunca será uma Dombey - disse a Sra. Chick - mesmo que viva mil anos.

A Srta. Tox ergueu as sobrancelhas e novamente pareceu cheia de compaixão.

- Eu me preocupo e me aflijo muito por causa dela - disse a Sra. Chick, suspirando por sua própria bondade modesta. - Realmente não vejo o que será dela quando crescer nem que posição ocupará. Seu papai não fica nem um pouco mais afeiçoado a ela. Como alguém poderia esperar isso, quando ela é tão diferente de uma Dombey?

Original English Version

“How sound she sleeps!” said Miss Tox.

“Why, you know, my dear, she takes a great deal of exercise in the course of the day,” returned Mrs Chick, “playing about little Paul so much.”

“She is a curious child,” said Miss Tox.

“My dear,” retorted Mrs Chick, in a low voice: “Her Mama, all over!”

“In-deed!” said Miss Tox. “Ah dear me!”

A tone of most extraordinary compassion Miss Tox said it in, though she had no distinct idea why, except that it was expected of her.

“Florence will never, never, never be a Dombey,” said Mrs Chick, “not if she lives to be a thousand years old.”

Miss Tox elevated her eyebrows, and was again full of commiseration.

“I quite fret and worry myself about her,” said Mrs Chick, with a sigh of modest merit. “I really don’t see what is to become of her when she grows older, or what position she is to take. She don’t gain on her Papa in the least. How can one expect she should, when she is so very unlike a Dombey?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Como ela dorme profundamente! - disse a senhorita Tox.

- Ora, tu sabes, minha querida, ela faz um bocado de exercício no correr do dia - retorquiu a senhora Chick - , brincando tanto em torno do pequeno Paul.

- É uma criança curiosa - disse a senhorita Tox.

- Minha querida - replicou a senhora Chick, em voz baixa - : a Mamãe dela, cuspida e escarrada!

- Não me di-ga! - disse a senhorita Tox. - Ai, meu Deus!

Num tom da mais extraordinária compaixão o disse a senhorita Tox, se bem que não tivesse ideia clara do porquê, exceto que isso se esperava dela.

- Florence nunca, nunca, nunca há de ser uma Dombey - disse a senhora Chick - , nem que viva mil anos.

A senhorita Tox ergueu as sobrancelhas, e de novo transbordou de comiseração.

- Aflijo-me e atormento-me a valer por causa dela - disse a senhora Chick, com um suspiro de modesto merecimento. - Não vejo, na verdade, o que será dela quando ficar mais velha, ou que posição há de tomar. Não ganha o Papai nem um pouquinho. Como se poderia esperar que ganhasse, sendo ela tão pouco parecida com uma Dombey?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Srta. Tox pareceu não ver resposta possível para um argumento tão poderoso.

- E veja - disse a Sra. Chick em profunda confiança - a criança tem a natureza da pobre e querida Fanny. Tenho certeza de que jamais fará esforço algum mais tarde na vida. Nunca! Jamais se enrolará ao redor do coração do papai como...

- Como a hera? - sugeriu a Srta. Tox.

- Como a hera - concordou a Sra. Chick. - Nunca! Jamais deslizará suavemente para o centro do afeto do papai como o...

- Um jovem cervo assustado? - sugeriu a Srta. Tox.

- Como um jovem cervo assustado - disse a Sra. Chick. - Nunca! Pobre Fanny! E, no entanto, como eu a amava!

- Você não deve se afligir, minha querida - disse a Srta. Tox em tom tranquilizador. - Realmente, não deve! Você sente demais.

- Todos temos nossos defeitos - disse a Sra. Chick, chorando e balançando a cabeça. - Suponho que sim. Nunca fui cega aos defeitos dela. Nunca afirmei isso. Longe disso. E, no entanto, como eu a amava!

Original English Version

Miss Tox looked as if she saw no way out of such a cogent argument as that, at all.

“And the child, you see,” said Mrs Chick, in deep confidence, “has poor dear Fanny’s nature. She’ll never make an effort in after-life, I’ll venture to say. Never! She’ll never wind and twine herself about her Papa’s heart like - ”

“Like the ivy?” suggested Miss Tox.

“Like the ivy,” Mrs Chick assented. “Never! She’ll never glide and nestle into the bosom of her Papa’s affections like - the - ”

“Startled fawn?” suggested Miss Tox.

“Like the startled fawn,” said Mrs Chick. “Never! Poor Fanny! Yet, how I loved her!”

“You must not distress yourself, my dear,” said Miss Tox, in a soothing voice. “Now really! You have too much feeling.”

“We have all our faults,” said Mrs Chick, weeping and shaking her head. “I daresay we have. I never was blind to hers. I never said I was. Far from it. Yet how I loved her!”

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhorita Tox tinha o ar de quem não via saída alguma para argumento tão contundente como aquele.

- E a criança, sabes - disse a senhora Chick, em profunda confidência - , tem a natureza da pobre e querida Fanny. Nunca fará um esforço na vida futura, atrevo-me a dizer. Nunca! Nunca há de enrodilhar-se e enroscar-se no coração do Papai como…

- Como a hera? - sugeriu a senhorita Tox.

- Como a hera - assentiu a senhora Chick. - Nunca! Nunca há de deslizar e aninhar-se no seio dos afetos do Papai como… o…

- O cervozinho assustado? - sugeriu a senhorita Tox.

- Como o cervozinho assustado - disse a senhora Chick. - Nunca! Pobre Fanny! E, contudo, como eu a amava!

- Não deves afligir-te, minha querida - disse a senhorita Tox, numa voz reconfortante. - Vamos, sério! Tens sentimento demais.

- Todos nós temos nossos defeitos - disse a senhora Chick, chorando e meneando a cabeça. - Atrevo-me a dizer que temos. Nunca fui cega para os dela. Nunca disse que fosse. Longe disso. E, contudo, como eu a amava!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Como era satisfatório para a Sra. Chick, uma mulher comum e tola diante de quem a cunhada fora um anjo de inteligência e delicadeza, falar com superioridade sobre a memória daquela senhora e tratá-la com pena, exatamente como fizera quando ela estava viva. A Sra. Chick acreditava plenamente na própria história, enganava a si mesma e sentia-se extraordinariamente confortável graças à sua suposta tolerância. A tolerância deve ser uma virtude maravilhosamente agradável quando estamos certos, pois também é tão agradável quando estamos errados e somos inteiramente incapazes de provar como recebemos o direito de praticá-la.

A Sra. Chick ainda secava os olhos e balançava a cabeça quando Richards ousou avisá-la de que a Srta. Florence estava acordada e sentada na cama. A criança se levantara, disse a ama, e seus cílios estavam molhados de lágrimas. Mas apenas Polly as viu brilhar. Ninguém mais se inclinou sobre Florence para sussurrar palavras de consolo, nem ficou perto o bastante para ouvir seu coração bater depressa.

Original English Version

What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! What a mighty pleasant virtue toleration should be when we are right, to be so very pleasant when we are wrong, and quite unable to demonstrate how we come to be invested with the privilege of exercising it!

Mrs Chick was yet drying her eyes and shaking her head, when Richards made bold to caution her that Miss Florence was awake and sitting in her bed. She had risen, as the nurse said, and the lashes of her eyes were wet with tears. But no one saw them glistening save Polly. No one else leant over her, and whispered soothing words to her, or was near enough to hear the flutter of her beating heart.

Tradução Integral em Português

Que satisfação era para a senhora Chick - uma criatura bastante vulgar e tola, comparada com quem a cunhada fora um verdadeiro anjo de inteligência e doçura femininas - proteger e enternecer-se com a memória daquela dama: em exata continuidade de sua conduta para com ela em vida: e crer piamente em si mesma, e ludibriar a si mesma, e sentir-se extraordinariamente à vontade à custa de sua tolerância! Que virtude sumamente agradável deve ser a tolerância quando temos razão, para ser tão agradabilíssima quando não a temos, e nos vermos de todo incapazes de demonstrar como viemos a ser investidos do privilégio de exercê-la!

A senhora Chick ainda enxugava os olhos e meneava a cabeça quando Richards se atreveu a adverti-la de que a senhorita Florence estava acordada e sentada em sua cama. A menina se erguera, como disse a ama, e os cílios de seus olhos estavam úmidos de lágrimas. Mas ninguém as viu cintilar senão Polly. Ninguém mais se inclinou sobre ela e lhe murmurou palavras de consolo, ou esteve bastante perto para ouvir o palpitar de seu coração aos saltos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Oh, querida ama! - disse a criança, olhando seriamente para o rosto dela. - Deixe-me deitar ao lado do meu irmão!

- Por quê, meu amor? - perguntou Richards.

- Oh, acho que ele me ama - exclamou a criança com desespero. - Deixe-me deitar ao lado dele. Por favor!

A Sra. Chick interrompeu com algumas palavras maternais sobre ser uma boa menina e ir dormir. Mas Florence repetiu o pedido com um olhar assustado e a voz entrecortada por soluços e lágrimas.

- Não vou acordá-lo - disse ela, cobrindo o rosto e abaixando a cabeça. - Só vou tocá-lo com a mão e dormir. Oh, por favor, por favor, deixe-me deitar ao lado do meu irmão esta noite, pois acredito que ele gosta de mim!

Sem dizer uma palavra, Richards pegou-a no colo e a levou até a pequena cama onde o bebê dormia. Deitou Florence ao lado dele. A menina chegou tão perto quanto pôde sem perturbá-lo. Estendeu um braço para abraçar delicadamente o pescoço dele e escondeu o rosto sobre o outro, enquanto o cabelo úmido e desalinhado caía solto por cima. Então ficou imóvel.

Original English Version

“Oh! dear nurse!” said the child, looking earnestly up in her face, “let me lie by my brother!”

“Why, my pet?” said Richards.

“Oh! I think he loves me,” cried the child wildly. “Let me lie by him. Pray do!”

Mrs Chick interposed with some motherly words about going to sleep like a dear, but Florence repeated her supplication, with a frightened look, and in a voice broken by sobs and tears.

“I’ll not wake him,” she said, covering her face and hanging down her head. “I’ll only touch him with my hand, and go to sleep. Oh, pray, pray, let me lie by my brother tonight, for I believe he’s fond of me!”

Richards took her without a word, and carrying her to the little bed in which the infant was sleeping, laid her down by his side. She crept as near him as she could without disturbing his rest; and stretching out one arm so that it timidly embraced his neck, and hiding her face on the other, over which her damp and scattered hair fell loose, lay motionless.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Oh! querida ama! - disse a criança, fitando-lhe o rosto com fervor - , deixa-me deitar ao lado do meu irmão!

- Por quê, meu benzinho? - disse Richards.

- Oh! creio que ele me ama - exclamou a criança, transtornada. - Deixa-me deitar ao lado dele. Por favor, deixa!

A senhora Chick interpôs algumas palavras maternais sobre ir dormir como uma boa menina, mas Florence repetiu a súplica, com um olhar assustado, e numa voz entrecortada de soluços e lágrimas.

- Não vou acordá-lo - disse ela, cobrindo o rosto e baixando a cabeça. - Só vou tocá-lo com a mão, e dormir. Oh, por favor, por favor, deixa-me deitar ao lado do meu irmão esta noite, porque acredito que ele gosta de mim!

Richards tomou-a sem uma palavra e, levando-a à caminha em que o pequenino dormia, deitou-a ao lado dele. Ela se aconchegou o mais perto que pôde sem perturbar-lhe o repouso; e, estendendo um braço de modo que timidamente lhe cingisse o pescoço, e escondendo o rosto no outro, sobre o qual lhe caíam soltos os cabelos úmidos e espalhados, ficou imóvel.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Pobrezinha - disse a Srta. Tox. - Suponho que estava sonhando.

Talvez tivesse sonhado com vozes amorosas agora silenciosas para sempre, olhos amorosos fechados para sempre e braços carinhosos novamente ao redor dela. Talvez naquele sonho relaxasse atrás da barreira de sentimentos que palavra alguma poderia descrever. Talvez procurasse em sonhos algum consolo natural para um coração profunda e dolorosamente ferido, embora pertencesse a uma criança tão pequena. Talvez encontrasse esse consolo nos sonhos, se não na verdade fria e sólida da vida desperta. Esse pequeno acontecimento interrompera a conversa de modo tão completo que era difícil retomá-la. A Sra. Chick também estava abatida depois de pensar tão profundamente em sua própria natureza tolerante. Assim, as duas amigas logo terminaram o chá, e um criado foi enviado para buscar uma carruagem de aluguel para a Srta. Tox. A Srta. Tox tinha grande experiência com carruagens de aluguel, e entrar em uma geralmente levava tempo, pois ela seguia cuidadosamente um sistema de preparação.

Original English Version

“Poor little thing,” said Miss Tox; “she has been dreaming, I daresay.”

Dreaming, perhaps, of loving tones for ever silent, of loving eyes for ever closed, of loving arms again wound round her, and relaxing in that dream within the dam which no tongue can relate. Seeking, perhaps - in dreams - some natural comfort for a heart, deeply and sorely wounded, though so young a child’s: and finding it, perhaps, in dreams, if not in waking, cold, substantial truth. This trivial incident had so interrupted the current of conversation, that it was difficult of resumption; and Mrs Chick moreover had been so affected by the contemplation of her own tolerant nature, that she was not in spirits. The two friends accordingly soon made an end of their tea, and a servant was despatched to fetch a hackney cabriolet for Miss Tox. Miss Tox had great experience in hackney cabs, and her starting in one was generally a work of time, as she was systematic in the preparatory arrangements.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Pobre criaturinha - disse a senhorita Tox - ; deve ter tido um sonho, atrevo-me a dizer.

Sonhando, talvez, com tons amorosos para sempre calados, com olhos amorosos para sempre cerrados, com braços amorosos de novo a cingi-la, e a afrouxar-se naquele sonho num adormecimento que língua alguma pode narrar. Buscando, talvez - em sonhos - , algum consolo natural para um coração profunda e dolorosamente ferido, ainda que de criança tão pequena: e encontrando-o, talvez, em sonhos, se não na vigília, fria e substancial verdade. Este trivial incidente de tal modo interrompera o curso da conversa que se tornou difícil retomá-la; e a senhora Chick, ademais, ficara tão comovida com a contemplação de sua própria natureza tolerante que não estava disposta. As duas amigas, por conseguinte, logo puseram fim ao chá, e um criado foi despachado a buscar um cabriolé de aluguel para a senhorita Tox. A senhorita Tox tinha grande experiência em fiacres de aluguel, e o seu embarque num deles era em geral obra demorada, pois era sistemática nos preparativos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Por favor, tenha a bondade, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - primeiro de levar uma pena e tinta e anotar claramente o número do cocheiro.

- Sim, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Depois, por favor, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - tenha a bondade de virar a almofada do assento. Geralmente está úmida, minha querida - acrescentou em particular à Sra. Chick.

- Sim, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Também preciso incomodá-lo, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - com este cartão de endereço e este xelim. Ele deve dirigir até o endereço do cartão e entender que não receberá mais do que o xelim em hipótese alguma.

- Não, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- E... sinto muito por lhe dar tanto trabalho, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox, olhando pensativamente para ele.

- De modo algum, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Então, por favor, diga ao homem, Towlinson - disse a Srta. Tox - que o tio da senhora é magistrado e que, se ele for insolente com ela, será terrivelmente castigado. Você pode fingir que menciona isso de modo amigável porque sabe que aconteceu com outro cocheiro, que morreu.

Original English Version

“Have the goodness, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “first of all, to carry out a pen and ink and take his number legibly.”

“Yes, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“Then, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “have the goodness to turn the cushion. Which,” said Miss Tox apart to Mrs Chick, “is generally damp, my dear.”

“Yes, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“I’ll trouble you also, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this card and this shilling. He’s to drive to the card, and is to understand that he will not on any account have more than the shilling.”

“No, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“And - I’m sorry to give you so much trouble, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, looking at him pensively.

“Not at all, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“Mention to the man, then, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady’s uncle is a magistrate, and that if he gives her any of his impertinence he will be punished terribly. You can pretend to say that, if you please, Towlinson, in a friendly way, and because you know it was done to another man, who died.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Faze a bondade, por favor, Towlinson - disse a senhorita Tox - , antes de mais nada, de levar para fora pena e tinta e anotar o número dele de modo legível.

- Sim, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Depois, por favor, Towlinson - disse a senhorita Tox - , faze a bondade de virar a almofada. Que - disse a senhorita Tox à parte, para a senhora Chick - costuma estar úmida, minha querida.

- Sim, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Vou incomodar-te também, por favor, Towlinson - disse a senhorita Tox - , com este cartão e este xelim. Ele deve conduzir ao endereço do cartão, e deve entender que não receberá, sob nenhum pretexto, mais do que o xelim.

- Não, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- E… lamento dar-te tanto trabalho, Towlinson - disse a senhorita Tox, fitando-o com ar pensativo.

- De modo algum, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- Menciona ao homem, então, por favor, Towlinson - disse a senhorita Tox - , que o tio da dama é magistrado, e que, se ele lhe faltar com o respeito, será punido terrivelmente. Podes fingir dizer isso, se quiseres, Towlinson, de um modo amigável, e porque sabes que foi feito a outro homem, que morreu.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Certamente, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- E agora boa noite para meu doce, doce, doce afilhado - disse a Srta. Tox, dando-lhe uma suave chuva de beijos a cada repetição da palavra. - E Louisa, minha querida amiga, prometa-me que tomará algo quente antes de dormir e não se afligirá!

Nesse momento difícil, Nipper, de olhos negros, observava fixamente e mal conseguia se controlar. Continuou lutando consigo mesma até a partida posterior da Sra. Chick. Mas, quando o quarto das crianças finalmente ficou livre de visitantes, Nipper recompensou a si mesma por ter permanecido calada por tanto tempo.

- Poderiam me manter numa camisa de força por seis semanas - disse Nipper - e, quando eu saísse, ficaria apenas mais irritada. Quem já ouviu falar de duas grifas como aquelas, Sra. Richards?

- E depois disseram que a pobre querida estava sonhando! - disse Polly.

- Oh, suas criaturas adoráveis! - exclamou Susan Nipper, fingindo cumprimentar a porta pela qual as senhoras tinham saído. - Ela nunca será uma Dombey, não é? Esperemos que não. Não precisamos de mais nenhum deles. Um já basta.

Original English Version

“Certainly, Miss,” said Towlinson.

“And now good-night to my sweet, sweet, sweet, godson,” said Miss Tox, with a soft shower of kisses at each repetition of the adjective; “and Louisa, my dear friend, promise me to take a little something warm before you go to bed, and not to distress yourself!”

It was with extreme difficulty that Nipper, the black-eyed, who looked on steadfastly, contained herself at this crisis, and until the subsequent departure of Mrs Chick. But the nursery being at length free of visitors, she made herself some recompense for her late restraint.

“You might keep me in a strait-waistcoat for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got it off I’d only be more aggravated, who ever heard the like of them two Griffins, Mrs Richards?”

“And then to talk of having been dreaming, poor dear!” said Polly.

“Oh you beauties!” cried Susan Nipper, affecting to salute the door by which the ladies had departed. “Never be a Dombey won’t she? It’s to be hoped she won’t, we don’t want any more such, one’s enough.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Com certeza, senhorita - disse Towlinson.

- E agora, boa-noite ao meu doce, doce, doce afilhado - disse a senhorita Tox, com uma suave chuva de beijos a cada repetição do adjetivo - ; e, Louisa, minha querida amiga, promete-me tomar algo quentinho antes de te deitares, e não te afligires!

Foi com extrema dificuldade que Nipper, a de olhos negros, que olhava firmemente, se conteve nesse transe, e até a subsequente partida da senhora Chick. Mas, estando o quarto das crianças enfim livre de visitas, ela se ressarciu um tanto de sua recente contenção.

- Podiam me manter numa camisa de força por seis semanas - disse Nipper - , e, quando eu a tirasse, só ficaria mais irritada ainda; quem já ouviu falar em coisa igual àqueles dois Grifos, senhora Richards?

- E ainda falar em ter tido um sonho, coitadinha! - disse Polly.

- Oh, suas belezinhas! - exclamou Susan Nipper, fingindo saudar a porta pela qual as damas haviam partido. - Nunca há de ser uma Dombey, não é? É de esperar que não seja mesmo, não queremos mais nenhuma dessas, uma já basta.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Não acorde as crianças, querida Susan - disse Polly.

- Sou muito grata à senhora, Sra. Richards - disse Susan, que não escolhia cuidadosamente quem atacava quando estava zangada. - Realmente considero uma honra receber suas ordens, já que sou uma escrava negra e uma criada mestiça. Sra. Richards, se tiver outras ordens para mim, por favor mencione-as.

- Que bobagem! Ordens, ora essa - disse Polly.

“Oh, Deus a abençoe, Sra. Richards”, exclamou Susan. “As pessoas temporárias sempre dão ordens às permanentes aqui. Não sabia? Onde a senhora nasceu, Sra. Richards? Mas, onde, quando e como quer que tenha nascido - coisa que a senhora sabe melhor - , por favor lembre-se de que dar ordens é uma coisa e obedecê-las é outra bem diferente. Uma pessoa pode mandar outra mergulhar de cabeça de uma ponte em treze metros de água, Sra. Richards, mas essa segunda pessoa pode estar muito longe de mergulhar.”

Original English Version

“Don’t wake the children, Susan dear,” said Polly.

“I’m very much beholden to you, Mrs Richards,” said Susan, who was not by any means discriminating in her wrath, “and really feel it as a honour to receive your commands, being a black slave and a mulotter. Mrs Richards, if there’s any other orders, you can give me, pray mention ’em.”

“Nonsense; orders,” said Polly.

“Oh! bless your heart, Mrs Richards,” cried Susan, “temporaries always orders permanencies here, didn’t you know that, why wherever was you born, Mrs Richards? But wherever you was born, Mrs Richards,” pursued Spitfire, shaking her head resolutely, “and whenever, and however (which is best known to yourself), you may bear in mind, please, that it’s one thing to give orders, and quite another thing to take ’em. A person may tell a person to dive off a bridge head foremost into five-and-forty feet of water, Mrs Richards, but a person may be very far from diving.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Não acorde as crianças, Susan querida - disse Polly.

- Fico-lhe muitíssimo grata, senhora Richards - disse Susan, que de modo algum era criteriosa em sua cólera - , e sinto de fato como uma honra receber suas ordens, sendo eu uma escrava negra e uma mulatinha. Senhora Richards, se houver outras ordens que a senhora possa me dar, faça o favor de mencioná-las.

- Que bobagem; ordens - disse Polly.

- Oh! Deus a abençoe, senhora Richards - exclamou Susan - , as temporárias sempre dão ordens às permanentes por aqui, não sabia disso, ora onde foi que a senhora nasceu, senhora Richards? Mas, onde quer que a senhora tenha nascido, senhora Richards - prosseguiu a Fera-Brava, meneando a cabeça com resolução - , e quando quer, e como quer (o que a senhora melhor do que ninguém saberá), tenha em mente, por favor, que uma coisa é dar ordens, e outra bem diferente é recebê-las. Uma pessoa pode mandar outra pessoa mergulhar de uma ponte de cabeça em quarenta e cinco pés de água, senhora Richards, mas essa pessoa pode estar bem longe de mergulhar.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Pronto - disse Polly. - Você está zangada porque é uma boa menina que ama a Srta. Florence. Mesmo assim, ataca a mim porque não há mais ninguém aqui.

- É muito fácil para certas pessoas manter a calma e falar com suavidade, Sra. Richards - respondeu Susan, um pouco menos zangada - quando seu filho é tratado como príncipe, amado e mimado até desejar que os amigos fossem embora. Mas, quando uma doce, jovem, bonita e inocente menina, que nunca deveria ouvir uma palavra cruel dita a ela ou sobre ela, é criticada, a situação é bem diferente. Meu Deus do céu, Srta. Floy, sua criança travessa e pecadora, se não fechar os olhos neste instante, vou chamar os duendes que moram no sótão para virem comê-la viva!

A Srta. Nipper então produziu um mugido grave e terrível, supostamente vindo de um duende consciencioso parecido com um touro e ansioso para cumprir o severo dever de sua posição. Para acalmar ainda mais a criança, cobriu a cabeça de Florence com as roupas de cama e golpeou o travesseiro com raiva três ou quatro vezes. Depois cruzou os braços, apertou a boca e ficou olhando para o fogo pelo resto da noite.

Original English Version

“There now,” said Polly, “you’re angry because you’re a good little thing, and fond of Miss Florence; and yet you turn round on me, because there’s nobody else.”

“It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed. My goodness gracious me, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you don’t shut your eyes this minute, I’ll call in them hobgoblins that lives in the cock-loft to come and eat you up alive!”

Here Miss Nipper made a horrible lowing, supposed to issue from a conscientious goblin of the bull species, impatient to discharge the severe duty of his position. Having further composed her young charge by covering her head with the bedclothes, and making three or four angry dabs at the pillow, she folded her arms, and screwed up her mouth, and sat looking at the fire for the rest of the evening.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ora vamos - disse Polly - , você está zangada porque é uma boa menininha, e gosta da senhorita Florence; e no entanto se vira contra mim, porque não há mais ninguém.

- É bem fácil para algumas guardarem a calma e falarem com brandura, senhora Richards - retorquiu Susan, ligeiramente abrandada - , quando seu filho é mimado como um príncipe, e é afagado e acariciado até desejar seus amigos bem longe, mas quando uma doce, jovem, bonita e inocente criaturinha, que nunca devia ouvir uma palavra dura dirigida a ela ou a seu respeito, é assim rebaixada, o caso é bem diferente, sim senhora. Meu bom Deus do céu, senhorita Floy, sua criança levada e pecadora, se não fechar os olhos neste minuto, chamo aqueles trasgos que moram no sótão para virem comer você viva!

Aqui a senhorita Nipper soltou um mugido horrível, suposto proceder de um consciencioso trasgo da espécie taurina, impaciente por desincumbir-se do severo dever de seu cargo. Tendo ainda acalmado a jovem que estava a seu cargo, cobrindo-lhe a cabeça com as roupas de cama, e desferindo três ou quatro batidas coléricas no travesseiro, cruzou os braços, franziu a boca e ficou a olhar o fogo pelo resto da noite.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Embora as pessoas no quarto das crianças dissessem que o pequeno Paul percebia muita coisa para sua idade, ele prestou tão pouca atenção a tudo aquilo quanto aos preparativos para o batizado dois dias depois. Ainda assim, todos ao redor trabalhavam ativamente para preparar as roupas dele, da irmã e das duas amas. Quando chegou a manhã marcada, não demonstrou entender a importância do dia. Ao contrário, estava mais sonolento do que de costume e mais ofendido por seus cuidadores o vestirem para sair.

Era um dia de outono cinza como ferro, com um vento leste cortante, um dia adequado ao acontecimento. O próprio Sr. Dombey representava o vento, a sombra e o outono do batizado. Ficou na biblioteca para receber os convidados, tão duro e frio quanto o tempo. Quando olhou através da sala envidraçada para as árvores do pequeno jardim, as folhas marrons e amarelas caíram ao redor como se seu olhar as tivesse matado.

Original English Version

Though little Paul was said, in nursery phrase, “to take a deal of notice for his age,” he took as little notice of all this as of the preparations for his christening on the next day but one; which nevertheless went on about him, as to his personal apparel, and that of his sister and the two nurses, with great activity. Neither did he, on the arrival of the appointed morning, show any sense of its importance; being, on the contrary, unusually inclined to sleep, and unusually inclined to take it ill in his attendants that they dressed him to go out.

It happened to be an iron-grey autumnal day, with a shrewd east wind blowing - a day in keeping with the proceedings. Mr Dombey represented in himself the wind, the shade, and the autumn of the christening. He stood in his library to receive the company, as hard and cold as the weather; and when he looked out through the glass room, at the trees in the little garden, their brown and yellow leaves came fluttering down, as if he blighted them.

Tradução Integral em Português

Embora se dissesse, na linguagem do quarto das crianças, que o pequeno Paul “reparava um bocado de coisas para a sua idade”, tão pouco reparou em tudo aquilo quanto nos preparativos para o seu batizado dali a dois dias; os quais, não obstante, prosseguiam à sua volta, no tocante ao seu próprio traje, e ao da irmã e das duas amas, com grande atividade. Nem tampouco, à chegada da manhã marcada, deu ele qualquer mostra de perceber-lhe a importância; estando, ao contrário, insolitamente disposto a dormir, e insolitamente disposto a levar a mal que os seus acompanhantes o vestissem para sair.

Sucedeu ser um dia de outono cor de ferro cinzento, com um cortante vento leste a soprar - um dia em consonância com os acontecimentos. O senhor Dombey representava em si mesmo o vento, a sombra e o outono do batizado. Ficou de pé na biblioteca a receber os convidados, tão duro e frio quanto o tempo; e, quando olhava, através da sala envidraçada, para as árvores do pequeno jardim, as folhas pardas e amarelas vinham esvoaçando ao chão, como se ele as crestasse.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Ugh! Eram aposentos negros e frios e pareciam estar de luto como os habitantes da casa. Os livros tinham tamanhos exatamente iguais e formavam filas como soldados. Em seus uniformes frios, duros e lisos, pareciam compartilhar uma única ideia: congelar as pessoas. A estante envidraçada e trancada rejeitava qualquer contato amigável. Uma estátua de bronze do Sr. Pitt ficava no alto, sem sinal algum de sua origem celestial, e guardava o tesouro inalcançável como um mouro encantado. Em cada canto elevado, uma urna funerária antiga e empoeirada pregava solidão e decadência de seu próprio púlpito. O espelho sobre a lareira refletia ao mesmo tempo o Sr. Dombey e seu retrato e parecia cheio de pensamentos tristes.

Os rígidos e imóveis utensílios da lareira pareciam ter parentesco mais próximo com o Sr. Dombey do que qualquer outra coisa no aposento. Ele usava casaco abotoado, gravata branca, pesada corrente de ouro do relógio e botas rangentes. Mas isso foi antes da chegada de seus verdadeiros parentes, o Sr. e a Sra. Chick, que logo apareceram.

Original English Version

Ugh! They were black, cold rooms; and seemed to be in mourning, like the inmates of the house. The books precisely matched as to size, and drawn up in line, like soldiers, looked in their cold, hard, slippery uniforms, as if they had but one idea among them, and that was a freezer. The bookcase, glazed and locked, repudiated all familiarities. Mr Pitt, in bronze, on the top, with no trace of his celestial origin about him, guarded the unattainable treasure like an enchanted Moor. A dusty urn at each high corner, dug up from an ancient tomb, preached desolation and decay, as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass, reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow, seemed fraught with melancholy meditations.

The stiff and stark fire-irons appeared to claim a nearer relationship than anything else there to Mr Dombey, with his buttoned coat, his white cravat, his heavy gold watch-chain, and his creaking boots. But this was before the arrival of Mr and Mrs Chick, his lawful relatives, who soon presented themselves.

Tradução Integral em Português

Ugh! Eram aposentos negros e frios; e pareciam estar de luto, como os habitantes da casa. Os livros, exatamente iguais quanto ao tamanho, e enfileirados em linha, como soldados, pareciam, em suas frias, duras e lisas fardas, não ter senão uma só ideia entre todos, e essa ideia era um congelamento. A estante, envidraçada e trancada, repudiava quaisquer familiaridades. O senhor Pitt, em bronze, no alto dela, sem nenhum vestígio de sua origem celestial, guardava o inatingível tesouro como um Mouro encantado. Uma urna empoeirada em cada canto alto, desenterrada de um túmulo antigo, pregava a desolação e a decadência, como de dois púlpitos; e o espelho da lareira, refletindo o senhor Dombey e o seu retrato de um só golpe, parecia carregado de melancólicas meditações.

Os rígidos e hirtos ferros da lareira davam a impressão de reclamar parentesco mais próximo com o senhor Dombey do que qualquer outra coisa ali, com o seu casaco abotoado, a sua gravata branca, a sua pesada corrente de ouro de relógio e as suas botas rangentes. Mas isto foi antes da chegada do senhor e da senhora Chick, seus parentes legítimos, que logo se apresentaram.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Meu querido Paul - murmurou a Sra. Chick ao abraçá-lo - espero que este seja o começo de muitos dias felizes!

- Obrigado, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey com severidade. - Como vai, Sr. John?

- Como vai, senhor? - disse Chick.

Ofereceu a mão ao Sr. Dombey como se temesse que ela pudesse lhe dar um choque elétrico. O Sr. Dombey a segurou como se fosse um peixe, uma alga ou algum outro objeto úmido e desagradável. Então a devolveu imediatamente com orgulhosa educação.

- Talvez, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey, virando ligeiramente a cabeça dentro da gravata como se estivesse presa num encaixe - você preferisse uma lareira acesa?

- Oh, não, meu querido Paul - disse a Sra. Chick, esforçando-se para impedir os dentes de bater. - Não por mim.

- Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey - o senhor não sente frio algum?

O Sr. John já enfiara as duas mãos nos bolsos até além dos punhos. Estava prestes a iniciar a mesma cantoria canina que ofendera a Sra. Chick antes, mas afirmou estar perfeitamente confortável.

Original English Version

“My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured, as she embraced him, “the beginning, I hope, of many joyful days!”

“Thank you, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, grimly. “How do you do, Mr John?”

“How do you do, Sir?” said Chick.

He gave Mr Dombey his hand, as if he feared it might electrify him. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, or seaweed, or some such clammy substance, and immediately returned it to him with exalted politeness.

“Perhaps, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, slightly turning his head in his cravat, as if it were a socket, “you would have preferred a fire?”

“Oh, my dear Paul, no,” said Mrs Chick, who had much ado to keep her teeth from chattering; “not for me.”

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, “you are not sensible of any chill?”

Mr John, who had already got both his hands in his pockets over the wrists, and was on the very threshold of that same canine chorus which had given Mrs Chick so much offence on a former occasion, protested that he was perfectly comfortable.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Meu caro Paul - murmurou a senhora Chick, ao abraçá-lo - , o princípio, espero, de muitos dias venturosos!

- Obrigado, Louisa - disse o senhor Dombey, sombriamente. - Como vai, senhor John?

- Como vai o senhor? - disse Chick.

Estendeu a mão ao senhor Dombey, como se temesse que ela pudesse eletrocutá-lo. O senhor Dombey tomou-a como se fosse um peixe, ou uma alga, ou alguma outra substância viscosa, e imediatamente a devolveu com exaltada polidez.

- Talvez, Louisa - disse o senhor Dombey, virando ligeiramente a cabeça dentro da gravata, como se esta fosse um encaixe - , tivesses preferido um fogo aceso?

- Oh, meu caro Paul, não - disse a senhora Chick, que muito custava a impedir que os dentes lhe batessem - ; não por mim.

- Senhor John - disse o senhor Dombey - , não sente o senhor frio algum?

O senhor John, que já enfiara ambas as mãos nos bolsos até os punhos, e estava no próprio limiar daquele mesmo coro canino que tanto ofendera a senhora Chick em ocasião anterior, protestou que se achava perfeitamente confortável.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Em voz baixa, acrescentou: - Com meu tiddle tol toor rul - mas felizmente Towlinson o interrompeu ao anunciar:

- Srta. Tox!

A bela senhora entrou com o nariz azul e o rosto extremamente congelado. Estava vestida com pouquíssimo agasalho, numa confusa coleção de peças finas e esvoaçantes para honrar a cerimônia.

- Como vai, Srta. Tox? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

Cercada pelas gazes abertas, a Srta. Tox dobrou-se como um binóculo de ópera se fechando. Fez uma reverência muito baixa porque o Sr. Dombey dera um ou dois passos para recebê-la.

- Jamais poderei esquecer esta ocasião, senhor - disse a Srta. Tox suavemente. - É impossível. Minha querida Louisa, mal consigo acreditar nos meus próprios sentidos.

Se a Srta. Tox podia acreditar em um de seus sentidos, sabia que era um dia muito frio. Isso estava perfeitamente claro. Logo encontrou uma oportunidade de melhorar a circulação na ponta do nariz, esfregando-a discretamente com o lenço. Caso contrário, a temperatura muito baixa poderia surpreender desagradavelmente o bebê quando ela o beijasse.

Original English Version

He added in a low voice, “With my tiddle tol toor rul” - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson, who announced:

“Miss Tox!”

And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony.

“How do you do, Miss Tox?” said Mr Dombey.

Miss Tox, in the midst of her spreading gauzes, went down altogether like an opera-glass shutting-up; she curtseyed so low, in acknowledgment of Mr Dombey’s advancing a step or two to meet her.

“I can never forget this occasion, Sir,” said Miss Tox, softly. “’Tis impossible. My dear Louisa, I can hardly believe the evidence of my senses.”

If Miss Tox could believe the evidence of one of her senses, it was a very cold day. That was quite clear. She took an early opportunity of promoting the circulation in the tip of her nose by secretly chafing it with her pocket handkerchief, lest, by its very low temperature, it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it.

Tradução Integral em Português

Acrescentou em voz baixa: - Com o meu tiddle tol toor rul… - quando foi providencialmente detido por Towlinson, que anunciou:

- A senhorita Tox!

E eis que entra aquela formosa encantadora, com o nariz azul e o rosto indescritivelmente gélido, atribuíveis ao estar ela vestida bem levemente, num labirinto de esvoaçantes bugigangas, para honrar a cerimônia.

- Como vai, senhorita Tox? - disse o senhor Dombey.

A senhorita Tox, em meio às suas espraiadas gazes, desceu toda inteira como um binóculo de ópera que se fecha; fez uma reverência tão profunda, em reconhecimento de haver o senhor Dombey avançado um ou dois passos ao seu encontro.

- Jamais poderei esquecer esta ocasião, senhor - disse a senhorita Tox, docemente. - É impossível. Minha querida Louisa, mal posso crer no testemunho de meus sentidos.

Se a senhorita Tox podia crer no testemunho de um de seus sentidos, era um dia muito frio. Isso estava bem claro. Aproveitou uma oportunidade precoce para promover a circulação na ponta do nariz, esfregando-a às escondidas com o lenço, para que, por sua baixíssima temperatura, não fosse desagradavelmente espantar o bebê quando ela viesse a beijá-lo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O bebê logo apareceu, carregado com orgulho por Richards. Florence vinha atrás, sob a guarda daquela jovem policial ativa, Susan Nipper. Embora todos do quarto das crianças agora usassem luto mais leve do que antes, a aparência triste das crianças em nada alegrava o dia. O bebê também começou a chorar, talvez por causa do nariz da Srta. Tox. Isso impediu o Sr. Chick de realizar um plano desajeitado, mas honesto: pretendia demonstrar carinho por Florence. O Sr. Chick não reconhecia o direito superior de um Dombey perfeito, talvez porque fosse casado com uma e conhecesse bem tamanha excelência. Gostava realmente de Florence e demonstrava isso. Estava prestes a demonstrá-lo à sua maneira quando Paul chorou e a Sra. Chick o interrompeu rapidamente.

- Agora, Florence, menina! - disse a tia rapidamente. - O que está fazendo, querida? Mostre-se a ele. Atraia a atenção dele, minha querida!

Original English Version

The baby soon appeared, carried in great glory by Richards; while Florence, in custody of that active young constable, Susan Nipper, brought up the rear. Though the whole nursery party were dressed by this time in lighter mourning than at first, there was enough in the appearance of the bereaved children to make the day no brighter. The baby too - it might have been Miss Tox’s nose - began to cry. Thereby, as it happened, preventing Mr Chick from the awkward fulfilment of a very honest purpose he had; which was, to make much of Florence. For this gentleman, insensible to the superior claims of a perfect Dombey (perhaps on account of having the honour to be united to a Dombey himself, and being familiar with excellence), really liked her, and showed that he liked her, and was about to show it in his own way now, when Paul cried, and his helpmate stopped him short -

“Now Florence, child!” said her aunt, briskly, “what are you doing, love? Show yourself to him. Engage his attention, my dear!”

Tradução Integral em Português

O bebê logo apareceu, carregado com grande glória por Richards; enquanto Florence, sob a custódia daquela ativa e jovem guarda, Susan Nipper, fechava a retaguarda. Embora todo o grupo do quarto das crianças estivesse a esta altura vestido de luto mais leve do que a princípio, havia o bastante na aparência das crianças enlutadas para não tornar o dia mais alegre. O bebê também - talvez fosse o nariz da senhorita Tox - começou a chorar. Com isso, por acaso, impedindo o senhor Chick da desajeitada realização de um propósito bem honesto que tinha; o qual era mostrar-se afetuoso com Florence. Pois esse cavalheiro, insensível às superiores pretensões de um perfeito Dombey (talvez por ter ele próprio a honra de estar unido a uma Dombey, e estar familiarizado com a excelência), realmente gostava dela, e mostrava que gostava dela, e estava prestes a mostrá-lo à sua maneira, quando Paul chorou, e a sua companheira o interrompeu bruscamente:

- Vamos, Florence, criança! - disse a tia, com vivacidade - , que estás a fazer, meu amor? Mostra-te a ele. Prende-lhe a atenção, minha querida!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O ar ficou, ou poderia ter ficado, cada vez mais frio enquanto o Sr. Dombey observava sem calor a filhinha. Florence bateu palmas e ficou na ponta dos pés diante do trono de seu filho e herdeiro, atraindo o bebê para que se inclinasse de sua posição elevada e olhasse para ela. Alguma ação honesta de Richards talvez tenha ajudado, mas ele de fato olhou para baixo e ficou quieto. Quando a irmã se escondeu atrás da ama, seus olhos a seguiram. Quando ela espiou e soltou um alegre grito, ele se ergueu e fez sons felizes de bebê. Riu alto quando ela correu para ele e pareceu acariciar seus cachos com as mãozinhas enquanto ela o cobria de beijos.

O Sr. Dombey ficou contente ao ver aquilo? Nem um músculo relaxou para demonstrar prazer, embora ele raramente mostrasse qualquer sinal externo de sentimento. Se um raio de sol entrasse no aposento para iluminar as crianças brincando, jamais alcançava o rosto dele. Observava de modo tão fixo e frio que até a luz calorosa desapareceu dos olhos risonhos da pequena Florence quando finalmente encontraram os seus.

Original English Version

The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder, when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter, who, clapping her hands, and standing on tip-toe before the throne of his son and heir, lured him to bend down from his high estate, and look at her. Some honest act of Richards’s may have aided the effect, but he did look down, and held his peace. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses.

Was Mr Dombey pleased to see this? He testified no pleasure by the relaxation of a nerve; but outward tokens of any kind of feeling were unusual with him. If any sunbeam stole into the room to light the children at their play, it never reached his face. He looked on so fixedly and coldly, that the warm light vanished even from the laughing eyes of little Florence, when, at last, they happened to meet his.

Tradução Integral em Português

A atmosfera tornou-se, ou poderia ter-se tornado, cada vez mais fria, quando o senhor Dombey ficou a observar friamente a filhinha, que, batendo palmas e ficando na ponta dos pés diante do trono de seu filho e herdeiro, atraiu-o a inclinar-se de seu alto estado e a olhar para ela. Algum honesto gesto de Richards pode ter auxiliado o efeito, mas ele de fato olhou para baixo, e ficou quieto. Quando a irmã se escondeu atrás da ama, ele a seguiu com os olhos; e, quando ela espreitou com um alegre grito para ele, o menino deu um salto e gorjeou vigorosamente - rindo às gargalhadas quando ela correu para junto dele; e parecendo afagar os cachos dela com as mãozinhas, enquanto ela o sufocava de beijos.

Agradou ao senhor Dombey ver isto? Ele não testemunhou prazer algum pelo relaxamento de um só nervo; mas sinais exteriores de qualquer espécie de sentimento eram nele coisa rara. Se algum raio de sol se esgueirava para dentro do aposento a iluminar as crianças em sua brincadeira, nunca chegava até o rosto dele. Olhava com tal fixidez e frieza que a luz cálida desapareceu até dos olhos risonhos da pequena Florence, quando, por fim, eles vieram por acaso a encontrar os dele.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Era realmente um dia de outono cinzento e sombrio. Durante uma breve pausa silenciosa, as folhas caíram tristemente.

- Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey, consultando o relógio e colocando o chapéu e as luvas - por favor, acompanhe minha irmã. Hoje darei o braço à Srta. Tox. É melhor você ir primeiro com o jovem Paul, Richards. Tenha muito cuidado.

A carruagem do Sr. Dombey levava Dombey e Filho, a Srta. Tox, a Sra. Chick, Richards e Florence. Uma carruagem menor vinha atrás com Susan Nipper e seu dono, o Sr. Chick. Susan olhava sem parar pela janela para evitar o constrangimento de encarar o rosto grande daquele cavalheiro. Sempre que algo chacoalhava, imaginava que ele embrulhava em papel uma gratificação em dinheiro adequada para ela.

A caminho da igreja, o Sr. Dombey bateu palmas para divertir o filho. A Srta. Tox ficou encantada com esse exemplo de entusiasmo paterno. Fora esse incidente, a principal diferença entre o grupo do batizado e um cortejo fúnebre era a cor da carruagem e dos cavalos.

Original English Version

It was a dull, grey, autumn day indeed, and in a minute’s pause and silence that took place, the leaves fell sorrowfully.

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, referring to his watch, and assuming his hat and gloves. “Take my sister, if you please: my arm today is Miss Tox’s. You had better go first with Master Paul, Richards. Be very careful.”

In Mr Dombey’s carriage, Dombey and Son, Miss Tox, Mrs Chick, Richards, and Florence. In a little carriage following it, Susan Nipper and the owner Mr Chick. Susan looking out of window, without intermission, as a relief from the embarrassment of confronting the large face of that gentleman, and thinking whenever anything rattled that he was putting up in paper an appropriate pecuniary compliment for herself.

Once upon the road to church, Mr Dombey clapped his hands for the amusement of his son. At which instance of parental enthusiasm Miss Tox was enchanted. But exclusive of this incident, the chief difference between the christening party and a party in a mourning coach consisted in the colours of the carriage and horses.

Tradução Integral em Português

Era, de fato, um dia de outono baço e cinzento, e, na pausa e no silêncio de um minuto que sobreveio, as folhas caíam tristemente.

- Senhor John - disse o senhor Dombey, consultando o relógio e pondo o chapéu e as luvas - , leva a minha irmã, por favor: o meu braço hoje é da senhorita Tox. É melhor ires na frente com o menino Paul, Richards. Muito cuidado.

Na carruagem do senhor Dombey, Dombey and Son, a senhorita Tox, a senhora Chick, Richards e Florence. Numa carruagenzinha que a seguia, Susan Nipper e o seu proprietário, o senhor Chick. Susan a olhar pela janela, sem interrupção, como alívio do constrangimento de defrontar-se com o largo rosto daquele cavalheiro, e pensando, sempre que algo chocalhava, que ele estava a embrulhar em papel um apropriado cumprimento pecuniário para ela.

Uma vez a caminho da igreja, o senhor Dombey bateu palmas para divertir o filho. Diante de tal exemplo de entusiasmo paterno, a senhorita Tox ficou encantada. Mas, à parte esse incidente, a principal diferença entre o cortejo de batizado e um cortejo em carruagem fúnebre consistia nas cores da carruagem e dos cavalos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Nos degraus da igreja, um imponente funcionário religioso os recebeu. O Sr. Dombey desceu primeiro para ajudar as senhoras e ficou perto do funcionário junto à porta da igreja. Parecia outro funcionário, menos esplêndido, porém mais assustador: o funcionário da vida privada, o funcionário de nossos negócios e de nossos corações.

A mão da Srta. Tox tremeu quando ela a passou pelo braço do Sr. Dombey e sentiu-se conduzida escada acima, atrás de um chapéu formal e uma gola enorme. Por um instante, pareceu outra cerimônia solene. - Você aceita este homem, Lucretia? - Sim, aceito.

- Por favor, tragam a criança depressa para dentro, longe deste ar - sussurrou o funcionário, mantendo aberta a porta interna da igreja.

Original English Version

Arrived at the church steps, they were received by a portentous beadle. Mr Dombey dismounting first to help the ladies out, and standing near him at the church door, looked like another beadle. A beadle less gorgeous but more dreadful; the beadle of private life; the beadle of our business and our bosoms.

Miss Tox’s hand trembled as she slipped it through Mr Dombey’s arm, and felt herself escorted up the steps, preceded by a cocked hat and a Babylonian collar. It seemed for a moment like that other solemn institution, “Wilt thou have this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.”

“Please to bring the child in quick out of the air there,” whispered the beadle, holding open the inner door of the church.

Tradução Integral em Português

Chegados aos degraus da igreja, foram recebidos por um portentoso bedel. O senhor Dombey, apeando primeiro para ajudar as damas a descer, e postando-se junto dele à porta da igreja, parecia outro bedel. Um bedel menos suntuoso, porém mais terrível; o bedel da vida privada; o bedel de nossos negócios e de nossos peitos.

A mão da senhorita Tox tremeu ao deslizá-la pelo braço do senhor Dombey, e ao ver-se escoltada escada acima, precedida por um chapéu de canhão e um colarinho babilônico. Pareceu por um momento aquela outra solene instituição: “Aceitas este homem, Lucrécia?” “Sim, aceito.”

- Façam o favor de trazer depressa a criança para dentro, para longe dessa corrente de ar - sussurrou o bedel, mantendo aberta a porta interna da igreja.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O pequeno Paul poderia ter perguntado com Hamlet: “Para dentro do meu túmulo?”, pois o lugar era muito frio e cheirava a terra. O púlpito alto e a mesa de leitura estavam cobertos. Bancos vazios se estendiam tristemente sob as galerias, enquanto outros subiam até o teto e desapareciam na sombra do grande e sombrio órgão. Havia esteiras empoeiradas, pisos de pedra fria, assustadores assentos gratuitos nos corredores e um canto úmido junto à corda do sino. Cavaletes negros de funeral estavam guardados ali com pás, cestos e rolos de corda de aparência mortal. O cheiro estranho e desagradável e a luz pálida e fúnebre combinavam com todo o resto. Era uma cena fria e miserável.

[Ilustração]

- Há um casamento acontecendo, senhor - disse o funcionário da igreja - , mas terminará muito em breve, se quiser entrar aqui na sacristia.

Antes de se virar para mostrar o caminho, ele fez uma reverência ao Sr. Dombey e deu meio sorriso de reconhecimento. Parecia dizer que o funcionário se lembrava do prazer de ajudá-lo a enterrar a esposa e esperava que ele tivesse se divertido desde então.

Original English Version

Little Paul might have asked with Hamlet “into my grave?” so chill and earthy was the place. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. It was a cold and dismal scene.

[Illustration]

“There’s a wedding just on, Sir,” said the beadle, “but it’ll be over directly, if you’ll walk into the westry here.”

Before he turned again to lead the way, he gave Mr Dombey a bow and a half smile of recognition, importing that he (the beadle) remembered to have had the pleasure of attending on him when he buried his wife, and hoped he had enjoyed himself since.

Tradução Integral em Português

O pequeno Paul bem poderia perguntar com Hamlet “para dentro do meu túmulo?”, tão frio e terroso era o lugar. O alto púlpito velado e a estante de leitura; a lúgubre perspectiva dos bancos vazios que se estendiam sob as galerias, e dos assentos vazios que se erguiam até o teto e se perdiam na sombra do grande e soturno órgão; a esteira empoeirada e as frias lajes de pedra; os medonhos assentos gratuitos nas naves laterais; e o canto úmido junto à corda do sino, onde se achavam guardados os negros cavaletes usados nos funerais, junto com algumas pás e cestos, e uma volta ou duas de corda de aspecto mortífero; o estranho, insólito e desagradável cheiro, e a luz cadavérica; estava tudo em uníssono. Era uma cena fria e tétrica.

[Ilustração]

- Há um casamento em andamento, senhor - disse o bedel - , mas terminará já, já, se os senhores fizerem o favor de entrar aqui na sacristia.

Antes de virar-se de novo para conduzi-los, fez ao senhor Dombey uma vênia e um meio sorriso de reconhecimento, dando a entender que ele (o bedel) se lembrava de ter tido o prazer de atendê-lo quando enterrou a esposa, e esperava que ele houvesse se divertido desde então.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Até o casamento parecia sombrio quando passaram diante do altar. A noiva era velha demais e o noivo jovem demais. Um elegante cavalheiro idoso de um olho só, com um monóculo enfiado onde deveria estar o outro olho, entregava a noiva enquanto os amigos tremiam. Na sacristia, o fogo soltava fumaça. Um velho escriturário de advogado, sobrecarregado e mal pago, “fazia uma busca”, passando o dedo pelas páginas de pergaminho de um enorme registro cheio de enterros, um volume de uma longa série. Acima da lareira havia uma planta das câmaras funerárias sob a igreja. Tentando divertir o grupo, o Sr. Chick leu em voz alta as informações escritas e, por acidente, leu toda a referência ao túmulo da Sra. Dombey antes de conseguir se deter.

Original English Version

The very wedding looked dismal as they passed in front of the altar. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young, and a superannuated beau with one eye and an eyeglass stuck in its blank companion, was giving away the lady, while the friends were shivering. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Over the fireplace was a ground-plan of the vaults underneath the church; and Mr Chick, skimming the literary portion of it aloud, by way of enlivening the company, read the reference to Mrs Dombey’s tomb in full, before he could stop himself.

Tradução Integral em Português

O próprio casamento parecia tétrico enquanto passavam diante do altar. A noiva era velha demais e o noivo jovem demais, e um velho galanteador decrépito, com um olho só e um monóculo enfiado no vazio companheiro, entregava a dama, enquanto os amigos tiritavam. Na sacristia, o fogo fumegava; e um escrevente de advogado envelhecido demais, sobrecarregado de trabalho demais e mal pago demais, “fazendo uma busca”, corria o dedo indicador pelas páginas de pergaminho de um imenso registro (um de uma longa série de volumes semelhantes) empanturrado de sepultamentos. Sobre a lareira havia uma planta baixa das criptas por baixo da igreja; e o senhor Chick, correndo os olhos em voz alta pela parte literária dela, a fim de animar a companhia, leu por extenso a referência ao túmulo da senhora Dombey, antes que conseguisse deter-se.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Depois de outra espera fria, uma pequena assistente da igreja, ofegante e com asma - adequada ao cemitério, se não à igreja - , chamou-os até a pia batismal. Era uma bacia rígida de mármore que parecia ter brincado de bilboquê com seu pedestal simples no cemitério e acabado de ser apanhada em cima dele. Esperaram ali enquanto o grupo do casamento assinava o registro. Enquanto isso, em parte por causa da doença e em parte para que o grupo não se esquecesse dela, a pequena assistente caminhava pela igreja tossindo como um monstro marinho.

Original English Version

After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. Here they waited some little time while the marriage party enrolled themselves; and meanwhile the wheezy little pew-opener - partly in consequence of her infirmity, and partly that the marriage party might not forget her - went about the building coughing like a grampus.

Tradução Integral em Português

Após outro frio intervalo, uma pequena e ofegante abridora de bancos, acometida de uma asma apropriada ao cemitério, se não à igreja, convocou-os à pia batismal - uma rígida bacia de mármore que parecia ter estado a jogar um jogo cemiterial de bilboquê com o seu pedestal prosaico, e ter sido justamente naquele momento apanhada no alto dele. Ali esperaram algum tempo enquanto o grupo do casamento se registrava; e, entrementes, a pequena e ofegante abridora de bancos - parte em consequência de sua enfermidade, parte para que o grupo do casamento não a esquecesse - andava pelo edifício tossindo como uma toninha.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Logo o escriturário veio com uma jarra de água morna. Era o único objeto de aparência alegre ali, e trabalhava como agente funerário. Enquanto despejava a água na pia, disse que isso tiraria o frio. Milhões de litros de água fervente não teriam aquecido aquela ocasião. Então apareceu o sacerdote, um jovem cura de aparência bondosa e gentil, mas claramente com medo do bebê. Como a figura principal de uma história de fantasmas, era “uma figura alta, toda de branco”. Ao vê-lo, Paul encheu o ar com gritos e não parou até ser levado para fora, com o rosto escurecido.

Mesmo depois que Paul foi levado para fora, para grande alívio de todos, ouviram-no sob a entrada durante o restante da cerimônia. Seus gritos ficavam mais fracos, depois mais fortes, então paravam e voltavam a explodir porque ele não conseguia aceitar a injustiça sofrida. Isso distraiu tanto as duas senhoras que a Sra. Chick marchava sem parar até o corredor central para enviar mensagens pela assistente da igreja. A Srta. Tox manteve o livro de orações aberto no culto referente à Conspiração da Pólvora e às vezes respondia com palavras daquele culto.

Original English Version

Presently the clerk (the only cheerful-looking object there, and he was an undertaker) came up with a jug of warm water, and said something, as he poured it into the font, about taking the chill off; which millions of gallons boiling hot could not have done for the occasion. Then the clergyman, an amiable and mild-looking young curate, but obviously afraid of the baby, appeared like the principal character in a ghost-story, “a tall figure all in white;” at sight of whom Paul rent the air with his cries, and never left off again till he was taken out black in the face.

Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. This so distracted the attention of the two ladies, that Mrs Chick was constantly deploying into the centre aisle, to send out messages by the pew-opener, while Miss Tox kept her Prayer-book open at the Gunpowder Plot, and occasionally read responses from that service.

Tradução Integral em Português

Dali a pouco o escrevente (o único objeto de aspecto alegre ali, e era um agente funerário) acercou-se com um jarro de água quente, e disse algo, ao despejá-la na pia, sobre tirar o frio; o que milhões de galões a ferver não teriam conseguido fazer para aquela ocasião. Depois, o clérigo, um jovem coadjutor de aspecto amável e brando, mas evidentemente com medo do bebê, surgiu como a personagem principal de uma história de fantasmas, “uma figura alta toda de branco”; à vista de quem Paul rasgou os ares com seus gritos, e não parou mais até ser retirado com o rosto roxo.

Mesmo depois que tal fato ocorreu, para grande alívio de todos, ele foi ouvido sob o pórtico, durante o resto da cerimônia, ora mais fraco, ora mais forte, ora abafado, ora irrompendo de novo com uma incontrolável consciência de suas injustiças. Isso tanto distraiu a atenção das duas damas que a senhora Chick vivia a avançar para o meio da nave central, para mandar recados por intermédio da abridora de bancos, enquanto a senhorita Tox mantinha o livro de orações aberto na Conspiração da Pólvora, e ocasionalmente lia respostas daquele ofício.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Durante todos esses acontecimentos, o Sr. Dombey permaneceu tão calmo e distinto quanto sempre. Talvez ajudasse a tornar a igreja tão fria que saía vapor da boca do jovem cura enquanto lia. O Sr. Dombey só mudou de expressão uma vez. No final, o sacerdote falou com simplicidade sobre os padrinhos examinarem a criança no futuro e por acaso olhou para o Sr. Chick. Então o olhar majestoso do Sr. Dombey disse claramente que gostaria de apanhar o Sr. Chick tentando fazer isso.

Talvez fosse melhor para o Sr. Dombey se tivesse pensado um pouco menos na própria importância e um pouco mais na grande origem e finalidade da cerimônia da qual participou de modo tão formal e rígido. Seu orgulho contrastava de modo estranho com a história daquele rito.

Original English Version

During the whole of these proceedings, Mr Dombey remained as impassive and gentlemanly as ever, and perhaps assisted in making it so cold, that the young curate smoked at the mouth as he read. The only time that he unbent his visage in the least, was when the clergyman, in delivering (very unaffectedly and simply) the closing exhortation, relative to the future examination of the child by the sponsors, happened to rest his eye on Mr Chick; and then Mr Dombey might have been seen to express by a majestic look, that he would like to catch him at it.

It might have been well for Mr Dombey, if he had thought of his own dignity a little less; and had thought of the great origin and purpose of the ceremony in which he took so formal and so stiff a part, a little more. His arrogance contrasted strangely with its history.

Tradução Integral em Português

Durante o transcorrer de todos esses procedimentos, o senhor Dombey permaneceu tão impassível e cavalheiresco como sempre, e talvez contribuísse para tornar tudo tão frio que o jovem coadjutor soltava fumaça pela boca enquanto lia. A única vez em que desanuviou minimamente o semblante foi quando o clérigo, ao proferir (bem singela e simplesmente) a exortação final, relativa ao futuro exame da criança pelos padrinhos, veio por acaso a pousar os olhos no senhor Chick; e então talvez se pudesse ver o senhor Dombey exprimir, com um olhar majestoso, que bem gostaria de apanhá-lo em flagrante.

Bem teria sido para o senhor Dombey se houvesse pensado um pouco menos na própria dignidade; e houvesse pensado um pouco mais na grandiosa origem e no propósito da cerimônia da qual participava de modo tão formal e tão rígido. Sua arrogância contrastava estranhamente com a história dela.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Quando tudo terminou, ele novamente ofereceu o braço à Srta. Tox e a conduziu à sacristia. Ali disse ao sacerdote como teria ficado feliz em convidá-lo para jantar, não fosse o estado infeliz de sua casa. Assinaram o registro e pagaram as taxas. Lembraram-se da assistente que tossia, recompensaram o funcionário e não esqueceram o coveiro, que por acaso estava nos degraus, muito interessado no tempo. Depois voltaram à carruagem e foram para casa juntos, no mesmo estado de espírito frio.

Em casa encontraram o Sr. Pitt olhando com desprezo para uma refeição fria, disposta com cerimônia gelada em vidro e prata. Parecia mais um jantar morto exposto com honras do que comida entre amigos. Quando chegaram, a Srta. Tox deu uma caneca ao afilhado, e o Sr. Chick lhe deu faca, garfo e colher num estojo. O Sr. Dombey deu uma pulseira à Srta. Tox, e o presente a comoveu profundamente.

Original English Version

When it was all over, he again gave his arm to Miss Tox, and conducted her to the vestry, where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner, but for the unfortunate state of his household affairs. The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship.

There they found Mr Pitt turning up his nose at a cold collation, set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver, and looking more like a dead dinner lying in state than a social refreshment. On their arrival Miss Tox produced a mug for her godson, and Mr Chick a knife and fork and spoon in a case. Mr Dombey also produced a bracelet for Miss Tox; and, on the receipt of this token, Miss Tox was tenderly affected.

Tradução Integral em Português

Quando tudo terminou, ele novamente ofereceu o braço à senhorita Tox e conduziu-a à sacristia, onde informou ao clérigo quanto prazer lhe teria dado solicitar a honra de sua companhia ao jantar, não fosse o infeliz estado de seus assuntos domésticos. Assinado o registro, e pagas as taxas, e lembrada a abridora de bancos (cuja tosse estava de novo bem forte), e gratificado o bedel, e não esquecido o sacristão (que estava acidentalmente nos degraus da porta, olhando com grande interesse para o tempo), tornaram a entrar na carruagem e rumaram para casa na mesma gélida camaradagem.

Ali encontraram o senhor Pitt torcendo o nariz para uma refeição fria, disposta em fria pompa de vidro e prata, e mais parecida com um jantar defunto exposto em câmara-ardente do que com um repasto de convívio. À sua chegada, a senhorita Tox produziu uma caneca para o afilhado, e o senhor Chick uma faca, um garfo e uma colher num estojo. O senhor Dombey também produziu uma pulseira para a senhorita Tox; e, ao receber essa lembrança, a senhorita Tox ficou ternamente comovida.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey - , poderia se sentar na outra ponta da mesa, por favor? O que tem aí, Sr. John?

- Tenho aqui um pedaço frio de vitela, senhor - respondeu o Sr. Chick, esfregando com força as mãos dormentes. - O que o senhor tem aí?

- Isto - respondeu o Sr. Dombey - é algum prato frio feito de cabeça de bezerro, creio. Vejo frangos frios, presunto, empadas, salada e lagosta. A Srta. Tox me dará a honra de tomar um pouco de vinho? Champanhe para a Srta. Tox.

Tudo dava uma sensação de dor de dente. O vinho estava tão terrivelmente gelado que a Srta. Tox soltou um pequeno grito, que teve grande dificuldade para transformar numa tosse. A vitela viera de uma despensa tão fria e arejada que o primeiro gosto levou aos braços e pernas do Sr. Chick uma sensação de chumbo gelado. Apenas o Sr. Dombey permaneceu imóvel. Poderia ter sido exposto à venda numa feira russa como exemplo de cavalheiro congelado.

Original English Version

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, “will you take the bottom of the table, if you please? What have you got there, Mr John?”

“I have got a cold fillet of veal here, Sir,” replied Mr Chick, rubbing his numbed hands hard together. “What have you got there, Sir?”

“This,” returned Mr Dombey, “is some cold preparation of calf’s head, I think. I see cold fowls - ham - patties - salad - lobster. Miss Tox will do me the honour of taking some wine? Champagne to Miss Tox.”

There was a toothache in everything. The wine was so bitter cold that it forced a little scream from Miss Tox, which she had great difficulty in turning into a “Hem!” The veal had come from such an airy pantry, that the first taste of it had struck a sensation as of cold lead to Mr Chick’s extremities. Mr Dombey alone remained unmoved. He might have been hung up for sale at a Russian fair as a specimen of a frozen gentleman.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Senhor John - disse o senhor Dombey - , fazes o favor de tomar a cabeceira da mesa? Que tens aí, senhor John?

- Tenho aqui um filé frio de vitela, senhor - respondeu o senhor Chick, esfregando com força as mãos entorpecidas. - Que tem o senhor aí?

- Isto - retorquiu o senhor Dombey - é uma preparação fria de cabeça de vitela, creio eu. Vejo aves frias - presunto - pastéis - salada - lagosta. A senhorita Tox me dará a honra de tomar um pouco de vinho? Champanhe para a senhorita Tox.

Havia uma dor de dente em tudo. O vinho estava de um frio tão amargo que arrancou um pequeno grito da senhorita Tox, que ela teve grande dificuldade em converter num “Hem!”. A vitela viera de uma despensa tão arejada que o seu primeiro sabor cravou uma sensação como de chumbo frio nas extremidades do senhor Chick. Só o senhor Dombey permanecia imperturbável. Poderia ter sido pendurado à venda numa feira russa como espécime de um cavalheiro congelado.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A influência fria era forte demais até para a irmã dele. Ela não fez esforço algum para elogiar ninguém nem manter conversa educada e usou toda a energia para parecer o mais aquecida possível.

- Bem, senhor - disse o Sr. Chick, fazendo um esforço desesperado após um longo silêncio e enchendo um copo de xerez - , se me permite, beberei à saúde do pequeno Paul.

- Deus o abençoe! - murmurou a Srta. Tox, tomando um gole de vinho.

- Querido pequeno Dombey! - murmurou a Sra. Chick.

- Sr. John - disse o Sr. Dombey com severa gravidade - , não tenho dúvida de que meu filho sentiria e expressaria gratidão ao senhor se pudesse compreender a honra que lhe concedeu. No futuro, confio que se mostrará à altura de toda responsabilidade que a bondade de seus parentes e amigos possa lhe impor na vida privada ou que a pesada natureza de nossa posição pública possa colocar sobre ele.

Original English Version

The prevailing influence was too much even for his sister. She made no effort at flattery or small talk, and directed all her efforts to looking as warm as she could.

“Well, Sir,” said Mr Chick, making a desperate plunge, after a long silence, and filling a glass of sherry; “I shall drink this, if you’ll allow me, Sir, to little Paul.”

“Bless him!” murmured Miss Tox, taking a sip of wine.

“Dear little Dombey!” murmured Mrs Chick.

“Mr John,” said Mr Dombey, with severe gravity, “my son would feel and express himself obliged to you, I have no doubt, if he could appreciate the favour you have done him. He will prove, in time to come, I trust, equal to any responsibility that the obliging disposition of his relations and friends, in private, or the onerous nature of our position, in public, may impose upon him.”

Tradução Integral em Português

A influência reinante foi demais até para a sua irmã. Ela não fez esforço algum de lisonja ou conversa fiada, e dirigiu todos os seus esforços a parecer tão aquecida quanto podia.

- Pois bem, senhor - disse o senhor Chick, dando um mergulho desesperado, após longo silêncio, e enchendo um cálice de xerez - ; vou beber isto, se me permite, senhor, ao pequeno Paul.

- Deus o abençoe! - murmurou a senhorita Tox, tomando um golinho de vinho.

- Querido pequeno Dombey! - murmurou a senhora Chick.

- Senhor John - disse o senhor Dombey, com severa gravidade - , meu filho se sentiria e se declararia grato a ti, não tenho dúvida, se pudesse aquilatar o favor que lhe fizeste. Ele há de mostrar-se, no tempo que há de vir, assim o espero, à altura de qualquer responsabilidade que a obsequiosa disposição de seus parentes e amigos, no âmbito privado, ou a natureza onerosa de nossa posição, no âmbito público, possa lhe impor.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O tom dele não permitia resposta, por isso o Sr. Chick voltou à tristeza e ao silêncio. Mas a Srta. Tox não. Ela escutara o Sr. Dombey com ainda mais atenção que de costume, com a cabeça inclinada de modo ainda mais evidente para um lado. Agora se inclinou sobre a mesa e disse baixinho à Sra. Chick:

- Louisa!

- Minha querida - disse a Sra. Chick.

- A pesada natureza de nossa posição pública pode... Esqueci a palavra exata.

- Expô-lo a isso - disse a Sra. Chick.

- Perdoe-me, querida - respondeu a Srta. Tox - , acho que não. Soava mais completo e fluido. A bondade de parentes e amigos na vida privada, ou a pesada natureza de nossa posição pública... pode... impor-lhe!

- Impor-lhe, é claro - disse a Sra. Chick.

A Srta. Tox bateu de leve as mãos delicadas em sinal de vitória e, erguendo os olhos, acrescentou: - Verdadeira eloquência!

Original English Version

The tone in which this was said admitting of nothing more, Mr Chick relapsed into low spirits and silence. Not so Miss Tox, who, having listened to Mr Dombey with even a more emphatic attention than usual, and with a more expressive tendency of her head to one side, now leant across the table, and said to Mrs Chick softly:

“Louisa!”

“My dear,” said Mrs Chick.

“Onerous nature of our position in public may - I have forgotten the exact term.”

“Expose him to,” said Mrs Chick.

“Pardon me, my dear,” returned Miss Tox, “I think not. It was more rounded and flowing. Obliging disposition of relations and friends in private, or onerous nature of position in public - may - impose upon him!”

“Impose upon him, to be sure,” said Mrs Chick.

Miss Tox struck her delicate hands together lightly, in triumph; and added, casting up her eyes, “eloquence indeed!”

Tradução Integral em Português

Não admitindo o tom em que isto foi dito nada mais, o senhor Chick recaiu no abatimento e no silêncio. Não assim a senhorita Tox, que, tendo escutado o senhor Dombey com atenção ainda mais enfática que de costume, e com um mais expressivo pender da cabeça para um lado, inclinou-se agora sobre a mesa e disse à senhora Chick baixinho:

- Louisa!

- Minha querida - disse a senhora Chick.

- Natureza onerosa de nossa posição no âmbito público possa… esqueci o termo exato.

- Expô-lo a - disse a senhora Chick.

- Perdão, minha querida - retorquiu a senhorita Tox - , creio que não. Era mais arredondado e fluente. Obsequiosa disposição de parentes e amigos no âmbito privado, ou natureza onerosa de posição no âmbito público… possa… lhe impor!

- Lhe impor, é claro - disse a senhora Chick.

A senhorita Tox bateu de leve as delicadas mãos uma na outra, em triunfo; e acrescentou, erguendo os olhos: - Eloquência de fato!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Enquanto isso, o Sr. Dombey mandara chamar Richards. Ela entrou fazendo reverências, mas sem o bebê, pois Paul dormia depois da manhã cansativa. O Sr. Dombey entregou uma taça de vinho à criada e dirigiu-lhe as palavras seguintes. Antes, a Srta. Tox posicionou cuidadosamente a cabeça de lado e fez outros pequenos preparativos para gravar aquelas palavras no coração.

- Durante os cerca de seis meses em que viveu nesta casa, Richards, você cumpriu seu dever. Eu queria ligar algum pequeno serviço em seu benefício a esta ocasião, por isso considerei a melhor maneira de fazê-lo. Também pedi conselho à minha irmã, Sra...

- Chick - acrescentou o cavalheiro que tinha esse nome.

- Ah, por favor, fique quieto! - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Eu ia lhe dizer, Richards - continuou o Sr. Dombey, lançando um olhar assustador ao Sr. John - , que minha decisão também foi ajudada pela lembrança de uma conversa que tive com seu marido nesta sala quando você foi contratada. Na ocasião, ele me revelou o triste fato de que toda a sua família, com ele próprio à frente, estava profundamente mergulhada na ignorância.

Original English Version

Mr Dombey, in the meanwhile, had issued orders for the attendance of Richards, who now entered curtseying, but without the baby; Paul being asleep after the fatigues of the morning. Mr Dombey, having delivered a glass of wine to this vassal, addressed her in the following words: Miss Tox previously settling her head on one side, and making other little arrangements for engraving them on her heart.

“During the six months or so, Richards, which have seen you an inmate of this house, you have done your duty. Desiring to connect some little service to you with this occasion, I considered how I could best effect that object, and I also advised with my sister, Mrs - ”

“Chick,” interposed the gentleman of that name.

“Oh, hush if you please!” said Miss Tox.

“I was about to say to you, Richards,” resumed Mr Dombey, with an appalling glance at Mr John, “that I was further assisted in my decision, by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room, on the occasion of your being hired, when he disclosed to me the melancholy fact that your family, himself at the head, were sunk and steeped in ignorance.”

Tradução Integral em Português

O senhor Dombey, entrementes, havia dado ordens para o comparecimento de Richards, que agora entrou fazendo uma reverência, mas sem o bebê; estando Paul a dormir após as fadigas da manhã. O senhor Dombey, tendo entregado um cálice de vinho a essa vassala, dirigiu-lhe as seguintes palavras: pendendo a senhorita Tox previamente a cabeça para um lado, e fazendo outros pequenos preparativos para gravá-las em seu coração.

- Durante os seis meses ou coisa que o valha, Richards, que te viram habitante desta casa, cumpriste teu dever. Desejando associar algum pequeno benefício a ti a esta ocasião, considerei como melhor poderia atingir esse objetivo, e aconselhei-me também com a minha irmã, a senhora…

- Chick - interpôs o cavalheiro desse nome.

- Oh, silêncio, por favor! - disse a senhorita Tox.

- Ia dizer-te, Richards - retomou o senhor Dombey, com um pavoroso olhar dirigido ao senhor John - , que fui ademais auxiliado em minha decisão pela lembrança de uma conversa que tive com teu marido neste aposento, por ocasião de te contratarem, quando ele me revelou o melancólico fato de que tua família, ele à frente, estava afundada e imersa na ignorância.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Richards tremeu diante da grandeza daquela crítica.

- Estou longe de apoiar - continuou o Sr. Dombey - aquilo que pessoas de ideias igualitárias chamam de educação para todos. Mas as classes inferiores devem continuar sendo ensinadas a conhecer sua posição e a se comportar corretamente. Nesse sentido, aprovo as escolas. Tenho o direito de indicar uma criança para receber apoio gratuito numa antiga instituição chamada Charitable Grinders, por causa de uma respeitável companhia. Ali, os alunos recebem não apenas uma educação adequada, mas também uniforme e distintivo. Depois de primeiro entrar em contato com sua família por meio da Sra. Chick, indiquei seu filho mais velho para uma vaga, e fui informado de que ele vestiu o uniforme hoje. O número do filho dela, creio - disse o Sr. Dombey, virando-se para a irmã e falando da criança como se fosse uma carruagem de aluguel - , é cento e quarenta e sete. Louisa, pode dizer a ela.

- Cento e quarenta e sete - disse a Sra. Chick. - O uniforme, Richards, é um belo e quente casaco azul de lã com abas e um boné, ambos com bordas cor de laranja, meias vermelhas de lã e calções muito fortes de couro. A própria pessoa poderia usar as peças - acrescentou a Sra. Chick com entusiasmo - e sentir gratidão.

Original English Version

Richards quailed under the magnificence of the reproof.

“I am far from being friendly,” pursued Mr Dombey, “to what is called by persons of levelling sentiments, general education. But it is necessary that the inferior classes should continue to be taught to know their position, and to conduct themselves properly. So far I approve of schools. Having the power of nominating a child on the foundation of an ancient establishment, called (from a worshipful company) the Charitable Grinders; where not only is a wholesome education bestowed upon the scholars, but where a dress and badge is likewise provided for them; I have (first communicating, through Mrs Chick, with your family) nominated your eldest son to an existing vacancy; and he has this day, I am informed, assumed the habit. The number of her son, I believe,” said Mr Dombey, turning to his sister and speaking of the child as if he were a hackney-coach, is one hundred and forty-seven. Louisa, you can tell her.”

“One hundred and forty-seven,” said Mrs Chick “The dress, Richards, is a nice, warm, blue baize tailed coat and cap, turned up with orange coloured binding; red worsted stockings; and very strong leather small-clothes. One might wear the articles one’s self,” said Mrs Chick, with enthusiasm, “and be grateful.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Richards acovardou-se sob a magnificência da reprimenda.

- Estou longe de ser favorável - prosseguiu o senhor Dombey - ao que as pessoas de sentimentos niveladores chamam de educação geral. Mas é necessário que as classes inferiores continuem a ser ensinadas a conhecer a sua posição, e a comportar-se convenientemente. Nesse sentido, aprovo as escolas. Tendo o poder de indicar uma criança para a fundação de um antigo estabelecimento, chamado (por causa de uma respeitável corporação) os Amoladores de Caridade; onde não só se confere aos alunos uma educação salutar, como também se lhes provê uma farda e um distintivo; eu (comunicando-me primeiro, por intermédio da senhora Chick, com tua família) indiquei teu filho mais velho para uma vaga existente; e ele hoje, segundo me informam, vestiu o hábito. O número do filho dela, creio eu - disse o senhor Dombey, voltando-se para a irmã e falando da criança como se ela fosse um fiacre - , é cento e quarenta e sete. Louisa, podes dizer-lhe.

- Cento e quarenta e sete - disse a senhora Chick. - A farda, Richards, é um bonito e quentinho casaco de baeta azul com rabo e boné, com debrum cor de laranja; meias de lã vermelha; e calções de couro bem resistentes. Uma pessoa poderia vestir essas peças ela própria - disse a senhora Chick, com entusiasmo - e ficar agradecida.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Aí está, Richards! - disse a Srta. Tox. - Agora pode realmente se orgulhar. Os Charitable Grinders!

- Com certeza sou muito grata, senhor - respondeu Richards com voz fraca - , e é muita bondade sua lembrar-se de meus filhinhos. Ao mesmo tempo, Richards imaginou Biler como um Charitable Grinder, com as pernas muito curtas dentro das roupas práticas descritas pela Sra. Chick. A imagem flutuou diante de seus olhos e os encheu de lágrimas.

- Fico muito contente em ver que você tem tanto sentimento, Richards - disse a Srta. Tox.

- Isso quase nos dá esperança, realmente dá - disse a Sra. Chick, que se orgulhava de sua visão confiante da natureza humana - , de que ainda possa existir no mundo uma fraca centelha de gratidão e sentimento correto.

Richards aceitou os elogios fazendo reverências e murmurando agradecimentos. Mas a imagem do filho naqueles calções precoces de couro a perturbara tanto que ela não conseguia recuperar o bom ânimo. Aproximou-se devagar da porta e sentiu profundo alívio ao escapar por ela.

Original English Version

“There, Richards!” said Miss Tox. “Now, indeed, you may be proud. The Charitable Grinders!”

“I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water.

“I am very glad to see you have so much feeling, Richards,” said Miss Tox.

“It makes one almost hope, it really does,” said Mrs Chick, who prided herself on taking trustful views of human nature, “that there may yet be some faint spark of gratitude and right feeling in the world.”

Richards deferred to these compliments by curtseying and murmuring her thanks; but finding it quite impossible to recover her spirits from the disorder into which they had been thrown by the image of her son in his precocious nether garments, she gradually approached the door and was heartily relieved to escape by it.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Aí está, Richards! - disse a senhorita Tox. - Agora, sim, podes orgulhar-te. Os Amoladores de Caridade!

- Estou certa de que fico muitíssimo agradecida, senhor - retorquiu Richards debilmente - , e tomo por muita bondade que o senhor se tenha lembrado dos meus pequeninos. - Ao mesmo tempo, uma visão de Biler como Amolador de Caridade, com as perninhas bem pequenas embainhadas nas utilitárias roupas descritas pela senhora Chick, flutuou diante dos olhos de Richards, e fez que se lhe umedecessem.

- Fico bem contente de ver que tens tanto sentimento, Richards - disse a senhorita Tox.

- Isso quase nos faz esperar, faz mesmo - disse a senhora Chick, que se orgulhava de nutrir confiantes visões da natureza humana - , que ainda possa haver alguma tênue centelha de gratidão e de sentimento reto no mundo.

Richards correspondeu a esses cumprimentos com reverências e murmúrios de agradecimento; mas, achando de todo impossível recobrar o ânimo da desordem em que fora lançado pela imagem do filho em suas precoces roupas de baixo, aproximou-se gradualmente da porta e sentiu-se sinceramente aliviada de escapar por ela.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Quaisquer pequenos e temporários sinais de calor que haviam aparecido com Richards desapareceram com ela, e a geada voltou tão fria e dura quanto sempre. Duas vezes ouviram o Sr. Chick cantarolar na outra ponta da mesa, mas nas duas ocasiões era um trecho da Marcha Fúnebre de Saul. O grupo parecia ficar cada vez mais frio, congelando aos poucos num estado duro e sólido, como a refeição ao redor da qual estava reunido. Por fim, a Sra. Chick olhou para a Srta. Tox, a Srta. Tox devolveu o olhar, e ambas se levantaram e disseram que realmente era hora de partir. O Sr. Dombey recebeu a notícia com perfeita calma. Despediram-se e logo saíram sob a proteção do Sr. Chick. Assim que deram as costas à casa e deixaram seu dono sozinho como de costume, o Sr. Chick pôs as mãos nos bolsos, recostou-se na carruagem e assobiou “With a hey ho chevy!” durante todo o trajeto. Seu rosto mostrava uma rebeldia tão sombria e terrível que a Sra. Chick não ousou protestar nem perturbá-lo de modo algum.

Original English Version

Such temporary indications of a partial thaw that had appeared with her, vanished with her; and the frost set in again, as cold and hard as ever. Mr Chick was twice heard to hum a tune at the bottom of the table, but on both occasions it was a fragment of the Dead March in Saul. The party seemed to get colder and colder, and to be gradually resolving itself into a congealed and solid state, like the collation round which it was assembled. At length Mrs Chick looked at Miss Tox, and Miss Tox returned the look, and they both rose and said it was really time to go. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him.

Tradução Integral em Português

Tais temporárias indicações de um degelo parcial que haviam aparecido com ela, com ela desapareceram; e a geada se instalou de novo, tão fria e dura como sempre. O senhor Chick foi ouvido duas vezes cantarolar uma toada na cabeceira da mesa, mas em ambas as ocasiões era um fragmento da Marcha Fúnebre de Saul. O grupo parecia ficar cada vez mais frio, e resolver-se gradualmente num estado congelado e sólido, como a refeição em torno da qual se reunira. Por fim, a senhora Chick olhou para a senhorita Tox, e a senhorita Tox retribuiu o olhar, e ambas se levantaram e disseram que era realmente hora de ir. Recebendo o senhor Dombey esse anúncio com perfeita equanimidade, elas se despediram daquele cavalheiro, e logo partiram sob a proteção do senhor Chick; o qual, quando haviam virado as costas à casa e deixado o dono dela em seu costumeiro estado solitário, meteu as mãos nos bolsos, reclinou-se na carruagem e assobiou “With a hey ho chevy!” de ponta a ponta; conferindo ao rosto, ao fazê-lo, uma expressão de tão sombrio e terrível desafio que a senhora Chick não ousou protestar, nem de modo algum importuná-lo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Embora Richards tivesse o pequeno Paul no colo, não conseguia esquecer o próprio primogênito. Sentia-se ingrata, mas a influência do dia atingia até os Charitable Grinders. Mal conseguia evitar ver o distintivo de metal de Biler, número cento e quarenta e sete, como parte da formalidade e severidade daquele dia. No quarto das crianças, também falou das “perninhas abençoadas” dele e foi novamente perturbada pela imagem fantasmagórica do menino de uniforme.

- Não sei o que eu não daria - disse Polly - para ver o pobre querido antes que se acostume com aquelas roupas.

- Então vou lhe dizer o que fazer, Sra. Richards - respondeu Nipper, a quem Polly confiara o segredo. - Veja-o e tranquilize a mente.

- O Sr. Dombey não gostaria - disse Polly.

- Ah, não gostaria, Sra. Richards? - retrucou Nipper. - Acho que gostaria muito quando alguém lhe perguntasse.

Original English Version

Richards, though she had little Paul on her lap, could not forget her own first-born. She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness. She spoke, too, in the nursery, of his “blessed legs,” and was again troubled by his spectre in uniform.

“I don’t know what I wouldn’t give,” said Polly, “to see the poor little dear before he gets used to ’em.”

“Why, then, I tell you what, Mrs Richards,” retorted Nipper, who had been admitted to her confidence, “see him and make your mind easy.”

“Mr Dombey wouldn’t like it,” said Polly.

“Oh, wouldn’t he, Mrs Richards!” retorted Nipper, “he’d like it very much, I think when he was asked.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Richards, embora tivesse o pequeno Paul no colo, não conseguia esquecer o próprio primogênito. Sentia que era ingratidão; mas a influência do dia recaía até sobre os Amoladores de Caridade, e ela mal podia deixar de encarar o distintivo de estanho dele, número cento e quarenta e sete, como, de algum modo, parte de sua formalidade e de sua severidade. Falou, também, no quarto das crianças, das “perninhas abençoadas” dele, e foi de novo atormentada pelo seu espectro em farda.

- Não sei o que eu não daria - disse Polly - para ver o pobre benzinho antes que ele se acostume com elas.

- Pois então, digo-lhe uma coisa, senhora Richards - retorquiu Nipper, que fora admitida em suas confidências - , veja-o e fique tranquila.

- O senhor Dombey não gostaria - disse Polly.

- Oh, não gostaria, senhora Richards! - retorquiu Nipper - , ele gostaria muito, eu acho, se lhe pedissem.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Suponho que você não perguntaria nada a ele? - disse Polly.

- Não, Sra. Richards, muito pelo contrário - respondeu Susan. - Ouvi aquelas duas inspetoras, Tox e Chick, dizerem que não estarão de serviço amanhã. Portanto, a Srta. Floy e eu iremos com prazer com a senhora amanhã de manhã, se quiser. Tanto faz caminharmos até lá ou subirmos e descermos uma rua, e será até melhor.

No início, Polly rejeitou firmemente a ideia. Mas aos poucos começou a considerá-la enquanto as imagens proibidas dos filhos e de casa se tornavam mais claras em sua mente. Por fim, concluiu que não poderia haver grande mal em parar à porta por um instante e aceitou o plano de Nipper.

Assim que decidiram a questão, o pequeno Paul começou a chorar de modo terrível, como se soubesse que nada de bom resultaria daquilo.

- O que há com a criança? - perguntou Susan.

Original English Version

“You wouldn’t ask him, I suppose, at all?” said Polly.

“No, Mrs Richards, quite contrairy,” returned Susan, “and them two inspectors Tox and Chick, not intending to be on duty tomorrow, as I heard ’em say, me and Miss Floy will go along with you tomorrow morning, and welcome, Mrs Richards, if you like, for we may as well walk there as up and down a street, and better too.”

Polly rejected the idea pretty stoutly at first; but by little and little she began to entertain it, as she entertained more and more distinctly the forbidden pictures of her children, and her own home. At length, arguing that there could be no great harm in calling for a moment at the door, she yielded to the Nipper proposition.

The matter being settled thus, little Paul began to cry most piteously, as if he had a foreboding that no good would come of it.

“What’s the matter with the child?” asked Susan.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Mas você não iria pedir a ele, imagino? - disse Polly.

- Não, senhora Richards, muito pelo contrário - retorquiu Susan - , e como aquelas duas inspetoras, Tox e Chick, não tencionam estar de serviço amanhã, pelo que as ouvi dizer, eu e a senhorita Floy iremos com a senhora amanhã de manhã, e de boa vontade, senhora Richards, se a senhora quiser, pois tanto faz caminharmos até lá quanto de cima a baixo de uma rua, e até melhor.

Polly rejeitou a ideia com bastante firmeza a princípio; mas, aos poucos, começou a acolhê-la, à medida que acolhia mais e mais nitidamente as proibidas imagens de seus filhos, e de seu próprio lar. Por fim, argumentando que não podia haver grande mal em chegar por um momento à porta, cedeu à proposta da Nipper.

Estando o assunto assim resolvido, o pequeno Paul começou a chorar da maneira mais lastimável, como se tivesse o pressentimento de que nenhum bem viria daquilo.

- Que há com a criança? - perguntou Susan.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Acho que está com frio - disse Polly, caminhando de um lado para o outro com ele e tentando acalmá-lo.

Era realmente uma fria tarde de outono. Enquanto caminhava e o acalmava, Polly olhava pelas janelas sombrias e apertava o menininho contra o peito, enquanto as folhas secas caíam como chuva.

Original English Version

“He’s cold, I think,” said Polly, walking with him to and fro, and hushing him.

It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked, and hushed, and, glancing through the dreary windows, pressed the little fellow closer to her breast, the withered leaves came showering down.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Está com frio, creio eu - disse Polly, andando de um lado para outro com ele, e embalando-o.

Era, de fato, uma tarde de outono gélida; e, enquanto ela caminhava, e o embalava, e, espreitando pelas lúgubres janelas, apertava o pequenino mais junto ao peito, as folhas murchas vinham caindo em chuva.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER VI. Paul’s Second Deprivation

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Pela manhã, Polly teve tantas dúvidas que teria cancelado toda a viagem sem os constantes incentivos da companheira de olhos negros. Teria pedido formalmente permissão para ver o número cento e quarenta e sete sob a terrível sombra do teto do Sr. Dombey. Mas Susan desejava pessoalmente o passeio. Como Tony Lumpkin, suportava bastante bem a decepção dos outros, mas não conseguia suportar decepcionar a si mesma. Levantou muitas dúvidas inteligentes sobre a segunda ideia de Polly e apoiou o plano original com tantos argumentos engenhosos que, quase assim que as costas majestosas do Sr. Dombey se viraram e ele iniciou seu caminho diário para a City, seu filho inocente já viajava em direção a Staggs’s Gardens.

Esse lugar de nome agradável ficava num subúrbio cujos moradores o chamavam de Camberling Town. O Mapa de Londres para Estrangeiros, impresso em lenços de bolso para uso fácil e agradável, reduzia esse nome, com alguma razão, a Camden Town. As duas amas caminharam até lá com as crianças. Richards naturalmente carregava Paul, enquanto Susan conduzia a pequena Florence pela mão e às vezes lhe dava os puxões e empurrões que considerava saudáveis.

Original English Version

Polly was beset by so many misgivings in the morning, that but for the incessant promptings of her black-eyed companion, she would have abandoned all thoughts of the expedition, and formally petitioned for leave to see number one hundred and forty-seven, under the awful shadow of Mr Dombey’s roof. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens.

This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Hither the two nurses bent their steps, accompanied by their charges; Richards carrying Paul, of course, and Susan leading little Florence by the hand, and giving her such jerks and pokes from time to time, as she considered it wholesome to administer.

Tradução Integral em Português

Polly foi assaltada de manhã por tantos receios que, não fossem os incessantes incentivos de sua companheira de olhos negros, teria abandonado toda ideia da expedição e pedido formalmente licença para ver o número cento e quarenta e sete, sob a sombra terrível do teto do senhor Dombey. Mas Susan, que estava pessoalmente inclinada a favor do passeio e que (como Tony Lumpkin), se conseguia suportar com razoável fortaleza os desapontamentos alheios, não podia tolerar desapontar-se a si mesma, lançou tantas engenhosas dúvidas no caminho desse segundo pensamento e estimulou a intenção original com tantos engenhosos argumentos que, quase assim que as costas majestosas do senhor Dombey se voltaram e aquele cavalheiro seguia seu trajeto diário rumo à City, seu inconsciente filho estava a caminho de Staggs's Gardens.

Essa eufônica localidade situava-se num subúrbio conhecido pelos habitantes de Staggs's Gardens pelo nome de Camberling Town; designação que o Mapa de Londres para Estrangeiros, tal como impresso (com vistas a uma consulta agradável e cômoda) em lenços de bolso, condensa, com certa aparência de razão, em Camden Town. Para lá dirigiram seus passos as duas amas, acompanhadas de seus protegidos; Richards carregando Paul, é claro, e Susan conduzindo a pequena Florence pela mão, dando-lhe de tempos em tempos tais safanões e beliscões quantos julgava salutar ministrar.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Naquele tempo, o primeiro choque de um grande terremoto parecia ter partido toda a vizinhança. Sinais de sua passagem apareciam por toda parte. Casas haviam caído, ruas estavam cortadas e bloqueadas, cavavam-se buracos e valas profundas, e enormes montes de terra e argila se erguiam do chão. Grandes vigas de madeira sustentavam prédios cujas fundações haviam sido removidas e que agora tremiam. Num lugar, uma massa confusa de carroças viradas jazia no fundo de uma colina íngreme e artificial. Em outro, peças de ferro ficavam de molho e enferrujavam em algo que por acidente se tornara um lago. Havia pontes que não levavam a lugar algum, estradas totalmente bloqueadas, torres de chaminés sem metade da altura e prédios e cercas temporários de madeira nos lugares mais estranhos. Construções quebradas, paredes e arcos inacabados, pilhas de andaimes, desertos de tijolos, enormes guindastes e armações de três pernas se erguiam sobre o nada. Cem mil formas e materiais incompletos misturavam-se loucamente fora de lugar: de cabeça para baixo, cavando a terra, subindo no ar, apodrecendo na água e tão impossíveis de compreender quanto um sonho. Fontes quentes e erupções de fogo, companheiras habituais dos terremotos, aumentavam a confusão. Água fervente chiava e subia dentro de paredes arruinadas, das quais também saíam a luz e o rugido das chamas. Montes de cinzas bloqueavam caminhos públicos e mudavam completamente as leis e os costumes do bairro.

Original English Version

The first shock of a great earthquake had, just at that period, rent the whole neighbourhood to its centre. Traces of its course were visible on every side. Houses were knocked down; streets broken through and stopped; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground; enormous heaps of earth and clay thrown up; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. There were a hundred thousand shapes and substances of incompleteness, wildly mingled out of their places, upside down, burrowing in the earth, aspiring in the air, mouldering in the water, and unintelligible as any dream. Hot springs and fiery eruptions, the usual attendants upon earthquakes, lent their contributions of confusion to the scene. Boiling water hissed and heaved within dilapidated walls; whence, also, the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way, and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood.

Tradução Integral em Português

O primeiro abalo de um grande terremoto acabara, justamente naquele período, de fender toda a vizinhança até o âmago. Vestígios de seu percurso eram visíveis por toda parte. Casas haviam sido derrubadas; ruas rompidas e interrompidas; fundos poços e trincheiras abertos no chão; enormes montes de terra e argila erguidos; edifícios solapados e trêmulos, escorados por grandes vigas de madeira. Aqui, um caos de carroças, tombadas e amontoadas umas sobre as outras, jazia de pernas para o ar no fundo de uma colina íngreme e artificial; ali, confusos tesouros de ferro encharcavam-se e enferrujavam-se em algo que acidentalmente se tornara um charco. Por toda parte havia pontes que não levavam a lugar nenhum; vias de todo intransitáveis; torres de Babel de chaminés a que faltava metade da altura; casas e cercados provisórios de madeira nas situações mais improváveis; carcaças de cortiços esfarrapados, e fragmentos de muros e arcos inacabados, e pilhas de andaimes, e desertos de tijolos, e formas gigantescas de guindastes, e tripés escarranchados sobre o nada. Havia cem mil formas e substâncias de incompletude, selvagemente misturadas fora de seus lugares, de cabeça para baixo, escavando a terra, elevando-se ao ar, apodrecendo na água, e ininteligíveis como qualquer sonho. Fontes quentes e erupções ígneas, os costumeiros acompanhantes dos terremotos, emprestavam suas contribuições de confusão à cena. Água fervente silvava e agitava-se entre paredes arruinadas; de onde também o clarão e o rugido das chamas irrompiam; e montículos de cinzas bloqueavam passagens de direito e mudavam por completo a lei e o costume da vizinhança.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Em resumo, a ferrovia ainda inacabada e não inaugurada estava sendo construída. Do centro de toda aquela terrível desordem, estendia-se suavemente em seu grande caminho de civilização e progresso.

Original English Version

In short, the yet unfinished and unopened Railroad was in progress; and, from the very core of all this dire disorder, trailed smoothly away, upon its mighty course of civilisation and improvement.

Tradução Integral em Português

Em suma, a Ferrovia ainda inacabada e não inaugurada achava-se em construção; e, do próprio cerne de toda aquela terrível desordem, estendia-se suavemente rumo a seu poderoso curso de civilização e progresso.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Mas o bairro ainda não estava disposto a aceitar a ferrovia. Um ou dois investidores corajosos haviam planejado ruas, e um deles construíra um pouco antes de parar entre a lama e as cinzas para pensar novamente. Uma taverna novinha, cheirando a argamassa e cola frescas e voltada para absolutamente nada, chamara-se The Railway Arms. Mas talvez fosse apenas um negócio arriscado que esperava vender bebidas aos operários. Do mesmo modo, a Excavators’ House of Call crescera a partir de uma cervejaria, e a antiga Ham and Beef Shop se tornara a Railway Eating House, servindo porco assado todos os dias por lucro imediato e popularidade. Donos de pensões também apoiavam a ferrovia por razões semelhantes e não eram confiáveis. A maioria das pessoas demorava a acreditar nela. Campos sujos, estábulos de vacas, montes de esterco e lixo, valas, jardins, casas de verão e locais para bater tapetes ficavam bem à porta da ferrovia. Pequenas colinas de conchas de ostras na estação das ostras, de lagostas na estação das lagostas e de louça quebrada e folhas velhas de repolho em todas as estações avançavam sobre seus lugares altos. Postes, trilhos, velhos avisos contra invasores, fundos de casas pobres e manchas de vegetação miserável pareciam encará-la até fazê-la recuar. Nada melhorara por causa dela nem esperava melhorar. Se o pobre terreno vazio próximo pudesse rir, teria rido da ferrovia, como muitos de seus pobres vizinhos.

Original English Version

But as yet, the neighbourhood was shy to own the Railroad. One or two bold speculators had projected streets; and one had built a little, but had stopped among the mud and ashes to consider farther of it. A bran-new Tavern, redolent of fresh mortar and size, and fronting nothing at all, had taken for its sign The Railway Arms; but that might be rash enterprise - and then it hoped to sell drink to the workmen. So, the Excavators’ House of Call had sprung up from a beer-shop; and the old-established Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, with a roast leg of pork daily, through interested motives of a similar immediate and popular description. Lodging-house keepers were favourable in like manner; and for the like reasons were not to be trusted. The general belief was very slow. There were frowzy fields, and cow-houses, and dunghills, and dustheaps, and ditches, and gardens, and summer-houses, and carpet-beating grounds, at the very door of the Railway. Little tumuli of oyster shells in the oyster season, and of lobster shells in the lobster season, and of broken crockery and faded cabbage leaves in all seasons, encroached upon its high places. Posts, and rails, and old cautions to trespassers, and backs of mean houses, and patches of wretched vegetation, stared it out of countenance. Nothing was the better for it, or thought of being so. If the miserable waste ground lying near it could have laughed, it would have laughed it to scorn, like many of the miserable neighbours.

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas, por ora, a vizinhança relutava em reconhecer a Ferrovia. Um ou dois audaciosos especuladores haviam projetado ruas; e um havia construído um pouco, mas parara em meio à lama e às cinzas para pensar mais a respeito. Uma Taberna novinha em folha, exalando cheiro de argamassa fresca e cola, e voltada para absolutamente nada, tomara por letreiro As Armas da Ferrovia; mas isso talvez fosse empreendimento temerário - e então esperava vender bebida aos operários. Assim, a Casa de Encontro dos Escavadores brotara de uma cervejaria; e a antiga e estabelecida Loja de Presunto e Carne tornara-se a Casa de Refeições da Ferrovia, com um pernil de porco assado diariamente, movida por motivos interesseiros de natureza igualmente imediata e popular. Os donos de hospedarias mostravam-se favoráveis do mesmo modo; e, pelas mesmas razões, não eram de confiança. A crença geral era muito lenta. Havia campos malcheirosos, e estábulos de vacas, e monturos, e montes de lixo, e valas, e hortas, e caramanchões, e terrenos de bater tapetes, à própria porta da Ferrovia. Pequenos túmulos de conchas de ostra na estação das ostras, e de cascas de lagosta na estação das lagostas, e de louça quebrada e folhas de repolho murchas em todas as estações, invadiam suas alturas. Postes, e grades, e velhos avisos contra invasores, e fundos de casas mesquinhas, e manchas de vegetação miserável, encaravam-na sem cerimônia. Nada lucrava com ela, nem pensava em lucrar. Se o miserável terreno baldio que jazia perto dela pudesse rir, tê-la-ia coberto de escárnio, como muitos dos miseráveis vizinhos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Staggs’s Gardens se recusava de modo especial a acreditar na ferrovia. Era uma pequena fileira de casas com trechos de terreno sujo à frente, cercados por portas velhas, ripas de barril, pedaços de lona e arbustos mortos. Chaleiras sem fundo e grades de lareira gastas preenchiam as aberturas. Ali os jardineiros cultivavam feijão-vermelho, criavam galinhas e coelhos, construíam casas de verão podres - uma delas era um barco velho - , secavam roupas e fumavam cachimbos. Alguns acreditavam que o lugar recebera o nome de um rico falecido chamado Sr. Staggs, que o construíra para seu prazer. Outros, que amavam naturalmente o campo, acreditavam que o nome vinha de antigos tempos rurais, quando grupos de cervos, chamados familiarmente de Staggses, visitavam seus espaços sombreados. Qualquer que fosse a verdade, os moradores consideravam Staggs’s Gardens um bosque sagrado que nenhuma ferrovia poderia destruir. Tinham tanta certeza de que ele viveria mais que uma invenção tão tola que o mestre limpador de chaminés da esquina, líder da política local, prometera em público que, se a ferrovia algum dia abrisse, dois de seus meninos subiriam pelas chaminés e zombariam de seu fracasso desde os topos.

Original English Version

Staggs’s Gardens was uncommonly incredulous. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Here, the Staggs’s Gardeners trained scarlet beans, kept fowls and rabbits, erected rotten summer-houses (one was an old boat), dried clothes, and smoked pipes. Some were of opinion that Staggs’s Gardens derived its name from a deceased capitalist, one Mr Staggs, who had built it for his delectation. Others, who had a natural taste for the country, held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd, under the familiar denomination of Staggses, had resorted to its shady precincts. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots.

Tradução Integral em Português

Staggs's Gardens era extraordinariamente incrédulo. Era uma pequena fileira de casas, com pequenos e esquálidos retalhos de terreno diante delas, cercados por portas velhas, aduelas de barril, restos de lona alcatroada e arbustos mortos; com chaleiras de lata sem fundo e guarda-fogos de ferro exaustos enfiados nas brechas. Ali, os Jardineiros de Staggs cultivavam feijões-escarlate, criavam aves e coelhos, erguiam caramanchões apodrecidos (um deles era um velho bote), secavam roupas e fumavam cachimbo. Alguns eram de opinião que Staggs's Gardens derivava seu nome de um capitalista falecido, um tal senhor Staggs, que o construíra para seu deleite. Outros, que tinham um gosto natural pelo campo, sustentavam que datava daqueles tempos rurais em que a manada de chifres ramificados, sob a familiar denominação de Staggses, recorria a seus recintos sombreados. Seja como for, Staggs's Gardens era considerado por sua população um bosque sagrado que não seria fanado por Ferrovias; e tão confiantes estavam todos, de modo geral, de que ele sobreviveria muito a quaisquer invenções tão ridículas, que o mestre limpa-chaminés da esquina, tido como líder na política local dos Jardins, declarara publicamente que, por ocasião da abertura da Ferrovia, se algum dia ela abrisse, dois de seus meninos subiriam pelas chaminés de sua morada, com instruções de saudar o fracasso com vivas escarninhos do alto dos chaminés.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O Destino e Richards levavam agora o pequeno Paul a esse lugar profano, cujo próprio nome a irmã do Sr. Dombey escondera cuidadosamente dele até então.

- Aquela é a minha casa, Susan - disse Polly, apontando.

- É mesmo, Sra. Richards? - disse Susan com um ar superior.

- E juro que minha irmã Jemima está à porta - exclamou Polly - , com meu próprio bebê doce e precioso nos braços!

A visão deu asas à impaciência de Polly. Ela correu por Gardens, lançou-se sobre Jemima e trocou os bebês com ela num instante. A jovem ficou completamente espantada quando o herdeiro dos Dombey pareceu cair do céu em seus braços.

- Ora, Polly! - exclamou Jemima. - Você! Que susto me deu! Quem teria imaginado? Entre, Polly! Você está com uma aparência tão boa! As crianças ficarão meio loucas quando a virem, Polly. Ficarão mesmo.

Original English Version

To this unhallowed spot, the very name of which had hitherto been carefully concealed from Mr Dombey by his sister, was little Paul now borne by Fate and Richards

“That’s my house, Susan,” said Polly, pointing it out.

“Is it, indeed, Mrs Richards?” said Susan, condescendingly.

“And there’s my sister Jemima at the door, I do declare” cried Polly, “with my own sweet precious baby in her arms!”

The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds.

“Why, Polly!” cried Jemima. “You! what a turn you have given me! who’d have thought it! come along in Polly! How well you do look to be sure! The children will go half wild to see you Polly, that they will.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Para esse local profano, cujo próprio nome fora até então cuidadosamente ocultado do senhor Dombey por sua irmã, era agora o pequeno Paul levado pelo Destino e por Richards.

- Aquela é a minha casa, Susan - disse Polly, apontando-a.

- É mesmo, senhora Richards? - disse Susan, com condescendência.

- E ali está a minha irmã Jemima na porta, palavra! - exclamou Polly - , com o meu próprio doce e precioso bebê nos braços!

A visão acrescentou um par de asas tão amplo à impaciência de Polly que ela partiu Jardins abaixo em disparada e, atirando-se sobre Jemima, trocou de bebês com ela num piscar de olhos; para o indizível espanto daquela jovem donzela, sobre quem o herdeiro dos Dombey parecia ter caído das nuvens.

- Ora, Polly! - exclamou Jemima. - Você! Que susto você me deu! Quem haveria de imaginar! Entre, Polly! Como você está bem, com certeza! As crianças vão ficar loucas de alegria por vê-la, Polly, é o que vão.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

E ficaram, a julgar pelo barulho e pelo modo como correram até Polly e a puxaram para uma cadeira baixa junto à lareira. Seu honesto rosto de maçã tornou-se imediatamente o centro de um grupo de maçãzinhas. Todas apertaram as faces rosadas contra as dela e claramente haviam crescido na mesma árvore. Polly estava tão barulhenta e entusiasmada quanto as crianças. A confusão só parou quando ela ficou totalmente sem fôlego, com os cabelos caídos ao redor do rosto vermelho e as novas roupas do batizado muito desarrumadas. Mesmo então, o segundo menor Toodle continuou em seu colo com os dois braços apertados ao redor de seu pescoço. O terceiro menor subiu nas costas da cadeira e, com uma perna no ar, fez esforços desesperados para contorná-la e beijá-la.

- Olhem! Uma linda pequena dama veio vê-los - disse Polly. - Vejam como ela é quieta! Não é uma pequena dama bonita?

Original English Version

That they did, if one might judge from the noise they made, and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner, where her own honest apple face became immediately the centre of a bunch of smaller pippins, all laying their rosy cheeks close to it, and all evidently the growth of the same tree. As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion. Even then, the smallest Toodle but one remained in her lap, holding on tight with both arms round her neck; while the smallest Toodle but two mounted on the back of the chair, and made desperate efforts, with one leg in the air, to kiss her round the corner.

“Look! there’s a pretty little lady come to see you,” said Polly; “and see how quiet she is! what a beautiful little lady, ain’t she?”

Tradução Integral em Português

E ficaram mesmo, a julgar pelo barulho que fizeram e pela maneira como se atiraram sobre Polly e a arrastaram para uma cadeira baixa no canto da lareira, onde seu próprio honesto rosto de maçã tornou-se imediatamente o centro de um cacho de maçãs menores, todas encostando suas rosadas faces junto à dele, e todas evidentemente frutos da mesma árvore. Quanto a Polly, estava tão barulhenta e veemente quanto as crianças; e só depois de estar completamente sem fôlego, e de seu cabelo estar todo esparramado sobre o rosto afogueado, e de suas roupas novas de batizado estarem muito amarrotadas, é que houve alguma pausa na confusão. Mesmo então, o segundo menor dos Toodle permaneceu em seu colo, agarrado com firmeza pelos dois braços em torno de seu pescoço; enquanto o terceiro menor dos Toodle montava nas costas da cadeira e fazia esforços desesperados, com uma perna no ar, para beijá-la contornando-a.

- Olhem! chegou uma linda menininha para visitar vocês - disse Polly - ; e vejam como ela é quieta! que menininha linda, não é?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Polly se referia a Florence, que estava junto à porta observando tudo. Suas palavras voltaram a atenção das crianças menores para Florence. Também tiveram o efeito feliz de provocar uma recepção formal para a Srta. Nipper, que começara a se preocupar por já ter sido ignorada.

- Ah, por favor, entre e sente-se um pouco, Susan - disse Polly. - Esta é minha irmã Jemima. Jemima, não sei o que faria sem Susan Nipper. Eu não estaria aqui agora se não fosse por ela.

- Ah, por favor, sente-se, Srta. Nipper - disse Jemima.

Susan sentou-se bem na ponta de uma cadeira, com uma expressão majestosa e formal.

- Nunca fiquei tão contente em ver alguém em toda a minha vida. Realmente nunca, Srta. Nipper - disse Jemima.

Susan relaxou, ocupou um pouco mais da cadeira e sorriu com bondade.

- Por favor, desamarre o chapéu e fique à vontade, Srta. Nipper - pediu Jemima. - Temo que este lugar seja mais pobre do que aqueles a que está acostumada, mas tenho certeza de que compreenderá.

Original English Version

This reference to Florence, who had been standing by the door not unobservant of what passed, directed the attention of the younger branches towards her; and had likewise the happy effect of leading to the formal recognition of Miss Nipper, who was not quite free from a misgiving that she had been already slighted.

“Oh do come in and sit down a minute, Susan, please,” said Polly. “This is my sister Jemima, this is. Jemima, I don’t know what I should ever do with myself, if it wasn’t for Susan Nipper; I shouldn’t be here now but for her.”

“Oh do sit down, Miss Nipper, if you please,” quoth Jemima.

Susan took the extreme corner of a chair, with a stately and ceremonious aspect.

“I never was so glad to see anybody in all my life; now really I never was, Miss Nipper,” said Jemima.

Susan relaxing, took a little more of the chair, and smiled graciously.

“Do untie your bonnet-strings, and make yourself at home, Miss Nipper, please,” entreated Jemima. “I am afraid it’s a poorer place than you’re used to; but you’ll make allowances, I’m sure.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Essa referência a Florence, que estivera junto à porta não sem observar o que se passava, dirigiu a atenção dos ramos mais jovens para ela; e teve também o feliz efeito de conduzir ao reconhecimento formal da senhorita Nipper, que não estava de todo livre do receio de já ter sido desprezada.

- Ah, entre e sente-se um minuto, Susan, por favor - disse Polly. - Esta é a minha irmã Jemima. Jemima, não sei o que seria de mim se não fosse Susan Nipper; eu não estaria aqui agora, não fosse por ela.

- Ah, sente-se, senhorita Nipper, por favor - disse Jemima.

Susan ocupou o extremo canto de uma cadeira, com um aspecto majestoso e cerimonioso.

- Nunca fiquei tão contente de ver alguém em toda a minha vida; palavra que nunca fiquei, senhorita Nipper - disse Jemima.

Susan, abrandando-se, ocupou um pouco mais da cadeira e sorriu graciosamente.

- Desate as fitas do chapéu e fique à vontade, senhorita Nipper, por favor - suplicou Jemima. - Receio que seja um lugar mais pobre do que a senhorita está acostumada; mas há de relevar, tenho certeza.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O comportamento respeitoso de Jemima amoleceu tanto a jovem de olhos negros que Susan apanhou a pequena Srta. Toodle quando ela passou correndo e imediatamente a fez cavalgar numa viagem imaginária até Banbury Cross.

- Mas onde está meu lindo menino? - perguntou Polly. - Meu pobre filho? Vim todo este caminho para vê-lo com as roupas novas.

- Ah, que pena! - exclamou Jemima. - O coração dele vai se partir quando souber que a mãe esteve aqui. Ele está na escola, Polly.

- Já foi?

- Sim. Foi pela primeira vez ontem para não perder nenhum aprendizado. Mas hoje é meio feriado, Polly. Se ao menos pudesse ficar até ele voltar para casa - você e a Srta. Nipper, pelo menos - acrescentou Jemima, lembrando a tempo da importância da jovem de olhos negros.

- E como ele está, Jemima? Deus o abençoe! - perguntou Polly com voz fraca.

- Bem, na verdade, ele não parece tão mal quanto você poderia imaginar - respondeu Jemima.

Original English Version

The black-eyed was so softened by this deferential behaviour, that she caught up little Miss Toodle who was running past, and took her to Banbury Cross immediately.

“But where’s my pretty boy?” said Polly. “My poor fellow? I came all this way to see him in his new clothes.”

“Ah what a pity!” cried Jemima. “He’ll break his heart, when he hears his mother has been here. He’s at school, Polly.”

“Gone already!”

“Yes. He went for the first time yesterday, for fear he should lose any learning. But it’s half-holiday, Polly: if you could only stop till he comes home - you and Miss Nipper, leastways,” said Jemima, mindful in good time of the dignity of the black-eyed.

“And how does he look, Jemima, bless him!” faltered Polly.

“Well, really he don’t look so bad as you’d suppose,” returned Jemima.

Tradução Integral em Português

A dos olhos negros ficou tão enternecida por esse comportamento deferente que agarrou a pequena senhorita Toodle, que passava correndo, e a levou imediatamente ao passeio de cavalinho.

- Mas cadê o meu lindo menino? - disse Polly. - Meu pobre rapazinho? Vim de tão longe para vê-lo com as roupas novas.

- Ah, que pena! - exclamou Jemima. - Vai ficar de coração partido quando souber que a mãe esteve aqui. Ele está na escola, Polly.

- Já foi!

- Sim. Foi pela primeira vez ontem, para não perder nada do estudo. Mas hoje é meio feriado, Polly: se você pudesse ao menos esperar até ele chegar em casa... você e a senhorita Nipper, ao menos - disse Jemima, lembrando-se a tempo da dignidade da dos olhos negros.

- E como é que ele está de aparência, Jemima, que Deus o abençoe! - balbuciou Polly.

- Bom, na verdade ele não está tão mal quanto você supõe - respondeu Jemima.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah! - disse Polly, emocionada. - Eu sabia que as pernas dele deviam ser curtas demais.

- As pernas dele são curtas - respondeu Jemima - , especialmente atrás. Mas ficarão mais compridas a cada dia, Polly.

Esse consolo dependia de uma lenta melhora futura. Tinha pouco valor por si só, mas a alegria e a bondade de Jemima o tornavam mais útil. Depois de um momento de silêncio, Polly perguntou com mais animação:

- E onde está o Pai, querida Jemima? - O Sr. Toodle era geralmente conhecido na família por esse título paterno.

- Outra vez! - disse Jemima. - Que pena! O Pai levou o jantar consigo esta manhã e não voltará até a noite. Mas está sempre falando de você, Polly, e contando às crianças sobre você. É a pessoa mais pacífica, paciente e bem-humorada do mundo, como sempre foi e sempre será!

- Obrigada, Jemima - exclamou a simples Polly, encantada com as palavras e decepcionada com a ausência dele.

Original English Version

“Ah!” said Polly, with emotion, “I knew his legs must be too short.”

“His legs is short,” returned Jemima; “especially behind; but they’ll get longer, Polly, every day.”

It was a slow, prospective kind of consolation; but the cheerfulness and good nature with which it was administered, gave it a value it did not intrinsically possess. After a moment’s silence, Polly asked, in a more sprightly manner:

“And where’s Father, Jemima dear?” - for by that patriarchal appellation, Mr Toodle was generally known in the family.

“There again!” said Jemima. “What a pity! Father took his dinner with him this morning, and isn’t coming home till night. But he’s always talking of you, Polly, and telling the children about you; and is the peaceablest, patientest, best-temperedest soul in the world, as he always was and will be!”

“Thankee, Jemima,” cried the simple Polly; delighted by the speech, and disappointed by the absence.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah! - disse Polly, com emoção. - Eu sabia que as perninhas dele deviam estar curtas demais.

- As perninhas dele estão curtas - respondeu Jemima - ; principalmente por trás; mas vão ficar mais compridas, Polly, a cada dia.

Era um consolo lento e de longo prazo; mas a alegria e a bondade com que foi ministrado deram-lhe um valor que não possuía intrinsecamente. Após um momento de silêncio, Polly perguntou, de maneira mais animada:

- E cadê o Pai, Jemima querida? - pois por essa denominação patriarcal o senhor Toodle era geralmente conhecido na família.

- Essa outra! - disse Jemima. - Que pena! O Pai levou o almoço consigo hoje de manhã e não vai voltar para casa antes da noite. Mas está sempre falando de você, Polly, e contando às crianças sobre você; e é a alma mais pacata, mais paciente, mais bondosa do mundo, como sempre foi e sempre será!

- Obrigada, Jemima - exclamou a simples Polly; encantada com a fala e desapontada com a ausência.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah, não precisa me agradecer, Polly - disse a irmã. Deu um beijo sonoro na face de Polly e depois balançou alegremente o pequeno Paul. - Às vezes digo a mesma coisa sobre você, e também acredito.

Original English Version

“Oh you needn’t thank me, Polly,” said her sister, giving her a sounding kiss upon the cheek, and then dancing little Paul cheerfully. “I say the same of you sometimes, and think it too.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah, você não precisa me agradecer, Polly - disse a irmã, dando-lhe um sonoro beijo na face e então saracoteando o pequeno Paul alegremente. - Eu digo o mesmo de você às vezes, e penso também.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Apesar das duas decepções, uma visita recebida com tanto carinho não podia ser chamada de fracasso. As irmãs falaram com esperança sobre a família, Biler e todos os irmãos e irmãs dele. Enquanto isso, depois de várias viagens imaginárias a Banbury Cross, a jovem de olhos negros examinou cuidadosamente os móveis: o relógio holandês, o armário, o castelo sobre a lareira com janelas vermelhas e verdes que podiam ser iluminadas por um pedaço de vela dentro e dois pequenos gatinhos de veludo preto, cada um segurando na boca a bolsinha de uma senhora. O povo de Staggs’s Gardens considerava esses gatinhos maravilhas da arte realista. Logo todos participaram da conversa para que a jovem de olhos negros não ficasse zangada e sarcástica. Susan deu a Jemima um resumo de tudo que sabia sobre o Sr. Dombey - seu futuro, família, atividades e caráter. Também listou cada peça do próprio guarda-roupa e descreveu seus principais parentes e amigos. Depois de aliviar a mente com esses fatos, comeu camarões, bebeu porter e pareceu pronta para prometer amizade eterna.

Original English Version

In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. The conversation soon becoming general lest the black-eyed should go off at score and turn sarcastic, that young lady related to Jemima a summary of everything she knew concerning Mr Dombey, his prospects, family, pursuits, and character. Also an exact inventory of her personal wardrobe, and some account of her principal relations and friends. Having relieved her mind of these disclosures, she partook of shrimps and porter, and evinced a disposition to swear eternal friendship.

Tradução Integral em Português

Apesar do duplo desapontamento, era impossível encarar como um fracasso uma visita que fora recebida com tal acolhida; assim, as irmãs conversaram esperançosas sobre assuntos de família, e sobre Biler, e sobre todos os seus irmãos e irmãs: enquanto a dos olhos negros, tendo realizado várias viagens de cavalinho de ida e volta, tomou aguda nota da mobília, do relógio holandês, do armário, do castelo sobre o consolo da lareira, com janelas vermelhas e verdes, suscetível de iluminação por um toco de vela lá dentro; e do par de gatinhos de veludo preto, cada um com uma bolsinha de senhora na boca; considerados pelos Jardineiros de Staggs prodígios da arte imitativa. Tornando-se logo geral a conversa, para que a dos olhos negros não disparasse e virasse sarcástica, aquela jovem relatou a Jemima um resumo de tudo o que sabia a respeito do senhor Dombey, de suas perspectivas, família, ocupações e caráter. Também um inventário exato de seu guarda-roupa pessoal, e algum relato de seus principais parentes e amigos. Tendo aliviado a mente dessas revelações, compartilhou camarões e cerveja preta, e demonstrou disposição para jurar amizade eterna.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A pequena Florence também aproveitou bem a visita. Os jovens Toodles a levaram para fora para ver alguns cogumelos e outras maravilhas de Gardens. Ela se juntou a eles de corpo e alma na construção de uma barreira temporária sobre uma pequena poça verde num canto. Ainda trabalhava muito quando Susan a encontrou. Mesmo sob a influência bondosa dos camarões, o senso de dever de Susan a fez dar a Florence uma palestra moral, marcada por pancadas, enquanto lavava seu rosto e suas mãos. Previu que a má natureza de Florence levaria tristemente ao túmulo todos os cabelos grisalhos da família. Depois de uma demora causada por uma longa conversa particular no andar de cima entre Polly e Jemima sobre dinheiro, trocaram novamente os bebês. Polly segurara o próprio filho durante todo esse tempo, enquanto Jemima cuidava do pequeno Paul. Então as visitantes se despediram.

Mas primeiro os jovens Toodles foram vítimas de um truque bondoso. Foram convencidos a ir juntos a uma venda próxima, aparentemente para gastar um penny. Quando o caminho ficou completamente livre, Polly fugiu. Jemima gritou atrás dela que, se passassem em direção à City Road na volta, certamente encontrariam o pequeno Biler retornando da escola.

Original English Version

Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner. She was still busily engaged in that labour, when sought and found by Susan; who, such was her sense of duty, even under the humanizing influence of shrimps, delivered a moral address to her (punctuated with thumps) on her degenerate nature, while washing her face and hands; and predicted that she would bring the grey hairs of her family in general, with sorrow to the grave. After some delay, occasioned by a pretty long confidential interview above stairs on pecuniary subjects, between Polly and Jemima, an interchange of babies was again effected - for Polly had all this time retained her own child, and Jemima little Paul - and the visitors took leave.

But first the young Toodles, victims of a pious fraud, were deluded into repairing in a body to a chandler’s shop in the neighbourhood, for the ostensible purpose of spending a penny; and when the coast was quite clear, Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back, they would be sure to meet little Biler coming from school.

Tradução Integral em Português

A própria pequena Florence não ficou atrás em aproveitar a ocasião; pois, sendo conduzida para fora pelos jovens Toodle a fim de inspecionar alguns cogumelos venenosos e outras curiosidades dos Jardins, entregou-se com eles, de corpo e alma, à construção de um quebra-mar provisório através de uma pequena poça verde que se acumulara num canto. Ainda estava atarefada nesse labor quando foi procurada e encontrada por Susan; que, tamanho era seu senso de dever, mesmo sob a humanizadora influência dos camarões, dirigiu-lhe uma preleção moral (pontuada de sopapos) sobre sua natureza degenerada, enquanto lhe lavava o rosto e as mãos; e previu que ela levaria os cabelos grisalhos de sua família em geral, com pesar, à sepultura. Após alguma demora, ocasionada por uma entrevista confidencial bastante longa lá em cima, sobre assuntos pecuniários, entre Polly e Jemima, efetuou-se de novo uma troca de bebês - pois Polly havia todo esse tempo mantido o próprio filho, e Jemima o pequeno Paul - e as visitantes despediram-se.

Mas primeiro os jovens Toodle, vítimas de uma piedosa fraude, foram iludidos a dirigirem-se todos juntos a uma mercearia da vizinhança, sob o pretexto ostensivo de gastar um pêni; e, quando a costa estava bem livre, Polly fugiu: Jemima gritando atrás dela que, se ao menos pudessem dar uma volta em direção à City Road no caminho de volta, com certeza encontrariam o pequeno Biler voltando da escola.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Acha que poderíamos encontrar tempo para dar uma pequena volta naquela direção, Susan? - perguntou Polly quando pararam para recuperar o fôlego.

- Por que não, Sra. Richards? - respondeu Susan.

- Sabe que está chegando a hora do nosso jantar - disse Polly.

Mas o almoço fizera Susan ficar totalmente despreocupada com esse ponto sério, por isso ela não lhe deu importância. Decidiram “dar uma pequena volta”.

Original English Version

“Do you think that we might make time to go a little round in that direction, Susan?” inquired Polly, when they halted to take breath.

“Why not, Mrs Richards?” returned Susan.

“It’s getting on towards our dinner time you know,” said Polly.

But lunch had rendered her companion more than indifferent to this grave consideration, so she allowed no weight to it, and they resolved to go “a little round.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Você acha que teríamos tempo de dar uma voltinha naquela direção, Susan? - perguntou Polly, quando pararam para tomar fôlego.

- Por que não, senhora Richards? - respondeu Susan.

- Já está chegando a hora do nosso jantar, sabe - disse Polly.

Mas o lanche tornara sua companheira mais que indiferente a essa grave consideração, de modo que ela não lhe atribuiu peso algum, e resolveram dar “uma voltinha”.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Desde a manhã anterior, a vida do pobre Biler se tornara miserável por causa do uniforme dos Charitable Grinders. Os jovens das ruas não conseguiam suportá-lo. Nenhum menino de rua podia olhar para ele nem por um instante sem atacar seu usuário inocente e machucá-lo. Sua vida social se parecia mais com a de um cristão primitivo do que com a de uma criança inocente do século XIX. Haviam atirado pedras nele nas ruas, derrubado-o em sarjetas, coberto de lama e esmagado violentamente contra postes. Perfeitos desconhecidos haviam tirado o boné amarelo de sua cabeça e o lançado ao vento. As pessoas não apenas criticaram e insultaram suas pernas, mas também as tocaram e beliscaram. Naquela mesma manhã, alguém lhe dera um olho roxo sem motivo enquanto ele caminhava para a escola dos Grinders. Depois o mestre o castigara por isso. O mestre era um antigo Grinder idoso e de natureza cruel, nomeado professor porque nada sabia e não servia para nada. Sua bengala cruel sentia uma atração especial por todo menininho rechonchudo.

Original English Version

Now, it happened that poor Biler’s life had been, since yesterday morning, rendered weary by the costume of the Charitable Grinders. The youth of the streets could not endure it. No young vagabond could be brought to bear its contemplation for a moment, without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer, and doing him a mischief. His social existence had been more like that of an early Christian, than an innocent child of the nineteenth century. He had been stoned in the streets. He had been overthrown into gutters; bespattered with mud; violently flattened against posts. Entire strangers to his person had lifted his yellow cap off his head, and cast it to the winds. His legs had not only undergone verbal criticisms and revilings, but had been handled and pinched. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination.

Tradução Integral em Português

Ora, sucedia que a vida do pobre Biler se tornara, desde a manhã anterior, penosa por causa do traje dos Amoladores de Caridade. A juventude das ruas não podia suportá-lo. Nenhum jovem vadio conseguia encarar sua contemplação por um momento sem atirar-se sobre o inofensivo usuário e fazer-lhe alguma maldade. Sua existência social fora mais parecida com a de um cristão primitivo do que com a de uma criança inocente do século dezenove. Fora apedrejado nas ruas. Fora derrubado em sarjetas; salpicado de lama; violentamente achatado contra postes. Completos desconhecidos haviam-lhe erguido o boné amarelo da cabeça e atirado aos ventos. Suas pernas não só haviam sido alvo de críticas e impropérios verbais, como também apalpadas e beliscadas. Naquela mesma manhã, recebera um olho roxo perfeitamente não solicitado a caminho do estabelecimento dos Amoladores, e fora punido por isso pelo mestre: um velho Amolador aposentado de índole selvagem, que fora nomeado professor porque não sabia nada, e não servia para nada, e por cuja cruel palmatória todos os garotinhos rechonchudos tinham perfeita fascinação.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Por isso, a caminho de casa, Biler escolheu caminhos pouco frequentados e avançou escondido por passagens estreitas e ruas secundárias para evitar seus atormentadores. Mas teve de entrar na estrada principal, e o azar finalmente o levou até um pequeno grupo de meninos. Um jovem açougueiro feroz os liderava, e eles esperavam qualquer oportunidade de diversão emocionante. Quando encontraram um Charitable Grinder no meio deles, como se ele tivesse sido estranhamente entregue em suas mãos, soltaram um grito geral e avançaram sobre ele.

Ao mesmo tempo, depois de caminhar uma hora inteira e olhar sem esperança pela estrada, Polly disse que não adiantava continuar. Então, de repente, viu a cena. Com um grito rápido, entregou o pequeno Dombey à mulher de olhos negros e correu para salvar seu infeliz filhinho.

As surpresas, como os problemas, raramente vêm sozinhas. Antes que entendessem o que havia acontecido, pessoas próximas tiraram a espantada Susan Nipper e as duas crianças da frente das rodas de uma carruagem que passava. Naquele mesmo instante, como era dia de feira, ergueu-se um aviso estrondoso: - Touro bravo!

Original English Version

Thus it fell out that Biler, on his way home, sought unfrequented paths; and slunk along by narrow passages and back streets, to avoid his tormentors. Being compelled to emerge into the main road, his ill fortune brought him at last where a small party of boys, headed by a ferocious young butcher, were lying in wait for any means of pleasurable excitement that might happen. These, finding a Charitable Grinder in the midst of them - unaccountably delivered over, as it were, into their hands - set up a general yell and rushed upon him.

But it so fell out likewise, that, at the same time, Polly, looking hopelessly along the road before her, after a good hour’s walk, had said it was no use going any further, when suddenly she saw this sight. She no sooner saw it than, uttering a hasty exclamation, and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed, she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son.

Surprises, like misfortunes, rarely come alone. The astonished Susan Nipper and her two young charges were rescued by the bystanders from under the very wheels of a passing carriage before they knew what had happened; and at that moment (it was market day) a thundering alarm of “Mad Bull!” was raised.

Tradução Integral em Português

Assim aconteceu que Biler, no caminho para casa, buscou trilhas pouco frequentadas; e esgueirou-se por passagens estreitas e ruas dos fundos, para evitar seus algozes. Sendo compelido a emergir na estrada principal, sua má sorte levou-o por fim a um lugar onde um pequeno bando de meninos, chefiado por um feroz jovem açougueiro, estava à espreita de qualquer meio de divertida excitação que porventura surgisse. Estes, encontrando um Amolador de Caridade em seu meio - inexplicavelmente entregue, por assim dizer, em suas mãos - , ergueram um berreiro geral e precipitaram-se sobre ele.

Mas sucedeu igualmente que, ao mesmo tempo, Polly, olhando sem esperança a estrada à sua frente, após uma boa hora de caminhada, dissera que não adiantava seguir adiante, quando de repente viu aquela cena. Mal a viu, soltando uma apressada exclamação e entregando o menino Dombey à dos olhos negros, arremeteu em socorro de seu infeliz filhinho.

As surpresas, como os infortúnios, raramente vêm sozinhas. A atônita Susan Nipper e seus dois jovens protegidos foram salvos pelos circunstantes de debaixo das próprias rodas de uma carruagem que passava antes mesmo que soubessem o que acontecera; e naquele momento (era dia de feira) ergueu-se um estrondoso alarme de “Touro Bravo!”.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Florence viu uma confusão terrível: pessoas corriam e gritavam, rodas pareciam passar por cima delas, meninos brigavam, touros bravos se aproximavam, e a ama parecia prestes a ser despedaçada em meio a todos aqueles perigos. Florence gritou e correu, pedindo que Susan a seguisse. Correu até ficar exausta. Então parou, torcendo as mãos ao se lembrar da outra ama, e descobriu com um medo indescritível que estava completamente sozinha.

[Ilustração]

- Susan! Susan! - gritou Florence, batendo palmas em extremo pavor. - Oh, onde estão? Onde estão?

- Onde estão? - disse uma velha, atravessando depressa do outro lado da rua, tão rápido quanto conseguia. - Por que você fugiu deles?

- Eu fiquei assustada - respondeu Florence. - Não sabia o que estava fazendo. Pensei que estivessem comigo. Onde estão?

A velha segurou-a pelo pulso e disse: - Eu vou lhe mostrar.

Original English Version

With a wild confusion before her, of people running up and down, and shouting, and wheels running over them, and boys fighting, and mad bulls coming up, and the nurse in the midst of all these dangers being torn to pieces, Florence screamed and ran. She ran till she was exhausted, urging Susan to do the same; and then, stopping and wringing her hands as she remembered they had left the other nurse behind, found, with a sensation of terror not to be described, that she was quite alone.

[Illustration]

“Susan! Susan!” cried Florence, clapping her hands in the very ecstasy of her alarm. “Oh, where are they? where are they?”

“Where are they?” said an old woman, coming hobbling across as fast as she could from the opposite side of the way. “Why did you run away from ’em?”

“I was frightened,” answered Florence. “I didn’t know what I did. I thought they were with me. Where are they?”

The old woman took her by the wrist, and said, “I’ll show you.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Com uma selvagem confusão diante de si, de gente correndo de um lado para outro, e gritando, e rodas passando por cima, e meninos brigando, e touros bravos avançando, e a ama, em meio a todos esses perigos, sendo feita em pedaços, Florence gritou e correu. Correu até se esgotar, instando Susan a fazer o mesmo; e então, parando e torcendo as mãos ao lembrar que haviam deixado a outra ama para trás, descobriu, com uma sensação de terror indescritível, que estava completamente sozinha.

[Ilustração]

- Susan! Susan! - gritou Florence, batendo as mãos no próprio êxtase de seu alarme. - Ah, onde estão eles? onde estão eles?

- Onde estão eles? - disse uma velha, vindo mancando o mais depressa que podia do lado oposto da rua. - Por que fugiu deles?

- Fiquei com medo - respondeu Florence. - Não sabia o que fazia. Achei que estivessem comigo. Onde estão eles?

A velha tomou-a pelo pulso e disse: - Vou lhe mostrar.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Era uma velha muito feia, com bordas vermelhas ao redor dos olhos e uma boca que se mexia e batia os dentes sozinha mesmo quando ela estava calada. Vestia roupas miseráveis e carregava peles de animais sobre um braço. Parecia ter seguido Florence por certa distância, pois estava sem fôlego. Enquanto tentava respirar normalmente, contorcendo o rosto magro e amarelo e a garganta de muitas maneiras, parecia mais feia do que nunca.

Florence teve medo dela e olhou, hesitante, rua acima, pois já quase chegara ao fim. Era um lugar solitário, mais parecido com uma estrada dos fundos do que com uma rua, e não havia ninguém ali além de Florence e da velha.

- Agora você não precisa ter medo - disse a velha, ainda segurando-a com força. - Venha comigo.

- Eu... eu não conheço a senhora. Qual é o seu nome? - perguntou Florence.

- Sra. Brown - disse a velha. - Boa Sra. Brown.

Original English Version

She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes, and a mouth that mumbled and chattered of itself when she was not speaking. She was miserably dressed, and carried some skins over her arm. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events, for she had lost her breath; and this made her uglier still, as she stood trying to regain it: working her shrivelled yellow face and throat into all sorts of contortions.

Florence was afraid of her, and looked, hesitating, up the street, of which she had almost reached the bottom. It was a solitary place - more a back road than a street - and there was no one in it but her-self and the old woman.

“You needn’t be frightened now,” said the old woman, still holding her tight. “Come along with me.”

“I - I don’t know you. What’s your name?” asked Florence.

“Mrs Brown,” said the old woman. “Good Mrs Brown.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Era uma velha muito feia, com bordas vermelhas ao redor dos olhos, e uma boca que mastigava e tagarelava sozinha quando ela não falava. Estava miseravelmente vestida e carregava umas peles no braço. Parecia ter seguido Florence por alguma distância, ao menos, pois estava sem fôlego; e isso a tornava ainda mais feia, enquanto permanecia de pé tentando recuperá-lo: contorcendo o murcho rosto amarelo e a garganta em toda sorte de caretas.

Florence tinha medo dela, e olhou, hesitante, rua acima, cujo fim quase alcançara. Era um lugar solitário - mais uma travessa dos fundos do que uma rua - e não havia ninguém nele além dela mesma e da velha.

- Não precisa ter medo agora - disse a velha, ainda a segurando com firmeza. - Venha comigo.

- Eu... eu não conheço a senhora. Qual é o seu nome? - perguntou Florence.

- Senhora Brown - disse a velha. - A boa senhora Brown.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Eles estão perto daqui? - perguntou Florence enquanto a mulher começava a levá-la.

- Susan não está longe - disse a Boa Sra. Brown - e os outros estão perto dela.

- Alguém se machucou? - gritou Florence.

- De jeito nenhum - disse a Boa Sra. Brown.

Ao ouvir isso, a menina chorou de alegria e acompanhou a velha de boa vontade. Mesmo assim, enquanto caminhavam, não conseguia parar de olhar para o rosto da mulher, especialmente para sua boca sempre em movimento, e de se perguntar se a Má Sra. Brown, caso tal pessoa existisse, se parecia com ela.

Não foram longe, mas passaram por lugares desagradáveis, como olarias e fábricas de telhas. Então a velha entrou numa viela suja, onde sulcos negros e profundos cortavam a estrada enlameada. Parou diante de uma casinha miserável, fechada tão bem quanto poderia estar uma casa cheia de rachaduras. Tirando uma chave da touca, abriu a porta e empurrou Florence para um cômodo nos fundos. No chão havia uma grande pilha de trapos coloridos, uma pilha de ossos e outra de poeira peneirada ou cinzas. Não havia móveis, e as paredes e o teto eram completamente negros.

Original English Version

“Are they near here?” asked Florence, beginning to be led away.

“Susan ain’t far off,” said Good Mrs Brown; “and the others are close to her.”

“Is anybody hurt?” cried Florence.

“Not a bit of it,” said Good Mrs Brown.

The child shed tears of delight on hearing this, and accompanied the old woman willingly; though she could not help glancing at her face as they went along - particularly at that industrious mouth - and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown, if there were such a person, was at all like her.

They had not gone far, but had gone by some very uncomfortable places, such as brick-fields and tile-yards, when the old woman turned down a dirty lane, where the mud lay in deep black ruts in the middle of the road. She stopped before a shabby little house, as closely shut up as a house that was full of cracks and crevices could be. Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Eles estão perto daqui? - perguntou Florence, começando a ser levada embora.

- A Susan não está longe - disse a boa senhora Brown - ; e os outros estão pertinho dela.

- Alguém se machucou? - exclamou Florence.

- Nem um pouco - disse a boa senhora Brown.

A criança derramou lágrimas de alegria ao ouvir isso, e acompanhou a velha de boa vontade; embora não pudesse evitar lançar olhares ao rosto dela enquanto seguiam - em particular àquela boca laboriosa - e perguntar-se se a má senhora Brown, se é que existia tal pessoa, seria em algo parecida com ela.

Não haviam ido longe, mas haviam passado por alguns lugares muito desagradáveis, tais como olarias e pátios de telhas, quando a velha dobrou por uma viela imunda, onde a lama jazia em fundos sulcos negros no meio da estrada. Ela parou diante de uma casinha maltrapilha, tão hermeticamente fechada quanto uma casa cheia de fendas e frestas podia estar. Abrindo a porta com uma chave que tirou do chapéu, empurrou a criança à sua frente para dentro de um cômodo dos fundos, onde havia um grande monte de trapos de diferentes cores no chão; um monte de ossos, e um monte de pó peneirado ou cinzas; mas não havia mobília nenhuma, e as paredes e o teto eram inteiramente negros.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A menina ficou tão apavorada que não conseguia falar e parecia prestes a desmaiar.

- Não se comporte como uma mulinha teimosa - disse a Boa Sra. Brown, despertando-a com um sacolejo. - Não vou machucar você. Sente-se nos trapos.

Florence obedeceu, estendendo as mãos unidas num pedido silencioso.

- Nem sequer vou manter você aqui por mais de uma hora - disse a Sra. Brown. - Entendeu o que eu disse?

Com muita dificuldade, a menina respondeu: - Sim.

- Então não me irrite - disse a Boa Sra. Brown, sentando-se nos ossos. - Se você se comportar, prometo não machucá-la. Mas, se não se comportar, vou matá-la. Eu poderia mandar matar você a qualquer hora, até na sua própria cama em casa. Agora me diga quem você é, o que é e tudo sobre você.

As ameaças e promessas da velha, o medo de Florence de irritá-la e o hábito incomum da menina de ficar quieta e esconder o que sentia, temia e esperava ajudaram-na a obedecer. Contou sua breve história de vida, ou o quanto sabia dela. A Sra. Brown ouviu com atenção até o fim.

Original English Version

The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless, and looked as though about to swoon.

“Now don’t be a young mule,” said Good Mrs Brown, reviving her with a shake. “I’m not a going to hurt you. Sit upon the rags.”

Florence obeyed her, holding out her folded hands, in mute supplication.

“I’m not a going to keep you, even, above an hour,” said Mrs Brown. “D’ye understand what I say?”

The child answered with great difficulty, “Yes.”

“Then,” said Good Mrs Brown, taking her own seat on the bones, “don’t vex me. If you don’t, I tell you I won’t hurt you. But if you do, I’ll kill you. I could have you killed at any time - even if you was in your own bed at home. Now let’s know who you are, and what you are, and all about it.”

The old woman’s threats and promises; the dread of giving her offence; and the habit, unusual to a child, but almost natural to Florence now, of being quiet, and repressing what she felt, and feared, and hoped; enabled her to do this bidding, and to tell her little history, or what she knew of it. Mrs Brown listened attentively, until she had finished.

Tradução Integral em Português

A criança ficou tão apavorada que emudeceu, e parecia prestes a desfalecer.

- Ora, não seja uma mulinha teimosa - disse a boa senhora Brown, reanimando-a com um safanão. - Não vou lhe fazer mal. Sente-se sobre os trapos.

Florence obedeceu, estendendo as mãos postas, em muda súplica.

- Não vou nem sequer reter você mais de uma hora - disse a senhora Brown. - Entende o que eu digo?

A criança respondeu com grande dificuldade: - Sim.

- Então - disse a boa senhora Brown, tomando ela própria assento sobre os ossos - , não me irrite. Se não me irritar, eu lhe digo que não lhe farei mal. Mas se me irritar, eu a mato. Eu poderia mandar matá-la a qualquer momento - mesmo que estivesse na sua própria cama em casa. Agora vamos saber quem você é, e o que você é, e tudo a respeito.

As ameaças e promessas da velha; o pavor de ofendê-la; e o hábito, incomum numa criança, mas agora quase natural em Florence, de ficar quieta e reprimir o que sentia, e temia, e esperava; capacitaram-na a cumprir essa ordem e a contar sua pequena história, ou o que dela sabia. A senhora Brown escutou atentamente, até que ela terminasse.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Então seu nome é Dombey, não é? - disse a Sra. Brown.

- Quero esse vestido bonito, Srta. Dombey - disse a Boa Sra. Brown - e essa touquinha, uma ou duas anáguas e qualquer outra coisa que possa dispensar. Vamos, tire tudo.

Florence obedeceu tão depressa quanto suas mãos trêmulas permitiam, sem tirar os olhos assustados da Sra. Brown. Depois que Florence removeu todas as roupas mencionadas, a Sra. Brown examinou-as com calma e pareceu bastante satisfeita com a qualidade e o valor.

- Hum - disse ela, examinando a figura magra da menina. - Não vejo mais nada, exceto os sapatos. Preciso ficar com os sapatos, Srta. Dombey.

A pobre Florence tirou-os com a mesma rapidez, feliz por ter outro meio de agradar à mulher. Do fundo da pilha de trapos, a velha encontrou uns sapatos miseráveis, uma capa de menina muito velha e gasta e os restos amassados de uma touca provavelmente tirada de uma vala ou monte de lixo. Mandou Florence vestir aquelas belas roupas. Como essa troca parecia prometer sua libertação, a menina obedeceu com ainda mais pressa.

Original English Version

“So your name’s Dombey, eh?” said Mrs Brown.

“I want that pretty frock, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, and a petticoat or two, and anything else you can spare. Come! Take ’em off.”

Florence obeyed, as fast as her trembling hands would allow; keeping, all the while, a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. When she had divested herself of all the articles of apparel mentioned by that lady, Mrs B. examined them at leisure, and seemed tolerably well satisfied with their quality and value.

“Humph!” she said, running her eyes over the child’s slight figure, “I don’t see anything else - except the shoes. I must have the shoes, Miss Dombey.”

Poor little Florence took them off with equal alacrity, only too glad to have any more means of conciliation about her. The old woman then produced some wretched substitutes from the bottom of the heap of rags, which she turned up for that purpose; together with a girl’s cloak, quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. In this dainty raiment, she instructed Florence to dress herself; and as such preparation seemed a prelude to her release, the child complied with increased readiness, if possible.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Então seu nome é Dombey, hein? - disse a senhora Brown.

- Quero esse vestido bonito, senhorita Dombey - disse a boa senhora Brown - , e esse chapeuzinho, e uma anágua ou duas, e qualquer outra coisa de que possa abrir mão. Vamos! Tire tudo.

Florence obedeceu, tão depressa quanto suas mãos trêmulas permitiam; mantendo, o tempo todo, um olho assustado na senhora Brown. Quando se despiu de todas as peças de vestuário mencionadas por aquela senhora, a senhora B. examinou-as à vontade, e pareceu razoavelmente satisfeita com sua qualidade e valor.

- Humpf! - disse ela, correndo os olhos pela franzina figura da criança - , não vejo mais nada... exceto os sapatos. Preciso ficar com os sapatos, senhorita Dombey.

A pobre pequena Florence tirou-os com igual presteza, contente demais por ter mais algum meio de conciliação consigo. A velha então tirou uns miseráveis substitutos do fundo do monte de trapos, que revolveu para esse fim; juntamente com uma capa de menina, completamente gasta e muito velha; e os restos amassados de um chapéu que provavelmente fora apanhado de alguma vala ou monturo. Nesse delicado traje, ela instruiu Florence a vestir-se; e como tal preparação parecia um prelúdio de sua libertação, a criança obedeceu com prontidão ainda maior, se possível.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Ao colocar depressa a touca - se aquilo podia ser chamado de touca, pois parecia mais uma almofada para carregar peso - Florence prendeu-a nos cabelos fartos e não conseguiu soltá-la de imediato. A Boa Sra. Brown puxou uma grande tesoura e ficou estranhamente animada.

- Por que você não pôde me deixar em paz quando eu estava satisfeita? - disse a Sra. Brown. - Sua tolinha!

- Por favor, perdoe-me. Não sei o que fiz - disse Florence, ofegante. - Não pude evitar.

- Não pôde evitar! - gritou a Sra. Brown. - E como espera que eu evite? Meu Deus! Qualquer pessoa, menos eu, teria cortado primeiro todos esses cachos - disse a velha, mexendo nos cachos de Florence com um prazer feroz.

Florence ficou tão aliviada ao descobrir que a Sra. Brown queria apenas seus cabelos, e não sua cabeça, que não resistiu nem implorou. Apenas ergueu os olhos meigos para o rosto daquela boa mulher.

Original English Version

In hurriedly putting on the bonnet, if that may be called a bonnet which was more like a pad to carry loads on, she caught it in her hair which grew luxuriantly, and could not immediately disentangle it. Good Mrs Brown whipped out a large pair of scissors, and fell into an unaccountable state of excitement.

“Why couldn’t you let me be!” said Mrs Brown, “when I was contented? You little fool!”

“I beg your pardon. I don’t know what I have done,” panted Florence. “I couldn’t help it.”

“Couldn’t help it!” cried Mrs Brown. “How do you expect I can help it? Why, Lord!” said the old woman, ruffling her curls with a furious pleasure, “anybody but me would have had ’em off, first of all.”

Florence was so relieved to find that it was only her hair and not her head which Mrs Brown coveted, that she offered no resistance or entreaty, and merely raised her mild eyes towards the face of that good soul.

Tradução Integral em Português

Ao pôr o chapéu às pressas - se é que se pode chamar de chapéu algo mais parecido com uma rodilha para carregar cargas - , prendeu-o no cabelo, que crescia com exuberância, e não conseguiu desemaranhá-lo de imediato. A boa senhora Brown sacou uma grande tesoura e caiu num inexplicável estado de excitação.

- Por que você não me deixou em paz - disse a senhora Brown - , quando eu estava contente? Sua tolinha!

- Peço desculpas. Não sei o que fiz - arquejou Florence. - Não pude evitar.

- Não pôde evitar! - exclamou a senhora Brown. - Como espera que eu possa evitar? Ora, meu Deus! - disse a velha, revolvendo os cachos dela com um furioso prazer - , qualquer outra que não eu os teria cortado, antes de mais nada.

Florence ficou tão aliviada ao descobrir que era apenas o cabelo, e não a cabeça, que a senhora Brown cobiçava, que não ofereceu resistência nem súplica, e limitou-se a erguer os brandos olhos para o rosto daquela boa alma.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Se eu não tivesse tido uma filha, agora além-mar, que se orgulhava dos cabelos - disse a Sra. Brown - eu levaria cada cacho. Ela está longe, muito longe! Oh! Oh!

O grito da Sra. Brown não era melodioso, mas, enquanto ela erguia loucamente os braços magros, revelava uma dor profunda. Tocou o coração de Florence e assustou-a mais do que nunca. Talvez o grito tenha ajudado a salvar seus cachos. Depois de rodear Florence por alguns instantes com a tesoura, como uma borboleta estranha, a Sra. Brown mandou-a esconder os cabelos sob a touca para que nenhum cacho a tentasse. Tendo vencido essa luta consigo mesma, sentou-se novamente nos ossos e fumou um cachimbo preto muito curto, fazendo caretas e mastigando a haste.

Original English Version

“If I hadn’t once had a gal of my own - beyond seas now - that was proud of her hair,” said Mrs Brown, “I’d have had every lock of it. She’s far away, she’s far away! Oho! Oho!”

Mrs Brown’s was not a melodious cry, but, accompanied with a wild tossing up of her lean arms, it was full of passionate grief, and thrilled to the heart of Florence, whom it frightened more than ever. It had its part, perhaps, in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown, after hovering about her with the scissors for some moments, like a new kind of butterfly, bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her. Having accomplished this victory over herself, Mrs Brown resumed her seat on the bones, and smoked a very short black pipe, mowing and mumbling all the time, as if she were eating the stem.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Se eu não tivesse tido, um dia, uma filha minha - além-mares agora - que se orgulhava dos cabelos - disse a senhora Brown - , eu teria ficado com cada mecha deles. Ela está longe, ela está longe! Oi! Oi!

O de a senhora Brown não era um pranto melodioso, mas, acompanhado de um selvagem sacudir de seus braços magros, estava cheio de mágoa apaixonada, e penetrou fundo no coração de Florence, a quem assustou mais do que nunca. Talvez tivesse tido sua parte em salvar os cachos dela; pois a senhora Brown, após pairar em torno dela com a tesoura por alguns instantes, como uma nova espécie de borboleta, mandou que os escondesse sob o chapéu e não deixasse escapar nenhum vestígio que a tentasse. Tendo consumado essa vitória sobre si mesma, a senhora Brown retomou seu assento sobre os ossos e fumou um cachimbo preto muito curto, remexendo-se e resmungando o tempo todo, como se estivesse comendo o canudo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Quando terminou o cachimbo, a Sra. Brown deu a Florence uma pele de coelho para carregar, fazendo-a parecer mais com a companheira habitual da mulher. Disse que a levaria a uma rua pública, onde poderia perguntar o caminho até seus amigos. Mas, com ameaças de vingança rápida e mortal, avisou Florence para não falar com estranhos nem voltar para casa, talvez porque a casa ficasse perto demais para a segurança da Sra. Brown. Em vez disso, Florence deveria ir ao escritório do pai na City e esperar na esquina onde seria deixada até o relógio bater três horas. A Sra. Brown afirmou que olhos e ouvidos poderosos observariam tudo, e Florence prometeu sinceramente obedecer.

Original English Version

When the pipe was smoked out, she gave the child a rabbit-skin to carry, that she might appear the more like her ordinary companion, and told her that she was now going to lead her to a public street whence she could inquire her way to her friends. But she cautioned her, with threats of summary and deadly vengeance in case of disobedience, not to talk to strangers, nor to repair to her own home (which may have been too near for Mrs Brown’s convenience), but to her father’s office in the City; also to wait at the street corner where she would be left, until the clock struck three. These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe.

Tradução Integral em Português

Quando o cachimbo se consumiu, ela deu à criança uma pele de coelho para carregar, a fim de que se parecesse mais com sua companhia habitual, e disse-lhe que iria agora conduzi-la a uma rua pública, de onde poderia perguntar o caminho até seus amigos. Mas advertiu-a, com ameaças de sumária e mortal vingança em caso de desobediência, a não falar com estranhos, nem a dirigir-se à sua própria casa (que talvez fosse próxima demais para a conveniência da senhora Brown), mas ao escritório de seu pai na City; também a esperar na esquina onde seria deixada, até que o relógio batesse três horas. Essas instruções a senhora Brown reforçou com garantias de que haveria potentes olhos e ouvidos a seu serviço, cientes de tudo o que ela fizesse; e essas instruções Florence prometeu fiel e seriamente observar.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Por fim, a Sra. Brown saiu e conduziu sua pequena companheira transformada e maltrapilha por um labirinto de ruas estreitas, vielas e becos. Depois de muito tempo, chegaram a um pátio de estábulos com um portão no fim, além do qual Florence ouvia o rugido de uma avenida movimentada. A Sra. Brown apontou para o portão e disse-lhe que virasse à esquerda quando os relógios batessem três horas. Depois de um último puxão nos cabelos de Florence, que pareceu fora de seu controle, disse que Florence sabia o que fazer e mandou-a fazê-lo, lembrando que estava sendo vigiada.

Com o coração mais leve, embora ainda muito assustada, Florence sentiu-se livre e correu até a esquina. Ao olhar para trás, viu a cabeça da Boa Sra. Brown espiando da passagem baixa de madeira onde a mulher dera suas últimas ordens. Também viu a Boa Sra. Brown sacudindo o punho. Florence olhou para trás muitas vezes depois disso, pelo menos uma vez por minuto de tão nervosa, mas não voltou a ver a mulher.

Original English Version

At length, Mrs Brown, issuing forth, conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys, which emerged, after a long time, upon a stable yard, with a gateway at the end, whence the roar of a great thoroughfare made itself audible. Pointing out this gateway, and informing Florence that when the clocks struck three she was to go to the left, Mrs Brown, after making a parting grasp at her hair which seemed involuntary and quite beyond her own control, told her she knew what to do, and bade her go and do it: remembering that she was watched.

With a lighter heart, but still sore afraid, Florence felt herself released, and tripped off to the corner. When she reached it, she looked back and saw the head of Good Mrs Brown peeping out of the low wooden passage, where she had issued her parting injunctions; likewise the fist of Good Mrs Brown shaking towards her. But though she often looked back afterwards - every minute, at least, in her nervous recollection of the old woman - she could not see her again.

Tradução Integral em Português

Por fim, a senhora Brown, saindo, conduziu sua transformada e esfarrapada amiguinha por um labirinto de ruas, vielas e becos estreitos, que desembocou, após longo tempo, num pátio de estábulo, com um portão ao fundo, de onde o rugido de uma grande via se fazia audível. Apontando esse portão, e informando Florence de que, quando os relógios batessem três horas, ela deveria ir para a esquerda, a senhora Brown, depois de dar uma última agarrada ao cabelo dela, que pareceu involuntária e totalmente fora de seu controle, disse-lhe que ela sabia o que fazer, e mandou-a ir fazê-lo: lembrando-se de que estava sendo vigiada.

Com o coração mais leve, mas ainda muito assustada, Florence sentiu-se solta e correu para a esquina. Ao alcançá-la, olhou para trás e viu a cabeça da boa senhora Brown espreitando da baixa passagem de madeira, onde emitira suas últimas ordens; e também o punho da boa senhora Brown sacudindo-se em sua direção. Mas, embora olhasse muitas vezes para trás depois - a cada minuto, ao menos, em sua nervosa lembrança da velha - , não conseguiu vê-la de novo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Florence ficou ali, observando a rua movimentada e cada vez mais confusa, enquanto os relógios pareciam decididos a nunca mais bater três horas. Por fim, as torres das igrejas anunciaram três horas. Uma ficava muito perto, portanto ela não podia estar enganada. Depois de olhar várias vezes por cima do ombro, andar um pouco e voltar, com medo de irritar os poderosos espiões da Sra. Brown, apressou-se tanto quanto os sapatos largos permitiam, segurando com força a pele de coelho.

Tudo o que Florence sabia sobre os escritórios do pai era que pertenciam à Dombey e Filho, uma grande potência na City. Por isso, só podia perguntar o caminho até a Dombey e Filho na City. Como geralmente perguntava às crianças, pois tinha medo dos adultos, quase não recebia ajuda útil. Depois de algum tempo, passou a perguntar apenas o caminho para a City. Assim, avançou lentamente para o coração daquela grande região governada pelo terrível Lord Mayor.

Original English Version

Florence remained there, looking at the bustle in the street, and more and more bewildered by it; and in the meanwhile the clocks appeared to have made up their minds never to strike three any more. At last the steeples rang out three o’clock; there was one close by, so she couldn’t be mistaken; and - after often looking over her shoulder, and often going a little way, and as often coming back again, lest the all-powerful spies of Mrs Brown should take offence - she hurried off, as fast as she could in her slipshod shoes, holding the rabbit-skin tight in her hand.

All she knew of her father’s offices was that they belonged to Dombey and Son, and that that was a great power belonging to the City. So she could only ask the way to Dombey and Son’s in the City; and as she generally made inquiry of children - being afraid to ask grown people - she got very little satisfaction indeed. But by dint of asking her way to the City after a while, and dropping the rest of her inquiry for the present, she really did advance, by slow degrees, towards the heart of that great region which is governed by the terrible Lord Mayor.

Tradução Integral em Português

Florence permaneceu ali, olhando o rebuliço da rua, e cada vez mais confusa com ele; e, nesse ínterim, os relógios pareciam ter resolvido nunca mais bater três horas. Por fim as torres badalaram três horas; havia uma bem próxima, de modo que ela não podia se enganar; e - depois de muitas vezes olhar por cima do ombro, e muitas vezes andar um pouquinho, e outras tantas voltar de novo, para que os todo-poderosos espiões da senhora Brown não se ofendessem - apressou-se, tão depressa quanto podia em seus sapatos frouxos, segurando a pele de coelho com firmeza na mão.

Tudo o que sabia dos escritórios do pai era que pertenciam a Dombey and Son, e que este era um grande poder pertencente à City. De modo que só podia perguntar o caminho até a Dombey and Son na City; e, como geralmente indagava às crianças - por ter medo de perguntar aos adultos - , obtinha muito pouca satisfação, de fato. Mas, à força de perguntar o caminho até a City por algum tempo, e deixando de lado o resto de sua indagação por ora, ela realmente avançou, por lentos graus, rumo ao coração daquela grande região que é governada pelo terrível Lorde Prefeito.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Florence prosseguiu em sua jornada cansativa com os olhos cheios de lágrimas. Estava exausta de caminhar, de ser rejeitada e empurrada, atordoada pelo barulho, preocupada com o irmão e as amas, assustada com tudo o que sofrera e com medo de encontrar o pai zangado usando roupas tão diferentes. Perturbada pelo passado, pelo presente e pelo que ainda a esperava, às vezes precisava parar e chorar amargamente. Poucas pessoas notavam uma menina vestida daquele modo, e as que notavam pensavam que ela fora treinada para despertar pena e seguiam adiante. Mesmo assim, Florence recorreu à coragem e à independência que suas tristes experiências haviam formado cedo demais. Mantendo seu objetivo firme na mente, continuou sem desistir.

Duas horas inteiras haviam se passado quando Florence escapou do barulho de uma rua estreita cheia de carroças e vagões. Espiou um cais à margem do rio, onde muitos pacotes, barris e caixas estavam espalhados. Havia uma grande balança de madeira e uma pequena cabana de madeira sobre rodas. Do lado de fora, um homem robusto assobiava, observando os mastros e barcos próximos. Com uma caneta atrás da orelha e as mãos nos bolsos, parecia ter quase terminado o trabalho do dia.

Original English Version

Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. But few people noticed her at those times, in the garb she wore: or if they did, believed that she was tutored to excite compassion, and passed on. Florence, too, called to her aid all the firmness and self-reliance of a character that her sad experience had prematurely formed and tried: and keeping the end she had in view steadily before her, steadily pursued it.

It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done.

Tradução Integral em Português

Cansada de caminhar, repelida e empurrada de um lado para outro, atordoada pelo barulho e pela confusão, ansiosa pelo irmão e pelas amas, aterrorizada pelo que havia sofrido e pela perspectiva de deparar com o pai irado em tão alterado estado; perplexa e amedrontada tanto pelo que se passara, quanto pelo que se passava, e pelo que ainda estava por vir; Florence seguiu seu fatigante caminho com os olhos lacrimosos, e uma ou duas vezes não pôde evitar parar para aliviar o coração transbordante chorando amargamente. Mas poucas pessoas a notavam nessas horas, no traje que vestia: ou, se a notavam, acreditavam que fora ensinada a despertar compaixão, e seguiam adiante. Florence, também, chamou em seu auxílio toda a firmeza e autoconfiança de um caráter que sua triste experiência prematuramente formara e provara: e, mantendo firmemente diante de si o fim que tinha em vista, firmemente o perseguiu.

Era já duas horas mais tarde na tarde do que quando partira para essa estranha aventura, quando, escapando do estardalhaço e do estrépito de uma rua estreita cheia de carroças e carroções, espiou por uma espécie de cais ou desembarcadouro à beira do rio, onde havia grande quantidade de fardos, barris e caixotes espalhados; um grande par de balanças de madeira; e uma casinha de madeira sobre rodas, do lado de fora da qual, olhando os mastros e barcos vizinhos, um homem robusto estava de pé assobiando, com a pena atrás da orelha e as mãos nos bolsos, como se o trabalho do dia estivesse quase concluído.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Vamos! - disse o homem ao se virar por acaso. - Não temos nada para você, menina. Vá embora!

- Por favor, esta é a City? - perguntou a trêmula filha dos Dombey.

- Sim, esta é a City. Tenho certeza de que você sabe disso muito bem. Vá embora! Não temos nada para você.

- Não quero nada, obrigada - respondeu ela timidamente. - Só quero saber o caminho até a Dombey e Filho.

O homem vinha caminhando despreocupadamente em direção a ela, mas a resposta o surpreendeu. Olhando com atenção para o rosto dela, respondeu:

- Ora, o que você poderia querer na Dombey e Filho?

- Só quero saber o caminho até lá, por favor.

O homem olhou para ela com ainda mais curiosidade e esfregou a parte de trás da cabeça com tanta força, de espanto, que derrubou o próprio chapéu.

- Joe! - chamou ele para outro homem, um trabalhador, enquanto pegava o chapéu e o colocava de novo.

Original English Version

“Now then!” said this man, happening to turn round. “We haven’t got anything for you, little girl. Be off!”

“If you please, is this the City?” asked the trembling daughter of the Dombeys.

“Ah! It’s the City. You know that well enough, I daresay. Be off! We haven’t got anything for you.”

“I don’t want anything, thank you,” was the timid answer. “Except to know the way to Dombey and Son’s.”

The man who had been strolling carelessly towards her, seemed surprised by this reply, and looking attentively in her face, rejoined:

“Why, what can you want with Dombey and Son’s?”

“To know the way there, if you please.”

The man looked at her yet more curiously, and rubbed the back of his head so hard in his wonderment that he knocked his own hat off.

“Joe!” he called to another man - a labourer - as he picked it up and put it on again.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ora essa! - disse esse homem, ao acaso de se virar. - Não temos nada para você, menininha. Suma daqui!

- Por favor, esta é a City? - perguntou a trêmula filha dos Dombey.

- Ah! É a City. Isso você sabe muito bem, imagino. Suma daqui! Não temos nada para você.

- Não quero nada, obrigada - foi a tímida resposta. - Só saber o caminho para a Dombey and Son.

O homem, que viera avançando descuidadamente em sua direção, pareceu surpreso com essa resposta e, olhando-a atentamente no rosto, replicou:

- Ora, o que você pode querer com a Dombey and Son?

- Saber o caminho para lá, por favor.

O homem olhou-a ainda mais curiosamente e esfregou a nuca com tanta força em seu espanto que derrubou o próprio chapéu.

- Joe! - chamou ele a outro homem - um trabalhador - enquanto o apanhava e o punha de novo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Aqui estou! - disse Joe.

- Onde está aquele jovem da Dombey que estava observando o carregamento daquelas mercadorias?

- Acabou de sair pelo outro portão - disse Joe.

- Chame-o de volta por um instante.

Joe correu por uma passagem em arco, gritando enquanto avançava, e logo voltou com um rapaz de aparência alegre.

- Você é o jovem ajudante da Dombey, não é? - disse o primeiro homem.

- Trabalho na firma Dombey, Sr. Clark - respondeu o rapaz.

- Então olhe aqui - disse o Sr. Clark.

Seguindo o gesto do Sr. Clark, o rapaz aproximou-se de Florence, naturalmente se perguntando o que tinha a ver com ela. Florence ouvira as palavras deles. Além do alívio de estar segura ao fim de sua jornada, o rosto e os modos vivos do jovem a tranquilizaram muito. Ela correu ansiosamente até ele, deixando um dos sapatos largos no chão, e segurou a mão dele com as duas mãos.

- Estou perdida, por favor! - disse Florence.

- Perdida! - exclamou o rapaz.

Original English Version

“Joe it is!” said Joe.

“Where’s that young spark of Dombey’s who’s been watching the shipment of them goods?”

“Just gone, by tt’other gate,” said Joe.

“Call him back a minute.”

Joe ran up an archway, bawling as he went, and very soon returned with a blithe-looking boy.

“You’re Dombey’s jockey, ain’t you?” said the first man.

“I’m in Dombey’s House, Mr Clark,” returned the boy.

“Look’ye here, then,” said Mr Clark.

Obedient to the indication of Mr Clark’s hand, the boy approached towards Florence, wondering, as well he might, what he had to do with her. But she, who had heard what passed, and who, besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey’s end, felt reassured beyond all measure by his lively youthful face and manner, ran eagerly up to him, leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers.

“I am lost, if you please!” said Florence.

“Lost!” cried the boy.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Joe é! - disse Joe.

- Cadê aquele fedelho do Dombey que andou fiscalizando o embarque daquelas mercadorias?

- Acaba de sair, pelo outro portão - disse Joe.

- Chame-o de volta um minuto.

Joe subiu correndo por uma arcada, berrando enquanto ia, e logo voltou com um menino de ar alegre.

- Você é o jóquei do Dombey, não é? - disse o primeiro homem.

- Estou na Casa Dombey, senhor Clark - respondeu o menino.

- Olhe aqui, então - disse o senhor Clark.

Obediente à indicação da mão do senhor Clark, o menino aproximou-se de Florence, perguntando-se, e com razão, o que tinha a ver com ela. Mas ela, que ouvira o que se passara e que, além do alívio de tão de repente considerar-se a salvo no fim de sua jornada, sentiu-se tranquilizada além de toda medida por seu vivo e juvenil rosto e maneiras, correu ansiosa para ele, deixando um dos sapatos frouxos no chão, e agarrou-lhe a mão com ambas as suas.

- Estou perdida, por favor! - disse Florence.

- Perdida! - exclamou o menino.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Sim. Perdi-me esta manhã, longe daqui. Desde então, alguém tomou minhas roupas, e estas não são minhas. Meu nome é Florence Dombey, e sou a única irmã do meu irmãozinho. Oh, por favor, cuide de mim! - soluçou Florence. Por fim, soltou os sentimentos infantis que escondera por tanto tempo e caiu em prantos. Sua touca miserável caiu, e os cabelos desceram ao redor do rosto. O jovem Walter, sobrinho de Solomon Gills, fabricante de instrumentos náuticos, contemplou-a em silêncio, com espanto e compaixão.

O Sr. Clark ficou imóvel de espanto, dizendo baixinho que nunca vira surpresa igual naquele cais. Walter pegou o sapato de Florence e colocou-o no pequeno pé, como o príncipe da história calçou o sapatinho de Cinderela. Pendurou a pele de coelho no braço esquerdo e ofereceu o direito a Florence. Sentiu-se não apenas como Richard Whittington, comparação fraca demais, mas como São Jorge da Inglaterra diante do dragão morto.

Original English Version

“Yes, I was lost this morning, a long way from here - and I have had my clothes taken away, since - and I am not dressed in my own now - and my name is Florence Dombey, my little brother’s only sister - and, oh dear, dear, take care of me, if you please!” sobbed Florence, giving full vent to the childish feelings she had so long suppressed, and bursting into tears. At the same time her miserable bonnet falling off, her hair came tumbling down about her face: moving to speechless admiration and commiseration, young Walter, nephew of Solomon Gills, Ships’ Instrument-maker in general.

Mr Clark stood rapt in amazement: observing under his breath, I never saw such a start on this wharf before. Walter picked up the shoe, and put it on the little foot as the Prince in the story might have fitted Cinderella’s slipper on. He hung the rabbit-skin over his left arm; gave the right to Florence; and felt, not to say like Richard Whittington - that is a tame comparison - but like Saint George of England, with the dragon lying dead before him.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Sim, eu me perdi hoje de manhã, muito longe daqui - e tiraram as minhas roupas, depois - e não estou vestida com as minhas próprias agora - e o meu nome é Florence Dombey, a única irmã do meu irmãozinho - e, ai, meu Deus, meu Deus, cuide de mim, por favor! - soluçou Florence, dando plena vazão aos sentimentos infantis que por tanto tempo reprimira, e caindo em lágrimas. Ao mesmo tempo, seu miserável chapéu caindo, seu cabelo veio tombando em torno do rosto: movendo à muda admiração e comiseração o jovem Walter, sobrinho de Solomon Gills, Fabricante de Instrumentos Náuticos em geral.

O senhor Clark ficou arrebatado de espanto: observando em voz baixa que nunca vira semelhante peripécia neste cais. Walter apanhou o sapato e calçou-o no pezinho como o Príncipe da história teria ajustado o sapatinho de Cinderela. Pendurou a pele de coelho no braço esquerdo; deu o direito a Florence; e sentiu-se, não digo como Richard Whittington - essa é uma comparação insossa - , mas como São Jorge da Inglaterra, com o dragão jazendo morto diante dele.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Não chore, Srta. Dombey - disse Walter, muito entusiasmado. - Que maravilha eu estar aqui! Agora a senhorita está tão segura quanto se fosse protegida por uma tripulação inteira de homens escolhidos de um navio de guerra. Oh, não chore.

- Não vou mais chorar - disse Florence. - Só estou chorando de alegria.

- Chorando de alegria, e eu sou a causa! - pensou Walter. - Venha comigo, Srta. Dombey. Agora o outro sapato caiu! Use os meus, Srta. Dombey.

- Não, não, não - disse Florence, impedindo-o quando ele começou depressa a tirar os próprios sapatos. - Estes são melhores. Servem muito bem.

- Claro - disse Walter, olhando para o pé dela. - Os meus são grandes demais. Onde eu estava com a cabeça? A senhorita jamais conseguiria andar com eles! Vamos, Srta. Dombey. Quero ver o vilão que ousará incomodá-la agora.

Com uma expressão muito feroz, Walter levou Florence, que parecia muito feliz. Caminharam de braços dados pelas ruas, sem se importar com o espanto que sua aparência causava pelo caminho.

Original English Version

“Don’t cry, Miss Dombey,” said Walter, in a transport of enthusiasm. “What a wonderful thing for me that I am here! You are as safe now as if you were guarded by a whole boat’s crew of picked men from a man-of-war. Oh, don’t cry.”

“I won’t cry any more,” said Florence. “I am only crying for joy.”

“Crying for joy!” thought Walter, “and I’m the cause of it! Come along, Miss Dombey. There’s the other shoe off now! Take mine, Miss Dombey.”

“No, no, no,” said Florence, checking him in the act of impetuously pulling off his own. “These do better. These do very well.”

“Why, to be sure,” said Walter, glancing at her foot, “mine are a mile too large. What am I thinking about! You never could walk in mine! Come along, Miss Dombey. Let me see the villain who will dare molest you now.”

So Walter, looking immensely fierce, led off Florence, looking very happy; and they went arm-in-arm along the streets, perfectly indifferent to any astonishment that their appearance might or did excite by the way.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Não chore, senhorita Dombey - disse Walter, num transporte de entusiasmo. - Que coisa maravilhosa para mim eu estar aqui! A senhorita está agora tão a salvo como se fosse guardada por toda a tripulação de um escaler de homens escolhidos de um navio de guerra. Ah, não chore.

- Não vou chorar mais - disse Florence. - Só estou chorando de alegria.

“Chorando de alegria!”, pensou Walter, “e eu é que sou a causa disso! Venha, senhorita Dombey. Lá se foi o outro sapato agora! Fique com o meu, senhorita Dombey.”

- Não, não, não - disse Florence, detendo-o no ato de impetuosamente arrancar o próprio. - Estes servem melhor. Estes servem muito bem.

- Ora, com certeza - disse Walter, olhando o pé dela - , os meus são uma milha grandes demais. Em que estou pensando! A senhorita nunca conseguiria andar com os meus! Venha, senhorita Dombey. Quero ver o vilão que ousará molestá-la agora.

Assim, Walter, com ar imensamente feroz, conduziu Florence, com ar muito feliz; e seguiram de braço dado pelas ruas, perfeitamente indiferentes a qualquer espanto que sua aparência pudesse suscitar, ou de fato suscitasse, pelo caminho.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Estava ficando escuro e enevoado, e começava a chover, mas eles não se importavam. Ambos estavam completamente envolvidos nas recentes aventuras de Florence, que ela contava com a honestidade inocente e a confiança de uma criança. Walter ouvia como se não estivessem na lama e na sujeira de Thames Street, mas caminhando sozinhos entre folhas largas e árvores altas de uma ilha tropical deserta, como provavelmente imaginava naquele momento.

- Ainda falta muito? - perguntou Florence por fim, erguendo os olhos para o rosto do companheiro.

- Ah, a propósito - disse Walter, parando. - Deixe-me ver. Onde estamos? Ah, já sei. Mas os escritórios estão fechados agora, Srta. Dombey. Não há ninguém lá, e o Sr. Dombey foi para casa há muito tempo. Acho que nós também devemos ir para casa. Ou espere... talvez eu deva levá-la à casa do meu tio, onde moro. Fica bem perto. Depois posso ir de carruagem até sua casa, dizer que está segura e trazer algumas roupas. Não seria melhor?

Original English Version

It was growing dark and foggy, and beginning to rain too; but they cared nothing for this: being both wholly absorbed in the late adventures of Florence, which she related with the innocent good faith and confidence of her years, while Walter listened as if, far from the mud and grease of Thames Street, they were rambling alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of some desert island in the tropics - as he very likely fancied, for the time, they were.

“Have we far to go?” asked Florence at last, lilting up her eyes to her companion’s face.

“Ah! By-the-bye,” said Walter, stopping, “let me see; where are we? Oh! I know. But the offices are shut up now, Miss Dombey. There’s nobody there. Mr Dombey has gone home long ago. I suppose we must go home too? or, stay. Suppose I take you to my Uncle’s, where I live - it’s very near here - and go to your house in a coach to tell them you are safe, and bring you back some clothes. Won’t that be best?”

Tradução Integral em Português

Escurecia e ficava enevoado, e começava a chover também; mas não se importavam com isso: estando ambos inteiramente absortos nas recentes aventuras de Florence, que ela relatava com a inocente boa-fé e confiança de seus anos, enquanto Walter escutava como se, longe da lama e da graxa de Thames Street, ambos vagassem sozinhos entre as largas folhas e as altas árvores de alguma ilha deserta nos trópicos - como muito provavelmente imaginava, por ora, que vagavam.

- Temos muito o que andar? - perguntou Florence por fim, erguendo os olhos para o rosto do companheiro.

- Ah! A propósito - disse Walter, parando - , deixe-me ver; onde estamos? Ah! Já sei. Mas os escritórios estão fechados agora, senhorita Dombey. Não há ninguém lá. O senhor Dombey foi para casa há muito. Suponho que devemos ir para casa também? Ou, espere. Suponha que eu a leve à casa do meu tio, onde moro - é bem pertinho daqui - e vá à sua casa numa carruagem avisar que a senhorita está a salvo, e lhe traga algumas roupas. Não será o melhor?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Acho que sim - respondeu Florence. - Você não acha? O que pensa?

Enquanto os dois discutiam isso na rua, um homem passou e olhou rapidamente para Walter, como se o conhecesse. Depois, parecendo decidir que estava enganado, continuou sem parar.

- Ora, acho que é o Sr. Carker - disse Walter. - Carker da nossa firma. Não o Carker que é nosso gerente, Srta. Dombey, mas o outro Carker, o mais jovem. Olá, Sr. Carker!

- É Walter Gay? - disse o homem, parando e voltando. - Não pude acreditar, pois você está com uma companheira tão estranha.

Original English Version

“I think so,” answered Florence. “Don’t you? What do you think?”

As they stood deliberating in the street, a man passed them, who glanced quickly at Walter as he went by, as if he recognised him; but seeming to correct that first impression, he passed on without stopping.

“Why, I think it’s Mr Carker,” said Walter. “Carker in our House. Not Carker our Manager, Miss Dombey - the other Carker; the Junior - Halloa! Mr Carker!”

“Is that Walter Gay?” said the other, stopping and returning. “I couldn’t believe it, with such a strange companion.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Acho que sim - respondeu Florence. - Você não acha? O que você acha?

Enquanto estavam deliberando na rua, um homem passou por eles, que lançou um rápido olhar a Walter ao passar, como se o reconhecesse; mas, parecendo corrigir essa primeira impressão, seguiu adiante sem parar.

- Ora, acho que é o senhor Carker - disse Walter. - Carker da nossa Casa. Não o Carker nosso Gerente, senhorita Dombey - o outro Carker; o Júnior... Olá! Senhor Carker!

- É Walter Gay? - disse o outro, parando e voltando. - Não podia acreditar, com uma companhia tão estranha.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Parado perto de um lampião e ouvindo com surpresa a explicação rápida de Walter, o homem contrastava fortemente com as duas figuras jovens diante dele. Não era velho, mas tinha cabelos brancos e o corpo curvado como se carregasse uma grande tristeza. Linhas profundas marcavam seu rosto cansado e melancólico. O fogo dos olhos, a expressão e até a voz eram fracos e quietos, como se seu espírito tivesse se reduzido a cinzas. Vestia roupas pretas respeitáveis, porém muito simples. Elas pareciam compartilhar a tristeza de sua figura e seu pedido silencioso, da cabeça aos pés, para não ser notado e ser deixado sozinho em sua posição humilde.

Mesmo assim, seu interesse pela juventude e pela esperança não morrera com os outros fogos de sua alma. Enquanto Walter falava, observava o rosto sério do rapaz com uma simpatia incomum. Contudo, um estranho olhar de preocupação e pena escapava para seu rosto, por mais que tentasse escondê-lo. Quando Walter finalmente lhe fez a mesma pergunta que fizera a Florence, o homem continuou olhando para ele daquele modo, como se tivesse lido no rosto do rapaz um destino triste que não combinava com seu brilho presente.

Original English Version

As he stood near a lamp, listening with surprise to Walter’s hurried explanation, he presented a remarkable contrast to the two youthful figures arm-in-arm before him. He was not old, but his hair was white; his body was bent, or bowed as if by the weight of some great trouble: and there were deep lines in his worn and melancholy face. The fire of his eyes, the expression of his features, the very voice in which he spoke, were all subdued and quenched, as if the spirit within him lay in ashes. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility.

And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. When Walter, in conclusion, put to him the question he had put to Florence, he still stood glancing at him with the same expression, as if he had read some fate upon his face, mournfully at variance with its present brightness.

Tradução Integral em Português

Enquanto estava de pé junto a um lampião, escutando com surpresa a apressada explicação de Walter, apresentava um notável contraste com as duas juvenis figuras de braço dado diante dele. Não era velho, mas seu cabelo era branco; seu corpo estava curvado, ou vergado como que pelo peso de algum grande pesar: e havia fundas rugas em seu rosto desgastado e melancólico. O fogo de seus olhos, a expressão de suas feições, a própria voz com que falava, tudo estava abafado e apagado, como se o espírito dentro dele jazesse em cinzas. Estava respeitável, embora muito simplesmente vestido, de preto; mas suas roupas, moldadas ao caráter geral de sua figura, pareciam encolher-se e humilhar-se sobre ele, e unir-se à pesarosa solicitação que o homem inteiro, da cabeça aos pés, exprimia, de ser deixado despercebido, e sozinho em sua humildade.

E, no entanto, seu interesse pela juventude e pela esperança não se extinguira com as demais brasas de sua alma, pois observava o fervoroso semblante do menino enquanto falava com incomum simpatia, embora com uma inexplicável mostra de aflição e compaixão, que escapava para seus olhares, por mais que ele se esforçasse para mantê-la prisioneira. Quando Walter, para concluir, lhe fez a pergunta que fizera a Florence, ele ainda ficou olhando-o com a mesma expressão, como se tivesse lido algum destino em seu rosto, tristemente em desacordo com sua presente vivacidade.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- O que aconselha, Sr. Carker? - disse Walter, sorrindo. - O senhor sempre me dá bons conselhos quando fala comigo, sabe, embora isso não aconteça com frequência.

- Acho que sua própria ideia é a melhor - respondeu ele, olhando de Florence para Walter e depois de volta.

- Sr. Carker - disse Walter, animando-se com uma ideia generosa - aqui está uma oportunidade para o senhor. Vá até o Sr. Dombey e leve-lhe as boas notícias. Isso pode lhe fazer bem, senhor. Eu ficarei em casa. O senhor deve ir.

- Eu? - respondeu o outro homem.

- Sim. Por que não, Sr. Carker? - disse o rapaz.

Como resposta, o Sr. Carker apenas apertou a mão de Walter. Parecia quase envergonhado e com medo até de fazer isso. Depois desejou boa noite, aconselhou Walter a se apressar e foi embora.

- Venha, Srta. Dombey - disse Walter, olhando para o Sr. Carker enquanto eles também se afastavam. - Vamos à casa do meu tio o mais depressa possível. A senhorita já ouviu o Sr. Dombey falar do Sr. Carker mais velho, Srta. Florence?

Original English Version

“What do you advise, Mr Carker?” said Walter, smiling. “You always give me good advice, you know, when you do speak to me. That’s not often, though.”

“I think your own idea is the best,” he answered: looking from Florence to Walter, and back again.

“Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous thought, “Come! Here’s a chance for you. Go you to Mr Dombey’s, and be the messenger of good news. It may do you some good, Sir. I’ll remain at home. You shall go.”

“I!” returned the other.

“Yes. Why not, Mr Carker?” said the boy.

He merely shook him by the hand in answer; he seemed in a manner ashamed and afraid even to do that; and bidding him good-night, and advising him to make haste, turned away.

“Come, Miss Dombey,” said Walter, looking after him as they turned away also, “we’ll go to my Uncle’s as quick as we can. Did you ever hear Mr Dombey speak of Mr Carker the Junior, Miss Florence?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- O que o senhor aconselha, senhor Carker? - disse Walter, sorrindo. - O senhor sempre me dá bons conselhos, sabe, quando fala comigo. Não é muitas vezes, porém.

- Acho que a sua própria ideia é a melhor - respondeu ele: olhando de Florence para Walter, e de volta.

- Senhor Carker - disse Walter, animando-se com um pensamento generoso - , vamos! Aqui está uma chance para o senhor. Vá o senhor à casa do senhor Dombey e seja o mensageiro das boas novas. Talvez lhe faça algum bem, senhor. Eu ficarei em casa. O senhor irá.

- Eu! - respondeu o outro.

- Sim. Por que não, senhor Carker? - disse o menino.

Ele apenas o apertou pela mão em resposta; parecia de certo modo envergonhado e até receoso de fazer isso; e, desejando-lhe boa-noite e aconselhando-o a apressar-se, virou-se e foi embora.

- Venha, senhorita Dombey - disse Walter, olhando-o enquanto também se voltavam para partir - , vamos à casa do meu tio o mais depressa que pudermos. A senhorita já ouviu o senhor Dombey falar do senhor Carker, o Júnior, senhorita Florence?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Não - respondeu a menina com brandura. - Não ouço o papai falar com frequência.

- É verdade, e que vergonha para ele - pensou Walter. Depois de passar um minuto olhando para o rostinho meigo e paciente ao seu lado, disse: - O Sr. Carker mais velho é o homem mais estranho que a senhorita poderia imaginar, Srta. Florence. Ficaria tão confusa quanto eu se entendesse o interesse incomum que ele tem por mim, embora me evite; a posição tão baixa que ocupa em nosso escritório; e como nunca é promovido nem reclama. A cada ano, vê homens mais jovens passarem à sua frente, enquanto seu próprio irmão mais novo é nosso gerente-chefe.

Original English Version

“No,” returned the child, mildly, “I don’t often hear Papa speak.”

“Ah! true! more shame for him,” thought Walter. After a minute’s pause, during which he had been looking down upon the gentle patient little face moving on at his side, he said, “The strangest man, Mr Carker the Junior is, Miss Florence, that ever you heard of. If you could understand what an extraordinary interest he takes in me, and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office, and how he is never advanced, and never complains, though year after year he sees young men passed over his head, and though his brother (younger than he is), is our head Manager, you would be as much puzzled about him as I am.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Não - respondeu a criança, brandamente - , não ouço muitas vezes o Papai falar.

“Ah! É verdade! tanto pior para ele”, pensou Walter. Após uma pausa de um minuto, durante a qual estivera olhando para baixo, para o gentil e paciente rostinho que avançava a seu lado, disse: - O homem mais estranho que jamais se ouviu falar é o senhor Carker, o Júnior, senhorita Florence. Se a senhorita pudesse entender que interesse extraordinário ele tem por mim, e ainda assim como me foge e me evita; e que lugar modesto ele ocupa em nosso escritório, e como nunca é promovido, e nunca se queixa, embora ano após ano veja rapazes passarem por cima dele, e embora o irmão dele (mais moço que ele) seja o nosso Gerente-chefe, a senhorita ficaria tão intrigada com ele quanto eu.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Não se podia esperar que Florence entendesse muito daquilo, então Walter usou sua habitual energia juvenil para mudar de assunto. Quando um dos sapatos azarados caiu novamente no momento certo, ele se ofereceu para carregá-la até a casa do tio. Embora muito cansada, Florence recusou rindo, pois ele poderia deixá-la cair. Já estavam perto do Guarda-Marinha de madeira. Walter continuou citando exemplos de naufrágios e outros acidentes emocionantes nos quais meninos mais jovens do que ele haviam resgatado e carregado com bravura meninas mais velhas do que Florence. Ainda falavam disso quando chegaram à porta do fabricante de instrumentos.

- Olá, tio Sol! - gritou Walter, entrando de repente na loja. Daquele momento em diante, falou sem ordem e sem fôlego pelo resto da noite. - Eis uma aventura maravilhosa! A filha do Sr. Dombey perdeu-se nas ruas e teve as roupas roubadas por uma velha bruxa. Eu a encontrei e a trouxe para descansar em nossa sala. Olhe aqui!

Original English Version

As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door.

“Holloa, Uncle Sol!” cried Walter, bursting into the shop, and speaking incoherently and out of breath, from that time forth, for the rest of the evening. “Here’s a wonderful adventure! Here’s Mr Dombey’s daughter lost in the streets, and robbed of her clothes by an old witch of a woman - found by me - brought home to our parlour to rest - look here!”

Tradução Integral em Português

Como dificilmente se podia esperar que Florence entendesse muito disso, Walter animou-se com sua costumeira vivacidade e inquietação de menino para mudar de assunto; e, saindo de novo oportunamente um dos infortunados sapatos, propôs carregar Florence nos braços até a casa de seu tio. Florence, embora muito cansada, recusou rindo a proposta, com medo de que ele a deixasse cair; e, como já estavam perto do Guarda-Marinha de Madeira, e como Walter prosseguia citando vários precedentes, de naufrágios e outros acidentes comoventes, em que meninos mais novos que ele haviam triunfantemente resgatado e carregado meninas mais velhas que Florence, ainda estavam em plena conversa sobre isso quando chegaram à porta do Fabricante de Instrumentos.

- Olá, Tio Sol! - exclamou Walter, irrompendo na loja e falando incoerentemente e sem fôlego, dali em diante, pelo resto da noite. - Aqui está uma aventura maravilhosa! Aqui está a filha do senhor Dombey, perdida nas ruas e roubada de suas roupas por uma velha bruxa de mulher - encontrada por mim - trazida para a nossa sala para descansar - olhe aqui!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Meu Deus! - disse tio Sol, recuando contra sua caixa de bússolas favorita. - Não pode ser! Bem, eu...

- Não, e ninguém mais acreditaria também - disse Walter, completando o pensamento dele. - Ninguém acreditaria nem poderia acreditar, sabe. Aqui, ajude-me a levar o pequeno sofá para perto do fogo, tio Sol. Cuidado com os pratos. Corte um pouco de comida para ela, tio. Jogue esses sapatos debaixo da lareira. Srta. Florence, coloque os pés junto ao fogo para secar. Como estão molhados! Que aventura, tio! Meu Deus, como estou com calor!

Solomon Gills ficou igualmente acalorado por simpatia e completa confusão. Acariciou a cabeça de Florence, insistiu para que comesse e bebesse e esfregou as solas dos pés dela com o lenço depois de aquecê-lo no fogo. Seus olhos e ouvidos seguiam o sobrinho sempre em movimento. Não entendia nada com clareza, exceto que o jovem animado continuava esbarrando nele e derrubando-o enquanto corria pela sala, tentando fazer vinte coisas ao mesmo tempo e não concluindo nenhuma.

Original English Version

“Good Heaven!” said Uncle Sol, starting back against his favourite compass-case. “It can’t be! Well, I - ”

“No, nor anybody else,” said Walter, anticipating the rest. “Nobody would, nobody could, you know. Here! just help me lift the little sofa near the fire, will you, Uncle Sol - take care of the plates - cut some dinner for her, will you, Uncle - throw those shoes under the grate. Miss Florence - put your feet on the fender to dry - how damp they are - here’s an adventure, Uncle, eh? - God bless my soul, how hot I am!”

Solomon Gills was quite as hot, by sympathy, and in excessive bewilderment. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Céus! - disse o Tio Sol, recuando de encontro à sua estimada caixa de compassos. - Não pode ser! Bom, eu...

- Não, nem ninguém - disse Walter, antecipando o resto. - Ninguém haveria de crer, ninguém poderia, o senhor sabe. Aqui! ajude-me só a chegar o sofazinho para perto do fogo, quer, Tio Sol - cuidado com os pratos - corte algum jantar para ela, quer, Tio - jogue esses sapatos debaixo da grelha. Senhorita Florence - ponha os pés no guarda-fogo para secar - como estão úmidos - aqui está uma aventura, Tio, hein? - Deus me abençoe, como estou acalorado!

Solomon Gills estava igualmente acalorado, por solidariedade, e em excessiva perplexidade. Deu palmadinhas na cabeça de Florence, insistiu para que ela comesse, insistiu para que bebesse, esfregou-lhe as solas dos pés com seu lenço de bolso aquecido ao fogo, seguiu o sobrinho locomotiva com os olhos e os ouvidos, e não tinha percepção clara de nada exceto que era constantemente esbarrado e derrubado por aquele agitado jovem cavalheiro, à medida que este disparava pelo cômodo tentando realizar vinte coisas ao mesmo tempo, e não fazendo coisa alguma.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Espere um instante, tio - continuou Walter, pegando uma vela. - Vou correr lá para cima, vestir outra jaqueta e depois partir. Diga, tio, isto não é uma aventura?

- Meu querido rapaz - disse Solomon, com os óculos na testa e o grande cronômetro no bolso, movendo-se sem parar entre Florence no sofá e o sobrinho por toda a sala - é a coisa mais extraordinária...

- Não, mas faça isso, por favor, tio. Coma, por favor, Srta. Florence. O jantar, sabe, tio.

- Sim, sim, sim - gritou Solomon, cortando imediatamente uma perna de carneiro como se fosse alimentar um gigante. - Vou cuidar dela, Wally! Entendi. Pobrezinha! Deve estar morrendo de fome. Vá se preparar. Meu Deus! Sir Richard Whittington, três vezes Lord Mayor de Londres!

Walter subiu rapidamente ao sótão elevado e desceu outra vez. Enquanto isso, Florence, vencida pelo cansaço, adormecera diante do fogo. Aqueles poucos minutos de tranquilidade deram a Solomon Gills tempo suficiente para recuperar o juízo, preparar algum conforto para ela, escurecer o aposento e protegê-la das chamas fortes. Quando Walter voltou, ela dormia em paz.

Original English Version

“Here, wait a minute, Uncle,” he continued, catching up a candle, “till I run upstairs, and get another jacket on, and then I’ll be off. I say, Uncle, isn’t this an adventure?”

“My dear boy,” said Solomon, who, with his spectacles on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, was incessantly oscillating between Florence on the sofa, and his nephew in all parts of the parlour, “it’s the most extraordinary - ”

“No, but do, Uncle, please - do, Miss Florence - dinner, you know, Uncle.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” cried Solomon, cutting instantly into a leg of mutton, as if he were catering for a giant. “I’ll take care of her, Wally! I understand. Pretty dear! Famished, of course. You go and get ready. Lord bless me! Sir Richard Whittington thrice Lord Mayor of London.”

Walter was not very long in mounting to his lofty garret and descending from it, but in the meantime Florence, overcome by fatigue, had sunk into a doze before the fire. The short interval of quiet, though only a few minutes in duration, enabled Solomon Gills so far to collect his wits as to make some little arrangements for her comfort, and to darken the room, and to screen her from the blaze. Thus, when the boy returned, she was sleeping peacefully.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Aqui, espere um minuto, Tio - continuou ele, agarrando uma vela - , até eu subir correndo e vestir outra jaqueta, e então parto. Ei, Tio, isto não é uma aventura?

- Meu caro menino - disse Solomon, que, com os óculos na testa e o grande cronômetro no bolso, oscilava incessantemente entre Florence no sofá e o sobrinho em todas as partes da sala - , é a mais extraordinária...

- Não, mas coma, Tio, por favor - coma, senhorita Florence - o jantar, sabe, Tio.

- Sim, sim, sim - exclamou Solomon, cortando instantaneamente um pernil de carneiro, como se estivesse provendo para um gigante. - Vou cuidar dela, Wally! Entendo. Pobre querida! Faminta, é claro. Vá se aprontar. Deus me abençoe! Sir Richard Whittington, três vezes Lorde Prefeito de Londres.

Walter não demorou muito a subir ao seu elevado sótão e a descer dele, mas nesse meio-tempo Florence, vencida pela fadiga, tombara numa sonolência diante do fogo. O breve intervalo de sossego, embora de apenas alguns minutos de duração, permitiu a Solomon Gills recobrar o juízo o bastante para fazer alguns pequenos arranjos para o conforto dela, e escurecer o cômodo, e resguardá-la da labareda. Assim, quando o menino voltou, ela dormia placidamente.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

“Isso é excelente!”, sussurrou ele, abraçando Solomon com tanta força que uma nova expressão apareceu no rosto do velho. “Agora vou. Levarei um pedaço de pão porque estou com muita fome - e não a acorde, tio Sol.”

- Não, não - disse Solomon. - Linda criança.

- Linda mesmo! - exclamou Walter. - Nunca vi um rosto assim, tio Sol. Agora vou.

- Isso mesmo - disse Solomon, muito aliviado.

- Escute, tio Sol - chamou Walter, enfiando o rosto pela porta.

- Lá vem ele de novo - disse Solomon.

- Como ela parece agora?

- Muito feliz - disse Solomon.

- Isso é maravilhoso! Agora vou.

- Espero que vá mesmo - disse Solomon consigo.

- Escute, tio Sol - chamou Walter, aparecendo novamente à porta.

- Lá vem ele outra vez! - disse Solomon.

- Encontramos o Sr. Carker mais jovem na rua, mais estranho do que nunca. Ele se despediu de mim, mas nos seguiu até aqui. Que coisa curiosa! Quando chegamos à porta da loja, olhei para trás e o vi indo embora em silêncio, como um criado que me levara em segurança para casa ou um cão fiel. Como ela parece agora, tio?

Original English Version

“That’s capital!” he whispered, giving Solomon such a hug that it squeezed a new expression into his face. “Now I’m off. I’ll just take a crust of bread with me, for I’m very hungry - and don’t wake her, Uncle Sol.”

“No, no,” said Solomon. “Pretty child.”

“Pretty, indeed!” cried Walter. “I never saw such a face, Uncle Sol. Now I’m off.”

“That’s right,” said Solomon, greatly relieved.

“I say, Uncle Sol,” cried Walter, putting his face in at the door.

“Here he is again,” said Solomon.

“How does she look now?”

“Quite happy,” said Solomon.

“That’s famous! now I’m off.”

“I hope you are,” said Solomon to himself.

“I say, Uncle Sol,” cried Walter, reappearing at the door.

“Here he is again!” said Solomon.

“We met Mr Carker the Junior in the street, queerer than ever. He bade me good-bye, but came behind us here - there’s an odd thing! - for when we reached the shop door, I looked round, and saw him going quietly away, like a servant who had seen me home, or a faithful dog. How does she look now, Uncle?”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ótimo! - sussurrou ele, dando em Solomon um abraço tal que lhe espremeu uma nova expressão no rosto. - Agora parto. Vou só levar uma casca de pão comigo, pois estou com muita fome - e não a acorde, Tio Sol.

- Não, não - disse Solomon. - Linda criança.

- Linda, de fato! - exclamou Walter. - Nunca vi rosto igual, Tio Sol. Agora parto.

- Isso mesmo - disse Solomon, muito aliviado.

- Ei, Tio Sol - exclamou Walter, pondo o rosto pela porta.

- Lá está ele de novo - disse Solomon.

- Como é que ela está agora?

- Bem feliz - disse Solomon.

- Excelente! agora parto.

- Espero que sim - disse Solomon consigo mesmo.

- Ei, Tio Sol - exclamou Walter, reaparecendo à porta.

- Lá está ele de novo! - disse Solomon.

- Encontramos o senhor Carker, o Júnior, na rua, mais esquisito que nunca. Despediu-se de mim, mas veio atrás de nós até aqui - que coisa estranha! - pois, quando chegamos à porta da loja, olhei em torno e o vi indo embora em silêncio, como um criado que me tivesse acompanhado até em casa, ou um cão fiel. Como é que ela está agora, Tio?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Quase igual a antes, Wally - respondeu tio Sol.

- Isso é bom. Agora vou!

Dessa vez Walter realmente partiu. Solomon Gills não tinha vontade de jantar e ficou sentado do outro lado do fogo, observando Florence dormir e construindo muitos castelos imaginários da arquitetura mais fantástica. Na luz fraca, cercado de perto por todos os seus instrumentos, parecia um mágico disfarçado com uma peruca galesa e roupas cor de café, mantendo a criança num sono encantado.

Enquanto isso, Walter seguia para a casa do Sr. Dombey mais depressa do que um cavalo de aluguel normalmente conseguia. Mesmo assim, a cada dois ou três minutos punha a cabeça para fora da janela e protestava com impaciência ao cocheiro. Ao chegar, saltou, contou sem fôlego ao criado o motivo de sua visita e o seguiu diretamente até a biblioteca. Muitas pessoas falavam ali em confusão: o Sr. Dombey, sua irmã, a Srta. Tox, Richards e Nipper estavam todos reunidos.

Original English Version

“Pretty much the same as before, Wally,” replied Uncle Sol.

“That’s right. Now I am off!”

And this time he really was: and Solomon Gills, with no appetite for dinner, sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching Florence in her slumber, building a great many airy castles of the most fantastic architecture; and looking, in the dim shade, and in the close vicinity of all the instruments, like a magician disguised in a Welsh wig and a suit of coffee colour, who held the child in an enchanted sleep.

In the meantime, Walter proceeded towards Mr Dombey’s house at a pace seldom achieved by a hack horse from the stand; and yet with his head out of window every two or three minutes, in impatient remonstrance with the driver. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Praticamente a mesma coisa de antes, Wally - respondeu o Tio Sol.

- Isso mesmo. Agora parto!

E dessa vez partiu de verdade: e Solomon Gills, sem apetite para o jantar, sentou-se do lado oposto do fogo, observando Florence em seu sono, construindo uma porção de castelos aéreos da mais fantástica arquitetura; e parecendo, na penumbra e na estreita vizinhança de todos os instrumentos, um mágico disfarçado de peruca galesa e terno cor de café, que mantinha a criança num sono encantado.

Nesse ínterim, Walter dirigiu-se à casa do senhor Dombey a um passo raramente alcançado por um cavalo de aluguel do ponto; e ainda assim com a cabeça para fora da janela a cada dois ou três minutos, em impaciente protesto contra o cocheiro. Chegando ao fim de sua jornada, saltou e, anunciando esbaforido sua incumbência ao criado, seguiu-o direto para a biblioteca, onde havia uma grande confusão de vozes, e onde o senhor Dombey, sua irmã, e a senhorita Tox, Richards e Nipper estavam todos reunidos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Oh, desculpe-me, senhor - disse Walter, correndo até ele - mas fico feliz em dizer que está tudo bem. A Srta. Dombey foi encontrada!

O rosto franco do menino, os cabelos soltos, os olhos brilhantes e sua alegria e agitação sem fôlego formavam um contraste maravilhoso com o Sr. Dombey, sentado diante dele na cadeira da biblioteca.

- Eu lhe disse, Louisa, que certamente a encontrariam - disse o Sr. Dombey, olhando um pouco por cima do ombro para a irmã, que chorava com a Srta. Tox. - Avise aos criados que nenhuma outra providência é necessária. O menino que trouxe a notícia é o jovem Gay, do escritório. Como minha filha foi encontrada, senhor? Sei como ela se perdeu. Nesse ponto, olhou majestosamente para Richards. - Mas como foi encontrada? Quem a encontrou?

- Bem, acredito que encontrei a Srta. Dombey, senhor - disse Walter com modéstia. - Pelo menos, não sei se posso reivindicar o mérito de tê-la encontrado exatamente, mas fui o instrumento feliz pelo qual...

Original English Version

“Oh! I beg your pardon, Sir,” said Walter, rushing up to him, “but I’m happy to say it’s all right, Sir. Miss Dombey’s found!”

The boy with his open face, and flowing hair, and sparkling eyes, panting with pleasure and excitement, was wonderfully opposed to Mr Dombey, as he sat confronting him in his library chair.

“I told you, Louisa, that she would certainly be found,” said Mr Dombey, looking slightly over his shoulder at that lady, who wept in company with Miss Tox. “Let the servants know that no further steps are necessary. This boy who brings the information, is young Gay, from the office. How was my daughter found, Sir? I know how she was lost.” Here he looked majestically at Richards. “But how was she found? Who found her?”

“Why, I believe I found Miss Dombey, Sir,” said Walter modestly, “at least I don’t know that I can claim the merit of having exactly found her, Sir, but I was the fortunate instrument of - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah! peço desculpas, senhor - disse Walter, precipitando-se para ele - , mas tenho a satisfação de dizer que está tudo bem, senhor. A senhorita Dombey foi encontrada!

O menino, com seu rosto franco, e cabelos esvoaçantes, e olhos cintilantes, arquejando de prazer e excitação, contrastava extraordinariamente com o senhor Dombey, sentado a defrontá-lo em sua cadeira de biblioteca.

- Eu lhe disse, Louisa, que ela certamente seria encontrada - disse o senhor Dombey, olhando de leve por cima do ombro para aquela senhora, que chorava em companhia da senhorita Tox. - Avisem os criados de que não são necessárias mais providências. Este menino que traz a informação é o jovem Gay, do escritório. Como foi encontrada a minha filha, senhor? Sei como ela se perdeu. - Aqui ele olhou majestosamente para Richards. - Mas como foi encontrada? Quem a encontrou?

- Ora, creio que fui eu quem encontrou a senhorita Dombey, senhor - disse Walter modestamente - , ao menos não sei se posso reivindicar o mérito de tê-la exatamente encontrado, senhor, mas fui o afortunado instrumento de...

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- O que quer dizer, senhor? - interrompeu o Sr. Dombey. Ele sentiu antipatia natural pelo evidente orgulho e prazer do menino em sua participação no acontecimento. - O que quer dizer ao afirmar que não encontrou exatamente minha filha e que foi um instrumento feliz? Por favor, fale de modo simples e claro.

Walter não conseguia falar com clareza naquele estado sem fôlego. Mesmo assim, explicou-se tão bem quanto pôde e contou por que viera sozinho.

- Ouviu isso, garota? - disse o Sr. Dombey severamente à criada de olhos negros. - Pegue o necessário e volte imediatamente com este jovem para trazer a Srta. Florence para casa. Gay, você será recompensado amanhã.

- Oh, obrigado, senhor - disse Walter. - O senhor é muito bondoso. Eu realmente não estava pensando em recompensa alguma, senhor.

- Você é um menino - disse o Sr. Dombey de repente e quase com ferocidade - e o que pensa, ou finge pensar, tem pouca importância. Fez bem, senhor. Não estrague isso. Louisa, por favor, dê um pouco de vinho ao rapaz.

Original English Version

“What do you mean, Sir,” interrupted Mr Dombey, regarding the boy’s evident pride and pleasure in his share of the transaction with an instinctive dislike, “by not having exactly found my daughter, and by being a fortunate instrument? Be plain and coherent, if you please.”

It was quite out of Walter’s power to be coherent; but he rendered himself as explanatory as he could, in his breathless state, and stated why he had come alone.

“You hear this, girl?” said Mr Dombey sternly to the black-eyed. “Take what is necessary, and return immediately with this young man to fetch Miss Florence home. Gay, you will be rewarded to-morrow.”

“Oh! thank you, Sir,” said Walter. “You are very kind. I’m sure I was not thinking of any reward, Sir.”

“You are a boy,” said Mr Dombey, suddenly and almost fiercely; “and what you think of, or affect to think of, is of little consequence. You have done well, Sir. Don’t undo it. Louisa, please to give the lad some wine.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- O que quer dizer, senhor - interrompeu o senhor Dombey, encarando o evidente orgulho e prazer do menino em sua parte na transação com uma aversão instintiva - , com não ter exatamente encontrado a minha filha, e com ser um afortunado instrumento? Seja claro e coerente, se me faz o favor.

Estava totalmente fora do poder de Walter ser coerente; mas fez-se tão explicativo quanto pôde, em seu estado esbaforido, e expôs por que viera sozinho.

- Está ouvindo isto, moça? - disse o senhor Dombey severamente à dos olhos negros. - Pegue o que for necessário e volte imediatamente com este rapaz para buscar a senhorita Florence em casa. Gay, você será recompensado amanhã.

- Ah! obrigado, senhor - disse Walter. - O senhor é muito bondoso. Palavra que eu não estava pensando em recompensa nenhuma, senhor.

- Você é um menino - disse o senhor Dombey, súbita e quase ferozmente - ; e o que você pensa, ou finge pensar, é de pouca importância. Você se houve bem, senhor. Não estrague isso. Louisa, faça o favor de dar ao rapaz um pouco de vinho.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O Sr. Dombey observou Walter Gay sair sob a orientação da Sra. Chick com forte desagrado. Talvez sua mente seguisse o menino sem prazer maior enquanto Walter voltava à loja do tio com a Srta. Susan Nipper.

Encontraram Florence muito revigorada pelo sono. Ela jantara e conhecera muito melhor Solomon Gills, com quem agora se sentia inteiramente confiante e à vontade. A criada de olhos negros chorara tanto que agora poderia ser chamada de olhos vermelhos. Calada e abatida, abraçou Florence sem censura nem crítica e recebeu-a com enorme emoção. Depois transformou temporariamente a sala numa sala de vestir particular e vestiu Florence com muito cuidado em roupas adequadas. Logo conduziu a menina para fora, parecendo tão Dombey quanto suas limitações naturais permitiam.

- Boa noite! - disse Florence, correndo até Solomon. - O senhor foi muito bom para mim.

O velho Sol ficou encantado e a beijou como um avô.

Original English Version

Mr Dombey’s glance followed Walter Gay with sharp disfavour, as he left the room under the pilotage of Mrs Chick; and it may be that his mind’s eye followed him with no greater relish, as he rode back to his Uncle’s with Miss Susan Nipper.

There they found that Florence, much refreshed by sleep, had dined, and greatly improved the acquaintance of Solomon Gills, with whom she was on terms of perfect confidence and ease. The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed, and who was very silent and depressed) caught her in her arms without a word of contradiction or reproach, and made a very hysterical meeting of it. Then converting the parlour, for the nonce, into a private tiring room, she dressed her, with great care, in proper clothes; and presently led her forth, as like a Dombey as her natural disqualifications admitted of her being made.

“Good-night!” said Florence, running up to Solomon. “You have been very good to me.”

Old Sol was quite delighted, and kissed her like her grand-father.

Tradução Integral em Português

O olhar do senhor Dombey seguiu Walter Gay com acentuada má vontade, enquanto ele deixava a sala sob o comando da senhora Chick; e pode ser que os olhos de sua mente o seguissem com não maior agrado, enquanto ele voltava de carruagem para a casa do tio com a senhorita Susan Nipper.

Ali encontraram que Florence, muito revigorada pelo sono, havia jantado e muito estreitado suas relações com Solomon Gills, com quem estava em termos de perfeita confiança e à vontade. A dos olhos negros (que chorara tanto que agora poderia ser chamada a dos olhos vermelhos, e que estava muito calada e abatida) tomou-a nos braços sem uma palavra de contradição ou censura, e fez disso um encontro muito histérico. Depois, convertendo a sala, por ora, num camarim particular, vestiu-a, com muito cuidado, com roupas adequadas; e logo a conduziu para fora, tão parecida com uma Dombey quanto suas naturais desqualificações permitiam que ela fosse feita.

- Boa-noite! - disse Florence, correndo para Solomon. - O senhor foi muito bom comigo.

O velho Sol ficou muito encantado, e beijou-a como o avô dela.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Boa noite, Walter! Adeus! - disse Florence.

- Adeus! - disse Walter, oferecendo as duas mãos.

- Nunca vou esquecer você - continuou Florence. - Não, de verdade, nunca vou. Adeus, Walter!

Com a gratidão inocente do coração, a criança ergueu o rosto para ele. Walter inclinou o próprio rosto e o levantou novamente, vermelho e ardente. Depois olhou timidamente para tio Sol.

- Onde está Walter? - Boa noite, Walter! - Adeus, Walter! - Aperte minha mão mais uma vez, Walter! Florence continuou chamando mesmo depois de ela e sua pequena criada serem fechadas dentro da carruagem. Quando finalmente partiram, Walter ficou alegremente à porta e respondeu ao aceno do lenço dela. Atrás dele, o Aspirante de madeira também parecia interessado apenas naquela carruagem e ignorava todas as outras que passavam.

Logo chegaram à mansão do Sr. Dombey, e mais uma vez muitas vozes encheram a biblioteca. Também mandaram a carruagem esperar novamente. - Para a Sra. Richards - sussurrou de modo sombrio um dos colegas criados de Susan quando ela passou com Florence.

Original English Version

“Good-night, Walter! Good-bye!” said Florence.

“Good-bye!” said Walter, giving both his hands.

“I’ll never forget you,” pursued Florence. “No! indeed I never will. Good-bye, Walter!”

In the innocence of her grateful heart, the child lifted up her face to his. Walter, bending down his own, raised it again, all red and burning; and looked at Uncle Sol, quite sheepishly.

“Where’s Walter?” “Good-night, Walter!” “Good-bye, Walter!” “Shake hands once more, Walter!” This was still Florence’s cry, after she was shut up with her little maid, in the coach. And when the coach at length moved off, Walter on the door-step gaily returned the waving of her handkerchief, while the wooden Midshipman behind him seemed, like himself, intent upon that coach alone, excluding all the other passing coaches from his observation.

In good time Mr Dombey’s mansion was gained again, and again there was a noise of tongues in the library. Again, too, the coach was ordered to wait - “for Mrs Richards,” one of Susan’s fellow-servants ominously whispered, as she passed with Florence.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Boa-noite, Walter! Adeus! - disse Florence.

- Adeus! - disse Walter, estendendo ambas as mãos.

- Nunca vou esquecer você - prosseguiu Florence. - Não! juro que nunca vou. Adeus, Walter!

Na inocência de seu coração grato, a criança ergueu o rosto para o dele. Walter, inclinando o próprio, ergueu-o de novo, todo vermelho e ardente; e olhou para o Tio Sol, muito acanhado.

- Cadê Walter? - “Boa-noite, Walter!” - “Adeus, Walter!” - “Aperte a mão mais uma vez, Walter!” - Este ainda era o grito de Florence, depois de estar fechada com sua pequena criada dentro da carruagem. E quando a carruagem por fim se pôs em marcha, Walter, na soleira, alegremente retribuiu o aceno do lenço dela, enquanto o Guarda-Marinha de Madeira atrás dele parecia, tal como ele mesmo, atento àquela carruagem apenas, excluindo de sua observação todas as demais carruagens que passavam.

A bom tempo alcançou-se de novo a mansão do senhor Dombey, e de novo houve um ruído de vozes na biblioteca. De novo, também, ordenou-se que a carruagem esperasse - “pela senhora Richards”, sussurrou agourentamente um dos colegas criados de Susan, ao passar ela com Florence.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A entrada da criança perdida causou alguma comoção, mas não muita. O Sr. Dombey, que nunca a encontrara por conta própria, beijou-a uma vez na testa e advertiu-a a não fugir de novo nem passear com acompanhantes traiçoeiros. A Sra. Chick interrompeu suas lamentações sobre a corrupção da natureza humana, mesmo quando uma escola de caridade oferecia o caminho da virtude, e recebeu Florence com menos calor do que uma Dombey perfeita mereceria. A Srta. Tox ajustou seus sentimentos aos modelos diante dela. Somente a culpada Richards abriu o coração em palavras entrecortadas de boas-vindas e curvou-se sobre a cabecinha errante como se realmente a amasse.

- Ah, Richards! - disse a Sra. Chick com um suspiro. - Aqueles que desejam pensar bem dos semelhantes teriam ficado muito mais satisfeitos, e teria sido muito mais digno de você, se tivesse demonstrado a devida preocupação antes pela criancinha que agora perderá cedo demais seu alimento natural.

Original English Version

The entrance of the lost child made a slight sensation, but not much. Mr Dombey, who had never found her, kissed her once upon the forehead, and cautioned her not to run away again, or wander anywhere with treacherous attendants. Mrs Chick stopped in her lamentations on the corruption of human nature, even when beckoned to the paths of virtue by a Charitable Grinder; and received her with a welcome something short of the reception due to none but perfect Dombeys. Miss Tox regulated her feelings by the models before her. Richards, the culprit Richards, alone poured out her heart in broken words of welcome, and bowed herself over the little wandering head as if she really loved it.

“Ah, Richards!” said Mrs Chick, with a sigh. “It would have been much more satisfactory to those who wish to think well of their fellow creatures, and much more becoming in you, if you had shown some proper feeling, in time, for the little child that is now going to be prematurely deprived of its natural nourishment.

Tradução Integral em Português

A entrada da criança perdida causou uma leve sensação, mas não muita. O senhor Dombey, que nunca a encontrara, beijou-a uma vez na testa e advertiu-a a não fugir de novo, nem a vagar a lugar algum com acompanhantes traiçoeiros. A senhora Chick interrompeu suas lamentações sobre a corrupção da natureza humana, mesmo quando acenada aos caminhos da virtude por um Amolador de Caridade; e recebeu-a com uma acolhida aquém da recepção devida a ninguém senão perfeitos Dombey. A senhorita Tox regulou seus sentimentos pelos modelos diante de si. Richards, a culpada Richards, só ela derramou o coração em entrecortadas palavras de boas-vindas, e inclinou-se sobre a errante cabecinha como se realmente a amasse.

- Ah, Richards! - disse a senhora Chick, com um suspiro. - Teria sido muito mais satisfatório para aqueles que desejam pensar bem de seus semelhantes, e muito mais condizente da sua parte, se você tivesse demonstrado algum sentimento apropriado, em tempo, pela criancinha que está agora prestes a ser prematuramente privada de seu alimento natural.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Separada - sussurrou a Srta. Tox com tristeza - da única fonte comum!

- Se eu estivesse em sua posição ingrata - disse a Sra. Chick solenemente - e tivesse seus pensamentos, Richards, sentiria que o uniforme da escola de caridade arruinaria meu filho e que a educação o sufocaria.

Na verdade, embora a Sra. Chick não soubesse, o uniforme já prejudicara bastante o menino. Quanto à educação, seu castigo também poderia chegar com o tempo, pois era uma tempestade de soluços e pancadas.

Original English Version

“Cut off,” said Miss Tox, in a plaintive whisper, “from one common fountain!”

“If it was my ungrateful case,” said Mrs Chick, solemnly, “and I had your reflections, Richards, I should feel as if the Charitable Grinders’ dress would blight my child, and the education choke him.”

For the matter of that - but Mrs Chick didn’t know it - he had been pretty well blighted by the dress already; and as to the education, even its retributive effect might be produced in time, for it was a storm of sobs and blows.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Cortada - disse a senhorita Tox, num plangente sussurro - de uma fonte comum!

- Se fosse o meu ingrato caso - disse a senhora Chick, solenemente - , e eu tivesse as suas reflexões, Richards, eu sentiria como se o traje dos Amoladores de Caridade fosse fanar o meu filho, e a educação o sufocasse.

Quanto a isso - mas a senhora Chick não sabia - ele já fora bem fanado pelo traje; e quanto à educação, mesmo seu efeito retributivo poderia ser produzido com o tempo, pois era uma tempestade de soluços e pancadas.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

“Louisa!”, disse o Sr. Dombey. “Não é necessário prolongar esses comentários. A mulher foi demitida e paga. Você está deixando esta casa, Richards, porque levou meu filho - meu filho”, repetiu com força, “a lugares e companhias nos quais não se pode pensar sem horror. Considero o acidente ocorrido com a Srta. Florence esta manhã afortunado num sentido importante. Sem ele, jamais teria sabido, e de seus próprios lábios, o que você fez. Louisa, creio que a outra ama, a jovem” - a Srta. Nipper soluçou alto - “pode ficar, pois é muito mais nova e foi naturalmente influenciada pela ama de Paul. Por favor, providencie o pagamento da carruagem desta mulher até...” O Sr. Dombey parou e fez uma expressão de dor. “Até Staggs's Gardens.”

Original English Version

“Louisa!” said Mr Dombey. “It is not necessary to prolong these observations. The woman is discharged and paid. You leave this house, Richards, for taking my son - my son,” said Mr Dombey, emphatically repeating these two words, “into haunts and into society which are not to be thought of without a shudder. As to the accident which befel Miss Florence this morning, I regard that as, in one great sense, a happy and fortunate circumstance; inasmuch as, but for that occurrence, I never could have known - and from your own lips too - of what you had been guilty. I think, Louisa, the other nurse, the young person,” here Miss Nipper sobbed aloud, “being so much younger, and necessarily influenced by Paul’s nurse, may remain. Have the goodness to direct that this woman’s coach is paid to” - Mr Dombey stopped and winced - “to Staggs’s Gardens.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Louisa! - disse o senhor Dombey. - Não é necessário prolongar estas observações. A mulher está despedida e paga. Você deixa esta casa, Richards, por ter levado o meu filho - o meu filho - disse o senhor Dombey, repetindo enfaticamente estas duas palavras - a antros e a companhias em que não se pode pensar sem um arrepio. Quanto ao acidente que sobreveio à senhorita Florence esta manhã, considero-o, num grande sentido, uma circunstância feliz e afortunada; visto que, não fosse essa ocorrência, eu jamais poderia ter sabido - e de seus próprios lábios, ainda por cima - do que você era culpada. Creio, Louisa, que a outra ama, a jovem - aqui a senhorita Nipper soluçou alto - , sendo bem mais moça e necessariamente influenciada pela ama de Paul, pode permanecer. Tenha a bondade de determinar que a carruagem desta mulher seja paga até... - o senhor Dombey deteve-se e estremeceu - até Staggs's Gardens.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Polly caminhou para a porta enquanto Florence se agarrava ao vestido dela e implorava com gritos comoventes para que não fosse embora. Ver sua própria carne e sangue agarrada àquela mulher desconhecida e insignificante enquanto ele estava sentado ali era uma faca no coração do pai orgulhoso e uma flecha em seu cérebro. Não era que se importasse com quem a filha amava ou rejeitava. A dor súbita e aguda o atingiu porque imaginou o filho fazendo a mesma coisa.

Ao menos o filho chorou alto naquela noite. Na verdade, o pobre Paul tinha motivo melhor para suas lágrimas do que meninos daquela idade normalmente tinham. Perdera sua segunda mãe - a primeira mãe que conhecera - por um golpe tão repentino quanto a tristeza natural que escurecera o começo de sua vida. Com o mesmo golpe, sua irmã, que chorou tristemente até adormecer, também perdera uma amiga boa e fiel. Mas isso não vem ao caso. Não desperdicemos palavras com isso.

Original English Version

Polly moved towards the door, with Florence holding to her dress, and crying to her in the most pathetic manner not to go away. It was a dagger in the haughty father’s heart, an arrow in his brain, to see how the flesh and blood he could not disown clung to this obscure stranger, and he sitting by. Not that he cared to whom his daughter turned, or from whom turned away. The swift sharp agony struck through him, as he thought of what his son might do.

His son cried lustily that night, at all events. Sooth to say, poor Paul had better reason for his tears than sons of that age often have, for he had lost his second mother - his first, so far as he knew - by a stroke as sudden as that natural affliction which had darkened the beginning of his life. At the same blow, his sister too, who cried herself to sleep so mournfully, had lost as good and true a friend. But that is quite beside the question. Let us waste no words about it.

Tradução Integral em Português

Polly moveu-se em direção à porta, com Florence agarrada ao seu vestido e implorando-lhe da maneira mais patética que não fosse embora. Era um punhal no coração do orgulhoso pai, uma flecha em seu cérebro, ver como a carne e o sangue que ele não podia renegar se apegavam àquela obscura estranha, e ele sentado ali. Não que se importasse com a quem sua filha se voltava, ou de quem se afastava. A rápida e aguda agonia atravessou-o, ao pensar no que seu filho poderia fazer.

Seu filho chorou lustrosamente naquela noite, em todo caso. Verdade seja dita, o pobre Paul tinha melhor razão para suas lágrimas do que filhos daquela idade costumam ter, pois perdera sua segunda mãe - a primeira, até onde sabia - por um golpe tão súbito quanto aquela aflição natural que ensombrecera o início de sua vida. Ao mesmo golpe, sua irmã também, que chorou até adormecer tão tristemente, perdera uma amiga tão boa e verdadeira. Mas isso está totalmente fora de questão. Não desperdicemos palavras a respeito.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER VII. A Bird’s-eye Glimpse of Miss Tox’s Dwelling-place: also of the State of Miss Tox’s Affections

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Srta. Tox morava numa pequena casa escura que, muito tempo antes, fora de algum modo espremida num bairro elegante do oeste de Londres. Ficava à sombra como uma parenta pobre da grande rua da esquina, observada com frieza por mansões poderosas. Não estava exatamente num pátio nem num quintal, mas na mais triste rua sem saída, tornada ansiosa e cansada pelas batidas duplas e distantes nas portas. Esse lugar tranquilo, onde a grama crescia entre as pedras do calçamento, chamava-se Princess's Place. Ali ficava a Capela da Princesa, com um sino de som fino, onde às vezes até vinte e cinco pessoas assistiam ao culto de domingo. A taverna Princess's Arms também ficava ali e era frequentada por esplêndidos lacaios. Uma liteira permanecia atrás das grades diante dela, mas nunca saíra dali na memória de ninguém. Nas manhãs bonitas, um caneco de estanho decorava o alto de cada uma das quarenta e oito grades, como a Srta. Tox contara muitas vezes.

Original English Version

Miss Tox inhabited a dark little house that had been squeezed, at some remote period of English History, into a fashionable neighbourhood at the west end of the town, where it stood in the shade like a poor relation of the great street round the corner, coldly looked down upon by mighty mansions. It was not exactly in a court, and it was not exactly in a yard; but it was in the dullest of No-Thoroughfares, rendered anxious and haggard by distant double knocks. The name of this retirement, where grass grew between the chinks in the stone pavement, was Princess’s Place; and in Princess’s Place was Princess’s Chapel, with a tinkling bell, where sometimes as many as five-and-twenty people attended service on a Sunday. The Princess’s Arms was also there, and much resorted to by splendid footmen. A sedan chair was kept inside the railing before the Princess’s Arms, but it had never come out within the memory of man; and on fine mornings, the top of every rail (there were eight-and-forty, as Miss Tox had often counted) was decorated with a pewter-pot.

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhorita Tox habitava uma casinha escura que fora comprimida, em alguma época remota da História da Inglaterra, dentro de um bairro elegante do lado oeste da cidade, onde permanecia à sombra como uma parenta pobre da grande rua da esquina, olhada friamente de cima a baixo por poderosos casarões. Não ficava exatamente num pátio, nem exatamente num terreiro; mas ficava na mais soturna das Ruas-Sem-Saída, tornada ansiosa e macilenta por longínquas batidas duplas à porta. O nome desse retiro, onde a relva brotava entre as frestas do calçamento de pedra, era Princess's Place; e em Princess's Place havia a Princess's Chapel, com um sininho tilintante, onde às vezes chegavam a comparecer vinte e cinco pessoas ao serviço de domingo. Ali também ficava o Princess's Arms, muito frequentado por lacaios esplêndidos. Uma cadeirinha de arruar era guardada dentro da grade em frente ao Princess's Arms, mas jamais saíra dali dentro da memória de quem quer que fosse; e nas belas manhãs, o topo de cada verga da grade (eram quarenta e oito, como a senhorita Tox muitas vezes contara) vinha adornado com uma caneca de estanho.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Além da casa da Srta. Tox, Princess's Place continha outra residência particular. Havia também um par de portões enormes com gigantescas aldravas em forma de cabeça de leão. Nunca eram abertos e acreditava-se que fossem uma entrada abandonada para os estábulos de alguém. De fato, Princess's Place tinha um leve cheiro de estábulo. O quarto dos fundos da Srta. Tox dava para uma fileira de construções onde cavalariços acompanhavam qualquer trabalho com ruídos animados. As roupas mais íntimas dos cocheiros, de suas esposas e famílias geralmente pendiam nas paredes externas como as bandeiras de Macbeth.

A outra residência particular de Princess's Place pertencia a um mordomo aposentado casado com uma ex-governanta. Eles alugavam quartos mobiliados a um cavalheiro solteiro: um major de rosto de madeira e pele azulada, cujos olhos pareciam saltar da cabeça. A Srta. Tox dizia haver nele algo verdadeiramente militar. De vez em quando, trocavam jornais, folhetos e leves sinais de interesse romântico por meio do criado de pele escura do major. A Srta. Tox contentava-se em chamar o homem de nativo sem ligá-lo a qualquer lugar específico do mundo.

Original English Version

There was another private house besides Miss Tox’s in Princess’s Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates, with an immense pair of lion-headed knockers on them, which were never opened by any chance, and were supposed to constitute a disused entrance to somebody’s stables. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls.

At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever.

Tradução Integral em Português

Havia outra casa particular além da da senhorita Tox em Princess's Place: sem falar num imenso Par de portões, com um imenso par de aldravas em forma de cabeça de leão, que nunca por acaso se abriam, e que se supunha constituírem uma entrada em desuso para as cavalariças de alguém. De fato, havia um travo de estrebaria no ar de Princess's Place; e o quarto de dormir da senhorita Tox (que ficava nos fundos) descortinava uma perspectiva das Cocheiras, onde os moços de estrebaria, em qualquer tipo de trabalho que se ocupassem, acompanhavam-se continuamente de ruídos efervescentes; e onde as mais domésticas e íntimas peças de vestuário dos cocheiros, de suas esposas e famílias, costumavam pender, como as bandeiras de Macbeth, nas paredes externas.

Nessa outra casa particular de Princess's Place, ocupada por um mordomo aposentado que se casara com uma governanta, alugavam-se aposentos Mobiliados a um cavalheiro solteiro: a saber, um Major de feições lenhosas e rosto azulado, com os olhos a lhe saltar da cabeça, no qual a senhorita Tox reconhecia, como ela mesma dizia, “algo de tão verdadeiramente militar”; e entre quem e ela própria se efetuava, por intermédio de um criado moreno do Major, um ocasional intercâmbio de jornais e panfletos, e semelhante galanteio platônico - criado esse que a senhorita Tox se contentava plenamente em classificar como um “nativo”, sem lhe associar ideia geográfica alguma.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Talvez entrada e escada alguma fossem menores do que as da casa da Srta. Tox. De cima a baixo, talvez fosse a casinha mais inconveniente e torta da Inglaterra. Mas a Srta. Tox sempre elogiava sua localização. No inverno, havia pouquíssima luz do dia e nunca havia sol. Ar fresco era impossível, e os muros mantinham o trânsito afastado. Mesmo assim, dizia a Srta. Tox, pensem na localização! O major de rosto azul e olhos arregalados dizia o mesmo. Orgulhava-se de Princess's Place e gostava de conduzir as conversas no clube para as pessoas importantes da grande rua da esquina, a fim de poder chamá-las orgulhosamente de vizinhas.

Em resumo, a Srta. Tox e o major de rosto azul acreditavam que Princess's Place precisava apenas de boas relações e sangue nobre, assim como uma pequena parte da sociedade acha que isso basta para muitos seguidores insignificantes de gente importante. O lugar podia ser pobre, mesquinho, gasto, estúpido e triste. Isso não importava. A grande rua da esquina continuava até Princess's Place. Uma crítica áspera que seria aceitável sobre a comum High Holborn tornava-se terrível blasfêmia quando dita sobre Princess's Place.

Original English Version

Perhaps there never was a smaller entry and staircase, than the entry and staircase of Miss Tox’s house. Perhaps, taken altogether, from top to bottom, it was the most inconvenient little house in England, and the crookedest; but then, Miss Tox said, what a situation! There was very little daylight to be got there in the winter: no sun at the best of times: air was out of the question, and traffic was walled out. Still Miss Tox said, think of the situation! So said the blue-faced Major, whose eyes were starting out of his head: who gloried in Princess’s Place: and who delighted to turn the conversation at his club, whenever he could, to something connected with some of the great people in the great street round the corner, that he might have the satisfaction of saying they were his neighbours.

In short, with Miss Tox and the blue-faced Major, it was enough for Princess’s Place - as with a very small fragment of society, it is enough for many a little hanger-on of another sort - to be well connected, and to have genteel blood in its veins. It might be poor, mean, shabby, stupid, dull. No matter. The great street round the corner trailed off into Princess’s Place; and that which of High Holborn would have become a choleric word, spoken of Princess’s Place became flat blasphemy.

Tradução Integral em Português

Talvez jamais tenha havido um vestíbulo e uma escada menores do que o vestíbulo e a escada da casa da senhorita Tox. Talvez, tomada em conjunto, de cima a baixo, fosse a mais incômoda casinha da Inglaterra, e a mais torta; mas, então, dizia a senhorita Tox, que localização! Havia ali muito pouca luz do dia no inverno: nenhum sol na melhor das hipóteses; ar era coisa fora de questão, e o trânsito ficava do lado de fora dos muros. Ainda assim, dizia a senhorita Tox, pense na localização! Assim também dizia o Major de rosto azulado, cujos olhos lhe saltavam da cabeça: que se gloriava de Princess's Place; e que se deliciava em desviar a conversa no clube, sempre que podia, para algo relacionado com alguma das grandes personagens da grande rua da esquina, para ter a satisfação de dizer que eram seus vizinhos.

Em suma, para a senhorita Tox e o Major de rosto azulado, bastava a Princess's Place - como, para um fragmento muito pequeno da sociedade, basta a mais de um pequeno arrivista de outra espécie - estar bem relacionada e ter sangue distinto nas veias. Podia ser pobre, mesquinha, surrada, estúpida, monótona. Não importava. A grande rua da esquina prolongava-se até Princess's Place; e aquilo que, em High Holborn, teria sido uma palavra colérica, dito a respeito de Princess's Place tornava-se rematada blasfêmia.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A casa escura onde a Srta. Tox vivia pertencia a ela. O falecido dono do olho de peixe mostrado em seu medalhão a deixara para ela. Um pequeno retrato dele, com cabelo empoado e rabo de cavalo, pendia de um lado da lareira da sala, equilibrando um suporte de chaleira do outro. A maior parte dos móveis vinha do mesmo período antigo. Incluía um aquecedor de pratos que sempre estendia suas quatro pernas finas e curvas no caminho de alguém e um cravo antiquado decorado ao redor do nome do fabricante com um círculo pintado de ervilhas-de-cheiro. Os visitantes geralmente notavam cheiro de mofo por toda a casa. Em dias quentes, a Srta. Tox fora vista aparentemente escrevendo nas rachaduras das paredes de madeira com a ponta errada de uma pena mergulhada em terebintina.

Original English Version

The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. In any part of the house, visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine.

Tradução Integral em Português

O sombrio casebre habitado pela senhorita Tox era seu; tendo-lhe sido destinado e legado pelo falecido dono do olho peixento do medalhão, cujo retrato em miniatura, com a cabeça empoada e um rabicho, fazia contrapeso ao pega-chaleira nos lados opostos da lareira da sala. A maior parte do mobiliário era da época da cabeça empoada e do rabicho: incluindo um aquecedor de pratos, sempre a definhar e a espichar as suas quatro pernas arqueadas e franzinas no caminho de alguém; e um cravo obsoleto, iluminado em torno do nome do fabricante por uma guirlanda pintada de ervilhas-de-cheiro. Em qualquer parte da casa, as visitas costumavam ter consciência de um mofo reinante; e, em tempo quente, já se vira a senhorita Tox aparentemente a escrever em diversas frestas e fendas do lambri com a ponta errada de uma pena embebida em aguarrás.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O major Bagstock chegara ao que os livros educados chamam de ponto mais alto da vida e seguia ladeira abaixo. Quase não tinha pescoço, possuía maxilares muito rígidos, orelhas longas e pendentes como as de um elefante, além dos olhos e da cor de pele excitados já descritos. Ainda assim, sentia enorme orgulho por despertar o interesse da Srta. Tox. Alimentava sua vaidade com a falsa crença de que ela era uma mulher esplêndida de olho nele. Várias vezes no clube insinuara isso enquanto fazia piadas nas quais o velho Joe Bagstock, o velho Joey Bagstock, o velho J. Bagstock ou algum nome parecido era sempre o tema. A forma mais segura de humor leve do major era tratar o próprio nome com a maior familiaridade.

- Joey B., senhor - costumava dizer o major, agitando a bengala - vale por doze de vocês. Todos estariam melhores com mais alguns membros da família Bagstock entre vocês, senhor. Mesmo agora, o velho Joe não precisaria procurar longe uma esposa se quisesse uma. Mas Joe tem coração duro, senhor. É resistente, senhor, resistente e diabolicamente esperto! Depois de tal declaração, o major respirava com ruído, seu rosto azul ficava roxo e os olhos se esforçavam e saltavam descontroladamente.

Original English Version

Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name.

“Joey B., Sir,” the Major would say, with a flourish of his walking-stick, “is worth a dozen of you. If you had a few more of the Bagstock breed among you, Sir, you’d be none the worse for it. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively.

Tradução Integral em Português

Embora o Major Bagstock houvesse chegado ao que se chama, na literatura polida, o grande meridiano da vida, e prosseguisse sua jornada ladeira abaixo quase sem pescoço, com um par de maxilares muito rígidos, e orelhas compridas e pendentes como as de um elefante, e os olhos e a tez naquele estado de excitação artificial já mencionado, sentia-se prodigiosamente orgulhoso de despertar o interesse da senhorita Tox, e afagava a própria vaidade com a ficção de que ela era uma mulher esplêndida que lhe botara o olho. Isso ele já insinuara diversas vezes no clube: em ligação com pequenas gracejos, dos quais o velho Joe Bagstock, o velho Joey Bagstock, o velho J. Bagstock, o velho Josh Bagstock, ou coisa que o valha, era o perpétuo tema: sendo, por assim dizer, o baluarte e a torre de menagem do humor jovial do Major estar nos termos mais familiares com o próprio nome.

- Joey B., senhor - dizia o Major, brandindo a bengala - , vale por uma dúzia dos senhores. Se tivessem mais uns quantos da raça Bagstock entre vós, senhor, não sairíeis perdendo com isso. O velho Joe, senhor, não precisaria procurar muito para arranjar esposa mesmo agora, se estivesse à espreita; mas ele tem o coração duro, senhor, o Joe - é duro, senhor, duro, e di-abolicamente astuto! - Após tal declaração, ouviam-se sons ofegantes; e o azul do Major aprofundava-se em púrpura, enquanto seus olhos se esbugalhavam e saltavam convulsivamente.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Apesar de elogiar a si mesmo com tanta liberdade, o major era egoísta. Talvez ninguém jamais tivesse sido mais completamente egoísta de coração - ou de estômago, o que pode ser mais exato, pois esse órgão era muito mais desenvolvido nele do que o coração. Não conseguia imaginar ser ignorado ou tratado como insignificante por ninguém. Muito menos podia compreender ser ignorado e tratado como insignificante pela Srta. Tox.

Contudo, a Srta. Tox parecia esquecê-lo pouco a pouco. Começou a esquecê-lo logo depois de descobrir a família Toodle. Continuou esquecendo-o até o batizado. Depois disso, esqueceu-o numa velocidade ainda maior. Algo ou alguém o substituíra como fonte de interesse.

- Bom dia, senhora - disse o major quando encontrou a Srta. Tox em Princess's Place, várias semanas depois das mudanças descritas no capítulo anterior.

- Bom dia, senhor - disse a Srta. Tox com muita frieza.

- Joe Bagstock, senhora - disse o major com sua galanteria habitual - há muito tempo não tem a felicidade de cumprimentá-la à janela. Joe tem sido maltratado, senhora. Seu sol está atrás de uma nuvem.

Original English Version

Notwithstanding his very liberal laudation of himself, however, the Major was selfish. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more entirely selfish person at heart; or at stomach is perhaps a better expression, seeing that he was more decidedly endowed with that latter organ than with the former. He had no idea of being overlooked or slighted by anybody; least of all, had he the remotest comprehension of being overlooked and slighted by Miss Tox.

And yet, Miss Tox, as it appeared, forgot him - gradually forgot him. She began to forget him soon after her discovery of the Toodle family. She continued to forget him up to the time of the christening. She went on forgetting him with compound interest after that. Something or somebody had superseded him as a source of interest.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” said the Major, meeting Miss Tox in Princess’s Place, some weeks after the changes chronicled in the last chapter.

“Good morning, Sir,” said Miss Tox; very coldly.

“Joe Bagstock, Ma’am,” observed the Major, with his usual gallantry, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window, for a considerable period. Joe has been hardly used, Ma’am. His sun has been behind a cloud.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Não obstante o louvor tão liberal que a si mesmo dedicava, contudo, o Major era egoísta. É duvidoso que jamais tenha havido pessoa de coração mais inteiramente egoísta; ou de estômago, talvez seja expressão melhor, visto que ele era mais decididamente dotado deste último órgão do que do primeiro. Não concebia a ideia de ser menosprezado ou desdenhado por quem quer que fosse; muito menos ainda tinha a mais remota compreensão de ser menosprezado e desdenhado pela senhorita Tox.

E, no entanto, a senhorita Tox, ao que parecia, o esquecia - gradualmente o esquecia. Começara a esquecê-lo logo depois de sua descoberta da família Toodle. Continuou a esquecê-lo até a época do batizado. E depois disso foi esquecendo-o com juros compostos. Alguma coisa ou alguém o suplantara como fonte de interesse.

- Bom dia, minha senhora - disse o Major, encontrando a senhorita Tox em Princess's Place, algumas semanas após as mudanças registradas no último capítulo.

- Bom dia, senhor - disse a senhorita Tox; muito friamente.

- Joe Bagstock, minha senhora - observou o Major, com sua galanteria habitual - , não teve a felicidade de lhe fazer uma reverência à sua janela há um período considerável. Joe tem sido maltratado, minha senhora. Seu sol tem estado atrás de uma nuvem.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Srta. Tox inclinou a cabeça, mas com enorme frieza.

- Talvez a estrela brilhante de Joe tenha estado fora da cidade, senhora? - perguntou o major.

- Eu? Fora da cidade? Oh, não, não estive fora - disse a Srta. Tox. - Tenho estado muito ocupada ultimamente. Quase todo o meu tempo é dedicado a alguns amigos muito íntimos. Receio não ter tempo livre nem agora. Bom dia, senhor!

A Srta. Tox afastou-se de Princess's Place com seu passo e porte mais encantadores. O major ficou olhando para ela com o rosto mais azul do que nunca, murmurando e rosnando comentários nada gentis.

- Ora, com os diabos, senhor - disse o major, girando seus olhos de lagosta por Princess's Place e falando ao ar perfumado - seis meses atrás, a mulher adorava o chão em que Josh Bagstock pisava. O que isso significa?

Depois de pensar, o major decidiu que aquilo significava armadilhas para homens, planos e laços. A Srta. Tox estava cavando buracos escondidos. - Mas você não pegará Joe, senhora - disse o major. - J.B. é resistente, senhora, resistente e diabolicamente esperto! Riu desse pensamento pelo resto do dia.

Original English Version

Miss Tox inclined her head; but very coldly indeed.

“Joe’s luminary has been out of town, Ma’am, perhaps,” inquired the Major.

“I? out of town? oh no, I have not been out of town,” said Miss Tox. “I have been much engaged lately. My time is nearly all devoted to some very intimate friends. I am afraid I have none to spare, even now. Good morning, Sir!”

As Miss Tox, with her most fascinating step and carriage, disappeared from Princess’s Place, the Major stood looking after her with a bluer face than ever: muttering and growling some not at all complimentary remarks.

“Why, damme, Sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster eyes round and round Princess’s Place, and apostrophizing its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. What’s the meaning of it?”

The Major decided, after some consideration, that it meant mantraps; that it meant plotting and snaring; that Miss Tox was digging pitfalls. “But you won’t catch Joe, Ma’am,” said the Major. “He’s tough, Ma’am, tough, is J.B. Tough, and de-vilish sly!” over which reflection he chuckled for the rest of the day.

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhorita Tox inclinou a cabeça; mas muito friamente, de fato.

- O astro de Joe esteve fora da cidade, minha senhora, talvez? - indagou o Major.

- Eu? fora da cidade? oh, não, não estive fora da cidade - disse a senhorita Tox. - Tenho andado muito ocupada ultimamente. Meu tempo está quase todo dedicado a certos amigos muito íntimos. Receio não ter nenhum de sobra, mesmo agora. Bom dia, senhor!

Enquanto a senhorita Tox, com seu passo e porte mais fascinantes, desaparecia de Princess's Place, o Major ficou a olhá-la se afastar com o rosto mais azulado do que nunca: murmurando e resmungando observações nada elogiosas.

- Ora, com os diabos, senhor - disse o Major, girando os olhos de lagosta por toda a Princess's Place, e apostrofando o seu ar fragrante - , há seis meses, a mulher amava o chão que Josh Bagstock pisava. Que quer dizer isso?

O Major decidiu, após certa reflexão, que aquilo significava armadilhas; que significava intrigas e ciladas; que a senhorita Tox andava a cavar covis. - Mas a senhora não há de apanhar Joe, minha senhora - disse o Major. - Ele é duro, minha senhora, duro, é o J.B. Duro, e di-abolicamente astuto! - reflexão essa da qual riu com risinhos pelo resto do dia.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Mas, depois que aquele dia e muitos outros passaram, a Srta. Tox continuou sem prestar atenção ao major e nunca pensava nele. Antigamente, às vezes olhava por acaso de uma de suas pequenas janelas escuras e devolvia o cumprimento dele corando. Agora nunca lhe dava oportunidade e não se importava se ele olhava para o outro lado da rua. Outras mudanças também haviam acontecido. De pé à sombra dos próprios aposentos, o major via que a casa da Srta. Tox se tornara recentemente mais elegante. O pequeno canário antigo ganhara uma nova gaiola com arames dourados. Enfeites recortados de cartão e papel coloridos cobriam a lareira e as mesas. Uma ou duas plantas surgiram de repente nas janelas. A Srta. Tox às vezes praticava no cravo, exibindo com orgulho as ervilhas-de-cheiro pintadas sob a Valsa de Copenhague e a Valsa do Pássaro num livro de música copiado por sua própria mão.

Além de tudo isso, havia muito tempo a Srta. Tox se vestia com cuidado e elegância incomuns em roupas de luto leve. Isso ajudou o major a resolver o mistério. Decidiu que ela recebera uma pequena herança e ficara orgulhosa.

Original English Version

But still, when that day and many other days were gone and past, it seemed that Miss Tox took no heed whatever of the Major, and thought nothing at all about him. She had been wont, once upon a time, to look out at one of her little dark windows by accident, and blushingly return the Major’s greeting; but now, she never gave the Major a chance, and cared nothing at all whether he looked over the way or not. Other changes had come to pass too. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying.

Over and above all this, Miss Tox had long been dressed with uncommon care and elegance in slight mourning. But this helped the Major out of his difficulty; and he determined within himself that she had come into a small legacy, and grown proud.

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas, ainda assim, quando aquele dia e muitos outros dias tinham ido e passado, parecia que a senhorita Tox não dava atenção alguma ao Major, e não pensava nele coisa nenhuma. Certa vez, em outros tempos, costumava olhar por acaso por uma de suas janelinhas escuras, e retribuir, corando, o cumprimento do Major; mas agora, jamais dava ao Major uma oportunidade, e nem se importava se ele olhava para o outro lado da rua ou não. Outras mudanças haviam também ocorrido. O Major, de pé à sombra de seus próprios aposentos, conseguia distinguir que um ar de maior garridice recentemente sobreviera à casa da senhorita Tox; que uma nova gaiola de arames dourados fora providenciada para o antigo canarinho; que diversos ornamentos, recortados de cartolinas e papéis coloridos, pareciam adornar o consolo da lareira e as mesas; que uma ou duas plantas de repente haviam brotado nas janelas; que a senhorita Tox de vez em quando praticava no cravo, cuja guirlanda de ervilhas-de-cheiro se exibia sempre ostensivamente, coroada pelas Valsas de Copenhague e do Pássaro num Caderno de Música copiado de próprio punho pela senhorita Tox.

Acima e além de tudo isso, a senhorita Tox andava havia muito trajada com incomum esmero e elegância em luto ligeiro. Mas isso tirou o Major da dificuldade; e ele concluiu consigo mesmo que ela recebera uma pequena herança e ficara orgulhosa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

No dia seguinte àquele em que chegara a essa decisão reconfortante, o major estava tomando café e viu uma aparição tão grandiosa e maravilhosa na pequena sala da Srta. Tox que permaneceu paralisado na cadeira por algum tempo. Depois correu ao aposento seguinte e voltou com um binóculo de ópera de dois canos, estudando a visão atentamente por vários minutos.

- É um bebê, senhor - disse o major, fechando o binóculo - ou pagarei cinquenta mil libras!

O major não conseguia esquecer. Só conseguia assobiar e olhar fixamente com tanta intensidade que seus olhos de antigamente agora pareciam profundos e fundos em comparação. Dia após dia, duas, três ou quatro vezes por semana, o bebê reaparecia. O major continuava olhando e assobiando. Em todos os outros sentidos, estava sozinho em Princess's Place. A Srta. Tox já não se importava com o que ele fazia. Poderia ter sido negro em vez de azul, e isso não faria diferença alguma para ela.

Original English Version

It was on the very next day after he had eased his mind by arriving at this decision, that the Major, sitting at his breakfast, saw an apparition so tremendous and wonderful in Miss Tox’s little drawing-room, that he remained for some time rooted to his chair; then, rushing into the next room, returned with a double-barrelled opera-glass, through which he surveyed it intently for some minutes.

“It’s a Baby, Sir,” said the Major, shutting up the glass again, “for fifty thousand pounds!”

The Major couldn’t forget it. He could do nothing but whistle, and stare to that extent, that his eyes, compared with what they now became, had been in former times quite cavernous and sunken. Day after day, two, three, four times a week, this Baby reappeared. The Major continued to stare and whistle. To all other intents and purposes he was alone in Princess’s Place. Miss Tox had ceased to mind what he did. He might have been black as well as blue, and it would have been of no consequence to her.

Tradução Integral em Português

Foi no dia imediatamente seguinte àquele em que aliviara o espírito chegando a essa conclusão que o Major, sentado ao seu café da manhã, viu uma aparição tão tremenda e maravilhosa na salinha de visitas da senhorita Tox que permaneceu por algum tempo pregado à cadeira; depois, precipitando-se para o cômodo ao lado, voltou com um binóculo de ópera de tubo duplo, através do qual a examinou atentamente por alguns minutos.

- É um Bebê, senhor - disse o Major, fechando de novo o binóculo - , tão certo como cinquenta mil libras!

O Major não conseguia esquecê-lo. Não fazia outra coisa senão assobiar e arregalar os olhos a tal ponto que estes, comparados com o que agora se tornaram, tinham sido em outros tempos bem cavernosos e afundados. Dia após dia, duas, três, quatro vezes por semana, esse Bebê reaparecia. O Major continuava a arregalar os olhos e a assobiar. Para todos os demais efeitos e propósitos, ele estava sozinho em Princess's Place. A senhorita Tox deixara de se importar com o que ele fazia. Ele bem poderia ser negro além de azul, que para ela não teria a menor importância.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Sua determinação era extraordinária. Saía de Princess's Place para buscar o bebê e a ama, voltava com eles, acompanhava-os de volta para casa e montava guarda constante. Pegava o bebê no colo, alimentava-o, brincava com ele e congelava seu jovem sangue com músicas no cravo. Por volta da mesma época, desenvolveu paixão por olhar para certa pulseira e outra paixão por observar a lua durante longos períodos da janela do quarto. Mas, quer olhasse para o sol, a lua, as estrelas ou a pulseira, jamais olhava para o major. O major assobiava, encarava, perguntava-se e movia-se às escondidas pelo aposento, mas nada conseguia entender.

- Você conquistará completamente o coração do meu irmão Paul, e essa é a verdade, minha querida - disse a Sra. Chick certo dia.

A Srta. Tox ficou pálida.

- Ele fica mais parecido com Paul a cada dia - disse a Sra. Chick.

A Srta. Tox não deu resposta falada. Pegou o pequeno Paul nos braços e deixou a fita decorativa dele completamente achatada e mole com seus carinhos.

Original English Version

The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess’s Place to fetch this baby and its nurse, and walked back with them, and walked home with them again, and continually mounted guard over them; and the perseverance with which she nursed it herself, and fed it, and played with it, and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord, was extraordinary. At about this same period too, she was seized with a passion for looking at a certain bracelet; also with a passion for looking at the moon, of which she would take long observations from her chamber window. But whatever she looked at; sun, moon, stars, or bracelet; she looked no more at the Major. And the Major whistled, and stared, and wondered, and dodged about his room, and could make nothing of it.

“You’ll quite win my brother Paul’s heart, and that’s the truth, my dear,” said Mrs Chick, one day.

Miss Tox turned pale.

“He grows more like Paul every day,” said Mrs Chick.

Miss Tox returned no other reply than by taking the little Paul in her arms, and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses.

Tradução Integral em Português

A perseverança com que ela saía de Princess's Place para buscar esse bebê e sua ama, e voltava com eles, e os acompanhava de novo até em casa, e montava guarda sobre eles continuamente; e a perseverança com que ela mesma o embalava, e o alimentava, e brincava com ele, e lhe gelava o sangue jovem com árias ao cravo, era extraordinária. Por essa mesma época, também, ela foi tomada por uma paixão de contemplar certa pulseira; e ainda por uma paixão de contemplar a lua, da qual fazia longas observações da janela do seu quarto. Mas qualquer que fosse a coisa que contemplasse - sol, lua, estrelas ou pulseira - , não contemplava mais o Major. E o Major assobiava, e arregalava os olhos, e se assombrava, e esgueirava-se pelo quarto, e não conseguia entender coisa alguma.

- Você há de conquistar por completo o coração do meu irmão Paul, essa é a verdade, minha querida - disse a senhora Chick, certo dia.

A senhorita Tox empalideceu.

- Ele fica mais parecido com o Paul a cada dia - disse a senhora Chick.

A senhorita Tox não deu outra resposta senão a de tomar o pequeno Paul nos braços e deixar-lhe o laço do gorro perfeitamente achatado e murcho com suas carícias.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- A mãe dele, minha querida - disse a Srta. Tox - que eu conheceria por seu intermédio... ele se parece de alguma forma com ela?

- De modo algum - respondeu Louisa.

- Ela era... era bonita, creio? - perguntou a Srta. Tox com hesitação.

- Bem, a pobre e querida Fanny era interessante - disse a Sra. Chick depois de julgar cuidadosamente a questão. - Certamente interessante. Não tinha aquele ar dominante de superioridade que se esperaria naturalmente encontrar na esposa do meu irmão. Nem possuía a força e a energia mental que um homem assim exige.

A Srta. Tox soltou um suspiro profundo.

- Mas ela era agradável - disse a Sra. Chick. - Extremamente agradável. E tinha boas intenções! Ai, meu Deus, como a pobre Fanny tinha boas intenções!

- Seu anjo! - exclamou a Srta. Tox para o pequeno Paul. - Você é o retrato perfeito do seu papai!

Se o major soubesse quantas esperanças e riscos, planos e suposições repousavam sobre a cabeça daquele bebê, e os visse voando em confusão ao redor da touca enrugada do pequeno Paul, teria realmente ficado de olhos arregalados. Entre eles, reconheceria algumas esperanças ambiciosas pertencentes à Srta. Tox. Então talvez entendesse a natureza do investimento incerto daquela senhora na Firma Dombey.

Original English Version

“His mother, my dear,” said Miss Tox, “whose acquaintance I was to have made through you, does he at all resemble her?”

“Not at all,” returned Louisa

“She was - she was pretty, I believe?” faltered Miss Tox.

“Why, poor dear Fanny was interesting,” said Mrs Chick, after some judicial consideration. “Certainly interesting. She had not that air of commanding superiority which one would somehow expect, almost as a matter of course, to find in my brother’s wife; nor had she that strength and vigour of mind which such a man requires.”

Miss Tox heaved a deep sigh.

“But she was pleasing:” said Mrs Chick: “extremely so. And she meant! - oh, dear, how well poor Fanny meant!”

“You Angel!” cried Miss Tox to little Paul. “You Picture of your own Papa!”

If the Major could have known how many hopes and ventures, what a multitude of plans and speculations, rested on that baby head; and could have seen them hovering, in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder, round the puckered cap of the unconscious little Paul; he might have stared indeed. Then would he have recognised, among the crowd, some few ambitious motes and beams belonging to Miss Tox; then would he perhaps have understood the nature of that lady’s faltering investment in the Dombey Firm.

Tradução Integral em Português

- A mãe dele, minha querida - disse a senhorita Tox - , cujo conhecimento eu deveria ter feito por seu intermédio, ele se parece de algum modo com ela?

- De modo algum - respondeu Louisa.

- Ela era... ela era bonita, creio eu? - balbuciou a senhorita Tox.

- Ora, a pobre e querida Fanny era interessante - disse a senhora Chick, após certa ponderação judiciosa. - Certamente interessante. Não tinha aquele ar de superioridade imperiosa que de algum modo se esperaria, quase como coisa evidente, encontrar na esposa de meu irmão; nem tinha aquela força e vigor de espírito que um homem como ele requer.

A senhorita Tox soltou um profundo suspiro.

- Mas era agradável - disse a senhora Chick - : extremamente. E tinha as melhores intenções!... oh, meu Deus, que boas intenções tinha a pobre Fanny!

- Seu Anjo! - exclamou a senhorita Tox ao pequeno Paul. - Seu Retrato vivo do seu próprio Papai!

Se o Major pudesse saber quantas esperanças e apostas, que multidão de planos e especulações repousavam sobre aquela cabecinha de bebê; e pudesse vê-los a pairar, em toda a sua heterogênea confusão e desordem, em torno do gorro franzido do inconsciente pequeno Paul; talvez tivesse mesmo arregalado os olhos. Então teria reconhecido, em meio à multidão, alguns poucos ciscos e vigas ambiciosos pertencentes à senhorita Tox; então talvez tivesse compreendido a natureza do vacilante investimento daquela dama na Firma Dombey.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Se a própria criança tivesse acordado à noite e visto reflexos fracos dos sonhos alheios sobre ela reunidos ao redor das cortinas do berço, poderia com razão ter ficado assustada. Mas continuou dormindo, sem conhecer as bondosas intenções da Srta. Tox, o espanto do major, as primeiras tristezas da irmã e as visões severas do pai. Não sabia que qualquer lugar da Terra continha um Dombey ou um Filho.

Original English Version

If the child himself could have awakened in the night, and seen, gathered about his cradle-curtains, faint reflections of the dreams that other people had of him, they might have scared him, with good reason. But he slumbered on, alike unconscious of the kind intentions of Miss Tox, the wonder of the Major, the early sorrows of his sister, and the stern visions of his father; and innocent that any spot of earth contained a Dombey or a Son.

Tradução Integral em Português

Se a própria criança pudesse despertar na calada da noite e ver, reunidos em volta das cortinas de seu berço, os débeis reflexos dos sonhos que outros tinham a seu respeito, talvez a assustassem, e com boa razão. Mas ela seguia adormecida, igualmente inconsciente das bondosas intenções da senhorita Tox, do assombro do Major, das precoces tristezas da irmã, e das severas visões do pai; e sem suspeitar que houvesse em qualquer recanto da terra um Dombey ou um Son.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER VIII. Paul’s Further Progress, Growth and Character

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Sob os olhos atentos do Tempo, outro tipo de Major, o sono de Paul mudou gradualmente. Mais luz entrou nele. Sonhos mais claros o perturbaram. Uma multidão crescente de objetos e impressões reuniu-se ao redor de seu descanso. Assim, passou da primeira infância para a infância e tornou-se um Dombey que falava, caminhava e se maravilhava.

Depois que Richards foi demitida e expulsa, o quarto das crianças passou a ser administrado por uma comissão, como às vezes acontece com um departamento público quando nenhuma pessoa forte pode sustentá-lo sozinha. As integrantes eram naturalmente a Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox. Trabalharam com energia tão surpreendente que o major Bagstock recebia todos os dias um novo lembrete de que fora abandonado. Enquanto isso, o Sr. Chick, livre do controle doméstico, lançou-se à vida elegante. Jantou em clubes e cafés, cheirou a fumaça em três ocasiões, foi sozinho ao teatro e, como a Sra. Chick certa vez lhe disse, rompeu todos os laços sociais e deveres morais.

Original English Version

Beneath the watching and attentive eyes of Time - so far another Major - Paul’s slumbers gradually changed. More and more light broke in upon them; distincter and distincter dreams disturbed them; an accumulating crowd of objects and impressions swarmed about his rest; and so he passed from babyhood to childhood, and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey.

On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation.

Tradução Integral em Português

Sob os olhos vigilantes e atentos do Tempo - até então um outro Major - , o sono de Paul foi mudando aos poucos. Cada vez mais luz o penetrava; sonhos cada vez mais nítidos o perturbavam; uma multidão crescente de objetos e impressões fervilhava em torno de seu repouso; e assim ele passou da primeira infância para a meninice, e tornou-se um Dombey que falava, andava e se admirava de tudo.

Com a queda e o banimento de Richards, pode-se dizer que o quarto das crianças foi posto em comissão, como às vezes acontece com uma Repartição Pública quando não se encontra nenhum Atlas individual capaz de sustentá-la. Os Comissários eram, naturalmente, a senhora Chick e a senhorita Tox, que se dedicaram a seus deveres com tão espantoso ardor que o Major Bagstock tinha todos os dias algum novo lembrete de que havia sido abandonado, enquanto o senhor Chick, privado de supervisão doméstica, lançou-se ao mundo alegre, jantava em clubes e cafés, cheirou a fumo em três ocasiões diferentes, foi ao teatro sozinho e, em suma, afrouxou (como a senhora Chick certa vez lhe disse) todo laço social e toda obrigação moral.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Apesar da promessa inicial, toda aquela vigilância e cuidado não conseguiam tornar o pequeno Paul forte. Talvez delicado por natureza, ficou fraco e magro depois da demissão da ama. Por muito tempo, pareceu apenas esperar uma oportunidade de escapar das mãos deles e procurar a mãe perdida. Depois de passar por essa parte perigosa da corrida para a idade adulta, ainda encontrou um caminho extremamente difícil e cheio de obstáculos. Cada novo dente era uma cerca mortal, e cada mancha de sarampo, um muro de pedra. Cada ataque de coqueluche o derrubava, e uma multidão inteira de pequenas doenças passava por cima dele e o esmagava uma após outra, impedindo-o de se levantar. Em vez do sapinho comum, alguma ave de rapina parecia entrar em sua garganta. Até as galinhas pareciam tornar-se selvagens e atacá-lo como tigres, se tinham algo a ver com a doença infantil que leva seu nome.

Original English Version

Yet, in spite of his early promise, all this vigilance and care could not make little Paul a thriving boy. Naturally delicate, perhaps, he pined and wasted after the dismissal of his nurse, and, for a long time, seemed but to wait his opportunity of gliding through their hands, and seeking his lost mother. This dangerous ground in his steeple-chase towards manhood passed, he still found it very rough riding, and was grievously beset by all the obstacles in his course. Every tooth was a break-neck fence, and every pimple in the measles a stone wall to him. He was down in every fit of the hooping-cough, and rolled upon and crushed by a whole field of small diseases, that came trooping on each other’s heels to prevent his getting up again. Some bird of prey got into his throat instead of the thrush; and the very chickens turning ferocious - if they have anything to do with that infant malady to which they lend their name - worried him like tiger-cats.

Tradução Integral em Português

Contudo, apesar de sua promessa precoce, toda essa vigilância e todo esse cuidado não conseguiam fazer do pequeno Paul um menino viçoso. Delicado por natureza, talvez, ele definhava e murchava depois da dispensa de sua ama, e, por muito tempo, pareceu apenas esperar a oportunidade de escapar por entre as mãos de todos e ir em busca da mãe perdida. Vencido esse terreno perigoso em sua corrida de obstáculos rumo à idade adulta, ele ainda achava a cavalgada muito acidentada, e via-se dolorosamente assediado por todos os embaraços de seu caminho. Cada dente era uma cerca de quebrar o pescoço, e cada espinha do sarampo um muro de pedra para ele. Caía a cada acesso de coqueluche, e era atropelado e esmagado por um campo inteiro de pequenas doenças que vinham em bando, umas nos calcanhares das outras, para impedi-lo de se levantar de novo. Alguma ave de rapina entrou-lhe na garganta em vez do sapinho; e as próprias franguinhas, tornando-se ferozes - se é que têm algo a ver com aquele mal infantil a que emprestam o nome - , atormentavam-no como gatos-tigres.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Talvez o frio do batizado de Paul tivesse atingido uma parte sensível de sua natureza que não conseguia se recuperar na sombra fria do pai. Desde aquele dia, foi uma criança infeliz. A Sra. Wickam dizia muitas vezes que nunca vira uma criança querida tão maltratada pela vida.

A Sra. Wickam era esposa de um garçom, posição quase equivalente a ser viúva de qualquer outro homem. Seu pedido para trabalhar para o Sr. Dombey fora aceito porque parecia impossível que tivesse admiradores ou alguém que provavelmente a visitasse. Um ou dois dias depois que Paul foi afastado do peito de forma repentina, ela se tornou sua ama. A Sra. Wickam era uma mulher mansa, de pele clara, cujas sobrancelhas estavam sempre erguidas e cuja cabeça sempre pendia. Estava sempre pronta a sentir pena de si, receber a pena alheia ou sentir pena de qualquer pessoa. Possuía uma capacidade natural surpreendente de ver todos os assuntos da maneira mais triste possível, encontrar exemplos anteriores terríveis e obter enorme consolo ao usar esse talento.

Original English Version

The chill of Paul’s christening had struck home, perhaps to some sensitive part of his nature, which could not recover itself in the cold shade of his father; but he was an unfortunate child from that day. Mrs Wickam often said she never see a dear so put upon.

Mrs Wickam was a waiter’s wife - which would seem equivalent to being any other man’s widow - whose application for an engagement in Mr Dombey’s service had been favourably considered, on account of the apparent impossibility of her having any followers, or anyone to follow; and who, from within a day or two of Paul’s sharp weaning, had been engaged as his nurse. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent.

Tradução Integral em Português

O frio do batizado de Paul havia calado fundo, talvez em alguma parte sensível de sua natureza, que não conseguia recobrar-se à sombra gélida do pai; mas, a partir daquele dia, ele foi uma criança desafortunada. A senhora Wickam dizia com frequência que nunca vira um querido tão maltratado pela sorte.

A senhora Wickam era esposa de um garçom - o que parecia equivaler a ser viúva de qualquer outro homem - , cuja candidatura a um emprego a serviço do senhor Dombey fora acolhida favoravelmente, dada a aparente impossibilidade de que ela tivesse quaisquer pretendentes, ou alguém a segui-la; e que, a um ou dois dias do brusco desmame de Paul, fora contratada como sua ama. A senhora Wickam era uma mulher mansa, de tez clara, com as sobrancelhas sempre erguidas e a cabeça sempre pendida; que estava sempre pronta a ter pena de si mesma, ou a ser objeto de pena, ou a ter pena de quem quer que fosse; e que possuía um surpreendente dom natural de ver todos os assuntos sob a luz mais desolada e lamentável, e de invocar sobre eles precedentes pavorosos, e de extrair o maior dos consolos do exercício desse talento.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Naturalmente, o magnífico conhecimento do Sr. Dombey nunca recebeu nem uma indicação dessa qualidade sombria. Isso teria sido notável, pois ninguém na casa, nem mesmo a Sra. Chick ou a Srta. Tox, ousava sussurrar-lhe que existira a menor razão para preocupação com o pequeno Paul. Ele decidira que a criança precisava naturalmente atravessar uma série regular de pequenas doenças e que, quanto mais cedo o fizesse, melhor. Teria pagado de bom grado condições generosas para livrar Paul delas ou fornecer outra pessoa para sofrer em seu lugar, como alguém escaparia de uma seleção militar azarada. Como isso era impossível, apenas se perguntava com orgulho, de tempos em tempos, o que a Natureza pretendia. Consolava-se pensando que outro marco fora ultrapassado e o grande fim da jornada estava mais próximo. Seu sentimento mais forte, que crescia sem parar à medida que Paul envelhecia, era a impaciência: impaciência pelo futuro em que seus sonhos de importância e grandeza compartilhadas se realizariam triunfalmente.

Original English Version

It is hardly necessary to observe, that no touch of this quality ever reached the magnificent knowledge of Mr Dombey. It would have been remarkable, indeed, if any had; when no one in the house - not even Mrs Chick or Miss Tox - dared ever whisper to him that there had, on any one occasion, been the least reason for uneasiness in reference to little Paul. He had settled, within himself, that the child must necessarily pass through a certain routine of minor maladies, and that the sooner he did so the better. If he could have bought him off, or provided a substitute, as in the case of an unlucky drawing for the militia, he would have been glad to do so, on liberal terms. But as this was not feasible, he merely wondered, in his haughty manner, now and then, what Nature meant by it; and comforted himself with the reflection that there was another milestone passed upon the road, and that the great end of the journey lay so much the nearer. For the feeling uppermost in his mind, now and constantly intensifying, and increasing in it as Paul grew older, was impatience. Impatience for the time to come, when his visions of their united consequence and grandeur would be triumphantly realized.

Tradução Integral em Português

Mal é preciso observar que nenhum vestígio dessa qualidade jamais chegou ao magnífico conhecimento do senhor Dombey. Seria, de fato, notável que algum chegasse, quando ninguém na casa - nem mesmo a senhora Chick ou a senhorita Tox - ousava sequer sussurrar-lhe que houvera, em qualquer ocasião, o menor motivo de inquietação a respeito do pequeno Paul. Assentara consigo mesmo que a criança haveria necessariamente de passar por certa rotina de enfermidades menores, e que quanto antes o fizesse, melhor. Se pudesse comprar-lhe a isenção, ou providenciar um substituto, como no caso de um sorteio infeliz para a milícia, tê-lo-ia feito de bom grado, em termos liberais. Mas, como isso não era viável, ele apenas se perguntava, de quando em quando, à sua maneira altiva, o que a Natureza pretendia com aquilo; e consolava-se com a reflexão de que mais um marco fora ultrapassado na estrada, e de que o grande fim da jornada se achava tanto mais próximo. Pois o sentimento que predominava em seu espírito, agora e sempre mais intenso, e crescendo nele à medida que Paul crescia, era a impaciência. Impaciência pela chegada do tempo em que suas visões de grandeza e consequência unidas se realizariam triunfalmente.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Alguns filósofos dizem que o egoísmo está na raiz de nossos melhores amores e afetos. Desde o início, o filhinho do Sr. Dombey claramente importava para ele como parte de sua própria grandeza, o que era o mesmo que a grandeza de Dombey e Filho. Portanto, seu amor paterno podia ser facilmente rastreado, como muitos edifícios belos e famosos, até uma fundação muito baixa. Ainda assim, amava o filho com todo o amor que possuía. Se havia algum lugar quente em seu coração congelado, o filho o ocupava. Se sua superfície dura podia receber alguma imagem, a imagem do filho estava ali - não principalmente como bebê ou menino, mas como homem adulto, o Filho da Firma. Por isso, o Sr. Dombey queria impacientemente entrar no futuro e atravessar depressa as partes intermediárias da vida do menino. Apesar do amor, sentia pouca ou nenhuma ansiedade por elas. Acreditava que a vida do menino era protegida por magia e que ele necessariamente se tornaria o homem com quem o Sr. Dombey conversava sem parar em pensamento e para quem fazia planos diários como se já existisse.

Original English Version

Some philosophers tell us that selfishness is at the root of our best loves and affections. Mr Dombey’s young child was, from the beginning, so distinctly important to him as a part of his own greatness, or (which is the same thing) of the greatness of Dombey and Son, that there is no doubt his parental affection might have been easily traced, like many a goodly superstructure of fair fame, to a very low foundation. But he loved his son with all the love he had. If there were a warm place in his frosty heart, his son occupied it; if its very hard surface could receive the impression of any image, the image of that son was there; though not so much as an infant, or as a boy, but as a grown man - the “Son” of the Firm. Therefore he was impatient to advance into the future, and to hurry over the intervening passages of his history. Therefore he had little or no anxiety about them, in spite of his love; feeling as if the boy had a charmed life, and must become the man with whom he held such constant communication in his thoughts, and for whom he planned and projected, as for an existing reality, every day.

Tradução Integral em Português

Alguns filósofos nos dizem que o egoísmo está na raiz de nossos melhores amores e afetos. O filhinho do senhor Dombey era, desde o começo, tão distintamente importante para ele como parte de sua própria grandeza, ou (o que é a mesma coisa) da grandeza de Dombey and Son, que não há dúvida de que seu afeto paterno poderia ser facilmente rastreado, como tantas belas construções de boa fama, até um alicerce muito baixo. Mas ele amava o filho com todo o amor de que dispunha. Se havia um lugar cálido em seu coração gelado, o filho o ocupava; se sua superfície durríssima podia receber a impressão de alguma imagem, a imagem daquele filho ali estava; embora não tanto como criança de colo, ou como menino, mas como homem feito - o “Son” da Firma. Por isso estava impaciente para avançar rumo ao futuro, e apressar-se sobre as passagens intermediárias daquela história. Por isso tinha pouca ou nenhuma ansiedade a respeito delas, apesar de seu amor; sentindo como se o menino tivesse uma vida encantada, e devesse converter-se no homem com quem mantinha tão constante comunicação em seus pensamentos, e para quem, todos os dias, planejava e projetava como se fosse uma realidade já existente.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Paul cresceu até ter quase cinco anos. Era um menino bonito, embora seu pequeno rosto parecesse pálido e tristemente pensativo. Isso fazia a Sra. Wickam balançar a cabeça de modo significativo e respirar fundo muitas vezes. Seu temperamento prometia que seria autoritário quando adulto. Também demonstrava uma promissora compreensão da própria importância e do dever adequado de todas as outras pessoas e coisas de servi-lo. Às vezes, era brincalhão e infantil e não tinha natureza mal-humorada. Em outras ocasiões, porém, tinha o estranho hábito antiquado e pensativo de ficar sentado em silêncio numa poltroninha. Então parecia e falava como uma daquelas criaturinhas assustadoras dos contos de fadas que têm cento e cinquenta ou duzentos anos, mas substituem de modo estranho as crianças humanas levadas embora. Essa seriedade precoce muitas vezes o atingia no quarto das crianças. Às vezes caía nela de repente enquanto brincava com Florence ou fingia conduzir a Srta. Tox como um único cavalo, dizendo estar cansado. Mas acontecia com maior certeza quando sua pequena cadeira era levada ao aposento do pai e ele se sentava com o Sr. Dombey junto ao fogo depois do jantar. Eram o par mais estranho já iluminado pelo fogo. O Sr. Dombey sentava-se ereto e solene, olhando as chamas. Sua pequena cópia, com rosto antigo, contemplava a distância vermelha com a atenção fixa de um sábio. O Sr. Dombey examinava planos comerciais complicados, enquanto a pequena cópia examinava só Deus sabia que ideias estranhas, pensamentos incompletos e perguntas errantes. O Sr. Dombey era rígido pelas roupas finas e pelo orgulho; a pequena cópia era rígida por herança e imitação inconsciente. Eram extremamente parecidos e, ainda assim, completamente diferentes.

Original English Version

Thus Paul grew to be nearly five years old. He was a pretty little fellow; though there was something wan and wistful in his small face, that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam’s head, and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam’s breath. His temper gave abundant promise of being imperious in after-life; and he had as hopeful an apprehension of his own importance, and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it, as heart could desire. He was childish and sportive enough at times, and not of a sullen disposition; but he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful way, at other times, of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair, when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales, who, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age, fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted. He would frequently be stricken with this precocious mood upstairs in the nursery; and would sometimes lapse into it suddenly, exclaiming that he was tired: even while playing with Florence, or driving Miss Tox in single harness. But at no time did he fall into it so surely, as when, his little chair being carried down into his father’s room, he sat there with him after dinner, by the fire. They were the strangest pair at such a time that ever firelight shone upon. Mr Dombey so erect and solemn, gazing at the glare; his little image, with an old, old face, peering into the red perspective with the fixed and rapt attention of a sage. Mr Dombey entertaining complicated worldly schemes and plans; the little image entertaining Heaven knows what wild fancies, half-formed thoughts, and wandering speculations. Mr Dombey stiff with starch and arrogance; the little image by inheritance, and in unconscious imitation. The two so very much alike, and yet so monstrously contrasted.

Tradução Integral em Português

Assim Paul chegou aos quase cinco anos de idade. Era um lindo menininho; embora houvesse algo pálido e melancólico em seu rostinho, que dava ensejo a muitos meneios significativos da cabeça da senhora Wickam, e a muitas inspirações prolongadas do peito da senhora Wickam. Seu temperamento prometia abundantemente ser imperioso na vida adulta; e ele tinha uma noção tão promissora da própria importância, e da justa subserviência de todas as demais coisas e pessoas a ela, quanto se poderia desejar. Era bastante infantil e brincalhão às vezes, e não de índole taciturna; mas tinha, em outras ocasiões, um jeito estranho, antiquado e pensativo de ficar cismando em sua poltrona em miniatura, quando parecia (e falava) como um daqueles terríveis Seres pequeninos dos contos de fadas que, aos cento e cinquenta ou duzentos anos de idade, representam fantasticamente as crianças por quem foram trocados. Muitas vezes esse humor precoce o acometia lá em cima, no quarto das crianças; e às vezes ele mergulhava nele de repente, exclamando que estava cansado: mesmo enquanto brincava com Florence, ou conduzia a senhorita Tox atrelada sozinha à sua carruagem. Mas em nenhum momento caía nele com tanta certeza como quando, levada sua cadeirinha para o quarto do pai, ficava sentado ali com ele depois do jantar, junto ao fogo. Formavam, em tais ocasiões, o par mais estranho sobre o qual a luz da lareira jamais brilhou. O senhor Dombey tão ereto e solene, contemplando o clarão; sua imagenzinha, com um rosto velho, velhíssimo, perscrutando a rubra perspectiva com a atenção fixa e absorta de um sábio. O senhor Dombey entretido em complicados esquemas e planos mundanos; a imagenzinha entretida sabe Deus em que fantasias desvairadas, pensamentos meio formados e especulações errantes. O senhor Dombey enrijecido de goma e de arrogância; a imagenzinha por herança, e em inconsciente imitação. Os dois tão parecidos, e no entanto tão monstruosamente contrastantes.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Numa dessas ocasiões, ambos permaneceram inteiramente calados por muito tempo. O Sr. Dombey só sabia que a criança estava acordada porque às vezes olhava para o olho de Paul, onde o fogo brilhante cintilava como uma joia. Então o pequeno Paul rompeu o silêncio:

- Papai! O que é dinheiro?

A pergunta repentina se relacionava tão diretamente ao que o Sr. Dombey estivera pensando que o deixou completamente confuso.

- O que é dinheiro, Paul? - respondeu ele. - Dinheiro?

- Sim - disse a criança, colocando as mãos nos braços da pequena cadeira e virando o rosto de aparência antiga para o Sr. Dombey. - O que é dinheiro?

O Sr. Dombey achou a pergunta difícil. Queria dar uma explicação usando termos como meio de troca, moeda, perda de valor da moeda, papel-moeda, barras de ouro e prata, taxas de câmbio, valor de mercado dos metais preciosos e assim por diante. Mas olhou para a pequena cadeira e viu quão abaixo dele ela estava. Então respondeu: - Ouro, prata e cobre. Guinéus, xelins e moedas de meio penny. Você sabe o que são?

Original English Version

On one of these occasions, when they had both been perfectly quiet for a long time, and Mr Dombey only knew that the child was awake by occasionally glancing at his eye, where the bright fire was sparkling like a jewel, little Paul broke silence thus:

“Papa! what’s money?”

The abrupt question had such immediate reference to the subject of Mr Dombey’s thoughts, that Mr Dombey was quite disconcerted.

“What is money, Paul?” he answered. “Money?”

“Yes,” said the child, laying his hands upon the elbows of his little chair, and turning the old face up towards Mr Dombey’s; “what is money?”

Mr Dombey was in a difficulty. He would have liked to give him some explanation involving the terms circulating-medium, currency, depreciation of currency, paper, bullion, rates of exchange, value of precious metals in the market, and so forth; but looking down at the little chair, and seeing what a long way down it was, he answered: “Gold, and silver, and copper. Guineas, shillings, half-pence. You know what they are?”

Tradução Integral em Português

Numa dessas ocasiões, quando ambos haviam ficado perfeitamente quietos por longo tempo, e o senhor Dombey só sabia que a criança estava acordada por lançar de quando em quando um olhar a seus olhos, onde o fogo vivo cintilava como uma joia, o pequeno Paul quebrou o silêncio da seguinte maneira:

- Papai! o que é dinheiro?

A pergunta abrupta tinha tão imediata relação com o assunto dos pensamentos do senhor Dombey que o senhor Dombey ficou inteiramente desconcertado.

- O que é dinheiro, Paul? - respondeu ele. - Dinheiro?

- Sim - disse a criança, pousando as mãos nos braços de sua cadeirinha e virando o rosto velho para cima, na direção do senhor Dombey. - O que é dinheiro?

O senhor Dombey viu-se numa dificuldade. Teria gostado de dar-lhe alguma explicação que envolvesse os termos meio circulante, moeda corrente, depreciação da moeda, papel-moeda, metal amoedado, taxas de câmbio, valor dos metais preciosos no mercado, e assim por diante; mas, baixando os olhos para a cadeirinha, e vendo que ela ficava lá embaixo, bem longe, respondeu: - Ouro, prata e cobre. Guinéus, xelins, meios-pêni. Você sabe o que são?

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Oh, sim, sei o que são - disse Paul. - Não é isso que quero dizer, papai. Quero dizer: afinal, o que é dinheiro de verdade?

Céus e terra, como seu rosto parecia velho quando ele o ergueu novamente para o pai!

- Afinal, o que é dinheiro? - disse o Sr. Dombey. Ele afastou um pouco a cadeira para poder encarar, com puro espanto, a pequena criatura atrevida que fizera tal pergunta.

- Quero dizer, papai, o que ele pode fazer? - respondeu Paul. Cruzou os braços, embora mal fossem compridos o bastante, e olhou para o fogo, depois para o pai, então para o fogo e para ele outra vez.

O Sr. Dombey levou a cadeira de volta ao lugar anterior e deu tapinhas na cabeça de Paul. - Você entenderá melhor mais tarde, meu rapaz - disse ele. - O dinheiro, Paul, pode fazer qualquer coisa. Enquanto falava, pegou a mãozinha e bateu-a suavemente contra uma das suas.

Original English Version

“Oh yes, I know what they are,” said Paul. “I don’t mean that, Papa. I mean what’s money after all?”

Heaven and Earth, how old his face was as he turned it up again towards his father’s!

“What is money after all!” said Mr Dombey, backing his chair a little, that he might the better gaze in sheer amazement at the presumptuous atom that propounded such an inquiry.

“I mean, Papa, what can it do?” returned Paul, folding his arms (they were hardly long enough to fold), and looking at the fire, and up at him, and at the fire, and up at him again.

Mr Dombey drew his chair back to its former place, and patted him on the head. “You’ll know better by-and-by, my man,” he said. “Money, Paul, can do anything.” He took hold of the little hand, and beat it softly against one of his own, as he said so.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah, sim, eu sei o que são - disse Paul. - Não quero dizer isso, papai. Quero dizer: o que é dinheiro, afinal?

Céus e Terra, como estava velho o seu rosto quando o ergueu de novo para o do pai!

- O que é dinheiro, afinal! - disse o senhor Dombey, recuando um pouco a cadeira, para melhor poder fitar com puro assombro o átomo presunçoso que formulava tal indagação.

- Quero dizer, papai, o que ele pode fazer? - retomou Paul, cruzando os braços (mal eram compridos o bastante para cruzar), e olhando para o fogo, e para cima, para ele, e para o fogo, e de novo para cima, para ele.

O senhor Dombey puxou a cadeira de volta ao lugar anterior e deu-lhe uns tapinhas na cabeça. - Você vai entender melhor com o tempo, meu rapaz - disse ele. - Dinheiro, Paul, pode fazer qualquer coisa. - Tomou a mãozinha e bateu-a de leve contra uma das suas, ao dizê-lo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Mas Paul soltou a mão assim que pôde. Esfregou-a suavemente de um lado para o outro no braço da cadeira, como se sua inteligência estivesse na palma e ele a estivesse afiando. Depois tornou a olhar para o fogo, como se este o tivesse aconselhado e lhe dado a deixa, e, após uma breve pausa, repetiu:

- Qualquer coisa, papai?

- Sim. Quase qualquer coisa - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Qualquer coisa quer dizer tudo, não é, papai? - perguntou o filho, sem notar ou talvez sem entender a ressalva.

- Inclui tudo, sim - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Então por que o dinheiro não salvou minha mamãe? - respondeu a criança. - Ele não é cruel, é?

- Cruel! - disse o Sr. Dombey, ajeitando a gravata e parecendo ofendido com a ideia. - Não. Uma coisa boa não pode ser cruel.

- Se é uma coisa boa e pode fazer qualquer coisa - disse o menino pensativo, voltando a olhar para o fogo - , eu me pergunto por que não salvou minha mamãe.

Original English Version

But Paul got his hand free as soon as he could; and rubbing it gently to and fro on the elbow of his chair, as if his wit were in the palm, and he were sharpening it - and looking at the fire again, as though the fire had been his adviser and prompter - repeated, after a short pause:

“Anything, Papa?”

“Yes. Anything - almost,” said Mr Dombey.

“Anything means everything, don’t it, Papa?” asked his son: not observing, or possibly not understanding, the qualification.

“It includes it: yes,” said Mr Dombey.

“Why didn’t money save me my Mama?” returned the child. “It isn’t cruel, is it?”

“Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, settling his neckcloth, and seeming to resent the idea. “No. A good thing can’t be cruel.”

“If it’s a good thing, and can do anything,” said the little fellow, thoughtfully, as he looked back at the fire, “I wonder why it didn’t save me my Mama.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas Paul livrou a mão assim que pôde; e, esfregando-a suavemente para lá e para cá no braço da cadeira, como se tivesse a inteligência na palma e a estivesse afiando - e olhando de novo para o fogo, como se o fogo fosse seu conselheiro e inspirador - , repetiu, após breve pausa:

- Qualquer coisa, papai?

- Sim. Qualquer coisa... quase - disse o senhor Dombey.

- Qualquer coisa quer dizer tudo, não é, papai? - perguntou o filho: não notando, ou possivelmente não entendendo, a ressalva.

- Inclui isso: sim - disse o senhor Dombey.

- Por que o dinheiro não salvou a minha mamãe? - retomou a criança. - Ele não é cruel, é?

- Cruel! - disse o senhor Dombey, ajeitando o lenço do pescoço, e parecendo ressentir-se da ideia. - Não. Uma coisa boa não pode ser cruel.

- Se é uma coisa boa, e pode fazer qualquer coisa - disse o menininho, pensativo, enquanto tornava a olhar para o fogo - , eu me pergunto por que não salvou a minha mamãe.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Desta vez ele não fez a pergunta ao pai. Talvez, com a rápida percepção de uma criança, tivesse visto que ela já deixara o pai desconfortável. Mas repetiu o pensamento em voz alta, como se fosse antigo e o tivesse perturbado muito. Ficou sentado com o queixo apoiado na mão, ainda pensando e procurando uma explicação no fogo.

Original English Version

He didn’t ask the question of his father this time. Perhaps he had seen, with a child’s quickness, that it had already made his father uncomfortable. But he repeated the thought aloud, as if it were quite an old one to him, and had troubled him very much; and sat with his chin resting on his hand, still cogitating and looking for an explanation in the fire.

Tradução Integral em Português

Desta vez não dirigiu a pergunta ao pai. Talvez tivesse percebido, com a prontidão de uma criança, que ela já havia deixado o pai constrangido. Mas repetiu o pensamento em voz alta, como se ele já fosse bem antigo para si, e o houvesse atormentado muitíssimo; e ficou sentado, com o queixo apoiado na mão, ainda cismando e buscando uma explicação no fogo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O Sr. Dombey se recuperou da surpresa, e até do alarme, pois aquela era a primeira vez que a criança lhe falava da mãe, embora os dois se sentassem juntos daquela maneira noite após noite. Explicou que o dinheiro era uma força muito poderosa e jamais devia ser desprezado, mas não conseguia manter vivas as pessoas cuja hora de morrer havia chegado. Infelizmente, todos tinham de morrer, mesmo na City e por mais ricos que fossem. Porém, o dinheiro fazia com que nos honrassem, temessem, respeitassem, procurassem e admirassem, e nos tornava poderosos e gloriosos aos olhos de todos. Muitas vezes também podia adiar a morte por bastante tempo. Por exemplo, garantira à mamãe de Paul os serviços do Sr. Pilkins, dos quais o próprio Paul se beneficiara muitas vezes, além dos serviços do grande doutor Parker Peps, que Paul nunca conhecera. O dinheiro podia fazer tudo o que fosse possível fazer. O Sr. Dombey ensinou isso e muito mais do mesmo tipo ao filho. Paul ouviu com atenção e pareceu compreender a maior parte.

Original English Version

Mr Dombey having recovered from his surprise, not to say his alarm (for it was the very first occasion on which the child had ever broached the subject of his mother to him, though he had had him sitting by his side, in this same manner, evening after evening), expounded to him how that money, though a very potent spirit, never to be disparaged on any account whatever, could not keep people alive whose time was come to die; and how that we must all die, unfortunately, even in the City, though we were never so rich. But how that money caused us to be honoured, feared, respected, courted, and admired, and made us powerful and glorious in the eyes of all men; and how that it could, very often, even keep off death, for a long time together. How, for example, it had secured to his Mama the services of Mr Pilkins, by which he, Paul, had often profited himself; likewise of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom he had never known. And how it could do all, that could be done. This, with more to the same purpose, Mr Dombey instilled into the mind of his son, who listened attentively, and seemed to understand the greater part of what was said to him.

Tradução Integral em Português

O senhor Dombey, recobrado da surpresa, para não dizer do sobressalto (pois era a primeira vez que a criança lhe tocava no assunto da mãe, embora o houvesse tido a seu lado, dessa mesma maneira, noite após noite), explicou-lhe como o dinheiro, embora um espírito muito poderoso, jamais a ser menosprezado sob pretexto algum, não podia manter vivas as pessoas cuja hora de morrer havia chegado; e como todos nós devemos, infelizmente, morrer, mesmo na City, por mais ricos que sejamos. Mas como o dinheiro faz com que sejamos honrados, temidos, respeitados, cortejados e admirados, e nos torna poderosos e gloriosos aos olhos de todos os homens; e como muitas vezes ele pode, inclusive, manter a morte afastada por longo tempo. Como, por exemplo, garantira à sua mamãe os serviços do senhor Pilkins, dos quais ele próprio, Paul, muitas vezes se beneficiara; e também os do grande Doutor Parker Peps, que ele nunca conhecera. E como podia fazer tudo o que se podia fazer. Isto, com mais argumentos no mesmo sentido, o senhor Dombey incutiu no espírito do filho, que escutava atentamente, e parecia compreender a maior parte do que lhe era dito.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Também não pode me deixar forte e completamente saudável, papai, pode? - perguntou Paul após um breve silêncio, esfregando as mãozinhas.

- Mas você é forte e completamente saudável - respondeu o Sr. Dombey. - Não é?

Ah, como parecia velho o rosto que se ergueu de novo, com uma expressão meio triste e meio maliciosa!

- Você é tão forte e saudável quanto as criancinhas costumam ser, não é? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Florence é mais velha do que eu, mas sei que não sou tão forte nem tão saudável quanto ela - respondeu a criança. - E acredito que, quando Florence era pequena como eu, conseguia brincar por muito mais tempo sem se cansar. Às vezes fico tão cansado - disse o pequeno Paul, aquecendo as mãos e olhando entre as barras da lareira como se ali ocorresse um fantasmagórico teatro de bonecos - , e meus ossos doem tanto - Wickam diz que são meus ossos - que não sei o que fazer.

Original English Version

“It can’t make me strong and quite well, either, Papa; can it?” asked Paul, after a short silence; rubbing his tiny hands.

“Why, you are strong and quite well,” returned Mr Dombey. “Are you not?”

Oh! the age of the face that was turned up again, with an expression, half of melancholy, half of slyness, on it!

“You are as strong and well as such little people usually are? Eh?” said Mr Dombey.

“Florence is older than I am, but I’m not as strong and well as Florence, “I know,” returned the child; “and I believe that when Florence was as little as me, she could play a great deal longer at a time without tiring herself. I am so tired sometimes,” said little Paul, warming his hands, and looking in between the bars of the grate, as if some ghostly puppet-show were performing there, “and my bones ache so (Wickam says it’s my bones), that I don’t know what to do.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ele também não pode me deixar forte e bem de saúde, pode, papai? - perguntou Paul, após um breve silêncio, esfregando as mãozinhas.

- Ora, você é forte e bem de saúde - retorquiu o senhor Dombey. - Não é?

Oh! a velhice do rosto que se ergueu de novo, com uma expressão meio melancólica, meio manhosa!

- Você é tão forte e sadio quanto costumam ser as criancinhas assim? Hein? - disse o senhor Dombey.

- Florence é mais velha do que eu, mas eu não sou tão forte e sadio quanto Florence, eu sei - retomou a criança. - E acredito que, quando Florence era pequenina como eu, conseguia brincar muito mais tempo seguido sem se cansar. Eu fico tão cansado às vezes - disse o pequeno Paul, aquecendo as mãos e olhando por entre as barras da grelha, como se algum espectral teatro de marionetes ali se apresentasse - , e os meus ossos doem tanto (a Wickam diz que são os meus ossos), que não sei o que fazer.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah, mas isso acontece à noite - disse o Sr. Dombey, aproximando sua cadeira da do filho e pousando suavemente a mão nas costas do menino. - As criancinhas devem estar cansadas à noite, pois assim dormem bem.

- Ah, não é à noite, papai - respondeu a criança. - É durante o dia. Eu me deito no colo de Florence, e ela canta para mim. À noite sonho com coisas tão cu-ri-o-sas!

Então continuou aquecendo as mãos e pensando naqueles sonhos, como um velho ou um jovem duende.

O Sr. Dombey estava tão espantado, desconfortável e sem saber como continuar a conversa que só conseguiu ficar sentado olhando para o filho à luz do fogo, com a mão apoiada nas costas do menino como se uma força magnética a prendesse ali. Certa vez estendeu a outra mão e virou por um instante o rosto pensativo para o seu. Mas, assim que o soltou, o rosto voltou-se para o fogo e permaneceu dirigido às chamas tremeluzentes até a ama aparecer para chamar Paul para a cama.

Original English Version

“Ay! But that’s at night,” said Mr Dombey, drawing his own chair closer to his son’s, and laying his hand gently on his back; “little people should be tired at night, for then they sleep well.”

“Oh, it’s not at night, Papa,” returned the child, “it’s in the day; and I lie down in Florence’s lap, and she sings to me. At night I dream about such cu-ri-ous things!”

And he went on, warming his hands again, and thinking about them, like an old man or a young goblin.

Mr Dombey was so astonished, and so uncomfortable, and so perfectly at a loss how to pursue the conversation, that he could only sit looking at his son by the light of the fire, with his hand resting on his back, as if it were detained there by some magnetic attraction. Once he advanced his other hand, and turned the contemplative face towards his own for a moment. But it sought the fire again as soon as he released it; and remained, addressed towards the flickering blaze, until the nurse appeared, to summon him to bed.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ah! Mas isso é à noite - disse o senhor Dombey, aproximando a própria cadeira da do filho e pousando-lhe a mão de leve nas costas. - As criancinhas devem ficar cansadas à noite, pois assim dormem bem.

- Oh, não é à noite, papai - retomou a criança - , é de dia; e eu me deito no colo de Florence, e ela canta para mim. À noite eu sonho com coisas tão cu-ri-o-sas!

E prosseguiu, aquecendo de novo as mãos e cismando a respeito delas, como um velho ou um jovem duende.

O senhor Dombey ficou tão pasmo, e tão constrangido, e tão completamente sem saber como levar adiante a conversa, que só conseguia ficar sentado olhando para o filho à luz do fogo, com a mão pousada em suas costas, como se ali retida por alguma atração magnética. Uma vez adiantou a outra mão e virou por um momento o rosto contemplativo na direção do seu. Mas ele tornou a buscar o fogo assim que o soltou; e permaneceu, voltado para as chamas trêmulas, até que a ama surgiu, para chamá-lo à cama.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Quero que Florence venha me buscar - disse Paul.

- O senhor não vem com sua pobre ama Wickam, mestre Paul? - perguntou a ama com grande tristeza.

- Não, não vou - respondeu Paul, acomodando-se de novo na poltrona como o dono da casa.

A Sra. Wickam invocou uma bênção sobre a inocência dele e se retirou. Logo Florence apareceu em seu lugar. A criança levantou-se imediatamente, com súbita energia e vivacidade. Ao erguer o rosto para desejar boa noite ao pai, parecia tão mais alegre, jovem e infantil que o Sr. Dombey se sentiu muito tranquilizado pela mudança e também ficou espantado com ela.

Original English Version

“I want Florence to come for me,” said Paul.

“Won’t you come with your poor Nurse Wickam, Master Paul?” inquired that attendant, with great pathos.

“No, I won’t,” replied Paul, composing himself in his arm-chair again, like the master of the house.

Invoking a blessing upon his innocence, Mrs Wickam withdrew, and presently Florence appeared in her stead. The child immediately started up with sudden readiness and animation, and raised towards his father in bidding him good-night, a countenance so much brighter, so much younger, and so much more child-like altogether, that Mr Dombey, while he felt greatly reassured by the change, was quite amazed at it.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Quero que Florence venha me buscar - disse Paul.

- Não quer vir com a sua pobre Ama Wickam, senhorzinho Paul? - indagou aquela criada, com grande patético.

- Não, não quero - respondeu Paul, tornando a acomodar-se em sua poltrona, como o senhor da casa.

Invocando uma bênção sobre a inocência dele, a senhora Wickam retirou-se, e logo Florence surgiu em seu lugar. A criança ergueu-se no mesmo instante com súbita prontidão e animação, e levantou para o pai, ao dar-lhe boa-noite, um semblante tanto mais radiante, tanto mais jovem e, no conjunto, tanto mais infantil, que o senhor Dombey, embora muito reconfortado com a mudança, ficou inteiramente assombrado com ela.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Depois que os dois saíram juntos da sala, o Sr. Dombey pensou ter ouvido uma voz suave cantando. Lembrando que Paul dissera que a irmã cantava para ele, ficou curioso, abriu a porta e os escutou e observou. Florence subia com esforço a grande, larga e vazia escadaria, levando Paul nos braços. A cabeça dele repousava em seu ombro, e um braço estava solto ao redor de seu pescoço. Continuaram subindo devagar enquanto ela cantava o caminho inteiro e Paul às vezes murmurava um fraco acompanhamento. O Sr. Dombey observou-os até chegarem ao alto - não sem parar para descansar - e desaparecerem de vista. Continuou olhando para cima até que o fraco luar, brilhando tristemente pela claraboia escura, o fez voltar ao quarto.

A Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox foram convocadas para um conselho durante o jantar do dia seguinte. Quando a mesa foi retirada, o Sr. Dombey abriu a discussão exigindo saber, com franqueza e sem esconder nada, se havia algo de errado com Paul e o que o Sr. Pilkins dissera a respeito dele.

Original English Version

After they had left the room together, he thought he heard a soft voice singing; and remembering that Paul had said his sister sung to him, he had the curiosity to open the door and listen, and look after them. She was toiling up the great, wide, vacant staircase, with him in her arms; his head was lying on her shoulder, one of his arms thrown negligently round her neck. So they went, toiling up; she singing all the way, and Paul sometimes crooning out a feeble accompaniment. Mr Dombey looked after them until they reached the top of the staircase - not without halting to rest by the way - and passed out of his sight; and then he still stood gazing upwards, until the dull rays of the moon, glimmering in a melancholy manner through the dim skylight, sent him back to his room.

Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed, Mr Dombey opened the proceedings by requiring to be informed, without any gloss or reservation, whether there was anything the matter with Paul, and what Mr Pilkins said about him.

Tradução Integral em Português

Depois que eles saíram juntos do quarto, pareceu-lhe ouvir uma voz suave cantando; e, lembrando-se de que Paul dissera que a irmã cantava para ele, teve a curiosidade de abrir a porta e escutar, e observá-los. Ela subia com esforço a grande, larga e deserta escadaria, com ele nos braços; a cabeça dele repousava-lhe no ombro, um dos braços lançado com desleixo em torno de seu pescoço. Assim iam, subindo com esforço; ela cantando o tempo todo, e Paul às vezes cantarolando um débil acompanhamento. O senhor Dombey seguiu-os com os olhos até que alcançaram o alto da escadaria - não sem parar para descansar pelo caminho - e sumiram de sua vista; e então permaneceu ainda a fitar as alturas, até que os raios baços da lua, bruxuleando de maneira melancólica através da clarabóia sombria, o fizeram voltar ao quarto.

A senhora Chick e a senhorita Tox foram convocadas a conselho no jantar do dia seguinte; e, retirada a toalha, o senhor Dombey abriu os trabalhos exigindo ser informado, sem qualquer rodeio ou reserva, se havia algo de errado com Paul, e o que o senhor Pilkins dizia a respeito dele.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Pois a criança não é tão robusta quanto eu gostaria - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Meu querido Paul - respondeu a Sra. Chick - , com seu excelente discernimento de sempre, que tenho a fraqueza de invejar toda vez que estou com você - e acredito que a Srta. Tox também -

- Ah, minha querida! - disse a Srta. Tox suavemente. - Como poderia ser diferente? Embora seja ousado aspirar a tal nível, se a ave da noite puder... mas não incomodarei o Sr. Dombey com esse pensamento. Trata-se apenas do bulbul.

O Sr. Dombey inclinou a cabeça com respeito solene, reconhecendo os bulbuls como uma instituição antiga.

- Com seu excelente discernimento de sempre, meu querido Paul - continuou a Sra. Chick - , você encontrou imediatamente o ponto principal. Nosso querido menino é tão robusto quanto poderíamos desejar. A verdade é que sua mente é demais para ele. Sua alma é grande demais para o corpo. E a maneira como essa criança querida fala! - disse a Sra. Chick, balançando a cabeça. - Ninguém acreditaria. Lucretia, pense no que ele disse ainda ontem sobre funerais!

Original English Version

“For the child is hardly,” said Mr Dombey, “as stout as I could wish.”

“My dear Paul,” returned Mrs Chick, “with your usual happy discrimination, which I am weak enough to envy you, every time I am in your company; and so I think is Miss Tox.”

“Oh my dear!” said Miss Tox, softly, “how could it be otherwise? Presumptuous as it is to aspire to such a level; still, if the bird of night may - but I’ll not trouble Mr Dombey with the sentiment. It merely relates to the Bulbul.”

Mr Dombey bent his head in stately recognition of the Bulbuls as an old-established body.

“With your usual happy discrimination, my dear Paul,” resumed Mrs Chick, “you have hit the point at once. Our darling is altogether as stout as we could wish. The fact is, that his mind is too much for him. His soul is a great deal too large for his frame. I am sure the way in which that dear child talks!” said Mrs Chick, shaking her head; “no one would believe. His expressions, Lucretia, only yesterday upon the subject of Funerals!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Pois a criança não está - disse o senhor Dombey - tão robusta quanto eu gostaria.

- Meu caro Paul - retomou a senhora Chick - , com o seu costumeiro e feliz discernimento, que sou fraca o bastante para invejar em você toda vez que estou em sua companhia; e assim também, creio eu, a senhorita Tox.

- Oh, minha querida! - disse a senhorita Tox, com brandura - , como poderia ser de outro modo? Por mais presunçoso que seja aspirar a tal nível; ainda assim, se à ave da noite é dado... mas não incomodarei o senhor Dombey com o pensamento. Refere-se apenas ao Bulbul.

O senhor Dombey inclinou a cabeça em majestoso reconhecimento dos Bulbuls como corporação de antiga tradição.

- Com o seu costumeiro e feliz discernimento, meu caro Paul - prosseguiu a senhora Chick - , você acertou logo no ponto. Nosso querido está de fato tão robusto quanto poderíamos desejar. A verdade é que a mente dele é grande demais para ele. A alma dele é excessivamente grande para a sua estrutura. Estou certa de que a maneira como aquela querida criança fala! - disse a senhora Chick, meneando a cabeça. - Ninguém acreditaria. As expressões dele, Lucretia, ainda ontem, sobre o assunto dos Enterros!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Receio - disse o Sr. Dombey, interrompendo-a com irritação - que algumas daquelas pessoas lá em cima sugiram assuntos impróprios à criança. Ontem à noite ele me falou de seus... de seus ossos - disse o Sr. Dombey, enfatizando a palavra com raiva. - Que direito alguém tem de se ocupar dos... dos ossos de meu filho? Suponho que ele não seja um esqueleto vivo.

- Muito longe disso - disse a Sra. Chick com uma expressão indescritível.

- Espero que não - respondeu o irmão. - E funerais outra vez! Quem fala de funerais com a criança? Creio que não somos agentes funerários, acompanhantes de enterro nem coveiros.

- Muito longe disso - interrompeu a Sra. Chick, com a mesma expressão profunda de antes.

- Então quem põe essas ideias na cabeça dele? - disse o Sr. Dombey. - Ontem à noite fiquei realmente chocado e alarmado. Quem põe essas coisas na cabeça dele, Louisa?

- Meu querido Paul - disse a Sra. Chick após um momento de silêncio - , não adianta perguntar. Direi com toda sinceridade que não considero Wickam uma pessoa de espírito muito alegre, ou o que se poderia chamar de uma...

Original English Version

“I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her testily, “that some of those persons upstairs suggest improper subjects to the child. He was speaking to me last night about his - about his Bones,” said Mr Dombey, laying an irritated stress upon the word. “What on earth has anybody to do with the - with the - Bones of my son? He is not a living skeleton, I suppose.”

“Very far from it,” said Mrs Chick, with unspeakable expression.

“I hope so,” returned her brother. “Funerals again! who talks to the child of funerals? We are not undertakers, or mutes, or grave-diggers, I believe.”

“Very far from it,” interposed Mrs Chick, with the same profound expression as before.

“Then who puts such things into his head?” said Mr Dombey. “Really I was quite dismayed and shocked last night. Who puts such things into his head, Louisa?”

“My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, after a moment’s silence, “it is of no use inquiring. I do not think, I will tell you candidly that Wickam is a person of very cheerful spirit, or what one would call a - ”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Receio - disse o senhor Dombey, interrompendo-a com irritação - que algumas daquelas pessoas lá em cima sugiram assuntos impróprios à criança. Ele estava me falando ontem à noite sobre os seus... sobre os seus Ossos - disse o senhor Dombey, apoiando uma ênfase irritada sobre a palavra. - Que raio tem alguém a ver com os... com os... Ossos do meu filho? Ele não é um esqueleto ambulante, suponho.

- Muito longe disso - disse a senhora Chick, com indizível expressão.

- Espero que sim - retomou o irmão. - Enterros, outra vez! quem fala de enterros a uma criança? Não somos agentes funerários, nem carpideiros, nem coveiros, creio eu.

- Muito longe disso - intercedeu a senhora Chick, com a mesma profunda expressão de antes.

- Então quem lhe mete essas coisas na cabeça? - disse o senhor Dombey. - Realmente, fiquei bastante consternado e chocado ontem à noite. Quem lhe mete essas coisas na cabeça, Louisa?

- Meu caro Paul - disse a senhora Chick, após um momento de silêncio - , não adianta indagar. Não acho, e vou lhe dizer com franqueza, que a Wickam seja uma pessoa de espírito muito alegre, ou o que se poderia chamar de uma...

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Uma filha de Momo - sugeriu a Srta. Tox suavemente.

- Exatamente - disse a Sra. Chick. - Mas ela é extremamente atenciosa e útil, e nada presunçosa. Na verdade, nunca vi mulher mais obediente. Eu diria isso a favor dela mesmo se estivesse sendo julgada perante um tribunal.

- Bem, Louisa, no momento você não está sendo julgada perante um tribunal - respondeu o Sr. Dombey com irritação - , portanto isso não importa.

- Meu querido Paul - disse a Sra. Chick em tom de advertência - , você precisa falar comigo com bondade, ou será o meu fim. Ao mesmo tempo, surgiu nas pálpebras da Sra. Chick uma vermelhidão de aviso que sempre anunciava chuva, a menos que o tempo mudasse imediatamente.

- Eu estava perguntando, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey com a voz mudada, após uma pausa adequada - , sobre a saúde e o verdadeiro estado de Paul.

Original English Version

“A daughter of Momus,” Miss Tox softly suggested.

“Exactly so,” said Mrs Chick; “but she is exceedingly attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous; indeed I never saw a more biddable woman. I would say that for her, if I was put upon my trial before a Court of Justice.”

“Well! you are not put upon your trial before a Court of Justice, at present, Louisa,” returned Mr Dombey, chafing, “and therefore it don’t matter.”

“My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, in a warning voice, “I must be spoken to kindly, or there is an end of me,” at the same time a premonitory redness developed itself in Mrs Chick’s eyelids which was an invariable sign of rain, unless the weather changed directly.

“I was inquiring, Louisa,” observed Mr Dombey, in an altered voice, and after a decent interval, “about Paul’s health and actual state.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Uma filha de Momo - sugeriu a senhorita Tox, com brandura.

- Exatamente - disse a senhora Chick. - Mas ela é extremamente atenciosa e prestativa, e nada presunçosa; de fato, nunca vi mulher mais obediente. Eu diria isso a seu favor, ainda que estivesse sendo julgada perante um Tribunal de Justiça.

- Pois bem! você não está sendo julgada perante um Tribunal de Justiça, no momento, Louisa - retomou o senhor Dombey, impacientando-se - , e portanto não importa.

- Meu caro Paul - disse a senhora Chick, em tom de advertência - , é preciso que me falem com gentileza, ou será o meu fim - e, ao mesmo tempo, desenvolveu-se nas pálpebras da senhora Chick uma vermelhidão premonitória que era sinal infalível de chuva, a menos que o tempo mudasse imediatamente.

- Eu estava indagando, Louisa - observou o senhor Dombey, em voz alterada, e após um intervalo decente - , sobre a saúde e o estado atual de Paul.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Se a querida criança - disse a Sra. Chick, no tom de quem resumia algo já combinado por todos, embora o dissesse pela primeira vez - ficou um pouco enfraquecida pela última doença e não está com a saúde vigorosa que desejaríamos; e se tem alguma fraqueza temporária no corpo e às vezes parece prestes a perder, por um momento, o uso de seus...

A Sra. Chick teve medo de dizer “membros” depois da recente objeção do Sr. Dombey a “ossos”, por isso esperou uma sugestão da Srta. Tox. Fiel a seu papel, a Srta. Tox arriscou: - Partes.

- Partes! - repetiu o Sr. Dombey.

- Creio que o médico mencionou pernas esta manhã, minha querida Louisa, não foi? - disse a Srta. Tox.

Original English Version

“If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of one who was summing up what had been previously quite agreed upon, instead of saying it all for the first time, “is a little weakened by that last attack, and is not in quite such vigorous health as we could wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his system, and does occasionally seem about to lose, for the moment, the use of his - ”

Mrs Chick was afraid to say limbs, after Mr Dombey’s recent objection to bones, and therefore waited for a suggestion from Miss Tox, who, true to her office, hazarded “members.”

“Members!” repeated Mr Dombey.

“I think the medical gentleman mentioned legs this morning, my dear Louisa, did he not?” said Miss Tox.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Se a querida criança - disse a senhora Chick, no tom de quem resume o que já fora perfeitamente combinado de antemão, em vez de dizê-lo tudo pela primeira vez - está um pouco enfraquecida por aquele último ataque, e não se acha em saúde tão vigorosa quanto desejaríamos; e se tem alguma fraqueza temporária em seu organismo, e por vezes de fato parece prestes a perder, por um momento, o uso de seus...

A senhora Chick teve receio de dizer membros, depois da recente objeção do senhor Dombey aos ossos, e por isso aguardou uma sugestão da senhorita Tox, que, fiel a seu ofício, arriscou “membros”.

- Membros! - repetiu o senhor Dombey.

- Creio que o cavalheiro da medicina mencionou as pernas esta manhã, minha cara Louisa, não foi? - disse a senhorita Tox.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- É claro que mencionou, minha querida - respondeu a Sra. Chick com suave censura. - Como pode me perguntar? Você o ouviu. Digo que, se nosso querido Paul perder temporariamente o uso das pernas, esses incidentes são comuns a muitas crianças de sua idade e não podem ser evitados por nenhum cuidado ou cautela. Quanto antes você entender e admitir isso, Paul, melhor. Se tem alguma dúvida sobre quanto cuidado, cautela, afeto e sacrifício foram dedicados ao pequeno Paul, gostaria que a questão fosse submetida a seu médico ou a qualquer um de seus criados nesta casa. Chame Towlinson - disse a Sra. Chick. - Creio que ele não tem preconceito a nosso favor; muito pelo contrário. Gostaria de ouvir que acusação Towlinson pode fazer!

- Certamente você sabe, Louisa - disse o Sr. Dombey - , que não questiono sua devoção e seu afeto naturais pelo futuro chefe de minha família.

Original English Version

“Why, of course he did, my love,” retorted Mrs Chick, mildly reproachful. “How can you ask me? You heard him. I say, if our dear Paul should lose, for the moment, the use of his legs, these are casualties common to many children at his time of life, and not to be prevented by any care or caution. The sooner you understand that, Paul, and admit that, the better. If you have any doubt as to the amount of care, and caution, and affection, and self-sacrifice, that has been bestowed upon little Paul, I should wish to refer the question to your medical attendant, or to any of your dependants in this house. Call Towlinson,” said Mrs Chick, “I believe he has no prejudice in our favour; quite the contrary. I should wish to hear what accusation Towlinson can make!”

“Surely you must know, Louisa,” observed Mr Dombey, “that I don’t question your natural devotion to, and regard for, the future head of my house.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ora, é claro que mencionou, meu amor - replicou a senhora Chick, com brando ar de censura. - Como pode me perguntar? Você o ouviu. Repito: se o nosso querido Paul viesse a perder, por um momento, o uso das pernas, são acidentes comuns a muitas crianças na idade dele, e que nenhum cuidado ou cautela pode evitar. Quanto antes você entender isso, Paul, e admitir isso, melhor. Se você tem alguma dúvida quanto à quantidade de cuidado, e de cautela, e de afeto, e de abnegação que se derramou sobre o pequeno Paul, eu desejaria remeter a questão ao seu médico assistente, ou a qualquer um dos seus criados nesta casa. Chamem o Towlinson - disse a senhora Chick. - Creio que ele não tem preconceito a nosso favor; muito pelo contrário. Eu desejaria ouvir que acusação o Towlinson é capaz de fazer!

- Certamente você há de saber, Louisa - observou o senhor Dombey - , que não ponho em dúvida sua natural devoção e consideração para com o futuro chefe da minha casa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Fico feliz em ouvir isso, Paul - disse a Sra. Chick. - Mas você realmente é muito estranho e às vezes fala de maneira muito esquisita, embora eu saiba que não faça por mal. Se a alma de seu querido menino é grande demais para o corpo, Paul, você deve lembrar de quem é a culpa - quero dizer, a quem ele puxou - e aceitar isso da melhor forma possível. Ele é tão parecido com o papai quanto poderia ser. As pessoas notaram isso nas ruas. Disseram-me que até o oficial da paróquia percebeu, já na época do batizado. Ele é um homem muito respeitável, com filhos próprios. Deve saber.

- Creio que o Sr. Pilkins examinou Paul esta manhã? - disse o Sr. Dombey.

- Sim - respondeu a irmã. - A Srta. Tox e eu estávamos presentes. Estamos sempre presentes; fazemos questão disso. O Sr. Pilkins tem examinado Paul há vários dias, e acredito que seja um homem muito competente. Diz que não é nada digno de menção, o que posso confirmar, se isso o consola. Mas hoje recomendou os ares do mar. Com muita sabedoria, Paul, tenho certeza.

Original English Version

“I am glad to hear it, Paul,” said Mrs Chick; “but really you are very odd, and sometimes talk very strangely, though without meaning it, I know. If your dear boy’s soul is too much for his body, Paul, you should remember whose fault that is - who he takes after, I mean - and make the best of it. He’s as like his Papa as he can be. People have noticed it in the streets. The very beadle, I am informed, observed it, so long ago as at his christening. He’s a very respectable man, with children of his own. He ought to know.”

“Mr Pilkins saw Paul this morning, I believe?” said Mr Dombey.

“Yes, he did,” returned his sister. “Miss Tox and myself were present. Miss Tox and myself are always present. We make a point of it. Mr Pilkins has seen him for some days past, and a very clever man I believe him to be. He says it is nothing to speak of; which I can confirm, if that is any consolation; but he recommended, today, sea-air. Very wisely, Paul, I feel convinced.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Fico contente de ouvir isso, Paul - disse a senhora Chick. - Mas realmente você é muito esquisito, e às vezes fala de modo muito estranho, embora sem intenção, eu sei. Se a alma do seu querido menino é grande demais para o corpo dele, Paul, você deveria lembrar de quem é a culpa disso - a quem ele puxou, quero dizer - e tirar o melhor partido possível. Ele é a cara do papai, tão parecido quanto pode ser. As pessoas já repararam nisso na rua. O próprio bedel, segundo me informaram, observou-o já lá no batizado. É um homem muito respeitável, com filhos seus. Deve saber do que fala.

- O senhor Pilkins viu Paul esta manhã, creio eu? - disse o senhor Dombey.

- Sim, viu - retomou a irmã. - A senhorita Tox e eu estávamos presentes. A senhorita Tox e eu estamos sempre presentes. Fazemos questão disso. O senhor Pilkins tem-no examinado nos últimos dias, e creio que é um homem muito competente. Diz que não é nada digno de nota; o que posso confirmar, se isso é algum consolo; mas hoje recomendou ares do mar. Muito sensatamente, Paul, estou convencida.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ares do mar - repetiu o Sr. Dombey, olhando para a irmã.

- Não há nada alarmante nisso - disse a Sra. Chick. - Meus George e Frederick receberam a recomendação de ares do mar quando tinham mais ou menos a idade dele, e isso também me foi recomendado muitas vezes. Concordo plenamente com você, Paul, que talvez certos assuntos sejam mencionados sem cuidado lá em cima diante dele, assuntos nos quais seria melhor que sua pequena mente não se aprofundasse. Mas, com uma criança tão perspicaz, realmente não vejo como isso poderia ser evitado. Se fosse uma criança comum, não significaria nada. Assim como a Srta. Tox, penso que uma breve ausência desta casa, o ar de Brighton e o treinamento físico e mental de uma pessoa sensata como a Sra. Pipchin, por exemplo...

- Quem é a Sra. Pipchin, Louisa? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey, horrorizado com a apresentação tão familiar de um nome que jamais ouvira.

Original English Version

“Sea-air,” repeated Mr Dombey, looking at his sister.

“There is nothing to be made uneasy by, in that,” said Mrs Chick. “My George and Frederick were both ordered sea-air, when they were about his age; and I have been ordered it myself a great many times. I quite agree with you, Paul, that perhaps topics may be incautiously mentioned upstairs before him, which it would be as well for his little mind not to expatiate upon; but I really don’t see how that is to be helped, in the case of a child of his quickness. If he were a common child, there would be nothing in it. I must say I think, with Miss Tox, that a short absence from this house, the air of Brighton, and the bodily and mental training of so judicious a person as Mrs Pipchin for instance - ”

“Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?” asked Mr Dombey; aghast at this familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ares do mar - repetiu o senhor Dombey, olhando para a irmã.

- Não há nisso nada com que se inquietar - disse a senhora Chick. - Meus George e Frederick tiveram ambos ares do mar prescritos, quando estavam mais ou menos na idade dele; e eu mesma os tive prescritos um sem-número de vezes. Concordo inteiramente com você, Paul, que talvez se mencionem sem cautela, lá em cima, diante dele, assuntos sobre os quais seria melhor que a sua mentezinha não se detivesse; mas realmente não vejo como remediar isso, no caso de uma criança da esperteza dele. Se fosse uma criança comum, não haveria nada nisso. Devo dizer que penso, como a senhorita Tox, que uma curta ausência desta casa, os ares de Brighton, e a educação física e mental de uma pessoa tão judiciosa como a senhora Pipchin, por exemplo...

- Quem é a senhora Pipchin, Louisa? - perguntou o senhor Dombey, atônito com aquela familiar introdução de um nome que jamais ouvira antes.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- A Sra. Pipchin, meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã - , é uma senhora idosa - a Srta. Tox conhece toda a história dela - que há algum tempo dedica toda a energia de sua mente, com o maior sucesso, ao estudo e ao cuidado de crianças pequenas, e que tem excelentes relações sociais. O marido dela morreu de desgosto ao... como você disse que o marido dela morreu de desgosto, minha querida? Esqueci as circunstâncias exatas.

- Enquanto bombeava água para fora das minas peruanas - respondeu a Srta. Tox.

- É claro que ele próprio não operava a bomba - disse a Sra. Chick, olhando para o irmão. A explicação realmente parecia necessária, pois a Srta. Tox falara como se ele tivesse morrido junto à alavanca da bomba. - Mas investiu dinheiro no projeto, que fracassou. Creio que a maneira como a Sra. Pipchin cuida das crianças é extraordinária. Ouço elogiá-la em círculos particulares desde que eu tinha... meu Deus... esta altura! Os olhos da Sra. Chick vagaram pela estante perto do busto do Sr. Pitt, cerca de três metros acima do chão.

Original English Version

“Mrs Pipchin, my dear Paul,” returned his sister, “is an elderly lady - Miss Tox knows her whole history - who has for some time devoted all the energies of her mind, with the greatest success, to the study and treatment of infancy, and who has been extremely well connected. Her husband broke his heart in - how did you say her husband broke his heart, my dear? I forget the precise circumstances.

“In pumping water out of the Peruvian Mines,” replied Miss Tox.

“Not being a Pumper himself, of course,” said Mrs Chick, glancing at her brother; and it really did seem necessary to offer the explanation, for Miss Tox had spoken of him as if he had died at the handle; “but having invested money in the speculation, which failed. I believe that Mrs Pipchin’s management of children is quite astonishing. I have heard it commended in private circles ever since I was - dear me - how high!” Mrs Chick’s eye wandered about the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, which was about ten feet from the ground.

Tradução Integral em Português

- A senhora Pipchin, meu caro Paul - retomou a irmã - , é uma senhora idosa - a senhorita Tox conhece toda a história dela - que há algum tempo dedica todas as energias de seu espírito, com o maior êxito, ao estudo e ao tratamento da infância, e que teve relações extremamente boas. O marido dela morreu de coração partido em... como foi mesmo que você disse que o marido dela morreu de coração partido, minha querida? Esqueci as circunstâncias precisas.

- Esgotando água das Minas Peruanas - respondeu a senhorita Tox.

- Sem ser ele próprio um Esgotador, é claro - disse a senhora Chick, lançando um olhar ao irmão; e realmente parecia necessário oferecer a explicação, pois a senhorita Tox falara dele como se houvesse morrido agarrado à manivela. - Mas tendo investido dinheiro na especulação, que fracassou. Creio que o modo como a senhora Pipchin lida com crianças é absolutamente espantoso. Ouço-o elogiado em círculos privados desde que eu era... meu Deus... desta altura! - O olhar da senhora Chick vagueou até a estante próxima ao busto do senhor Pitt, que ficava a uns três metros do chão.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Talvez eu deva dizer, meu caro senhor - observou a Srta. Tox com um rubor inocente - , já que a história da Sra. Pipchin foi tão diretamente atribuída a meu conhecimento, que o elogio feito por sua doce irmã é plenamente merecido. Muitas senhoras e cavalheiros, hoje membros interessantes da sociedade, devem muito aos cuidados dela. A humilde pessoa que lhe fala já esteve sob sua responsabilidade. Creio que até jovens da nobreza conhecem seu estabelecimento.

- Devo entender que essa respeitável senhora dirige um estabelecimento, Srta. Tox? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey com condescendência.

- Realmente não sei - respondeu a senhora - se tenho o direito de chamá-lo assim. Certamente não é uma escola preparatória. Eu me expressaria corretamente - disse a Srta. Tox com especial doçura - se o chamasse de uma pensão muito seleta para crianças pequenas?

- Em escala extremamente limitada e especial - sugeriu a Sra. Chick, olhando para o irmão.

Original English Version

“Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,” observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, “having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Many ladies and gentleman, now grown up to be interesting members of society, have been indebted to her care. The humble individual who addresses you was once under her charge. I believe juvenile nobility itself is no stranger to her establishment.”

“Do I understand that this respectable matron keeps an establishment, Miss Tox?” the Mr Dombey, condescendingly.

“Why, I really don’t know,” rejoined that lady, “whether I am justified in calling it so. It is not a Preparatory School by any means. Should I express my meaning,” said Miss Tox, with peculiar sweetness, “if I designated it an infantine Boarding-House of a very select description?”

“On an exceedingly limited and particular scale,” suggested Mrs Chick, with a glance at her brother.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Talvez eu deva dizer da senhora Pipchin, meu caro senhor - observou a senhorita Tox, com um rubor ingênuo - , já que fui tão claramente aludida, que o encômio que sua doce irmã lhe dispensou é bem merecido. Muitas damas e cavalheiros, hoje crescidos e tornados membros interessantes da sociedade, foram devedores dos cuidados dela. A humilde pessoa que se dirige ao senhor esteve certa vez sob sua guarda. Creio que a própria nobreza infantil não é estranha ao seu estabelecimento.

- Devo entender que essa respeitável matrona mantém um estabelecimento, senhorita Tox? - disse o senhor Dombey, com condescendência.

- Ora, realmente não sei - replicou a dama - se me é lícito chamá-lo assim. Não é de modo algum uma Escola Preparatória. Exprimiria bem o que quero dizer - disse a senhorita Tox, com peculiar doçura - se o designasse uma Pensão infantil de caráter muito seleto?

- Numa escala extremamente limitada e particular - sugeriu a senhora Chick, com um olhar ao irmão.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Ah! É a própria exclusividade! - disse a Srta. Tox.

Havia algum valor nisso. O fato de o marido da Sra. Pipchin ter morrido de desgosto por causa das minas peruanas soava impressionante e respeitável. Além disso, o Sr. Dombey estava quase apavorado com a ideia de Paul permanecer onde estava por uma única hora depois que o médico recomendara sua mudança. Tal demora interromperia a estrada que a criança precisava percorrer, devagar mesmo nas melhores condições, antes de alcançar a meta. A recomendação da Sra. Pipchin feita pela Sra. Chick e pela Srta. Tox teve grande influência sobre ele, pois sabia que elas tinham ciúme de qualquer interferência nos cuidados da criança. Jamais considerou que talvez elas apenas quisessem dividir uma responsabilidade sobre a qual ele tinha opiniões firmes, como acabara de mostrar. O Sr. Dombey voltou a pensar no marido que morrera de desgosto por causa das minas peruanas. Bem, era uma maneira muito respeitável de morrer.

Original English Version

“Oh! Exclusion itself!” said Miss Tox.

There was something in this. Mrs Pipchin’s husband having broken his heart of the Peruvian mines was good. It had a rich sound. Besides, Mr Dombey was in a state almost amounting to consternation at the idea of Paul remaining where he was one hour after his removal had been recommended by the medical practitioner. It was a stoppage and delay upon the road the child must traverse, slowly at the best, before the goal was reached. Their recommendation of Mrs Pipchin had great weight with him; for he knew that they were jealous of any interference with their charge, and he never for a moment took it into account that they might be solicitous to divide a responsibility, of which he had, as shown just now, his own established views. Broke his heart of the Peruvian mines, mused Mr Dombey. Well! a very respectable way of doing It.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Oh! A própria Exclusividade! - disse a senhorita Tox.

Havia algo nisso. O fato de o marido da senhora Pipchin ter morrido de coração partido por causa das minas peruanas era bom. Tinha uma sonoridade rica. Além disso, o senhor Dombey achava-se num estado que quase equivalia à consternação diante da ideia de Paul permanecer onde estava uma hora sequer depois que sua remoção fora recomendada pelo médico. Era uma parada, um atraso na estrada que a criança devia percorrer, lentamente já no melhor dos casos, antes de alcançar a meta. A recomendação delas em favor da senhora Pipchin teve grande peso para ele; pois sabia que tinham ciúmes de qualquer interferência em seu encargo, e nem por um momento levou em conta que pudessem estar solícitas por dividir uma responsabilidade a respeito da qual ele tinha, como se acabou de mostrar, suas próprias e assentadas opiniões. Morreu de coração partido por causa das minas peruanas, cismava o senhor Dombey. Pois bem! uma maneira muito respeitável de fazê-lo.

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Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Suponhamos que, após fazermos investigações amanhã, decidamos mandar Paul a Brighton para ficar com essa senhora. Quem iria com ele? - perguntou o Sr. Dombey após refletir.

- Acho que, no momento, você não poderia mandar a criança a lugar nenhum sem Florence, meu querido Paul - respondeu a irmã, hesitante. - Ele tem uma verdadeira obsessão por ela. É muito jovem, você sabe, e tem seus caprichos.

O Sr. Dombey desviou a cabeça, caminhou devagar até a estante, abriu-a com a chave e trouxe um livro para ler.

- Mais alguém, Louisa? - perguntou sem levantar os olhos enquanto virava as páginas.

- Wickam, é claro. Eu diria que Wickam seria mais do que suficiente - respondeu a irmã. - Com Paul sob os cuidados da Sra. Pipchin, dificilmente você poderia mandar alguém que lhe impusesse mais limitações. Naturalmente, você mesmo iria até lá ao menos uma vez por semana.

- É claro - disse o Sr. Dombey. Depois ficou uma hora olhando para uma única página sem ler uma só palavra.

Original English Version

“Supposing we should decide, on to-morrow’s inquiries, to send Paul down to Brighton to this lady, who would go with him?” inquired Mr Dombey, after some reflection.

“I don’t think you could send the child anywhere at present without Florence, my dear Paul,” returned his sister, hesitating. “It’s quite an infatuation with him. He’s very young, you know, and has his fancies.”

Mr Dombey turned his head away, and going slowly to the bookcase, and unlocking it, brought back a book to read.

“Anybody else, Louisa?” he said, without looking up, and turning over the leaves.

“Wickam, of course. Wickam would be quite sufficient, I should say,” returned his sister. “Paul being in such hands as Mrs Pipchin’s, you could hardly send anybody who would be a further check upon her. You would go down yourself once a week at least, of course.”

“Of course,” said Mr Dombey; and sat looking at one page for an hour afterwards, without reading one word.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Supondo que decidíssemos, após as indagações de amanhã, enviar Paul a Brighton, a essa senhora, quem iria com ele? - indagou o senhor Dombey, após alguma reflexão.

- Não creio que você pudesse mandar a criança a lugar algum, no momento, sem Florence, meu caro Paul - retomou a irmã, hesitando. - É um verdadeiro encantamento que ele tem por ela. Ele é muito novinho, você sabe, e tem seus caprichos.

O senhor Dombey virou a cabeça para o lado, e, indo lentamente até a estante e destrancando-a, trouxe de volta um livro para ler.

- Mais alguém, Louisa? - disse ele, sem erguer os olhos, e virando as folhas.

- A Wickam, é claro. A Wickam seria perfeitamente suficiente, eu diria - retomou a irmã. - Estando Paul em mãos como as da senhora Pipchin, dificilmente você poderia mandar alguém que representasse um controle adicional sobre ela. Você mesmo iria até lá pelo menos uma vez por semana, naturalmente.

- Naturalmente - disse o senhor Dombey; e ficou depois uma hora inteira olhando para uma mesma página, sem ler uma só palavra.

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Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A famosa Sra. Pipchin era uma velha extraordinariamente feia e desagradável. Tinha o corpo curvado, o rosto manchado como mármore ruim, nariz adunco e um olho cinzento e duro que parecia capaz de ser martelado numa bigorna sem sofrer dano. Pelo menos quarenta anos haviam se passado desde que as minas peruanas causaram a morte do Sr. Pipchin, mas sua viúva ainda usava bombazina preta de um tom tão opaco, profundo, morto e sombrio que nem a luz a gás conseguia iluminá-la depois do anoitecer, e sua presença bastava para apagar qualquer número de velas. As pessoas costumavam chamá-la de “grande administradora” de crianças. Seu segredo era dar-lhes tudo de que não gostavam e nada do que gostavam, método que supostamente melhorava muito o temperamento delas. Era uma velha tão amarga que se poderia acreditar que a maquinaria peruana fora usada de modo errado e bombeara dela toda gota de alegria e bondade humana, em vez de esvaziar as minas.

Original English Version

This celebrated Mrs Pipchin was a marvellous ill-favoured, ill-conditioned old lady, of a stooping figure, with a mottled face, like bad marble, a hook nose, and a hard grey eye, that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. She was generally spoken of as “a great manager” of children; and the secret of her management was, to give them everything that they didn’t like, and nothing that they did - which was found to sweeten their dispositions very much. She was such a bitter old lady, that one was tempted to believe there had been some mistake in the application of the Peruvian machinery, and that all her waters of gladness and milk of human kindness, had been pumped out dry, instead of the mines.

Tradução Integral em Português

Essa célebre senhora Pipchin era uma velha senhora prodigiosamente feia e de péssima índole, de figura curvada, com o rosto malhado, como mármore de má qualidade, um nariz adunco, e um olho cinzento e duro, que parecia poder ter sido malhado numa bigorna sem sofrer o menor dano. Pelo menos quarenta anos haviam decorrido desde que as minas peruanas foram a morte do senhor Pipchin; mas sua viúva ainda trajava bombazina preta, de uma tonalidade tão baça, funda, morta e sombria, que nem o próprio gás conseguia iluminá-la depois de escurecer, e a presença dela apagava um número qualquer de velas. Falava-se dela em geral como “uma grande administradora” de crianças; e o segredo de sua administração consistia em dar-lhes tudo aquilo de que não gostavam, e nada daquilo de que gostavam - o que se verificava adoçar-lhes muitíssimo o gênio. Era uma velha senhora tão amarga que se era tentado a crer que houvera algum engano na aplicação da maquinaria peruana, e que todas as suas águas de alegria e todo o seu leite da bondade humana haviam sido esgotados até secar, em vez das minas.

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Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O castelo dessa ogra domadora de crianças ficava numa rua lateral íngreme de Brighton. Ali o solo era especialmente calcário, pedregoso e estéril, e as casas, particularmente frágeis e finas. Os pequenos jardins da frente produziam misteriosamente apenas calêndulas, não importava o que neles se plantasse, e caracóis eram encontrados constantemente agarrados como ventosas às portas e a outros lugares públicos que não deveriam enfeitar. No inverno, não se conseguia expulsar o ar do Castelo; no verão, não se conseguia fazê-lo entrar. O vento ecoava sem parar, fazendo a casa soar como uma grande concha que os moradores precisavam manter junto aos ouvidos dia e noite, quisessem ou não. Naturalmente, a casa não tinha cheiro fresco. Na janela da sala da frente, que jamais era aberta, a Sra. Pipchin guardava vasos de plantas que acrescentavam seu próprio odor de terra. Eram também excelentes exemplos de plantas apropriadas para cercar a Sra. Pipchin. Meia dúzia de cactos se torcia ao redor de ripas como cobras peludas; outra planta estendia grandes garras como uma lagosta verde; várias trepadeiras tinham folhas pegajosas; e um vaso incômodo pendia do teto. Parecia ter transbordado depois de ferver e, ao roçar com suas longas pontas verdes nas pessoas embaixo, lembrava-lhes aranhas. A casa da Sra. Pipchin possuía uma quantidade extraordinária de aranhas, embora, na estação apropriada, talvez se orgulhasse ainda mais das tesourinhas.

Original English Version

The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. In the winter time the air couldn’t be got out of the Castle, and in the summer time it couldn’t be got in. There was such a continual reverberation of wind in it, that it sounded like a great shell, which the inhabitants were obliged to hold to their ears night and day, whether they liked it or no. It was not, naturally, a fresh-smelling house; and in the window of the front parlour, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept a collection of plants in pots, which imparted an earthy flavour of their own to the establishment. However choice examples of their kind, too, these plants were of a kind peculiarly adapted to the embowerment of Mrs Pipchin. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs.

Tradução Integral em Português

O Castelo dessa ogra e domadora de crianças ficava numa ruela íngreme de Brighton; onde o solo era mais que de costume cretáceo, pedregoso e estéril, e as casas mais que de costume quebradiças e delgadas; onde os pequenos jardins fronteiros tinham a inexplicável propriedade de nada produzir senão calêndulas, fosse o que fosse que neles se semeasse; e onde constantemente se descobriam caracóis agarrados às portas das ruas, e a outros lugares públicos que não se esperava que ornamentassem, com a tenacidade de ventosas de sangria. No inverno não se conseguia tirar o ar de dentro do Castelo, e no verão não se conseguia fazê-lo entrar. Havia nele uma reverberação de vento tão contínua que soava como uma grande concha, que os habitantes eram obrigados a manter junto aos ouvidos dia e noite, quisessem ou não. Não era, naturalmente, uma casa de cheiro fresco; e na janela da sala da frente, que nunca se abria, a senhora Pipchin mantinha uma coleção de plantas em vasos, que conferiam ao estabelecimento um sabor terroso todo seu. Por mais seletos exemplares de sua espécie, ademais, essas plantas eram de um tipo peculiarmente adaptado a servir de caramanchão à senhora Pipchin. Havia meia dúzia de espécimes de cacto, retorcendo-se em torno de pedaços de sarrafo, como serpentes cabeludas; outro espécime disparando largas garras, como uma lagosta verde; várias trepadeiras, dotadas de folhas pegajosas e aderentes; e um incômodo vaso de flores pendurado no teto, que parecia ter transbordado, e, fazendo cócegas nas pessoas por baixo com suas longas pontas verdes, lembrava-lhes aranhas - de que a morada da senhora Pipchin era invulgarmente fértil, ainda que talvez desafiasse a concorrência com orgulho ainda maior, na estação, em matéria de lacraias.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Sra. Pipchin cobrava preços altos de todos que podiam pagá-los e raramente suavizava sua constante amargura por alguém. Por isso, as pessoas a consideravam “uma velha senhora de firmeza extraordinária, com conhecimento científico do caráter infantil”. Usando essa reputação e a história do coração partido do Sr. Pipchin, ela conseguira ganhar, ano após ano, uma renda razoavelmente suficiente desde a morte do marido. Três dias depois de a Sra. Chick mencioná-la pela primeira vez, essa excelente velha senhora teve a satisfação de esperar um belo acréscimo à renda, vindo do bolso do Sr. Dombey, e recebeu Florence e seu irmãozinho Paul como moradores do Castelo.

Original English Version

Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Within three days after Mrs Chick’s first allusion to her, this excellent old lady had the satisfaction of anticipating a handsome addition to her current receipts, from the pocket of Mr Dombey; and of receiving Florence and her little brother Paul, as inmates of the Castle.

Tradução Integral em Português

Sendo, porém, elevada a tabela de preços da senhora Pipchin para todos os que podiam pagar, e adoçando a senhora Pipchin muito raramente a equânime acidez de sua natureza em favor de quem quer que fosse, tinha-se-a por uma velha “senhora de firmeza notável, absolutamente científica em seu conhecimento do caráter infantil”. Com base nessa reputação, e no coração partido do senhor Pipchin, ela conseguira, num ano e noutro, prover para si um sustento razoavelmente suficiente desde o falecimento do marido. Dentro de três dias após a primeira alusão que a senhora Chick lhe fizera, essa excelente velha senhora teve a satisfação de antecipar um belo acréscimo às suas receitas correntes, vindo do bolso do senhor Dombey; e de receber Florence e seu irmãozinho Paul como hóspedes do Castelo.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Sra. Chick e a Srta. Tox haviam levado as crianças na noite anterior, que todos passaram num hotel, e acabavam de partir de carruagem para voltar para casa. A Sra. Pipchin ficou de costas para o fogo, inspecionando os recém-chegados como um velho soldado. Sua sobrinha de meia-idade era sua escrava bondosa e dedicada, embora tivesse uma aparência magra e rígida e sofresse muito com furúnculos no nariz. Ela retirava o colarinho limpo que o mestre Bitherstone usara para a inspeção. A Srta. Pankey, a única outra pensionista pequena naquele momento, acabara de ser enviada à Masmorra do Castelo - uma sala vazia nos fundos usada para castigos - porque fungara três vezes diante das visitas.

- Bem, senhor - disse a Sra. Pipchin a Paul - , acha que vai gostar de mim?

- Acho que não vou gostar nada da senhora - respondeu Paul. - Quero ir embora. Esta não é minha casa.

Original English Version

Mrs Chick and Miss Tox, who had brought them down on the previous night (which they all passed at an Hotel), had just driven away from the door, on their journey home again; and Mrs Pipchin, with her back to the fire, stood, reviewing the new-comers, like an old soldier. Mrs Pipchin’s middle-aged niece, her good-natured and devoted slave, but possessing a gaunt and iron-bound aspect, and much afflicted with boils on her nose, was divesting Master Bitherstone of the clean collar he had worn on parade. Miss Pankey, the only other little boarder at present, had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back, devoted to correctional purposes), for having sniffed thrice, in the presence of visitors.

“Well, Sir,” said Mrs Pipchin to Paul, “how do you think you shall like me?”

“I don’t think I shall like you at all,” replied Paul. “I want to go away. This isn’t my house.”

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhora Chick e a senhorita Tox, que os haviam trazido na noite anterior (que todos passaram num Hotel), acabavam de partir de carruagem da porta, em sua viagem de volta para casa; e a senhora Pipchin, de costas para o fogo, estava de pé, passando em revista os recém-chegados, como um velho soldado. A sobrinha de meia-idade da senhora Pipchin, sua escrava bondosa e devotada, mas de aspecto descarnado e rígido como ferro, e muito atormentada por furúnculos no nariz, estava despojando o senhorzinho Bitherstone do colarinho limpo que ele usara em parada. A senhorita Pankey, a única outra pequena pensionista no momento, acabava de ser levada à Masmorra do Castelo (um aposento vazio nos fundos, destinado a fins correcionais), por ter fungado três vezes na presença de visitas.

- Então, senhor - disse a senhora Pipchin a Paul - , o que acha que vai achar de mim?

- Acho que não vou gostar nem um pouco da senhora - respondeu Paul. - Quero ir embora. Esta não é a minha casa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

- Não. É minha - respondeu a Sra. Pipchin.

- É uma casa muito desagradável - disse Paul.

- Há um lugar ainda pior nela - disse a Sra. Pipchin - onde trancamos nossos meninos maus.

- Ele já esteve lá? - perguntou Paul, apontando para o mestre Bitherstone.

A Sra. Pipchin assentiu com a cabeça. Durante o resto do dia, Paul ficou ocupado examinando o mestre Bitherstone da cabeça aos pés e observando cada mudança em seu rosto, com o interesse inspirado por um menino que passara por experiências misteriosas e terríveis.

Original English Version

“No. It’s mine,” retorted Mrs Pipchin.

“It’s a very nasty one,” said Paul.

“There’s a worse place in it than this though,” said Mrs Pipchin, “where we shut up our bad boys.”

“Has he ever been in it?” asked Paul: pointing out Master Bitherstone.

Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Não. É a minha - retorquiu a senhora Pipchin.

- É uma casa muito feia - disse Paul.

- Há aqui, no entanto, um lugar pior do que este - disse a senhora Pipchin - , onde trancamos os meninos malcriados.

- Ele já esteve lá? - perguntou Paul, apontando para o senhorzinho Bitherstone.

A senhora Pipchin acenou que sim; e Paul teve o que fazer, pelo resto daquele dia, examinando o senhorzinho Bitherstone da cabeça aos pés, e observando todos os movimentos de seu semblante, com o interesse próprio de um menino de misteriosas e terríveis experiências.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

À uma hora, tiveram uma refeição composta principalmente de cereais e legumes. A Srta. Pankey, um pedacinho dócil de criança de olhos azuis, que era esfregada vigorosamente todas as manhãs e parecia correr o risco de desaparecer por completo, foi trazida do confinamento pela própria ogra. A Sra. Pipchin ensinou-lhe que ninguém que fungasse diante de visitas iria para o Céu. Depois de essa grande verdade ser firmemente ensinada, a Srta. Pankey foi recompensada com arroz. Mais tarde, repetiu a oração de agradecimento habitual do Castelo, que incluía uma frase especial agradecendo à Sra. Pipchin pelo bom jantar. Berinthia, sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin, comeu carne de porco fria. A saúde da Sra. Pipchin exigia comida quente, por isso ela teve uma refeição especial de costeletas de carneiro, trazidas muito quentes entre dois pratos e com cheiro delicioso.

Original English Version

At one o’clock there was a dinner, chiefly of the farinaceous and vegetable kind, when Miss Pankey (a mild little blue-eyed morsel of a child, who was shampoo’d every morning, and seemed in danger of being rubbed away, altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself, and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. When this great truth had been thoroughly impressed upon her, she was regaled with rice; and subsequently repeated the form of grace established in the Castle, in which there was a special clause, thanking Mrs Pipchin for a good dinner. Mrs Pipchin’s niece, Berinthia, took cold pork. Mrs Pipchin, whose constitution required warm nourishment, made a special repast of mutton-chops, which were brought in hot and hot, between two plates, and smelt very nice.

Tradução Integral em Português

À uma hora houve um jantar, sobretudo de coisas farináceas e vegetais, quando a senhorita Pankey (uma dócil e minúscula porção de criança, de olhos azuis, que era friccionada todas as manhãs, e parecia correr o risco de ser esfregada até desaparecer de todo) foi conduzida do cativeiro pela própria ogra, e instruída de que ninguém que fungasse diante de visitas jamais iria para o Céu. Depois que essa grande verdade lhe foi bem incutida, ela foi regalada com arroz; e em seguida repetiu a fórmula de graças estabelecida no Castelo, na qual havia uma cláusula especial, agradecendo à senhora Pipchin por um bom jantar. A sobrinha da senhora Pipchin, Berinthia, comeu carne de porco fria. A senhora Pipchin, cuja compleição exigia alimento quente, fez uma refeição especial de costeletas de carneiro, que foram trazidas bem quentes, entre dois pratos, e cheiravam muito bem.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Choveu depois do jantar, por isso não puderam caminhar na praia, e a saúde da Sra. Pipchin exigia que ela descansasse após comer costeletas. Assim, as crianças foram com Berry - outro nome de Berinthia - para a Masmorra. Era uma sala vazia com vista para uma parede de calcário e um barril de água, tornada assustadora por uma lareira quebrada sem fogão. Com companhia, porém, era o melhor lugar da casa. Berry brincou com elas ali e pareceu gostar das brincadeiras agitadas tanto quanto elas. Quando a Sra. Pipchin bateu com raiva na parede, como o Fantasma de Cock Lane ressuscitado, elas pararam, e Berry lhes contou histórias em sussurros até o crepúsculo.

No chá havia bastante leite misturado com água, pão com manteiga, um pequeno bule preto para a Sra. Pipchin e Berry, e torradas com manteiga sem limite para a Sra. Pipchin, trazidas muito quentes como as costeletas. Embora a Sra. Pipchin ficasse muito engordurada por fora ao comê-las, isso não a amolecia por dentro. Continuava feroz como sempre, e seu duro olho cinzento não se tornava mais gentil.

Original English Version

As it rained after dinner, and they couldn’t go out walking on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s constitution required rest after chops, they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt, and made ghastly by a ragged fireplace without any stove in it. Enlivened by company, however, this was the best place after all; for Berry played with them there, and seemed to enjoy a game at romps as much as they did; until Mrs Pipchin knocking angrily at the wall, like the Cock Lane Ghost revived, they left off, and Berry told them stories in a whisper until twilight.

For tea there was plenty of milk and water, and bread and butter, with a little black tea-pot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and buttered toast unlimited for Mrs Pipchin, which was brought in, hot and hot, like the chops. Though Mrs Pipchin got very greasy, outside, over this dish, it didn’t seem to lubricate her internally, at all; for she was as fierce as ever, and the hard grey eye knew no softening.

Tradução Integral em Português

Como choveu depois do jantar, e não podiam sair para caminhar pela praia, e a compleição da senhora Pipchin exigia repouso depois das costeletas, foram com Berry (ou seja, Berinthia) para a Masmorra; um aposento vazio que dava para um muro de greda e um barril de água, e tornado medonho por uma lareira esfrangalhada sem fogão algum. Animado pela companhia, porém, era afinal o melhor lugar; pois Berry ali brincava com eles, e parecia gostar de uma folgança tanto quanto eles; até que a senhora Pipchin, batendo raivosamente na parede, como o Fantasma de Cock Lane ressuscitado, fez com que parassem, e Berry lhes contou histórias num sussurro até o crepúsculo.

Para o chá havia leite com água em abundância, e pão com manteiga, com um pequeno bule preto para a senhora Pipchin e Berry, e torradas amanteigadas sem limite para a senhora Pipchin, que eram trazidas bem quentes, como as costeletas. Embora a senhora Pipchin ficasse muito engordurada por fora com aquele prato, isso não parecia lubrificá-la por dentro em coisa alguma; pois continuava tão feroz como sempre, e o duro olho cinzento não conhecia abrandamento.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Depois do chá, Berry tirou uma pequena caixa de costura com o Pavilhão Real desenhado na tampa e começou a trabalhar ativamente. A Sra. Pipchin pôs os óculos, abriu um grande livro revestido de pano verde e começou a cochilar. Sempre que percebia que se inclinava para a frente em direção ao fogo e despertava, dava um peteleco no nariz do mestre Bitherstone por ele também estar cochilando.

Por fim chegou a hora de as crianças dormirem e, depois das orações, foram para a cama. A pequena Srta. Pankey tinha medo de dormir sozinha no escuro, por isso a Sra. Pipchin sempre fazia questão de conduzi-la pessoalmente escada acima como uma ovelha. Era animador ouvir a Srta. Pankey gemer por muito tempo depois, no pior quarto, enquanto a Sra. Pipchin entrava de vez em quando para sacudi-la. Por volta das nove e meia, o cheiro de uma glândula de vitela quente - a saúde da Sra. Pipchin não lhe permitia dormir sem uma - misturou-se ao odor habitual da casa, que a Sra. Wickam chamava de “cheiro de construção”. Pouco depois, o sono caiu sobre o Castelo.

Original English Version

After tea, Berry brought out a little work-box, with the Royal Pavilion on the lid, and fell to working busily; while Mrs Pipchin, having put on her spectacles and opened a great volume bound in green baize, began to nod. And whenever Mrs Pipchin caught herself falling forward into the fire, and woke up, she filliped Master Bitherstone on the nose for nodding too.

At last it was the children’s bedtime, and after prayers they went to bed. As little Miss Pankey was afraid of sleeping alone in the dark, Mrs Pipchin always made a point of driving her upstairs herself, like a sheep; and it was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning long afterwards, in the least eligible chamber, and Mrs Pipchin now and then going in to shake her. At about half-past nine o’clock the odour of a warm sweet-bread (Mrs Pipchin’s constitution wouldn’t go to sleep without sweet-bread) diversified the prevailing fragrance of the house, which Mrs Wickam said was “a smell of building;” and slumber fell upon the Castle shortly after.

Tradução Integral em Português

Depois do chá, Berry pegou uma pequena caixa de costura, com o Pavilhão Real na tampa, e pôs-se a trabalhar afanosamente; enquanto a senhora Pipchin, tendo posto os óculos e aberto um grande volume encadernado em baeta verde, começou a cabecear. E sempre que a senhora Pipchin se surpreendia caindo para a frente, na direção do fogo, e acordava, dava um piparote no nariz do senhorzinho Bitherstone por também estar cabeceando.

Chegou enfim a hora de as crianças irem para a cama, e, depois das preces, foram deitar-se. Como a pequena senhorita Pankey tinha medo de dormir sozinha no escuro, a senhora Pipchin fazia sempre questão de tocá-la escada acima com as próprias mãos, como uma ovelha; e era alegre ouvir a senhorita Pankey gemendo por muito tempo depois, no menos aprazível dos quartos, e a senhora Pipchin entrando de quando em quando para sacudi-la. Por volta das nove e meia, o odor de uma moleja quente (a compleição da senhora Pipchin não pegava no sono sem moleja) diversificava a fragrância predominante da casa, que a senhora Wickam dizia ser “um cheiro de construção”; e o sono desabou sobre o Castelo pouco depois.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O café da manhã seguinte foi parecido com o chá da noite anterior, exceto que a Sra. Pipchin comeu um pãozinho em vez de torradas e pareceu um pouco mais irritada quando acabou. O mestre Bitherstone leu em voz alta para os outros uma genealogia do Gênesis, sabiamente escolhida pela Sra. Pipchin, e percorreu os nomes com a facilidade e a clareza de alguém tropeçando numa esteira. Depois disso, a Srta. Pankey foi levada para ser esfregada, e o mestre Bitherstone, para que lhe fizessem outra coisa com água salgada, da qual sempre voltava muito azulado e triste. Enquanto isso, Paul e Florence foram à praia com Wickam, que chorava o tempo todo. Por volta do meio-dia, a Sra. Pipchin dirigiu algumas Primeiras Leituras. Seu sistema não estimulava a mente infantil a crescer e se abrir como uma flor jovem; em vez disso, ela a abria à força como uma ostra. Por isso, as lições morais costumavam ser violentas e chocantes. Mesmo no desfecho mais brando, o herói - um menino levado - raramente era morto por algo menos terrível que um leão ou um urso.

Original English Version

The breakfast next morning was like the tea over night, except that Mrs Pipchin took her roll instead of toast, and seemed a little more irate when it was over. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the rest a pedigree from Genesis (judiciously selected by Mrs Pipchin), getting over the names with the ease and clearness of a person tumbling up the treadmill. That done, Miss Pankey was borne away to be shampoo’d; and Master Bitherstone to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and dejected. Paul and Florence went out in the meantime on the beach with Wickam - who was constantly in tears - and at about noon Mrs Pipchin presided over some Early Readings. It being a part of Mrs Pipchin’s system not to encourage a child’s mind to develop and expand itself like a young flower, but to open it by force like an oyster, the moral of these lessons was usually of a violent and stunning character: the hero - a naughty boy - seldom, in the mildest catastrophe, being finished off anything less than a lion, or a bear.

Tradução Integral em Português

O café da manhã seguinte foi como o chá da véspera, exceto que a senhora Pipchin comeu seu pãozinho em vez de torrada, e pareceu um pouco mais irada quando terminou. O senhorzinho Bitherstone leu em voz alta para os demais uma genealogia do Gênesis (judiciosamente selecionada pela senhora Pipchin), vencendo os nomes com a desenvoltura e a clareza de quem sobe aos tropeções uma esteira de moinho. Feito isso, a senhorita Pankey foi levada para ser friccionada; e o senhorzinho Bitherstone para que lhe fizessem outra coisa com água salgada, da qual sempre voltava muito roxo e abatido. Paul e Florence, entretanto, saíram à praia com Wickam - que estava constantemente em lágrimas - e, por volta do meio-dia, a senhora Pipchin presidiu a algumas Leituras Iniciais. Sendo parte do sistema da senhora Pipchin não estimular a mente de uma criança a desenvolver-se e desabrochar como uma jovem flor, mas abri-la à força como uma ostra, a moral dessas lições costumava ter caráter violento e atordoante: o herói - um menino malcriado - raramente, na mais branda das catástrofes, era liquidado por menos que um leão, ou um urso.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Assim era a vida na casa da Sra. Pipchin. O Sr. Dombey chegava aos sábados, e Florence e Paul iam tomar chá em seu hotel. Passavam todo o domingo com ele e geralmente saíam a cavalo antes do jantar. Nessas ocasiões, o Sr. Dombey parecia multiplicar-se como os atacantes de Falstaff: em vez de ser um homem vestido de burel, tornava-se doze. A noite de domingo era a mais triste da semana, pois a Sra. Pipchin sempre fazia questão de ficar especialmente mal-humorada aos domingos à noite. A Srta. Pankey geralmente voltava muito aflita da casa de uma tia em Rottingdean. Todos os parentes do mestre Bitherstone estavam na Índia e, entre os cultos, ele era obrigado a sentar-se perfeitamente ereto, com a cabeça encostada na parede da sala, sem mover mãos nem pés. Seu espírito infantil sofria tanto que, numa noite de domingo, perguntou a Florence se ela conhecia algum caminho de volta para Bengala.

Original English Version

Such was life at Mrs Pipchin’s. On Saturday Mr Dombey came down; and Florence and Paul would go to his Hotel, and have tea. They passed the whole of Sunday with him, and generally rode out before dinner; and on these occasions Mr Dombey seemed to grow, like Falstaff’s assailants, and instead of being one man in buckram, to become a dozen. Sunday evening was the most melancholy evening in the week; for Mrs Pipchin always made a point of being particularly cross on Sunday nights. Miss Pankey was generally brought back from an aunt’s at Rottingdean, in deep distress; and Master Bitherstone, whose relatives were all in India, and who was required to sit, between the services, in an erect position with his head against the parlour wall, neither moving hand nor foot, suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence, on a Sunday night, if she could give him any idea of the way back to Bengal.

Tradução Integral em Português

Assim era a vida em casa da senhora Pipchin. Aos sábados o senhor Dombey descia; e Florence e Paul iam ao Hotel dele tomar chá. Passavam com ele todo o domingo, e em geral saíam de carruagem antes do jantar; e nessas ocasiões o senhor Dombey parecia crescer, como os agressores de Falstaff, e de um só homem de bombazina passar a uma dúzia. A noite de domingo era a mais melancólica da semana; pois a senhora Pipchin fazia sempre questão de ser particularmente rabugenta nas noites de domingo. A senhorita Pankey era geralmente trazida de volta da casa de uma tia em Rottingdean, em profunda aflição; e o senhorzinho Bitherstone, cujos parentes estavam todos na Índia, e a quem se exigia que ficasse sentado, entre os ofícios, em posição ereta, com a cabeça encostada à parede da sala, sem mexer mão nem pé, sofria tão agudamente em seu jovem espírito que certa vez perguntou a Florence, numa noite de domingo, se ela lhe podia dar alguma ideia do caminho de volta a Bengala.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

As pessoas geralmente diziam que a Sra. Pipchin seguia um sistema com as crianças, e sem dúvida seguia. Certamente, as crianças indomáveis voltavam para casa bastante dóceis depois de passar alguns meses sob seu teto acolhedor. Também se dizia que era muito admirável a Sra. Pipchin ter se dedicado a essa vida, sacrificado seus sentimentos e resistido com firmeza às dificuldades depois que o Sr. Pipchin morreu de desgosto por causa das minas peruanas.

Paul conseguia ficar por qualquer tempo em sua pequena poltrona junto ao fogo, encarando essa admirável velha senhora. Nunca parecia se cansar enquanto olhava fixamente para a Sra. Pipchin. Não gostava dela nem tinha medo, mas, em seus estados de espírito velhos e sérios, ela lhe parecia estranhamente fascinante. Ficava ali sentado, olhando para ela e aquecendo as mãos, depois olhando para ela de novo, até às vezes confundir a própria ogra Sra. Pipchin. Certa vez, quando estavam sozinhos, ela perguntou em que ele estava pensando.

Original English Version

But it was generally said that Mrs Pipchin was a woman of system with children; and no doubt she was. Certainly the wild ones went home tame enough, after sojourning for a few months beneath her hospitable roof. It was generally said, too, that it was highly creditable of Mrs Pipchin to have devoted herself to this way of life, and to have made such a sacrifice of her feelings, and such a resolute stand against her troubles, when Mr Pipchin broke his heart in the Peruvian mines.

At this exemplary old lady, Paul would sit staring in his little arm-chair by the fire, for any length of time. He never seemed to know what weariness was, when he was looking fixedly at Mrs Pipchin. He was not fond of her; he was not afraid of her; but in those old, old moods of his, she seemed to have a grotesque attraction for him. There he would sit, looking at her, and warming his hands, and looking at her, until he sometimes quite confounded Mrs Pipchin, Ogress as she was. Once she asked him, when they were alone, what he was thinking about.

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas em geral se dizia que a senhora Pipchin era uma mulher de sistema com as crianças; e sem dúvida o era. Certamente as mais indóceis voltavam para casa bastante mansas, depois de temporada sob seu hospitaleiro teto. Em geral também se dizia que era altamente meritório da parte da senhora Pipchin ter-se dedicado a esse modo de vida, e ter feito tal sacrifício de seus sentimentos, e oposto tão resoluta resistência às suas atribulações, quando o senhor Pipchin morrera de coração partido nas minas peruanas.

Diante dessa exemplar velha senhora, Paul ficava sentado a fitá-la em sua poltroninha junto ao fogo por qualquer espaço de tempo. Nunca parecia saber o que era cansaço, quando olhava fixamente para a senhora Pipchin. Não gostava dela; não tinha medo dela; mas, naqueles seus velhos, velhíssimos humores, ela parecia exercer sobre ele uma atração grotesca. Ali ficava, olhando para ela, e aquecendo as mãos, e olhando para ela, até que às vezes deixava a senhora Pipchin, Ogra como era, inteiramente perturbada. Certa vez ela lhe perguntou, quando estavam a sós, em que ele estava pensando.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

[Ilustração]

- Na senhora - disse Paul sem a menor hesitação.

- E o que está pensando a meu respeito? - perguntou a Sra. Pipchin.

- Estou pensando em como a senhora deve ser velha - disse Paul.

- O senhor não deve dizer coisas assim, jovem cavalheiro - respondeu a velha senhora. - Isso não pode acontecer.

- Por que não? - perguntou Paul.

- Porque não é educado - disse a Sra. Pipchin com aspereza.

- Não é educado? - disse Paul.

"Não."

"Não é educado", disse Paul inocentemente. "Wickam diz que a senhora come todas as costeletas de carneiro e as torradas."

"Wickam", respondeu a Sra. Pipchin, ficando vermelha, "é uma moça malvada, insolente e sem-vergonha."

"O que isso quer dizer?" perguntou Paul.

"Não se preocupe com isso, senhor", respondeu a Sra. Pipchin. "Lembre-se do menino que foi chifrado até a morte por um touro louco porque fazia perguntas."

"Se o touro era louco", disse Paul, "como ele sabia que o menino tinha feito perguntas? Ninguém pode cochichar segredos para um touro louco. Não acredito nessa história."

Original English Version

[Illustration]

“You,” said Paul, without the least reserve.

“And what are you thinking about me?” asked Mrs Pipchin.

“I’m thinking how old you must be,” said Paul.

“You mustn’t say such things as that, young gentleman,” returned the dame. “That’ll never do.”

“Why not?” asked Paul.

“Because it’s not polite,” said Mrs Pipchin, snappishly.

“Not polite?” said Paul.

“No.”

“It’s not polite,” said Paul, innocently, “to eat all the mutton chops and toast”, Wickam says.

“Wickam,” retorted Mrs Pipchin, colouring, “is a wicked, impudent, bold-faced hussy.”

“What’s that?” inquired Paul.

“Never you mind, Sir,” retorted Mrs Pipchin. “Remember the story of the little boy that was gored to death by a mad bull for asking questions.”

“If the bull was mad,” said Paul, “how did he know that the boy had asked questions? Nobody can go and whisper secrets to a mad bull. I don’t believe that story.”

Tradução Integral em Português

[Ilustração]

- Na senhora - disse Paul, sem a menor reserva.

- E o que está pensando a meu respeito? - perguntou a senhora Pipchin.

- Estou pensando na idade que a senhora deve ter - disse Paul.

- O senhor não deve dizer coisas assim, meu jovem cavalheiro - retomou a matrona. - Isso não fica nada bem.

- Por que não? - perguntou Paul.

- Porque não é educado - disse a senhora Pipchin, com aspereza.

- Não é educado? - disse Paul.

- Não.

- Não é educado - disse Paul, com inocência - comer todas as costeletas de carneiro e as torradas, diz a Wickam.

- A Wickam - retorquiu a senhora Pipchin, ruborizando-se - é uma megera malvada, atrevida e desavergonhada.

- O que é isso? - indagou Paul.

- Não é da sua conta, senhor - retorquiu a senhora Pipchin. - Lembre-se da história do menino que foi chifrado até a morte por um touro louco por fazer perguntas.

- Se o touro era louco - disse Paul - , como é que ele sabia que o menino tinha feito perguntas? Ninguém pode ir sussurrar segredos a um touro louco. Não acredito nessa história.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"O senhor não acredita, senhor?" repetiu a Sra. Pipchin, espantada.

"Não", disse Paul.

"Nem se por acaso fosse um touro manso, seu pequeno descrente?" perguntou a Sra. Pipchin.

Paul não tinha considerado a história dessa maneira. Sua conclusão dependia de o touro ser louco, por isso, naquele momento, aceitou a derrota. Mas continuou claramente pensando no assunto e pretendia encurralar a Sra. Pipchin mais tarde. Até aquela velha durona achou prudente recuar até ele esquecer o tema.

Original English Version

“You don’t believe it, Sir?” repeated Mrs Pipchin, amazed.

“No,” said Paul.

“Not if it should happen to have been a tame bull, you little Infidel?” said Mrs Pipchin.

As Paul had not considered the subject in that light, and had founded his conclusions on the alleged lunacy of the bull, he allowed himself to be put down for the present. But he sat turning it over in his mind, with such an obvious intention of fixing Mrs Pipchin presently, that even that hardy old lady deemed it prudent to retreat until he should have forgotten the subject.

Tradução Integral em Português

- O senhor não acredita nela? - repetiu a senhora Pipchin, pasma.

- Não - disse Paul.

- E se acontecesse de ele ser um touro manso, seu pequeno Infiel? - disse a senhora Pipchin.

Como Paul não havia considerado o assunto sob essa luz, e fundara suas conclusões na alegada demência do touro, deixou-se rebater por ora. Mas ficou sentado a remoer o assunto na mente, com tão evidente intenção de encurralar a senhora Pipchin dali a pouco, que até aquela intrépida velha senhora julgou prudente bater em retirada até que ele houvesse esquecido o tema.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A partir de então, a Sra. Pipchin pareceu sentir por Paul a mesma estranha atração que ele sentia por ela. Ela o fazia levar a cadeira para junto dela, perto do fogo. Ele se sentava entre ela e o guarda-fogo, com o rostinho luminoso quase perdido contra o vestido preto dela, estudando cada linha e ruga de seu rosto e fitando seu duro olho cinzento até que ela às vezes o fechava e fingia cochilar. Seu velho gato preto costumava se enrolar no pé central do guarda-fogo, ronronando com orgulho e piscando para as chamas até suas pupilas estreitas parecerem dois pontos de exclamação. Sem querer faltar ao respeito, a velha senhora poderia ser uma bruxa, com Paul e o gato como seus dois espíritos familiares. Enquanto os três estavam sentados junto ao fogo, combinaria com a cena se numa noite de vento forte eles subissem voando pela chaminé e nunca mais fossem vistos.

Original English Version

From that time, Mrs Pipchin appeared to have something of the same odd kind of attraction towards Paul, as Paul had towards her. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Mrs Pipchin had an old black cat, who generally lay coiled upon the centre foot of the fender, purring egotistically, and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. The good old lady might have been - not to record it disrespectfully - a witch, and Paul and the cat her two familiars, as they all sat by the fire together. It would have been quite in keeping with the appearance of the party if they had all sprung up the chimney in a high wind one night, and never been heard of any more.

Tradução Integral em Português

Daí em diante, a senhora Pipchin pareceu passar a nutrir por Paul algo daquela mesma espécie estranha de atração que Paul nutria por ela. Fazia-o mudar a cadeira para o seu lado do fogo, em vez de sentar-se em frente; e ali ele permanecia, num recanto entre a senhora Pipchin e o guarda-fogo, com toda a luz de seu rostinho absorvida pelas negras vestes de bombazina, estudando cada linha e cada ruga de seu semblante, e perscrutando o duro olho cinzento, até que a senhora Pipchin às vezes se via forçada a fechá-lo, a pretexto de cochilar. A senhora Pipchin tinha um velho gato preto, que em geral ficava enroscado no pé central do guarda-fogo, ronronando egoisticamente, e piscando para o fogo até que as pupilas contraídas de seus olhos ficassem como dois pontos de exclamação. A boa velha senhora bem poderia ter sido - não seja isto registrado com desrespeito - uma bruxa, e Paul e o gato os seus dois familiares, ali sentados os três juntos junto ao fogo. Teria sido de todo condizente com a aparência do grupo se houvessem subido todos pela chaminé, numa noite de vento forte, e nunca mais se tivesse ouvido falar deles.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Isso, porém, nunca aconteceu. Depois de escurecer, o gato, Paul e a Sra. Pipchin estavam sempre em seus lugares habituais. Evitando a companhia do jovem Bitherstone, Paul continuava, noite após noite, a estudar a Sra. Pipchin, o gato e o fogo como se fossem um livro de magia em três volumes.

A Sra. Wickam criou sua própria explicação para o comportamento estranho de Paul. Seu desânimo aumentava por causa da vista confusa de chaminés de seu quarto, do som do vento e da tristeza geral - ou do aspecto medonho, como dizia com força - de sua vida atual. De tudo isso, tirava as conclusões mais sombrias. A Sra. Pipchin procurava impedir que sua própria 'mocinha insolente', nome que dava a qualquer criada, falasse com a Sra. Wickam. Passava muito tempo escondida atrás das portas e saltava para fora sempre que a moça se aproximava do quarto da Sra. Wickam. Berry, porém, podia conversar ali quando seus intermináveis deveres permitiam, e a Sra. Wickam lhe contava todas as suas preocupações.

Original English Version

This, however, never came to pass. The cat, and Paul, and Mrs Pipchin, were constantly to be found in their usual places after dark; and Paul, eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone, went on studying Mrs Pipchin, and the cat, and the fire, night after night, as if they were a book of necromancy, in three volumes.

Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. It was a part of Mrs Pipchin’s policy to prevent her own “young hussy” - that was Mrs Pipchin’s generic name for female servant - from communicating with Mrs Wickam: to which end she devoted much of her time to concealing herself behind doors, and springing out on that devoted maiden, whenever she made an approach towards Mrs Wickam’s apartment. But Berry was free to hold what converse she could in that quarter, consistently with the discharge of the multifarious duties at which she toiled incessantly from morning to night; and to Berry Mrs Wickam unburdened her mind.

Tradução Integral em Português

Isso, porém, nunca chegou a acontecer. O gato, e Paul, e a senhora Pipchin eram invariavelmente encontrados em seus lugares de sempre depois de escurecer; e Paul, esquivando-se da companhia do senhorzinho Bitherstone, prosseguia estudando a senhora Pipchin, e o gato, e o fogo, noite após noite, como se fossem um livro de necromancia, em três volumes.

A senhora Wickam deu sua própria interpretação às excentricidades de Paul; e, confirmada em seu abatimento por uma perturbadora vista de chaminés a partir do quarto onde costumava sentar-se, e pelo ruído do vento, e pelo tédio geral (lugubridade era a forte expressão da senhora Wickam) de sua vida presente, deduziu as mais tenebrosas reflexões das premissas anteriores. Fazia parte da política da senhora Pipchin impedir a sua própria “moçoila” - era esse o nome genérico que a senhora Pipchin dava às criadas - de se comunicar com a senhora Wickam; para o que dedicava boa parte do tempo a esconder-se atrás de portas, e a saltar sobre a dedicada donzela sempre que esta se aproximava do aposento da senhora Wickam. Mas Berry era livre para manter naquela paragem toda a conversa que conseguisse, sem prejuízo do desempenho dos multifários deveres em que se afadigava incessantemente de manhã à noite; e foi a Berry que a senhora Wickam desabafou o espírito.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Como ele é um menino bonito quando está dormindo!" disse Berry certa noite, parando para olhar Paul na cama enquanto levava o jantar da Sra. Wickam.

"Ah!" suspirou a Sra. Wickam. "É bom que seja."

"Ele também não é feio quando está acordado", observou Berry.

"Não, senhora. Ah, não. A Betsey Jane do meu tio também não era", disse a Sra. Wickam.

Berry parecia querer entender a ligação entre Paul Dombey e Betsey Jane, a filha do tio da Sra. Wickam.

"A esposa do meu tio", continuou a Sra. Wickam, "morreu como a mãe dele. A filha do meu tio se comportava exatamente como o jovem Paul."

"Comportava-se assim? A senhora não acha que ele sofre pela mãe, acha?" argumentou Berry, sentando-se na beira da cama. "Ele não pode se lembrar de nada sobre ela, Sra. Wickam. É impossível."

"Não, senhora", disse a Sra. Wickam. "A filha do meu tio também não podia. Mas às vezes dizia coisas muito estranhas, tinha um olhar muito estranho, agia de modo muito estranho e era estranha em todos os sentidos. Às vezes, a filha do meu tio fazia o sangue das pessoas gelar!"

Original English Version

“What a pretty fellow he is when he’s asleep!” said Berry, stopping to look at Paul in bed, one night when she took up Mrs Wickam’s supper.

“Ah!” sighed Mrs Wickam. “He need be.”

“Why, he’s not ugly when he’s awake,” observed Berry.

“No, Ma’am. Oh, no. No more was my Uncle’s Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam.

Berry looked as if she would like to trace the connexion of ideas between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam’s Uncle’s Betsey Jane.

“My Uncle’s wife,” Mrs Wickam went on to say, “died just like his Mama. My Uncle’s child took on just as Master Paul do.”

“Took on! You don’t think he grieves for his Mama, sure?” argued Berry, sitting down on the side of the bed. “He can’t remember anything about her, you know, Mrs Wickam. It’s not possible.”

“No, Ma’am,” said Mrs Wickam “No more did my Uncle’s child. But my Uncle’s child said very strange things sometimes, and looked very strange, and went on very strange, and was very strange altogether. My Uncle’s child made people’s blood run cold, some times, she did!”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Que lindo menininho ele é quando está dormindo! - disse Berry, detendo-se para olhar Paul na cama, certa noite em que levou a ceia da senhora Wickam.

- Ah! - suspirou a senhora Wickam. - Bem que precisa ser.

- Ora, ele não é feio quando está acordado - observou Berry.

- Não, senhora. Oh, não. Nem tampouco a Betsey Jane, do meu Tio - disse a senhora Wickam.

Berry deu a impressão de que gostaria de rastrear a conexão de ideias entre Paul Dombey e a Betsey Jane do Tio da senhora Wickam.

- A mulher do meu Tio - prosseguiu a senhora Wickam - morreu exatamente como a Mamãe dele. A filha do meu Tio ficou sofrida exatamente como o senhorzinho Paul fica.

- Sofrida! A senhora não está mesmo achando que ele tem saudade da Mamãe, está? - argumentou Berry, sentando-se à beira da cama. - Ele não pode se lembrar de nada a respeito dela, sabe, senhora Wickam. Não é possível.

- Não, senhora - disse a senhora Wickam. - Nem tampouco a filha do meu Tio. Mas a filha do meu Tio dizia coisas muito estranhas às vezes, e tinha um olhar muito estranho, e agia de modo muito estranho, e era muito estranha no conjunto. A filha do meu Tio às vezes fazia o sangue das pessoas gelar, fazia mesmo!

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Como?" perguntou Berry.

"Eu não teria passado a noite inteira acordada e sozinha com Betsey Jane", disse a Sra. Wickam, "nem que no dia seguinte a senhorita desse a Wickam seu próprio negócio. Eu não conseguiria, Srta. Berry."

Naturalmente, a Srta. Berry perguntou por quê. Mas, como algumas senhoras em sua condição costumam fazer, a Sra. Wickam seguiu despreocupada sua própria linha de pensamento.

"Betsey Jane", disse a Sra. Wickam, "era uma criança tão doce quanto alguém poderia desejar ver. Eu não poderia desejar uma mais doce. Ela tinha sobrevivido a todas as doenças que uma criança podia ter. Cãibras eram tão comuns para ela", acrescentou a Sra. Wickam, "quanto furúnculos são para a senhorita, Srta. Berry." A Srta. Berry franziu o nariz sem querer.

"Mas Betsey Jane", disse a Sra. Wickam, baixando a voz e olhando ao redor do quarto e para Paul na cama, "tinha sido vigiada no berço pela mãe morta. Não sei dizer como nem quando, nem se a querida criança sabia, mas a mãe velava por Betsey Jane, Srta. Berry!" Com o rosto pálido, os olhos úmidos e a voz trêmula, a Sra. Wickam tornou a olhar com medo pelo quarto e para Paul.

Original English Version

“How?” asked Berry.

“I wouldn’t have sat up all night alone with Betsey Jane!” said Mrs Wickam, “not if you’d have put Wickam into business next morning for himself. I couldn’t have done it, Miss Berry.

Miss Berry naturally asked why not? But Mrs Wickam, agreeably to the usage of some ladies in her condition, pursued her own branch of the subject, without any compunction.

“Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam, “was as sweet a child as I could wish to see. I couldn’t wish to see a sweeter. Everything that a child could have in the way of illnesses, Betsey Jane had come through. The cramps was as common to her,” said Mrs Wickam, “as biles is to yourself, Miss Berry.” Miss Berry involuntarily wrinkled her nose.

“But Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam, lowering her voice, and looking round the room, and towards Paul in bed, “had been minded, in her cradle, by her departed mother. I couldn’t say how, nor I couldn’t say when, nor I couldn’t say whether the dear child knew it or not, but Betsey Jane had been watched by her mother, Miss Berry!” and Mrs Wickam, with a very white face, and with watery eyes, and with a tremulous voice, again looked fearfully round the room, and towards Paul in bed.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Como? - perguntou Berry.

- Eu não teria ficado acordada a noite inteira sozinha com a Betsey Jane! - disse a senhora Wickam. - Nem que a senhora estabelecesse o Wickam por conta própria num negócio na manhã seguinte. Eu não teria conseguido, senhorita Berry.

A senhorita Berry naturalmente perguntou por que não. Mas a senhora Wickam, conforme o costume de certas damas em sua condição, prosseguiu no próprio ramo do assunto, sem o menor escrúpulo.

- A Betsey Jane - disse a senhora Wickam - era uma criança tão meiga quanto eu poderia desejar ver. Não poderia desejar ver mais meiga. Tudo o que uma criança podia ter em matéria de doenças, a Betsey Jane havia passado. As cãibras eram tão comuns nela - disse a senhora Wickam - quanto os furúnculos na senhora, senhorita Berry. - A senhorita Berry, involuntariamente, franziu o nariz.

- Mas a Betsey Jane - disse a senhora Wickam, baixando a voz, e olhando ao redor do quarto, e na direção de Paul na cama - havia sido cuidada, no berço, pela mãe já falecida. Eu não saberia dizer como, nem saberia dizer quando, nem saberia dizer se a querida criança sabia disso ou não, mas a Betsey Jane era vigiada pela mãe, senhorita Berry! - e a senhora Wickam, com o rosto muito branco, e os olhos marejados, e a voz trêmula, tornou a olhar medrosamente ao redor do quarto, e na direção de Paul na cama.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Que absurdo!" exclamou a Srta. Berry, um tanto ofendida com a ideia.

"Pode chamar de absurdo! Não fico ofendida, senhorita. Espero que sua consciência lhe permita achar que é absurdo; isso fará bem ao seu ânimo neste - perdoe minha franqueza - cemitério de lugar, que está acabando comigo. O jovem Paul está um pouco inquieto no sono. Por favor, dê leves tapinhas nas costas dele."

"Claro que a senhora acha que a mãe dele também cuidou dele?" perguntou Berry, fazendo com delicadeza o que lhe pediram.

"Betsey Jane", respondeu a Sra. Wickam em seu tom mais solene, "sofreu como essa criança sofreu e mudou como ele mudou. Muitas vezes eu a vi sentada, pensando e pensando, como ele. Muitas vezes a vi parecer velha, velha, velha, como ele. Muitas vezes a ouvi falar exatamente como ele. Considero essa criança e Betsey Jane inteiramente iguais, Srta. Berry."

"A filha do seu tio está viva?" perguntou Berry.

Original English Version

“Nonsense!” cried Miss Berry - somewhat resentful of the idea.

“You may say nonsense! I ain’t offended, Miss. I hope you may be able to think in your own conscience that it is nonsense; you’ll find your spirits all the better for it in this - you’ll excuse my being so free - in this burying-ground of a place; which is wearing of me down. Master Paul’s a little restless in his sleep. Pat his back, if you please.”

“Of course you think,” said Berry, gently doing what she was asked, “that he has been nursed by his mother, too?”

“Betsey Jane,” returned Mrs Wickam in her most solemn tones, “was put upon as that child has been put upon, and changed as that child has changed. I have seen her sit, often and often, think, think, thinking, like him. I have seen her look, often and often, old, old, old, like him. I have heard her, many a time, talk just like him. I consider that child and Betsey Jane on the same footing entirely, Miss Berry.”

“Is your Uncle’s child alive?” asked Berry.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Que absurdo! - exclamou a senhorita Berry, algo ressentida com a ideia.

- Pode dizer que é absurdo! Não me ofendo, senhorita. Espero que a senhorita seja capaz de achar, na sua própria consciência, que é um absurdo; a senhorita vai se sentir muito melhor por isso neste - desculpe a franqueza - neste cemitério de lugar; que está me acabando. O senhorzinho Paul está um pouco inquieto no sono. Dê umas palmadinhas nas costas dele, por favor.

- É claro que a senhora acha - disse Berry, fazendo com brandura o que lhe pediam - que ele também foi cuidado pela mãe?

- A Betsey Jane - retomou a senhora Wickam em seu tom mais solene - foi maltratada pela sorte tal como aquela criança tem sido maltratada, e mudou tal como aquela criança mudou. Vi-a sentar-se, muitas e muitas vezes, a pensar, pensar, pensar, como ele. Vi-a ficar com um olhar, muitas e muitas vezes, velho, velho, velho, como ele. Ouvi-a, uma porção de vezes, falar exatamente como ele. Considero aquela criança e a Betsey Jane inteiramente em pé de igualdade, senhorita Berry.

- A filha do seu Tio está viva? - perguntou Berry.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Sim, senhorita, ela está viva", respondeu a Sra. Wickam com ar de triunfo, pois a Srta. Berry claramente esperava o contrário. "E é casada com um gravador de prata. Ah, sim, senhorita, ELA está viva", disse a Sra. Wickam, dando forte ênfase à palavra.

Como alguém claramente estava morto, a sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin perguntou quem era.

"Eu não gostaria de deixá-la inquieta", respondeu a Sra. Wickam, continuando a jantar. "Não me pergunte."

Essa era a maneira mais certa de fazer Berry perguntar de novo. Por isso, a Srta. Berry repetiu a pergunta. Depois de alguma resistência e relutância, a Sra. Wickam pousou a faca, tornou a olhar pelo quarto e para Paul na cama e respondeu:

"Ela se apegava às pessoas. Alguns apegos eram estranhos; outros eram do tipo que se poderia esperar, apenas mais fortes que o normal. Todas morreram."

Isso foi tão inesperado e terrível para a sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin que ela se sentou ereta na borda dura da cama, respirando depressa e encarando a Sra. Wickam com evidente pavor.

Original English Version

“Yes, Miss, she is alive,” returned Mrs Wickam with an air of triumph, for it was evident. Miss Berry expected the reverse; “and is married to a silver-chaser. Oh yes, Miss, SHE is alive,” said Mrs Wickam, laying strong stress on her nominative case.

It being clear that somebody was dead, Mrs Pipchin’s niece inquired who it was.

“I wouldn’t wish to make you uneasy,” returned Mrs Wickam, pursuing her supper. “Don’t ask me.”

This was the surest way of being asked again. Miss Berry repeated her question, therefore; and after some resistance, and reluctance, Mrs Wickam laid down her knife, and again glancing round the room and at Paul in bed, replied:

“She took fancies to people; whimsical fancies, some of them; others, affections that one might expect to see - only stronger than common. They all died.”

This was so very unexpected and awful to Mrs Pipchin’s niece, that she sat upright on the hard edge of the bedstead, breathing short, and surveying her informant with looks of undisguised alarm.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Sim, senhorita, ela está viva - retomou a senhora Wickam com ar de triunfo, pois era evidente que a senhorita Berry esperava o contrário - , e casou-se com um cinzelador de prata. Oh, sim, senhorita, ELA está viva - disse a senhora Wickam, apoiando forte ênfase no seu caso nominativo.

Estando claro que alguém havia morrido, a sobrinha da senhora Pipchin indagou quem fora.

- Não gostaria de deixá-la inquieta - retomou a senhora Wickam, prosseguindo em sua ceia. - Não me pergunte.

Era essa a maneira mais segura de tornar a ser perguntada. A senhorita Berry repetiu, portanto, a pergunta; e, após alguma resistência e relutância, a senhora Wickam pousou a faca, e, tornando a lançar o olhar ao redor do quarto e a Paul na cama, respondeu:

- Ela tomava afeição às pessoas; afeições esquisitas, algumas delas; outras, afetos que se poderia esperar ver - só que mais fortes que o comum. Todos morreram.

Isto foi tão inesperado e tão medonho para a sobrinha da senhora Pipchin, que ela se aprumou na borda dura do estrado da cama, respirando entrecortadamente, e perscrutando sua informante com olhares de indisfarçado alarme.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A Sra. Wickam agitou discretamente o indicador esquerdo na direção da cama onde Florence estava. Depois apontou várias vezes para o chão, logo abaixo do qual ficava a sala onde a Sra. Pipchin comia regularmente suas torradas.

"Lembre-se das minhas palavras, Srta. Berry", disse a Sra. Wickam, "e agradeça por o jovem Paul não gostar demais da senhorita. Eu agradeço por ele não gostar demais de mim, garanto, embora não haja muito pelo que viver - perdoe minha franqueza - nesta prisão de casa!"

Em sua emoção, a Srta. Berry talvez tenha dado tapinhas fortes demais em Paul ou interrompido o movimento constante que o acalmava. Nesse instante, ele se virou na cama e logo acordou. Sentou-se, com o cabelo quente e molhado por causa de um sonho infantil, e chamou Florence.

Ao primeiro som da voz dele, Florence saiu da cama. Imediatamente se inclinou sobre o travesseiro de Paul e cantou até que ele adormecesse de novo. A Sra. Wickam balançou a cabeça, deixou cair várias lágrimas, mostrou o pequeno grupo a Berry e ergueu os olhos para o teto.

Original English Version

Mrs Wickam shook her left fore-finger stealthily towards the bed where Florence lay; then turned it upside down, and made several emphatic points at the floor; immediately below which was the parlour in which Mrs Pipchin habitually consumed the toast.

“Remember my words, Miss Berry,” said Mrs Wickam, “and be thankful that Master Paul is not too fond of you. I am, that he’s not too fond of me, I assure you; though there isn’t much to live for - you’ll excuse my being so free - in this jail of a house!”

Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence.

She was out of her own bed at the first sound of his voice; and bending over his pillow immediately, sang him to sleep again. Mrs Wickam shaking her head, and letting fall several tears, pointed out the little group to Berry, and turned her eyes up to the ceiling.

Tradução Integral em Português

A senhora Wickam sacudiu furtivamente o indicador da mão esquerda na direção da cama onde Florence estava deitada; depois virou-o de ponta-cabeça, e apontou várias vezes, com ênfase, para o chão; imediatamente abaixo do qual ficava a sala em que a senhora Pipchin consumia habitualmente a torrada.

- Lembre-se das minhas palavras, senhorita Berry - disse a senhora Wickam - , e dê graças de que o senhorzinho Paul não gosta demais da senhorita. Eu dou, de que ele não gosta demais de mim, garanto; embora não haja muito por que viver - desculpe a franqueza - nesta prisão de casa!

A emoção da senhorita Berry poderia tê-la levado a dar palmadas fortes demais nas costas de Paul, ou poderia ter provocado a cessação daquela monotonia reconfortante, mas ele justo então virou-se na cama e, acordando logo em seguida, sentou-se nela com os cabelos quentes e úmidos por efeito de algum sonho infantil, e chamou por Florence.

Ela saltou da própria cama ao primeiro som da voz dele; e, curvando-se no mesmo instante sobre o travesseiro, cantou até fazê-lo dormir de novo. A senhora Wickam, meneando a cabeça e deixando cair algumas lágrimas, apontou o pequeno grupo a Berry, e ergueu os olhos para o teto.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Ele está dormindo agora, querida", disse a Sra. Wickam depois de uma pausa. "É melhor voltar para a cama. Você não está com frio?"

"Não, ama", disse Florence, rindo. "Nem um pouco."

"Ah!" suspirou a Sra. Wickam. Tornou a balançar a cabeça e sugeriu em silêncio à atenta Berry: "Em pouco tempo, alguns de nós estarão frios o bastante!"

Berry pegou a bandeja do jantar simples, que a Sra. Wickam já tinha terminado, e lhe desejou boa-noite.

"Boa-noite, senhorita!" respondeu Wickam em voz baixa. "Boa-noite! Sua tia é uma senhora idosa, Srta. Berry, e a senhorita muitas vezes deve ter esperado por isso."

A Sra. Wickam acompanhou essa despedida consoladora com uma expressão de profunda tristeza. Sozinha de novo com as duas crianças, percebeu o vento soprando de modo lamentoso e entregou-se à melancolia - o luxo mais barato e acessível - até ser vencida pelo sono.

Original English Version

“He’s asleep now, my dear,” said Mrs Wickam after a pause, “you’d better go to bed again. Don’t you feel cold?”

“No, nurse,” said Florence, laughing. “Not at all.”

“Ah!” sighed Mrs Wickam, and she shook her head again, expressing to the watchful Berry, “we shall be cold enough, some of us, by and by!”

Berry took the frugal supper-tray, with which Mrs Wickam had by this time done, and bade her good-night.

“Good-night, Miss!” returned Wickam softly. “Good-night! Your aunt is an old lady, Miss Berry, and it’s what you must have looked for, often.”

This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Ele já dormiu, minha querida - disse a senhora Wickam após uma pausa. - É melhor a senhorita voltar para a cama. Não está com frio?

- Não, ama - disse Florence, rindo. - De modo algum.

- Ah! - suspirou a senhora Wickam, e tornou a menear a cabeça, exprimindo à atenta Berry: - Bem frios ficaremos, alguns de nós, muito em breve!

Berry pegou a frugal bandeja da ceia, com que a senhora Wickam já havia acabado a essa altura, e deu-lhe boa-noite.

- Boa-noite, senhorita! - retomou Wickam com brandura. - Boa-noite! A sua tia é uma velha senhora, senhorita Berry, e é coisa com que a senhorita deve ter contado, muitas vezes.

Essa consoladora despedida a senhora Wickam acompanhou de um olhar de angústia sincera; e, deixada de novo a sós com as duas crianças, e tornando-se consciente de que o vento soprava lugubremente, entregou-se à melancolia - o mais barato e acessível dos luxos - até que foi vencida pelo sono.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A sobrinha da Sra. Pipchin não esperava realmente encontrar aquele admirável dragão morto sobre o tapete da lareira ao descer. Mesmo assim, sentiu-se aliviada ao vê-la especialmente mal-humorada e severa, parecendo decidida a viver muito e consolar todos que a conheciam. Na semana seguinte, a Sra. Pipchin não mostrou sinal algum de enfraquecimento. Sua comida habitual continuou a desaparecer regularmente, embora Paul a estudasse tão atentamente quanto antes, sentado em seu lugar de costume entre as saias pretas dela e o guarda-fogo.

Ao fim daquela semana, Paul não estava mais forte do que quando chegou, embora seu rosto parecesse muito mais saudável. Conseguiram uma pequena carruagem para que ele pudesse ficar deitado com conforto, com um livro do alfabeto e outras leituras elementares, e ser levado à beira-mar. Fiel a seus gostos incomuns, rejeitou o menino de rosto corado sugerido para puxá-la. Em vez dele, escolheu o avô do rapaz: um velho magro, de rosto azedo, vestido com um traje gasto de oleado, endurecido e ressecado por anos na água salgada, que cheirava como uma praia coberta de algas na maré baixa.

Original English Version

Although the niece of Mrs Pipchin did not expect to find that exemplary dragon prostrate on the hearth-rug when she went downstairs, she was relieved to find her unusually fractious and severe, and with every present appearance of intending to live a long time to be a comfort to all who knew her. Nor had she any symptoms of declining, in the course of the ensuing week, when the constitutional viands still continued to disappear in regular succession, notwithstanding that Paul studied her as attentively as ever, and occupied his usual seat between the black skirts and the fender, with unwavering constancy.

But as Paul himself was no stronger at the expiration of that time than he had been on his first arrival, though he looked much healthier in the face, a little carriage was got for him, in which he could lie at his ease, with an alphabet and other elementary works of reference, and be wheeled down to the sea-side. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out.

Tradução Integral em Português

Embora a sobrinha da senhora Pipchin não esperasse encontrar aquele exemplar dragão prostrado sobre o tapete da lareira quando descesse, ficou aliviada por achá-la invulgarmente irritadiça e severa, e com toda a aparência presente de pretender viver por muito tempo, para ser um conforto a todos que a conheciam. Nem apresentou ela qualquer sintoma de declínio no decorrer da semana seguinte, quando as vituálias constitucionais continuaram a desaparecer em sucessão regular, não obstante Paul a estudasse com a mesma atenção de sempre, e ocupasse seu lugar habitual entre as saias pretas e o guarda-fogo, com inabalável constância.

Mas, como o próprio Paul não estava mais forte no fim daquele tempo do que estivera à sua primeira chegada, embora parecesse muito mais saudável de rosto, arranjou-se para ele uma pequena carruagem, na qual podia deitar-se à vontade, com um abecedário e outras obras elementares de consulta, e ser levado à beira-mar. Coerente em seus gostos esquisitos, a criança pôs de lado um rapaz de rosto corado que fora proposto como puxador daquela carruagem, e escolheu, em seu lugar, o avô do rapaz - um velho mirrado, de cara de caranguejo, num traje de oleado surrado, que se tornara duro e fibroso de tanto marinar em água salgada, e que cheirava como uma praia coberta de algas quando a maré está baixa.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Com aquele notável acompanhante puxando-o, Florence sempre caminhando a seu lado e a sombria Wickam vindo atrás, Paul ia todos os dias até a beira do oceano. Ali ficava sentado ou deitado na carruagem durante horas. Nada o incomodava mais do que a companhia de outras crianças, com exceção de Florence, que ele sempre queria por perto.

"Por favor, vá embora", dizia a qualquer criança que viesse lhe fazer companhia. "Obrigado, mas não quero você aqui."

Talvez uma vozinha perto de seu ouvido perguntasse como ele estava.

"Estou muito bem, obrigado", respondia. "Mas, por favor, vá brincar."

Então ele se virava e observava a criança ir embora. Dizia a Florence: "Não precisamos de mais ninguém, precisamos? Dê-me um beijo, Floy."

Nessas ocasiões, ele não gostava nem da companhia de Wickam e ficava satisfeito quando ela se afastava, como costumava fazer, para apanhar conchas e conhecer pessoas. Seu lugar favorito era muito solitário e distante da maioria dos visitantes. Com Florence sentada a seu lado, costurando, lendo ou conversando, o vento em seu rosto e a água subindo ao redor das rodas de sua cama, ele não queria mais nada.

Original English Version

With this notable attendant to pull him along, and Florence always walking by his side, and the despondent Wickam bringing up the rear, he went down to the margin of the ocean every day; and there he would sit or lie in his carriage for hours together: never so distressed as by the company of children - Florence alone excepted, always.

“Go away, if you please,” he would say to any child who came to bear him company. “Thank you, but I don’t want you.”

Some small voice, near his ear, would ask him how he was, perhaps.

“I am very well, I thank you,” he would answer. “But you had better go and play, if you please.”

Then he would turn his head, and watch the child away, and say to Florence, “We don’t want any others, do we? Kiss me, Floy.”

He had even a dislike, at such times, to the company of Wickam, and was well pleased when she strolled away, as she generally did, to pick up shells and acquaintances. His favourite spot was quite a lonely one, far away from most loungers; and with Florence sitting by his side at work, or reading to him, or talking to him, and the wind blowing on his face, and the water coming up among the wheels of his bed, he wanted nothing more.

Tradução Integral em Português

Com esse notável servidor a puxá-lo, e Florence sempre a caminhar a seu lado, e a desalentada Wickam a fechar a retaguarda, ele descia à orla do oceano todos os dias; e ali ficava sentado ou deitado em sua carruagem por horas a fio: nunca tão aflito quanto pela companhia de outras crianças - excetuada Florence, sempre.

- Vá embora, por favor - dizia ele a qualquer criança que viesse fazer-lhe companhia. - Obrigado, mas não preciso de você.

Alguma vozinha, junto a seu ouvido, talvez lhe perguntasse como ele estava.

- Estou muito bem, obrigado - respondia ele. - Mas é melhor você ir brincar, por favor.

Depois virava a cabeça, e acompanhava a criança que se afastava com o olhar, e dizia a Florence: - Não precisamos de mais ninguém, precisamos? Dê-me um beijo, Floy.

Chegava até a ter aversão, em tais ocasiões, à companhia de Wickam, e ficava muito satisfeito quando ela se afastava a passear, como geralmente fazia, para recolher conchas e travar conhecimentos. Seu lugar predileto era bem solitário, distante da maioria dos passeantes; e, com Florence sentada a seu lado a trabalhar, ou a ler para ele, ou a conversar com ele, e o vento a soprar-lhe no rosto, e a água a subir por entre as rodas de seu leito, ele nada mais desejava.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Floy", perguntou ele certo dia, "onde fica a Índia, onde moram os amigos daquele menino?"

"Ah, fica muito, muito longe", disse Florence, erguendo os olhos do trabalho.

"A semanas de distância?" perguntou Paul.

"Sim, querido. São muitas semanas de viagem, dia e noite."

Depois de um minuto em silêncio, Paul disse: "Se você estivesse na Índia, Floy, eu... o que foi que mamãe fez? Esqueci."

"Amou-me!" respondeu Florence.

"Não, não. Eu não amo você agora, Floy? O que foi? Morreu. Se você estivesse na Índia, eu morreria, Floy."

Ela largou depressa o trabalho, apoiou a cabeça no travesseiro dele e o acariciou. Disse que também morreria se ele estivesse lá. Ele logo ficaria melhor.

"Ah, já estou muito melhor!" respondeu ele. "Não é isso que quero dizer. Quero dizer que morreria de tanta tristeza e solidão, Floy!"

Em outra ocasião, no mesmo lugar, ele adormeceu e descansou tranquilamente por muito tempo. De repente acordou, escutou, sentou-se depressa e continuou ouvindo.

Original English Version

“Floy,” he said one day, “where’s India, where that boy’s friends live?”

“Oh, it’s a long, long distance off,” said Florence, raising her eyes from her work.

“Weeks off?” asked Paul.

“Yes dear. Many weeks’ journey, night and day.”

“If you were in India, Floy,” said Paul, after being silent for a minute, “I should - what is it that Mama did? I forget.”

“Loved me!” answered Florence.

“No, no. Don’t I love you now, Floy? What is it? - Died. If you were in India, I should die, Floy.”

She hurriedly put her work aside, and laid her head down on his pillow, caressing him. And so would she, she said, if he were there. He would be better soon.

“Oh! I am a great deal better now!” he answered. “I don’t mean that. I mean that I should die of being so sorry and so lonely, Floy!”

Another time, in the same place, he fell asleep, and slept quietly for a long time. Awaking suddenly, he listened, started up, and sat listening.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Floy - disse ele um dia - , onde fica a Índia, onde moram os parentes daquele menino?

- Oh, é a uma distância muito, muito grande - disse Florence, erguendo os olhos do trabalho.

- A semanas de distância? - perguntou Paul.

- Sim, querido. A muitas semanas de viagem, noite e dia.

- Se você estivesse na Índia, Floy - disse Paul, depois de ficar em silêncio por um minuto - , eu... o que foi que a Mamãe fez? Esqueci.

- Amou-me! - respondeu Florence.

- Não, não. Será que eu não amo você agora, Floy? O que foi?... Morreu. Se você estivesse na Índia, eu morreria, Floy.

Ela apressadamente pôs o trabalho de lado, e recostou a cabeça no travesseiro dele, acariciando-o. E o mesmo faria ela, disse, se ele estivesse lá. Ele logo ficaria melhor.

- Oh! eu já estou muitíssimo melhor agora! - respondeu ele. - Não quero dizer isso. Quero dizer que eu morreria de tão triste e tão sozinho, Floy!

Outra vez, no mesmo lugar, ele adormeceu, e dormiu tranquilamente por muito tempo. Acordando de repente, escutou, sobressaltou-se, e ficou sentado, à escuta.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Florence perguntou o que ele achava ter ouvido.

"Quero saber o que ele diz", respondeu, olhando-a fixamente. "O mar, Floy. O que ele fica dizendo?"

Ela lhe disse que era apenas o som das ondas rolando.

"Sim, sim", disse ele. "Mas sei que elas estão sempre dizendo alguma coisa - sempre a mesma coisa. Que lugar existe lá?" Ele se sentou e olhou ansiosamente para o horizonte.

Ela lhe disse que havia outro país do outro lado do mar. Mas ele respondeu que não era isso que queria dizer. Referia-se a um lugar mais distante - muito mais distante.

Muitas vezes depois disso, no meio das conversas, ele parava para tentar entender o que as ondas diziam sem cessar. Erguia-se no leito e olhava para aquela região invisível e distante.

Original English Version

Florence asked him what he thought he heard.

“I want to know what it says,” he answered, looking steadily in her face. “The sea” Floy, what is it that it keeps on saying?”

She told him that it was only the noise of the rolling waves.

“Yes, yes,” he said. “But I know that they are always saying something. Always the same thing. What place is over there?” He rose up, looking eagerly at the horizon.

She told him that there was another country opposite, but he said he didn’t mean that: he meant further away - farther away!

Very often afterwards, in the midst of their talk, he would break off, to try to understand what it was that the waves were always saying; and would rise up in his couch to look towards that invisible region, far away.

Tradução Integral em Português

Florence perguntou-lhe o que julgava ter ouvido.

- Quero saber o que ele diz - respondeu ele, olhando fixamente para o rosto dela. - O mar, Floy, o que é que ele fica dizendo?

Ela lhe disse que era apenas o ruído das ondas que rolavam.

- Sim, sim - disse ele. - Mas eu sei que elas estão sempre dizendo alguma coisa. Sempre a mesma coisa. Que lugar é aquele ali? - Ergueu-se, olhando ansiosamente para o horizonte.

Ela lhe disse que havia outro país do lado oposto, mas ele disse que não era isso que queria dizer: queria dizer mais longe... mais longe ainda!

Muitas vezes, depois disso, em meio à conversa, ele se interrompia, para tentar entender o que era que as ondas estavam sempre dizendo; e erguia-se em seu leito para olhar na direção daquela região invisível, muito longe dali.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

CHAPTER IX. In which the Wooden Midshipman gets into Trouble

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O jovem Walter Gay tinha forte gosto por romance e maravilhas. Seu tutor, o velho Solomon Gills, não o tinha enfraquecido muito com a dura experiência prática. Por isso, a aventura de Florence com a Boa Sra. Brown despertava em Walter um interesse extraordinário. Ele guardava com carinho a lembrança, sobretudo da parte em que a ajudara, até que ela se tornou a criança mimada de sua imaginação e passou a fazer ali tudo o que queria.

Original English Version

That spice of romance and love of the marvellous, of which there was a pretty strong infusion in the nature of young Walter Gay, and which the guardianship of his Uncle, old Solomon Gills, had not very much weakened by the waters of stern practical experience, was the occasion of his attaching an uncommon and delightful interest to the adventure of Florence with Good Mrs Brown. He pampered and cherished it in his memory, especially that part of it with which he had been associated: until it became the spoiled child of his fancy, and took its own way, and did what it liked with it.

Tradução Integral em Português

Aquele toque de romance e amor pelo maravilhoso, de que havia uma infusão bastante forte na natureza do jovem Walter Gay, e que a tutela de seu tio, o velho Solomon Gills, não enfraquecera muito com as águas da severa experiência prática, foi a razão de ele ligar um interesse incomum e delicioso à aventura de Florence com a Boa senhora Brown. Ele a mimava e acalentava na memória, sobretudo aquela parte de que ele próprio participara, até que ela se tornou a criança mimada de sua fantasia, e tomou o próprio rumo, e fez com ela tudo quanto lhe aprouve.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

A lembrança daqueles acontecimentos e da participação de Walter talvez tivesse ficado ainda mais encantadora por causa dos sonhos dominicais do velho Sol e do capitão Cuttle. Quase todo domingo, um daqueles bons amigos fazia referências misteriosas a Richard Whittington. O capitão Cuttle chegara a comprar uma antiga balada que por muito tempo ficara pendurada, junto de muitas outras, em sua maioria marítimas, num muro da Commercial Road. Ela contava o namoro e o casamento de um jovem e promissor trabalhador do carvão com a 'adorável Peg', talentosa filha do mestre e coproprietário de um navio de Newcastle. O capitão Cuttle via uma ligação profunda entre essa história emocionante e Walter e Florence. Ficava tão comovido que, nos aniversários e em alguns outros dias festivos que não eram domingos, cantava a música inteira aos berros na salinha dos fundos, prolongando a palavra 'Pe-e-eg' no fim de cada verso em homenagem à heroína.

Original English Version

The recollection of those incidents, and his own share in them, may have been made the more captivating, perhaps, by the weekly dreamings of old Sol and Captain Cuttle on Sundays. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. In this stirring legend, Captain Cuttle descried a profound metaphysical bearing on the case of Walter and Florence; and it excited him so much, that on very festive occasions, as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays, he would roar through the whole song in the little back parlour; making an amazing shake on the word Pe-e-eg, with which every verse concluded, in compliment to the heroine of the piece.

Tradução Integral em Português

A lembrança daqueles incidentes, e de seu próprio quinhão neles, talvez se tornasse ainda mais cativante pelos devaneios semanais do velho Sol e do Capitão Cuttle aos domingos. Raro era o domingo que passava sem que um ou outro daqueles dignos camaradas fizesse referências misteriosas a Richard Whittington; e este último cavalheiro chegara mesmo ao ponto de comprar uma balada de considerável antiguidade, que por muito tempo esvoaçara entre muitas outras, quase todas expressivas de sentimentos marítimos, num muro morto da Commercial Road: obra poética que narrava o namoro e as núpcias de um promissor jovem descarregador de carvão com uma tal “adorável Peg”, a prendada filha do mestre e coproprietário de um cargueiro de carvão de Newcastle. Nessa comovente lenda o Capitão Cuttle enxergava um profundo alcance metafísico no caso de Walter e Florence; e isso o excitava tanto que, em ocasiões muito festivas, como aniversários e alguns poucos feriados não dominicais, ele bramia a canção inteira na salinha dos fundos, dando um espantoso trinado na palavra Pe-e-eg, com que terminava cada verso, em homenagem à heroína da peça.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Um menino franco, generoso e de coração aberto raramente analisa os próprios sentimentos, por mais fortes que sejam, e Walter teria dificuldade para explicar os seus. Gostava muito do cais onde encontrara Florence e até das ruas pouco atraentes pelas quais tinham voltado para casa. Guardava no quarto os sapatos que tantas vezes tinham caído dos pés dela e, na salinha dos fundos, desenhava muitos retratos imaginários da Boa Sra. Brown. Talvez passasse a se vestir com um pouco mais de cuidado depois daquele dia memorável. Em seu tempo livre, certamente gostava de caminhar perto da casa do Sr. Dombey, com a vaga esperança de cruzar com Florence. No entanto, todos esses sentimentos eram inteiramente juvenis e inocentes. Florence era bonita, e era agradável admirar um rosto bonito. Ela estivera fraca e indefesa, e Walter se orgulhava de tê-la protegido e ajudado. Ela era profundamente grata, e ele adorava ver essa gratidão brilhando em seu rosto. Florence era negligenciada e tratada com frieza, e o jovem coração dele se interessava pela criança desprezada em sua casa sombria e imponente.

Original English Version

But a frank, free-spirited, open-hearted boy, is not much given to analysing the nature of his own feelings, however strong their hold upon him: and Walter would have found it difficult to decide this point. He had a great affection for the wharf where he had encountered Florence, and for the streets (albeit not enchanting in themselves) by which they had come home. The shoes that had so often tumbled off by the way, he preserved in his own room; and, sitting in the little back parlour of an evening, he had drawn a whole gallery of fancy portraits of Good Mrs Brown. It may be that he became a little smarter in his dress after that memorable occasion; and he certainly liked in his leisure time to walk towards that quarter of the town where Mr Dombey’s house was situated, on the vague chance of passing little Florence in the street. But the sentiment of all this was as boyish and innocent as could be. Florence was very pretty, and it is pleasant to admire a pretty face. Florence was defenceless and weak, and it was a proud thought that he had been able to render her any protection and assistance. Florence was the most grateful little creature in the world, and it was delightful to see her bright gratitude beaming in her face. Florence was neglected and coldly looked upon, and his breast was full of youthful interest for the slighted child in her dull, stately home.

Tradução Integral em Português

Mas um rapaz franco, de espírito livre e coração aberto não é muito dado a analisar a natureza dos próprios sentimentos, por mais forte que seja o domínio deles sobre ele: e Walter teria achado difícil decidir esse ponto. Tinha grande afeição pelo cais onde encontrara Florence, e pelas ruas (conquanto não fossem encantadoras em si mesmas) por onde haviam voltado para casa. Os sapatos que tantas vezes lhe caíram pelo caminho, ele os guardava no próprio quarto; e, sentado à noite na salinha dos fundos, desenhara toda uma galeria de retratos imaginários da Boa senhora Brown. Pode ser que se tenha tornado um pouco mais esmerado no vestir depois daquela memorável ocasião; e certamente gostava, nas horas de lazer, de caminhar em direção àquele bairro da cidade onde ficava a casa do senhor Dombey, na vaga esperança de cruzar com a pequena Florence na rua. Mas o sentimento de tudo isso era o mais infantil e inocente que pudesse haver. Florence era muito bonita, e é agradável admirar um rosto bonito. Florence era indefesa e frágil, e era um pensamento orgulhoso lembrar que ele fora capaz de lhe prestar alguma proteção e auxílio. Florence era a criaturinha mais grata do mundo, e era um deleite ver a viva gratidão a lhe iluminar o rosto. Florence era desprezada e olhada com frieza, e o peito dele transbordava de juvenil interesse pela criança desdenhada em seu lar sombrio e imponente.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Assim, talvez umas seis vezes ao longo do ano, Walter tirou o chapéu para Florence na rua, e ela parou para apertar sua mão. A Sra. Wickam conhecia a história do encontro dos dois e já estava acostumada com isso. Com seu costume de alterar nomes, sempre o chamava de 'jovem Graves' e não prestava atenção. A Srta. Nipper, porém, ficava à espera desses encontros. Seu sensível coração juvenil favorecia Walter em segredo por causa da boa aparência dele e acreditava que seus sentimentos eram correspondidos.

Original English Version

Thus it came about that, perhaps some half-a-dozen times in the course of the year, Walter pulled off his hat to Florence in the street, and Florence would stop to shake hands. Mrs Wickam (who, with a characteristic alteration of his name, invariably spoke of him as “Young Graves”) was so well used to this, knowing the story of their acquaintance, that she took no heed of it at all. Miss Nipper, on the other hand, rather looked out for these occasions: her sensitive young heart being secretly propitiated by Walter’s good looks, and inclining to the belief that its sentiments were responded to.

Tradução Integral em Português

Foi assim que, talvez umas meia dúzia de vezes no correr do ano, Walter tirava o chapéu para Florence na rua, e Florence parava para apertar-lhe a mão. A senhora Wickam (que, com uma característica alteração de seu nome, invariavelmente se referia a ele como “o jovem Túmulos”) estava tão habituada a isso, conhecendo a história da amizade deles, que não lhe dava a menor atenção. A senhorita Nipper, por outro lado, mais bem espreitava essas ocasiões: seu sensível coração jovem estando secretamente aplacado pela boa aparência de Walter, e inclinando-se a crer que os seus sentimentos eram correspondidos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Desse modo, Walter não esqueceu Florence; ao contrário, lembrava-se dela com clareza cada vez maior. Tratava o início aventureiro da amizade e seus detalhes especiais como uma história agradável que encantava sua imaginação, e não como fatos comuns que o envolviam. Em sua mente, tudo isso tornava Florence mais extraordinária, mas não Walter. Às vezes imaginava como teria sido grandioso se tivesse partido para o mar no dia seguinte ao encontro, realizado maravilhas, ficado anos longe e voltado como almirante de todas as cores do golfinho - ou pelo menos como capitão com dragonas ofuscantes. Então se casaria com Florence, já adulta e linda, apesar dos dentes, da gravata e da corrente do relógio do Sr. Dombey, e a levaria triunfalmente para alguma costa azul distante. Mas esses sonhos raramente transformavam a placa de bronze da Dombey e Filho numa promessa dourada ou faziam brilhar suas claraboias sujas. Quando o capitão Cuttle e o tio Sol falavam de Richard Whittington e das filhas dos patrões, Walter sabia que compreendia sua verdadeira posição na Dombey e Filho muito melhor do que eles.

Original English Version

In this way, Walter, so far from forgetting or losing sight of his acquaintance with Florence, only remembered it better and better. As to its adventurous beginning, and all those little circumstances which gave it a distinctive character and relish, he took them into account, more as a pleasant story very agreeable to his imagination, and not to be dismissed from it, than as a part of any matter of fact with which he was concerned. They set off Florence very much, to his fancy; but not himself. Sometimes he thought (and then he walked very fast) what a grand thing it would have been for him to have been going to sea on the day after that first meeting, and to have gone, and to have done wonders there, and to have stopped away a long time, and to have come back an Admiral of all the colours of the dolphin, or at least a Post-Captain with epaulettes of insupportable brightness, and have married Florence (then a beautiful young woman) in spite of Mr Dombey’s teeth, cravat, and watch-chain, and borne her away to the blue shores of somewhere or other, triumphantly. But these flights of fancy seldom burnished the brass plate of Dombey and Son’s Offices into a tablet of golden hope, or shed a brilliant lustre on their dirty skylights; and when the Captain and Uncle Sol talked about Richard Whittington and masters’ daughters, Walter felt that he understood his true position at Dombey and Son’s, much better than they did.

Tradução Integral em Português

Desse modo, Walter, longe de esquecer ou perder de vista o seu convívio com Florence, apenas o recordava cada vez melhor. Quanto ao seu começo aventuroso, e a todas aquelas pequenas circunstâncias que lhe davam um caráter e um sabor distintos, ele as levava em conta muito mais como uma história agradável, muito grata à sua imaginação e que dela não se deixava expulsar, do que como parte de qualquer fato concreto que lhe dissesse respeito. Elas realçavam bastante Florence, à sua fantasia; mas não a ele mesmo. Às vezes pensava (e então caminhava muito depressa) que grande coisa teria sido para ele partir para o mar no dia seguinte àquele primeiro encontro, e ter partido, e ter feito prodígios por lá, e ter ficado fora por muito tempo, e ter voltado Almirante de todas as cores do golfinho, ou ao menos Capitão de Mar e Guerra com dragonas de insuportável brilho, e ter-se casado com Florence (então uma bela jovem) a despeito dos dentes, do lenço de pescoço e da corrente de relógio do senhor Dombey, e a ter levado triunfalmente para as praias azuis de sabe-se lá onde. Mas esses voos de fantasia raramente transformavam a placa de latão dos Escritórios de Dombey and Son numa lápide de dourada esperança, ou lançavam um lustre brilhante sobre as suas claraboias imundas; e quando o Capitão e o tio Sol falavam de Richard Whittington e das filhas dos patrões, Walter sentia que compreendia a sua verdadeira posição na Dombey and Son muito melhor do que eles.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

Assim, Walter continuava a fazer seu trabalho diário com alegria, cuidado e bom humor. Percebia as ideias excessivamente esperançosas do tio Sol e do capitão Cuttle, mas alimentava mil sonhos vagos ainda menos prováveis do que os deles. Essa era sua situação durante o período na casa da Sra. Pipchin. Parecia um pouco mais velho, mas não muito, e continuava o mesmo rapaz ágil, alegre e distraído que certa vez entrara correndo na sala à frente do tio Sol e dos hóspedes imaginários e segurara uma luz enquanto ele trazia o Madeira.

"Tio Sol", disse Walter, "acho que o senhor não está bem. Não comeu nada no café da manhã. Se continuar assim, vou trazer um médico."

"Ele não pode me dar o que preciso, meu rapaz", disse o tio Sol. "Pelo menos, se puder, então seu negócio vai bem - e nesse caso ele não me daria."

Original English Version

So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period, when he looked a little older than of yore, but not much; and was the same light-footed, light-hearted, light-headed lad, as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders, and lighted him to bring up the Madeira.

“Uncle Sol,” said Walter, “I don’t think you’re well. You haven’t eaten any breakfast. I shall bring a doctor to you, if you go on like this.”

“He can’t give me what I want, my boy,” said Uncle Sol. “At least he is in good practice if he can - and then he wouldn’t.”

Tradução Integral em Português

Foi assim que ele continuou a fazer o que tinha de fazer, dia após dia, num espírito alegre, esforçado e jovial; e via através da complexão sanguínea do tio Sol e do Capitão Cuttle; e no entanto alimentava mil fantasias indistintas e visionárias suas próprias, diante das quais as deles eram probabilidades rotineiras. Tal era a sua condição no período Pipchin, quando parecia um pouco mais velho do que outrora, mas não muito; e era o mesmo rapaz de pés ligeiros, coração leve e cabeça leviana de quando irrompera na sala à frente do tio Sol e dos hóspedes imaginários, e o iluminara para ir buscar o Madeira.

- Tio Sol - disse Walter - , acho que o senhor não está bem. Não comeu nada no café da manhã. Vou chamar um médico para o senhor, se continuar assim.

- Ele não pode me dar o que eu quero, meu rapaz - disse o tio Sol. - Ou, ao menos, tem boa clientela se puder... e nesse caso não daria.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Do que o senhor precisa, tio? Clientes?"

"Sim", respondeu Solomon com um suspiro. "Clientes ajudariam."

"Ora essa, tio!" disse Walter, pousando a xícara com estrondo e batendo na mesa. "Quando vejo multidões subindo e descendo a rua o dia inteiro e passando diante da loja a cada minuto, quase tenho vontade de sair correndo, agarrar alguém, trazê-lo para dentro e obrigá-lo a comprar cinquenta libras em instrumentos, à vista. Por que está olhando pela porta?" continuou Walter, dirigindo-se em silêncio a um velho senhor de cabelo empoado que examinava atentamente uma luneta naval. "Isso não ajuda. Eu também poderia fazer isso. Entre e compre!"

O velho senhor, porém, satisfez sua curiosidade e foi embora com calma.

"Lá vai ele!" disse Walter. "Todos são assim. Mas, tio... estou falando, tio Sol!" O velho estava mergulhado em pensamentos e não respondera ao primeiro chamado. "Não perca a esperança. Não fique triste, tio. Quando as encomendas chegarem, serão tantas que o senhor não conseguirá atender a todas."

Original English Version

“What is it, Uncle? Customers?”

“Ay,” returned Solomon, with a sigh. “Customers would do.”

“Confound it, Uncle!” said Walter, putting down his breakfast cup with a clatter, and striking his hand on the table: “when I see the people going up and down the street in shoals all day, and passing and re-passing the shop every minute, by scores, I feel half tempted to rush out, collar somebody, bring him in, and make him buy fifty pounds’ worth of instruments for ready money. What are you looking in at the door for? - ” continued Walter, apostrophizing an old gentleman with a powdered head (inaudibly to him of course), who was staring at a ship’s telescope with all his might and main. “That’s no use. I could do that. Come in and buy it!”

The old gentleman, however, having satiated his curiosity, walked calmly away.

“There he goes!” said Walter. “That’s the way with ’em all. But, Uncle - I say, Uncle Sol” - for the old man was meditating and had not responded to his first appeal. “Don’t be cast down. Don’t be out of spirits, Uncle. When orders do come, they’ll come in such a crowd, you won’t be able to execute ’em.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- O que é, tio? Fregueses?

- Ah - respondeu Solomon, com um suspiro. - Fregueses serviriam.

- Que diabo, tio! - disse Walter, pousando com estrépito a xícara do café e batendo com a mão na mesa. - Quando vejo a gente subindo e descendo a rua em cardumes o dia inteiro, e passando e repassando diante da loja a cada minuto, às dúzias, sinto-me quase tentado a sair correndo, agarrar alguém pelo colarinho, trazê-lo para dentro e obrigá-lo a comprar cinquenta libras de instrumentos à vista. Para que está o senhor olhando aí para dentro da porta? - continuou Walter, apostrofando um velho cavalheiro de cabeça empoada (inaudível para ele, está claro) que fitava com todas as suas forças um telescópio de bordo. - Não adianta nada. Isso eu também sei fazer. Entre e compre!

O velho cavalheiro, contudo, tendo saciado a curiosidade, afastou-se com toda a calma.

- Lá vai ele! - disse Walter. - É assim com todos eles. Mas, tio... escute, tio Sol - pois o velho meditava e não respondera ao seu primeiro apelo. - Não fique abatido. Não desanime, tio. Quando os pedidos vierem, virão em tal enxurrada que o senhor não conseguirá atendê-los.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Já não poderei atendê-las quando chegarem, meu rapaz", respondeu Solomon Gills. "Elas nunca voltarão a esta loja enquanto eu estiver aqui."

"Tio, o senhor não pode mesmo falar assim!" insistiu Walter. "Por favor, não fale!"

O velho Sol tentou parecer alegre e sorriu do outro lado da pequena mesa da maneira mais agradável que conseguiu.

"Não há nada além dos problemas de sempre, há, tio?" perguntou Walter. Apoiou os cotovelos na bandeja de chá e se inclinou para falar com mais intimidade e bondade. "Se houver, seja sincero comigo, tio, e conte tudo."

"Não, não, não", respondeu o velho Sol. "Além do habitual? Não, não. Por que haveria algo pior que o habitual?"

Walter balançou a cabeça, desconfiado. "É isso que quero saber", disse, "e o senhor pergunta a mim! Vou lhe dizer uma coisa, tio. Quando o vejo assim, quase lamento morar com o senhor."

Original English Version

“I shall be past executing ’em, whenever they come, my boy,” returned Solomon Gills. “They’ll never come to this shop again, till I am out of t.”

“I say, Uncle! You musn’t really, you know!” urged Walter. “Don’t!”

Old Sol endeavoured to assume a cheery look, and smiled across the little table at him as pleasantly as he could.

“There’s nothing more than usual the matter; is there, Uncle?” said Walter, leaning his elbows on the tea tray, and bending over, to speak the more confidentially and kindly. “Be open with me, Uncle, if there is, and tell me all about it.”

“No, no, no,” returned Old Sol. “More than usual? No, no. What should there be the matter more than usual?”

Walter answered with an incredulous shake of his head. “That’s what I want to know,” he said, “and you ask me! I’ll tell you what, Uncle, when I see you like this, I am quite sorry that I live with you.”

Tradução Integral em Português

- Já não estarei em condições de atendê-los, quando vierem, meu rapaz - respondeu Solomon Gills. - Nunca mais voltarão a esta loja, enquanto eu estiver nela.

- Ora, tio! O senhor não deve mesmo, sabe! - insistiu Walter. - Não diga isso!

O velho Sol esforçou-se por assumir um ar alegre e sorriu para ele, do outro lado da mesinha, com a maior afabilidade que pôde.

- Não há nada mais grave do que de costume; há, tio? - disse Walter, apoiando os cotovelos na bandeja do chá e inclinando-se para falar com mais confiança e ternura. - Seja franco comigo, tio, se houver, e conte-me tudo.

- Não, não, não - respondeu o velho Sol. - Mais do que de costume? Não, não. Que poderia haver de errado mais do que de costume?

Walter respondeu com um incrédulo meneio de cabeça. - É justamente o que eu quero saber - disse ele - , e o senhor me pergunta! Vou lhe dizer uma coisa, tio: quando o vejo assim, fico até triste por morar com o senhor.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

O velho Sol arregalou os olhos, surpreso.

"Sim. Embora ninguém jamais tenha sido mais feliz com o senhor do que eu sou e sempre fui, quase lamento morar com o senhor quando vejo que alguma coisa o preocupa."

"Sei que fico um pouco sombrio nessas ocasiões", disse Solomon, esfregando as mãos com humildade.

Original English Version

Old Sol opened his eyes involuntarily.

“Yes. Though nobody ever was happier than I am and always have been with you, I am quite sorry that I live with you, when I see you with anything in your mind.”

“I am a little dull at such times, I know,” observed Solomon, meekly rubbing his hands.

Tradução Integral em Português

O velho Sol arregalou os olhos involuntariamente.

- Sim. Embora nunca ninguém tenha sido mais feliz do que sou e sempre fui ao lado do senhor, fico até triste por morar com o senhor, quando o vejo com alguma coisa na cabeça.

- Sei que fico um pouco taciturno nessas horas - observou Solomon, esfregando humildemente as mãos.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"O que quero dizer, tio Sol", continuou Walter, inclinando-se ainda mais para dar um tapinha em seu ombro, "é que, em vez de mim, o senhor deveria ter uma esposinha simpática e rechonchuda sentada aqui, servindo o chá. Seria uma velha senhora confortável, excelente e acolhedora, perfeita para o senhor, que saberia como cuidar de você e mantê-lo animado. Eu o amo tanto quanto qualquer sobrinho já amou, e certamente devo amá-lo, mas sou apenas um sobrinho. Quando o senhor está triste e preocupado, não posso ser a companhia que ela teria se tornado anos atrás. Eu daria qualquer coisa para animá-lo, mas, sempre que vejo algo lhe pesando na mente, lamento que não tenha por perto alguém melhor do que um rapaz desajeitado e rude como eu. Tenho vontade de consolá-lo, tio, mas não tenho jeito - não tenho jeito", repetiu Walter, inclinando-se ainda mais para apertar a mão do tio.

Original English Version

“What I mean, Uncle Sol,” pursued Walter, bending over a little more to pat him on the shoulder, “is, that then I feel you ought to have, sitting here and pouring out the tea instead of me, a nice little dumpling of a wife, you know, - a comfortable, capital, cosy old lady, who was just a match for you, and knew how to manage you, and keep you in good heart. Here am I, as loving a nephew as ever was (I am sure I ought to be!) but I am only a nephew, and I can’t be such a companion to you when you’re low and out of sorts as she would have made herself, years ago, though I’m sure I’d give any money if I could cheer you up. And so I say, when I see you with anything on your mind, that I feel quite sorry you haven’t got somebody better about you than a blundering young rough-and-tough boy like me, who has got the will to console you, Uncle, but hasn’t got the way - hasn’t got the way,” repeated Walter, reaching over further yet, to shake his Uncle by the hand.

Tradução Integral em Português

- O que eu quero dizer, tio Sol - prosseguiu Walter, inclinando-se um pouco mais para lhe dar uma palmadinha no ombro - , é que sinto que o senhor devia ter, sentada aqui e servindo o chá em vez de mim, uma boa esposinha rechonchuda, sabe, uma velha senhora aconchegante, excelente e caseira, que fosse justamente à sua altura, e soubesse cuidar do senhor e mantê-lo animado. Aqui estou eu, o sobrinho mais dedicado que já existiu (e bem que devo ser!), mas sou apenas um sobrinho, e não posso ser para o senhor, quando está abatido e adoentado, a companhia que ela teria sido, anos atrás, embora eu bem que daria qualquer dinheiro se pudesse animá-lo. E por isso digo, quando o vejo com alguma coisa na cabeça, que fico até triste por o senhor não ter ao seu lado alguém melhor do que um moço rude e atrapalhado como eu, que tem a vontade de consolá-lo, tio, mas não tem o jeito... não tem o jeito - repetiu Walter, estendendo-se ainda mais para apertar a mão do tio.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Wally, meu querido rapaz", disse Solomon, "se aquela velha senhora acolhedora tivesse ocupado seu lugar nesta sala há quarenta e cinco anos, eu nunca poderia ter gostado mais dela do que gosto de você."

"Eu sei disso, tio Sol", respondeu Walter. "Deus o abençoe, eu sei. Mas, se ela estivesse aqui, o senhor não carregaria sozinho todo o peso dos segredos dolorosos. Ela saberia ajudá-lo a dividi-los, e eu não sei."

"Sim, sim, você sabe", respondeu o fabricante de instrumentos.

"Então o que há de errado, tio Sol?" perguntou Walter com carinho. "Vamos, conte. O que há de errado?"

Solomon Gills insistiu que nada estava errado. Afirmou isso com tanta firmeza que o sobrinho só pôde fazer uma fraca tentativa de fingir que acreditava nele.

"Tudo o que posso dizer, tio Sol, é que, se houver..."

"Mas não há", disse Solomon.

Original English Version

“Wally, my dear boy,” said Solomon, “if the cosy little old lady had taken her place in this parlour five and forty years ago, I never could have been fonder of her than I am of you.”

“I know that, Uncle Sol,” returned Walter. “Lord bless you, I know that. But you wouldn’t have had the whole weight of any uncomfortable secrets if she had been with you, because she would have known how to relieve you of ’em, and I don’t.”

“Yes, yes, you do,” returned the Instrument-maker.

“Well then, what’s the matter, Uncle Sol?” said Walter, coaxingly. “Come! What’s the matter?”

Solomon Gills persisted that there was nothing the matter; and maintained it so resolutely, that his nephew had no resource but to make a very indifferent imitation of believing him.

“All I can say is, Uncle Sol, that if there is - ”

“But there isn’t,” said Solomon.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Wally, meu querido rapaz - disse Solomon - , se a aconchegante velhinha tivesse tomado o seu lugar nesta sala quarenta e cinco anos atrás, jamais eu poderia ter gostado dela mais do que gosto de você.

- Eu sei disso, tio Sol - retrucou Walter. - Deus o abençoe, eu sei disso. Mas o senhor não teria de carregar sozinho todo o peso de quaisquer segredos incômodos, se ela estivesse com o senhor, porque ela saberia como aliviá-lo deles, e eu não sei.

- Sabe, sim, sabe - respondeu o fabricante de instrumentos.

- Então diga, o que é que há, tio Sol? - disse Walter, com meiguice. - Vamos! Qual é o problema?

Solomon Gills insistia em que não havia problema algum; e sustentou isso com tal firmeza que ao sobrinho não restou senão fazer uma péssima imitação de quem acreditava nele.

- Tudo o que tenho a dizer, tio Sol, é que, se houver...

- Mas não há - disse Solomon.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Tradução da Versão Simplificada (B1)

"Muito bem", disse Walter. "Então não tenho mais nada a dizer, o que é uma sorte, pois está na hora de eu ir trabalhar. Voltarei mais tarde, quando estiver livre, para ver como o senhor está, tio. E lembre-se: se eu descobrir que me enganou, nunca mais acreditarei no senhor nem lhe contarei nada sobre o Sr. Carker Júnior!"

Solomon Gills riu e desafiou Walter a descobrir qualquer engano desse tipo. Walter foi aos escritórios da Dombey e Filho parecendo mais triste do que de costume, enquanto imaginava muitas maneiras impossíveis de fazer fortuna e dar independência financeira ao Guarda-Marinha de madeira.

Original English Version

“Very well,” said Walter. “Then I’ve no more to say; and that’s lucky, for my time’s up for going to business. I shall look in by-and-by when I’m out, to see how you get on, Uncle. And mind, Uncle! I’ll never believe you again, and never tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior, if I find out that you have been deceiving me!”

Solomon Gills laughingly defied him to find out anything of the kind; and Walter, revolving in his thoughts all sorts of impracticable ways of making fortunes and placing the wooden Midshipman in a position of independence, betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there.

Tradução Integral em Português

- Muito bem - disse Walter. - Então não tenho mais nada a dizer; e ainda bem, pois deu a minha hora de ir para o trabalho. Vou passar por aqui mais tarde, quando sair, para ver como o senhor está, tio. E cuidado, tio! Nunca mais acreditarei no senhor, e nunca mais lhe contarei nada a respeito do senhor Carker, o Júnior, se eu descobrir que o senhor andou me enganando!

Solomon Gills, rindo, desafiou-o a descobrir coisa alguma dessa espécie; e Walter, revolvendo em seus pensamentos toda sorte de impraticáveis maneiras de fazer fortuna e colocar o Guarda-Marinha de Madeira numa posição de independência, encaminhou-se para os escritórios de Dombey and Son com o semblante mais pesado do que costumava levar até lá.

Retorna à Versão Inglês Simplificada    Go to the Original English Version

Glossary: New Words (1/6)

Priority words from the simplified reading and post-nominal letters found in this book. Post-nominals are abbreviations placed after a person's name to identify honours, professional memberships, academic titles or qualifications. Each entry shows up to six real uses; Back to B1 opens the exact simplified sentence, while Back to Original opens the exact paragraph in Original English.

acceptable /əkˈsɛptəbl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aceitável; admissível

Simple English: Agreed upon by most people in a society.

Example: Wearing casual clothes is acceptable in many modern workplaces today.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A sharp criticism that would be acceptable about ordinary High Holborn became terrible blasphemy when said about Princess's Place. Go to

accompaniment /əˈkʌmpənimənt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acompanhamento

Simple English: Something that goes together with another thing.

Example: They continued slowly upward while she sang all the way and Paul sometimes hummed a weak accompaniment.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They continued slowly upward while she sang all the way and Paul sometimes hummed a weak accompaniment. Go to

Original English Version

1. So they went, toiling up; she singing all the way, and Paul sometimes crooning out a feeble accompaniment. Go to

accurate /ˈækjərət/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: preciso; exato; exata

Simple English: Free from errors; matching facts or reality precisely.

Example: The report must be accurate to provide valid information for the clients.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps nobody had ever been more completely selfish at heart - or at stomach, which may be more accurate, since that organ was much better developed in him than his heart. Go to

ache /eɪk/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: doem

Simple English: To hurt with a steady dull pain.

Example: He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Sometimes I am so tired,” little Paul said, warming his hands and looking between the bars of the grate as if a ghostly puppet show were taking place there, “and my bones ache so much - Wickam says it is my bones - that I do not know what to do.” Go to

Original English Version

1. He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it. Go to

2. I am so tired sometimes,” said little Paul, warming his hands, and looking in between the bars of the grate, as if some ghostly puppet-show were performing there, “and my bones ache so (Wickam says it’s my bones), that I don’t know what to do.” Go to

ached /eɪkt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: doeu; doeram; latejou

Simple English: Hurt with a steady dull pain.

Example: She had so much love that no one seemed to want, and such sad understanding that no one seemed to care about hurting, that Polly’s heart ached when she was alone again.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She had so much love that no one seemed to want, and such sad understanding that no one seemed to care about hurting, that Polly’s heart ached when she was alone again. Go to

acquaintances /əˈkweɪntənsɪz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: conhecidos; conhecidas

Simple English: People one knows but who are not necessarily close friends.

Example: Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep. Go to

2. He had even a dislike, at such times, to the company of Wickam, and was well pleased when she strolled away, as she generally did, to pick up shells and acquaintances. Go to

admirable /ˈædmərəbəl/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: admirável; digno de admiração

Simple English: Deserving respect and praise.

Example: People also said it was highly admirable that Mrs Pipchin had devoted herself to this life, sacrificed her feelings, and firmly resisted her troubles after Mr Pipchin broke his heart over the Peruvian mines.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. People also said it was highly admirable that Mrs Pipchin had devoted herself to this life, sacrificed her feelings, and firmly resisted her troubles after Mr Pipchin broke his heart over the Peruvian mines. Go to

2. Paul could sit in his little armchair by the fire and stare at this admirable old lady for any length of time. Go to

3. Mrs Pipchin's niece did not really expect to find that admirable dragon lying dead on the hearthrug when she went downstairs. Go to

admirals /ˈædmərəlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: almirantes

Simple English: Senior officers who command naval forces or fleets.

Example: “No more admirals.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “No more admirals. Go to

Original English Version

1. No more admirals. Go to

admirers /ədˈmaɪərərz/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: admiradores

Simple English: People who like and respect someone very much.

Example: Her request to work for Mr Dombey had been accepted because it seemed impossible that she had any admirers or anyone likely to visit her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her request to work for Mr Dombey had been accepted because it seemed impossible that she had any admirers or anyone likely to visit her. Go to

admiring /ədˈmaɪərɪŋ/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: admirado; cheio de admiração

Simple English: Showing that you think someone is very good.

Example: “Come!” cried the man they had been admiring, as he returned.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Come!” cried the man they had been admiring, as he returned. Go to

admiringly /ədˈmaɪərɪŋli/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com admiração

Simple English: In a way that shows warm approval or admiration.

Example: She had listened admiringly to others for so long, looking as if she were printing their images forever on her soul, that her head now permanently leaned to one side.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She had listened admiringly to others for so long, looking as if she were printing their images forever on her soul, that her head now permanently leaned to one side. Go to

Original English Version

1. From a long habit of listening admiringly to everything that was said in her presence, and looking at the speakers as if she were mentally engaged in taking off impressions of their images upon her soul, never to part with the same but with life, her head had quite settled on one side. Go to

adventurer /ədˈventʃərər/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: aventureiro

Simple English: A person who looks for exciting or risky experiences.

Example: His Welsh wig was the plainest and most stubborn Welsh wig ever worn, and it made him look like anything except a sea adventurer.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His Welsh wig was the plainest and most stubborn Welsh wig ever worn, and it made him look like anything except a sea adventurer. Go to

adventurous /ədˈventʃərəs/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aventureiro; audacioso

Simple English: Willing to take risks and try new or exciting things.

Example: Yet some nearby sights suggested adventurous and romantic stories.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Yet some nearby sights suggested adventurous and romantic stories. Go to

2. Everything meant to warn the boy against an adventurous life had only made him want it more. Go to

3. He treated the adventurous beginning of their friendship and its special details as a pleasant story that delighted his imagination, rather than as ordinary facts involving himself. Go to

Original English Version

1. Though the offices of Dombey and Son were within the liberties of the City of London, and within hearing of Bow Bells, when their clashing voices were not drowned by the uproar in the streets, yet were there hints of adventurous and romantic story to be observed in some of the adjacent objects. Go to

2. The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it. Go to

3. As to its adventurous beginning, and all those little circumstances which gave it a distinctive character and relish, he took them into account, more as a pleasant story very agreeable to his imagination, and not to be dismissed from it, than as a part of any matter of fact with which he was concerned. Go to

affectionately /əˈfekʃənətli/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: afetuosamente; com carinho

Simple English: In a way that shows love and warmth.

Example: In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately. Go to

affections /əˈfekʃənz/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: afetos; sentimentos amorosos

Simple English: Feelings of love, fondness, or emotional attachment.

Example: She will never slide gently into the centre of her Papa's affections like the - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She will never slide gently into the centre of her Papa's affections like the - ” Go to

Original English Version

1. She’ll never glide and nestle into the bosom of her Papa’s affections like - the - ” Go to

2. Some philosophers tell us that selfishness is at the root of our best loves and affections. Go to

3. “She took fancies to people; whimsical fancies, some of them; others, affections that one might expect to see - only stronger than common. Go to

agreeable /əˈɡriːəbəl/ (25 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agradável; aceitável

Simple English: Pleasant, acceptable, or willing to agree.

Example: “So I’m agreeable, I’m sure,” said Susan Nipper, “to live friendly, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul continues a permanency, if the means can be planned out without going openly against orders, but goodness gracious Miss Floy, you haven’t got your things off yet, you naughty child, you haven’t, come along!”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “So I’m agreeable, I’m sure,” said Susan Nipper, “to live friendly, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul continues a permanency, if the means can be planned out without going openly against orders, but goodness gracious Miss Floy, you haven’t got your things off yet, you naughty child, you haven’t, come along!” Go to

2. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child’s behalf from the first, and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world, I am sorry to say), that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her.” Go to

3. As to its adventurous beginning, and all those little circumstances which gave it a distinctive character and relish, he took them into account, more as a pleasant story very agreeable to his imagination, and not to be dismissed from it, than as a part of any matter of fact with which he was concerned. Go to

aisles /aɪlz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corredores; passagens

Simple English: Plural of aisle: long passageways between rows, seats, shelves, or trees.

Example: There were dusty mats, cold stone floors, frightening free seats in the aisles, and a damp corner by the bell rope.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. There were dusty mats, cold stone floors, frightening free seats in the aisles, and a damp corner by the bell rope. Go to

Original English Version

1. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Go to

alarmed /əˈlɑːrmd/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: alarmado; assustado; apreensivo

Simple English: Suddenly worried or frightened that something bad may happen.

Example: “One mass of babies!” repeated Mr Chick, staring with an alarmed expression about him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I was truly shocked and alarmed last night. Go to

Original English Version

1. “One mass of babies!” repeated Mr Chick, staring with an alarmed expression about him. Go to

alleys /ˈæliz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: becos

Simple English: narrow passages between or behind buildings

Example: At last Mrs Brown came out and led her changed, ragged little companion through a maze of narrow streets, lanes, and alleys.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At last Mrs Brown came out and led her changed, ragged little companion through a maze of narrow streets, lanes, and alleys. Go to

Original English Version

1. At length, Mrs Brown, issuing forth, conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys, which emerged, after a long time, upon a stable yard, with a gateway at the end, whence the roar of a great thoroughfare made itself audible. Go to

amazement /əˈmeɪzmənt/ (36 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: espanto; assombro; admiração

Simple English: A feeling of great surprise and wonder.

Example: Mr Clark stood frozen in amazement, quietly saying that he had never seen such a surprise on that wharf.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Clark stood frozen in amazement, quietly saying that he had never seen such a surprise on that wharf. Go to

2. He moved his chair back a little so that he could stare in pure amazement at the bold little creature who had asked such a question. Go to

3. "You do not believe it, sir?" Mrs Pipchin repeated in amazement. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Clark stood rapt in amazement: observing under his breath, I never saw such a start on this wharf before. Go to

2. “What is money after all!” said Mr Dombey, backing his chair a little, that he might the better gaze in sheer amazement at the presumptuous atom that propounded such an inquiry. Go to

analyzes /ˈænəlaɪzɪz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: analisa

Simple English: examines something carefully to understand it

Example: A frank, generous, open-hearted boy rarely analyzes his own feelings, however strong they are, and Walter would have struggled to explain his.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A frank, generous, open-hearted boy rarely analyzes his own feelings, however strong they are, and Walter would have struggled to explain his. Go to

angelic /ænˈdʒɛlɪk/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: angelical; muito bondoso

Simple English: Like an angel in beauty, innocence, or goodness.

Example: But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged. Go to

angle /ˈæŋɡəl/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ângulo

Simple English: Space between two lines or surfaces joined together.

Example: The angle between the two walls is about 90 degrees.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm. Go to

angrier /ˈæŋɡriər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais zangado; mais furioso

Simple English: More angry than before.

Example: “You could keep me in a straitjacket for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got free, I would only be angrier.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “You could keep me in a straitjacket for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got free, I would only be angrier. Go to

2. Breakfast the next morning was like the previous night’s tea, except that Mrs Pipchin ate a roll instead of toast and seemed a little angrier when it was finished. Go to

angrily /ˈæŋɡrɪli/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com raiva; furiosamente

Simple English: In a way that shows anger.

Example: To calm the child further, she covered Florence's head with the bedclothes and struck the pillow angrily three or four times.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. To calm the child further, she covered Florence's head with the bedclothes and struck the pillow angrily three or four times. Go to

2. Last night he spoke to me about his - about his bones,” Mr Dombey said, stressing the word angrily. Go to

3. When Mrs Pipchin angrily knocked on the wall like the revived Cock Lane Ghost, they stopped, and Berry whispered stories to them until twilight. Go to

Original English Version

1. Enlivened by company, however, this was the best place after all; for Berry played with them there, and seemed to enjoy a game at romps as much as they did; until Mrs Pipchin knocking angrily at the wall, like the Cock Lane Ghost revived, they left off, and Berry told them stories in a whisper until twilight. Go to

anno /ˈænəʊ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ano (termo latino)

Simple English: The Latin word for year, used in the phrase Anno Domini.

Example: A.D. did not mean Anno Domini, but anno Dombei - and Son.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A.D. did not mean Anno Domini, but anno Dombei - and Son. Go to

Original English Version

1. A. D. had no concern with Anno Domini, but stood for anno Dombei - and Son. Go to

annoy /əˈnɔɪ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: irritar; incomodar

Simple English: To make someone slightly angry.

Example: After looking at him silently for several moments, Mrs Chick said she hoped he had not spoken merely to annoy her, because that would bring little honor to his heart.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After looking at him silently for several moments, Mrs Chick said she hoped he had not spoken merely to annoy her, because that would bring little honor to his heart. Go to

anvil /ˈænvɪl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bigorna

Simple English: A heavy iron or steel block on which metal is shaped with a hammer.

Example: She had a bent figure, a spotted face like bad marble, a hooked nose, and a hard grey eye that looked as if it could be hammered on an anvil without damage.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She had a bent figure, a spotted face like bad marble, a hooked nose, and a hard grey eye that looked as if it could be hammered on an anvil without damage. Go to

Original English Version

1. This celebrated Mrs Pipchin was a marvellous ill-favoured, ill-conditioned old lady, of a stooping figure, with a mottled face, like bad marble, a hook nose, and a hard grey eye, that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. Go to

apprentices /əˈprentɪsɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aprendizes

Simple English: People learning a trade by working under skilled workers.

Example: Shopkeepers, apprentices, business, and goods are not what they were.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Shopkeepers, apprentices, business, and goods are not what they were. Go to

Original English Version

1. Tradesmen are not the same as they used to be, apprentices are not the same, business is not the same, business commodities are not the same. Go to

appropriate /əˈproʊpriət/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apropriado; adequado; oportuno

Simple English: Suitable or acceptable for a specific situation or purpose.

Example: Wearing formal attire is appropriate for the company’s annual meeting.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Whenever something rattled, she imagined he was wrapping an appropriate money gift for her in paper. Go to

arches /ˈɑːrtʃɪz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: arcos; arcadas

Simple English: Curved parts of a building that hold up a wall or bridge.

Example: Broken buildings, unfinished walls and arches, piles of scaffolding, deserts of bricks, huge cranes, and three-legged frames stood over nothing.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Broken buildings, unfinished walls and arches, piles of scaffolding, deserts of bricks, huge cranes, and three-legged frames stood over nothing. Go to

Original English Version

1. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Go to

archway /ˈɑːrtʃweɪ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: arcada; passagem em arco

Simple English: A curved opening in a wall that you can walk through.

Example: Joe ran up an archway, shouting as he went, and soon returned with a cheerful-looking boy.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Joe ran up an archway, shouting as he went, and soon returned with a cheerful-looking boy. Go to

Original English Version

1. Joe ran up an archway, bawling as he went, and very soon returned with a blithe-looking boy. Go to

arise /əˈraɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: surgir; surgem; surjam

Simple English: To begin to exist or become noticeable suddenly.

Example: Problems may arise if we don't follow the safety guidelines.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Then,” Doctor Parker Peps added alone and very seriously, “a crisis might arise that we would both sincerely regret.” Go to

armchair /ˈɑːrmtʃer/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: poltrona

Simple English: A comfortable chair with supports for the arms.

Example: Dombey sat in a large armchair beside the bed, in a corner of the dark room.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Dombey sat in a large armchair beside the bed, in a corner of the dark room. Go to

2. At other times, however, he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful habit of sitting silently in his tiny armchair. Go to

3. “No, I will not,” Paul replied, settling back into his armchair like the master of the house. Go to

4. Paul could sit in his little armchair by the fire and stare at this admirable old lady for any length of time. Go to

assuring /əˈʃʊrɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: assegurando

Simple English: telling someone confidently that something is true

Example: Miss Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child; and an observer of Miss Tox’s proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Miss Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child; and an observer of Miss Tox’s proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation. Go to

astonish /əˈstɒnɪʃ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: surpreender

Simple English: to cause someone to feel great surprise

Example: She took an early opportunity of promoting the circulation in the tip of her nose by secretly chafing it with her pocket handkerchief, lest, by its very low temperature, it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She took an early opportunity of promoting the circulation in the tip of her nose by secretly chafing it with her pocket handkerchief, lest, by its very low temperature, it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it. Go to

astonished /əˈstɑːnɪʃt/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: espantou; surpreendeu; deixou pasmo

Simple English: Very surprised.

Example: Mr Chick looked astonished.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey was so astonished, uncomfortable, and uncertain about how to continue the conversation that he could only sit and look at his son in the firelight, with his hand resting on the boy’s back as if held there by a magnetic force. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Chick looked astonished. Go to

2. The astonished Susan Nipper and her two young charges were rescued by the bystanders from under the very wheels of a passing carriage before they knew what had happened; and at that moment (it was market day) a thundering alarm of “Mad Bull!” was raised. Go to

3. Mr Dombey was so astonished, and so uncomfortable, and so perfectly at a loss how to pursue the conversation, that he could only sit looking at his son by the light of the fire, with his hand resting on his back, as if it were detained there by some magnetic attraction. Go to

astonishment /əˈstɑːnɪʃmənt/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: espanto; assombro

Simple English: A feeling of very great surprise.

Example: Mr Dombey of course officiated, and also refilled his sister’s glass, which she (looking another way, and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while, and then regarded with great astonishment, saying, “My dear Paul, what have you been doing!”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey of course officiated, and also refilled his sister’s glass, which she (looking another way, and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while, and then regarded with great astonishment, saying, “My dear Paul, what have you been doing!” Go to

2. The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds. Go to

3. So Walter, looking immensely fierce, led off Florence, looking very happy; and they went arm-in-arm along the streets, perfectly indifferent to any astonishment that their appearance might or did excite by the way. Go to

attachments /əˈtætʃmənts/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apegos; vínculos; pontos de ligação

Simple English: Emotional bonds or physical points and things that are joined.

Example: Some attachments were strange; others were the kind you might expect, only stronger than usual.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Some attachments were strange; others were the kind you might expect, only stronger than usual. Go to

attendants /əˈtendənts/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: assistentes; acompanhantes

Simple English: People whose work is to serve or to help someone.

Example: There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Instead, he was unusually sleepy and unusually offended that his attendants dressed him to go out. Go to

2. Mr Dombey, who had never found her himself, kissed her once on the forehead and warned her not to run away again or wander with untrustworthy attendants. Go to

3. We are not undertakers, funeral attendants, or grave-diggers, I believe.” Go to

Original English Version

1. There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. Go to

2. The two medical attendants exchanged a look across the bed; and the Physician, stooping down, whispered in the child’s ear. Go to

3. Neither did he, on the arrival of the appointed morning, show any sense of its importance; being, on the contrary, unusually inclined to sleep, and unusually inclined to take it ill in his attendants that they dressed him to go out. Go to

4. Hot springs and fiery eruptions, the usual attendants upon earthquakes, lent their contributions of confusion to the scene. Go to

5. Mr Dombey, who had never found her, kissed her once upon the forehead, and cautioned her not to run away again, or wander anywhere with treacherous attendants. Go to

attentive /əˈtɛntɪv/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: atento; cuidadoso

Simple English: Listening, watching, or caring closely.

Example: He said I must be attentive and punctual, and then he left.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He said I must be attentive and punctual, and then he left. Go to

2. “But she is extremely attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous. Go to

Original English Version

1. Then he told me that you had spoken to him about me, and that he had found me employment in the House accordingly, and that I was expected to be attentive and punctual, and then he went away. Go to

2. Beneath the watching and attentive eyes of Time - so far another Major - Paul’s slumbers gradually changed. Go to

3. “Exactly so,” said Mrs Chick; “but she is exceedingly attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous; indeed I never saw a more biddable woman. Go to

aunt's /ænts/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da tia

Simple English: Belonging to an aunt, the sister of a parent.

Example: “That must be Miss Florence, home from her aunt's,” thought Richards, who had never seen the child before.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “That must be Miss Florence, home from her aunt's,” thought Richards, who had never seen the child before. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s Miss Florence come home from her aunt’s, no doubt,” thought Richards, who had never seen the child before. Go to

2. Miss Pankey was generally brought back from an aunt’s at Rottingdean, in deep distress; and Master Bitherstone, whose relatives were all in India, and who was required to sit, between the services, in an erect position with his head against the parlour wall, neither moving hand nor foot, suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence, on a Sunday night, if she could give him any idea of the way back to Bengal. Go to

awaken /əˈweɪkən/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: despertar; acordar; reavivar

Simple English: To wake someone, or to cause a feeling, memory, or quality to become active.

Example: That the hope of giving birth to a new partner in such a House, could not fail to awaken a glorious and stirring ambition in the breast of the least ambitious of her sex.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. That the hope of giving birth to a new partner in such a House, could not fail to awaken a glorious and stirring ambition in the breast of the least ambitious of her sex. Go to

2. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper: Go to

awakened /əˈweɪkənd/ (49 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acordou; foi acordada; despertou

Simple English: Made a feeling or a person come awake.

Example: The little voice, familiar and dearly loved, awakened some show of consciousness, even at that ebb.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Giving the baby medicine awakened all her active sympathy. Go to

2. If the child himself had awakened at night and seen faint reflections of other people's dreams about him gathered around the curtains of his cradle, they might reasonably have frightened him. Go to

Original English Version

1. The little voice, familiar and dearly loved, awakened some show of consciousness, even at that ebb. Go to

2. To say nothing of his Welsh wig, which was as plain and stubborn a Welsh wig as ever was worn, and in which he looked like anything but a Rover, he was a slow, quiet-spoken, thoughtful old fellow, with eyes as red as if they had been small suns looking at you through a fog; and a newly-awakened manner, such as he might have acquired by having stared for three or four days successively through every optical instrument in his shop, and suddenly came back to the world again, to find it green. Go to

3. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Go to

4. If the child himself could have awakened in the night, and seen, gathered about his cradle-curtains, faint reflections of the dreams that other people had of him, they might have scared him, with good reason. Go to

awkwardly /ˈɔːkwərdli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desajeitadamente; sem jeito

Simple English: In a clumsy or uncomfortable way.

Example: Then, apparently afraid that this tender act had harmed his dignity, he walked away rather awkwardly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then, apparently afraid that this tender act had harmed his dignity, he walked away rather awkwardly. Go to

Original English Version

1. A destiny, little fellow!” As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips, and kissed it; then, seeming to fear that the action involved some compromise of his dignity, went, awkwardly enough, away. Go to

awoke /əˈwoʊk/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acordou; despertou

Simple English: Past tense of awake: stopped sleeping or became active.

Example: Just then he turned in bed and soon awoke.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just then he turned in bed and soon awoke. Go to

2. Suddenly he awoke, listened, sat up quickly, and continued listening. Go to

babyhood /ˈbeɪbihʊd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: primeira infância; período de bebê

Simple English: The period of life when someone is a baby.

Example: In this way, he passed from babyhood into childhood and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In this way, he passed from babyhood into childhood and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey. Go to

Original English Version

1. More and more light broke in upon them; distincter and distincter dreams disturbed them; an accumulating crowd of objects and impressions swarmed about his rest; and so he passed from babyhood to childhood, and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey. Go to

bagstock /ˈbæɡstɒk/ (200 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Bagstock

Simple English: the surname of Major Bagstock in the novel

Example: Major Bagstock had reached what polite books call the highest point of life and was travelling downhill.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Major Bagstock had reached what polite books call the highest point of life and was travelling downhill. Go to

2. Several times at his club, he had hinted at this while making jokes in which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, or some similar name was always the subject. Go to

3. You would all be better with a few more of the Bagstock family among you, sir. Go to

4. “Joe Bagstock, ma'am,” the Major said with his usual charm, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window for a long time. Go to

5. “Why, damn it, sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster-like eyes around Princess's Place and speaking to its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. Go to

6. They worked with such amazing energy that Major Bagstock received a new reminder every day that he had been abandoned. Go to

Original English Version

1. Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. Go to

2. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name. Go to

3. If you had a few more of the Bagstock breed among you, Sir, you’d be none the worse for it. Go to

4. “Joe Bagstock, Ma’am,” observed the Major, with his usual gallantry, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window, for a considerable period. Go to

5. “Why, damme, Sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster eyes round and round Princess’s Place, and apostrophizing its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. Go to

6. On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation. Go to

ballad /ˈbæləd/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: balada; canção narrativa

Simple English: A song or poem that tells a story, often in a traditional style.

Example: Captain Cuttle had even bought an old ballad that had long hung with many others, mostly about sailors, on a wall in Commercial Road.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Captain Cuttle had even bought an old ballad that had long hung with many others, mostly about sailors, on a wall in Commercial Road. Go to

Original English Version

1. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Go to

banbury /ˈbænbəri/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Banbury

Simple English: the name of an English town famous for a type of cake

Example: Jemima’s respectful behavior softened the black-eyed girl so much that Susan picked up little Miss Toodle as she ran past and immediately bounced her on an imaginary ride to Banbury Cross.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Jemima’s respectful behavior softened the black-eyed girl so much that Susan picked up little Miss Toodle as she ran past and immediately bounced her on an imaginary ride to Banbury Cross. Go to

2. Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth. Go to

Original English Version

1. The black-eyed was so softened by this deferential behaviour, that she caught up little Miss Toodle who was running past, and took her to Banbury Cross immediately. Go to

2. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Go to

banknotes /ˈbæŋknəʊts/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cédulas; notas de dinheiro

Simple English: Pieces of paper money issued by a bank or government.

Example: Mr Dombey belonged to the clean-shaven, neatly cut class of rich gentlemen who look smooth and fresh like new banknotes, and who seem to be held stiff and tight by showers of gold.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey belonged to the clean-shaven, neatly cut class of rich gentlemen who look smooth and fresh like new banknotes, and who seem to be held stiff and tight by showers of gold. Go to

barometers /bəˈrɑːmɪtərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: barômetros

Simple English: Instruments that measure atmospheric pressure.

Example: The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

Original English Version

1. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Go to

barrelled /ˈbærəld/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de cano duplo

Simple English: having one or more tube-shaped barrels

Example: Then he rushed into the next room and returned with double-barrelled opera glasses, studying the sight closely for several minutes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then he rushed into the next room and returned with double-barrelled opera glasses, studying the sight closely for several minutes. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was on the very next day after he had eased his mind by arriving at this decision, that the Major, sitting at his breakfast, saw an apparition so tremendous and wonderful in Miss Tox’s little drawing-room, that he remained for some time rooted to his chair; then, rushing into the next room, returned with a double-barrelled opera-glass, through which he surveyed it intently for some minutes. Go to

barren /ˈbærən/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estéreis; improdutivos

Simple English: Not able to grow plants or crops.

Example: There the soil was unusually chalky, stony, and barren, and the houses unusually fragile and thin.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. There the soil was unusually chalky, stony, and barren, and the houses unusually fragile and thin. Go to

barrier (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: barreira; obstáculo; bloqueio

Simple English: something that blocks movement or progress

Example: Language can be a barrier to communication.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps in that dream she relaxed behind the barrier of feelings that no words could describe. Go to

baskets /ˈbæskɪts/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cestas; cestos

Simple English: Containers made of thin strips of wood, straw, or plastic.

Example: Black funeral stands were stored there with shovels, baskets, and coils of deadly-looking rope.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Black funeral stands were stored there with shovels, baskets, and coils of deadly-looking rope. Go to

Original English Version

1. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Go to

battered /ˈbætərd/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: amassado; surrado; maltratado

Simple English: Struck repeatedly or badly worn and damaged by hard use or weather.

Example: Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. Go to

beadle /ˈbiːdəl/ (37 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bedel; oficial paroquial

Simple English: A minor church, parish, or civic officer who kept order and carried out official duties.

Example: Arrived at the church steps, they were received by a portentous beadle.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Arrived at the church steps, they were received by a portentous beadle. Go to

2. Mr Dombey dismounting first to help the ladies out, and standing near him at the church door, looked like another beadle. Go to

3. A beadle less gorgeous but more dreadful; the beadle of private life; the beadle of our business and our bosoms. Go to

4. “Please to bring the child in quick out of the air there,” whispered the beadle, holding open the inner door of the church. Go to

5. “There’s a wedding just on, Sir,” said the beadle, “but it’ll be over directly, if you’ll walk into the westry here.” Go to

6. Before he turned again to lead the way, he gave Mr Dombey a bow and a half smile of recognition, importing that he (the beadle) remembered to have had the pleasure of attending on him when he buried his wife, and hoped he had enjoyed himself since. Go to

bearer /ˈbɛrər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: criado pessoal; carregador

Simple English: A servant who carries things and waits on someone.

Example: “Why, the Sword Bearer is better than he is.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Why, the Sword Bearer is better than he is. Go to

beauties /ˈbjuːtiz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: belezas

Simple English: Beautiful things or beautiful people.

Example: “Oh you beauties!” cried Susan Nipper, affecting to salute the door by which the ladies had departed.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Oh you beauties!” cried Susan Nipper, affecting to salute the door by which the ladies had departed. Go to

bedclothes /ˈbedkloʊz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: roupa de cama

Simple English: The sheets and covers put on a bed.

Example: To calm the child further, she covered Florence's head with the bedclothes and struck the pillow angrily three or four times.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. To calm the child further, she covered Florence's head with the bedclothes and struck the pillow angrily three or four times. Go to

Original English Version

1. Having further composed her young charge by covering her head with the bedclothes, and making three or four angry dabs at the pillow, she folded her arms, and screwed up her mouth, and sat looking at the fire for the rest of the evening. Go to

bedside /ˈbedsaɪd/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cabeceira; beira do leito

Simple English: The area next to a bed, especially where someone sits with a sick person.

Example: Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Go to

2. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper: Go to

behaves /bɪˈheɪvz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: comporta-se

Simple English: Acts in a particular way.

Example: “Then please tell the man, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady's uncle is a magistrate and that if he behaves rudely to her, he will be punished terribly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Then please tell the man, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady's uncle is a magistrate and that if he behaves rudely to her, he will be punished terribly. Go to

benches /ˈbɛntʃɪz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bancos

Simple English: Long seats for two or more people.

Example: Empty pews stretched sadly beneath the galleries, while empty benches rose toward the roof and disappeared in the shadow of the great, grim organ.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Empty pews stretched sadly beneath the galleries, while empty benches rose toward the roof and disappeared in the shadow of the great, grim organ. Go to

Original English Version

1. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Go to

berinthia /bəˈrɪnθiə/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Berinthia

Simple English: the given name of Mrs Pipchin's niece

Example: Mrs Pipchin’s niece, Berinthia, ate cold pork.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin’s niece, Berinthia, ate cold pork. Go to

2. Therefore, the children went with Berry - another name for Berinthia - to the Dungeon. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin’s niece, Berinthia, took cold pork. Go to

2. As it rained after dinner, and they couldn’t go out walking on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s constitution required rest after chops, they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt, and made ghastly by a ragged fireplace without any stove in it. Go to

berry's /ˈberiz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Berry

Simple English: belonging to Miss Berry, a character caring for Paul

Example: Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence. Go to

betsey /ˈbɛtsi/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Betsey

Simple English: a nickname for Elizabeth, used affectionately

Example: Neither was my uncle's Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Neither was my uncle's Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said. Go to

2. Berry looked as if she wanted to understand the connection between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam's uncle's Betsey Jane. Go to

3. "I would not have stayed up alone with Betsey Jane all night," Mrs Wickam said, "not even if you had set Wickam up in his own business the next morning. Go to

4. "Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said, "was as sweet a child as anyone could wish to see. Go to

5. "But Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said, lowering her voice and looking around the room and toward Paul in bed, "had been watched in her cradle by her dead mother. Go to

6. I cannot say how or when, or whether the dear child knew it, but her mother watched over Betsey Jane, Miss Berry!" With a pale face, watery eyes, and a shaking voice, Mrs Wickam again looked fearfully around the room and toward Paul. Go to

Original English Version

1. No more was my Uncle’s Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam. Go to

2. Berry looked as if she would like to trace the connexion of ideas between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam’s Uncle’s Betsey Jane. Go to

3. “I wouldn’t have sat up all night alone with Betsey Jane!” said Mrs Wickam, “not if you’d have put Wickam into business next morning for himself. Go to

4. “Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam, “was as sweet a child as I could wish to see. Go to

5. Everything that a child could have in the way of illnesses, Betsey Jane had come through. Go to

6. “But Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam, lowering her voice, and looking round the room, and towards Paul in bed, “had been minded, in her cradle, by her departed mother. Go to

bey /biː/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: parte final do nome Dombey

Simple English: The final spoken part of Dombey when the name is humorously divided.

Example: “The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be Dombey and Son not only in name, but in fact.” With his eyes half closed, as if he were reading the name among flowers and breathing their scent, he added with deep pleasure, “Dom-bey and Son!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be Dombey and Son not only in name, but in fact.” With his eyes half closed, as if he were reading the name among flowers and breathing their scent, he added with deep pleasure, “Dom-bey and Son!” Go to

Original English Version

1. “The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be not only in name but in fact Dombey and Son;” and he added, in a tone of luxurious satisfaction, with his eyes half-closed as if he were reading the name in a device of flowers, and inhaling their fragrance at the same time; “Dom-bey and Son!” Go to

biler /ˈbaɪlər/ (41 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: caldeira

Simple English: a large metal container used to heat water and make steam, as in a factory (dialect pronunciation of 'boiler')

Example: Then he added in one of his rough whispers, “We plan to raise little Biler for that kind of work.” Mr Dombey haughtily asked who little Biler was.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then he added in one of his rough whispers, “We plan to raise little Biler for that kind of work.” Mr Dombey haughtily asked who little Biler was. Go to

2. But we still always call him Biler, because we mean no harm. Go to

3. After a BILER, sir. Go to

4. The steam engine was almost as good as a godfather to him, so we called him Biler, don't you see?” Go to

5. The eldest, known in the family as Biler in memory of the steam engine, beat a wild rhythm of grief with his boots, and the rest of the family joined him. Go to

6. “I am certainly very grateful, Sir,” Richards answered weakly, “and it is very kind of you to remember my little children.” At the same time, Richards imagined Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very short legs inside the practical clothes Mrs Chick had described. Go to

Original English Version

1. As he added in one of his hoarse whispers, “We means to bring up little Biler to that line,” Mr Dombey inquired haughtily who little Biler was. Go to

2. But we always calls him Biler just the same. Go to

3. Arter a BILER Sir. Go to

4. The Steamingine was a’most as good as a godfather to him, and so we called him Biler, don’t you see!” Go to

5. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Go to

6. “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water. Go to

biler's /ˈbaɪlərz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Biler

Simple English: belonging to Biler, identified by a numbered metal badge

Example: She could hardly avoid seeing Biler’s metal badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as part of the day’s formality and strictness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She could hardly avoid seeing Biler’s metal badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as part of the day’s formality and strictness. Go to

2. Since the previous morning, poor Biler’s life had become miserable because of the Charitable Grinders’ uniform. Go to

Original English Version

1. Now, it happened that poor Biler’s life had been, since yesterday morning, rendered weary by the costume of the Charitable Grinders. Go to

birdcage /ˈbɜːrdkeɪdʒ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gaiola

Simple English: A box of thin bars where birds are kept.

Example: “No, nothing except an old birdcage - I wonder how it got there - and a coal bucket.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “No, nothing except an old birdcage - I wonder how it got there - and a coal bucket.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “No, nothing else, except an old birdcage (I wonder how that ever came there!) and a coal-scuttle.” Go to

birthdays /ˈbɜːrθdeɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aniversários

Simple English: The days on which people were born, kept each year.

Example: It moved him so much that on birthdays and a few other festive weekdays he sang the whole song loudly in the back parlor, stretching the word 'Pe-e-eg' at the end of every verse to honor its heroine.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It moved him so much that on birthdays and a few other festive weekdays he sang the whole song loudly in the back parlor, stretching the word 'Pe-e-eg' at the end of every verse to honor its heroine. Go to

Original English Version

1. In this stirring legend, Captain Cuttle descried a profound metaphysical bearing on the case of Walter and Florence; and it excited him so much, that on very festive occasions, as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays, he would roar through the whole song in the little back parlour; making an amazing shake on the word Pe-e-eg, with which every verse concluded, in compliment to the heroine of the piece. Go to

biscuit /ˈbɪskɪt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: biscoito; bolacha

Simple English: A small hard flat cake.

Example: Most of his friends were suppliers to ships and similar people, so real ship’s biscuit was always on his table.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Most of his friends were suppliers to ships and similar people, so real ship’s biscuit was always on his table. Go to

Original English Version

1. His acquaintance lying chiefly among ship-chandlers and so forth, he had always plenty of the veritable ships’ biscuit on his table. Go to

bitherstone /ˈbɪθərstoʊn/ (69 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Bitherstone

Simple English: the surname of Master Bitherstone, one of Mrs Pipchin's pupils

Example: She was removing the clean collar that Master Bitherstone had worn for inspection.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was removing the clean collar that Master Bitherstone had worn for inspection. Go to

2. “Has he ever been there?” Paul asked, pointing to Master Bitherstone. Go to

3. For the rest of the day, Paul was busy examining Master Bitherstone from head to foot and watching every change in his face with the interest inspired by a boy who had undergone mysterious and terrible experiences. Go to

4. Whenever she caught herself leaning forward toward the fire and woke up, she flicked Master Bitherstone on the nose for falling asleep too. Go to

5. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the others a family line from Genesis, wisely chosen by Mrs Pipchin, and passed through the names with the ease and clarity of someone stumbling up a treadmill. Go to

6. After that, Miss Pankey was carried away to be rubbed, and Master Bitherstone was taken to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and sad. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin’s middle-aged niece, her good-natured and devoted slave, but possessing a gaunt and iron-bound aspect, and much afflicted with boils on her nose, was divesting Master Bitherstone of the clean collar he had worn on parade. Go to

2. “Has he ever been in it?” asked Paul: pointing out Master Bitherstone. Go to

3. Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences. Go to

4. And whenever Mrs Pipchin caught herself falling forward into the fire, and woke up, she filliped Master Bitherstone on the nose for nodding too. Go to

5. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the rest a pedigree from Genesis (judiciously selected by Mrs Pipchin), getting over the names with the ease and clearness of a person tumbling up the treadmill. Go to

6. That done, Miss Pankey was borne away to be shampoo’d; and Master Bitherstone to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and dejected. Go to

bitherstone's /ˈbɪθərstoʊnz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Bitherstone

Simple English: belonging to Master Bitherstone

Example: Master Bitherstone’s relatives were all in India, and between church services he was required to sit perfectly straight with his head against the parlour wall, moving neither hand nor foot.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Master Bitherstone’s relatives were all in India, and between church services he was required to sit perfectly straight with his head against the parlour wall, moving neither hand nor foot. Go to

bitterly /ˈbɪtərli/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: amargamente; com amargura

Simple English: In a way that shows deep sadness or anger.

Example: Still, in his pride and jealousy, he bitterly hated the thought that the first step toward his greatest wish depended on a hired servant.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Still, in his pride and jealousy, he bitterly hated the thought that the first step toward his greatest wish depended on a hired servant. Go to

2. The wine was so bitterly cold that Miss Tox gave a little cry, which she had great difficulty changing into a cough. Go to

3. Troubled by the past, the present, and what still lay ahead, she sometimes had to stop and cry bitterly. Go to

Original English Version

1. Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. Go to

bitterness /ˈbɪtərnəs/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: amargura; rancor

Simple English: A feeling of deep anger about unfair treatment.

Example: And yet in his pride and jealousy, he viewed with so much bitterness the thought of being dependent for the very first step towards the accomplishment of his soul’s desire, on a hired serving-woman who would be to the child, for the time, all that even his alliance could have made his own wife, that in every new rejection of a candidate he felt a secret pleasure.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Yet they certainly made him feel her death with new force and added weight and bitterness to it. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin charged high fees to everyone who could afford them and rarely softened her steady bitterness for anyone. Go to

Original English Version

1. And yet in his pride and jealousy, he viewed with so much bitterness the thought of being dependent for the very first step towards the accomplishment of his soul’s desire, on a hired serving-woman who would be to the child, for the time, all that even his alliance could have made his own wife, that in every new rejection of a candidate he felt a secret pleasure. Go to

2. It would be harsh, and perhaps not altogether true, to say of him that he felt these rubs and gratings against his pride more keenly than he had felt his wife’s death: but certainly they impressed that event upon him with new force, and communicated to it added weight and bitterness. Go to

blackened /ˈblækənd/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enegrecido; escurecido

Simple English: Made black, often by fire or smoke.

Example: They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. Go to

blasphemy /ˈblæsfəmi/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: blasfêmia

Simple English: Words that show no respect for God or holy things.

Example: A sharp criticism that would be acceptable about ordinary High Holborn became terrible blasphemy when said about Princess's Place.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A sharp criticism that would be acceptable about ordinary High Holborn became terrible blasphemy when said about Princess's Place. Go to

Original English Version

1. The great street round the corner trailed off into Princess’s Place; and that which of High Holborn would have become a choleric word, spoken of Princess’s Place became flat blasphemy. Go to

bleak /bliːk/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desolado; inóspito; sombrio

Simple English: Cold, bare and without comfort or hope.

Example: The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship. Go to

2. It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked, and hushed, and, glancing through the dreary windows, pressed the little fellow closer to her breast, the withered leaves came showering down. Go to

blinding /ˈblaɪndɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cegante; ofuscante; lancinante

Simple English: So bright or so strong that you cannot see or think.

Example: Despite all his stiff, unreadable dignity and calm, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced the room.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Despite all his stiff, unreadable dignity and calm, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced the room. Go to

Original English Version

1. For all his starched, impenetrable dignity and composure, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced up and down his room; and often said, with an emotion of which he would not, for the world, have had a witness, “Poor little fellow!” Go to

blinds /blaɪndz/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: persianas; venezianas; cega

Simple English: Coverings for windows that can be pulled down or closed.

Example: Newspaper covered bell handles, window blinds, and mirrors, showing pieces of reports about deaths and terrible murders.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Newspaper covered bell handles, window blinds, and mirrors, showing pieces of reports about deaths and terrible murders. Go to

Original English Version

1. Bell-handles, window-blinds, and looking-glasses, being papered up in journals, daily and weekly, obtruded fragmentary accounts of deaths and dreadful murders. Go to

blinking /ˈblɪŋkɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: que piscam; semicerrados

Simple English: Opening and closing the eyes quickly.

Example: Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks. Go to

blockitt /ˈblɒkɪt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Blockitt (sobrenome)

Simple English: The surname of the nurse addressed as Mrs Blockitt.

Example: “Blockitt, sir?” the nurse suggested.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Blockitt, sir?” the nurse suggested. Go to

2. “Take special care of this young gentleman, Mrs Blockitt.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Blockitt, Sir?” suggested the nurse, a simpering piece of faded gentility, who did not presume to state her name as a fact, but merely offered it as a mild suggestion. Go to

2. “Of this young gentleman, Mrs Blockitt.” Go to

bluer /ˈbluːər/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais azul; mais triste

Simple English: More blue in color or, informally, sadder.

Example: The Major stood watching her with a face bluer than ever, muttering and growling comments that were not at all kind.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Major stood watching her with a face bluer than ever, muttering and growling comments that were not at all kind. Go to

Original English Version

1. As Miss Tox, with her most fascinating step and carriage, disappeared from Princess’s Place, the Major stood looking after her with a bluer face than ever: muttering and growling some not at all complimentary remarks. Go to

blushing /ˈblʌʃɪŋ/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corando; ruborizando-se

Simple English: Turning red in the face from shame or shyness.

Example: Is he not a Cupid, sir?” Then she nearly fell behind the cupboard door in embarrassment, blushing deeply.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Is he not a Cupid, sir?” Then she nearly fell behind the cupboard door in embarrassment, blushing deeply. Go to

boarder /ˈbɔːrdər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pensionista

Simple English: A person who pays to live and eat in another family house.

Example: Miss Pankey, the only other young boarder at that time, had just been sent to the Castle Dungeon - an empty room at the back used for punishment - because she had sniffed three times in front of visitors.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Pankey, the only other young boarder at that time, had just been sent to the Castle Dungeon - an empty room at the back used for punishment - because she had sniffed three times in front of visitors. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Pankey, the only other little boarder at present, had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back, devoted to correctional purposes), for having sniffed thrice, in the presence of visitors. Go to

boarders /ˈbɔːrdərz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pensionistas; hóspedes

Simple English: people who pay to live and receive meals in someone else's house

Example: He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira. Go to

Original English Version

1. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period, when he looked a little older than of yore, but not much; and was the same light-footed, light-hearted, light-headed lad, as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders, and lighted him to bring up the Madeira. Go to

boas /ˈbəʊəz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: boas de pele; estolas longas

Simple English: Long scarves of fur or feathers worn around the neck.

Example: Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth. Go to

Original English Version

1. She had furry articles for winter wear, as tippets, boas, and muffs, which stood up on end in rampant manner, and were not at all sleek. Go to

boat's /boʊts/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do barco

Simple English: Belonging to a boat.

Example: You are as safe now as if you were guarded by a whole boat’s crew of picked men from a man-of-war.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. You are as safe now as if you were guarded by a whole boat’s crew of picked men from a man-of-war. Go to

boils /bɔɪlz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: furúnculos

Simple English: Painful red swellings on the skin.

Example: Her middle-aged niece was her good-natured and devoted slave, though she had a thin, hard appearance and suffered badly from boils on her nose.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her middle-aged niece was her good-natured and devoted slave, though she had a thin, hard appearance and suffered badly from boils on her nose. Go to

2. Cramps were as common to her," Mrs Wickam added, "as boils are to you, Miss Berry." Miss Berry wrinkled her nose without meaning to. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin’s middle-aged niece, her good-natured and devoted slave, but possessing a gaunt and iron-bound aspect, and much afflicted with boils on her nose, was divesting Master Bitherstone of the clean collar he had worn on parade. Go to

boldly /ˈboʊldli/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corajosamente; com ousadia

Simple English: In a brave and confident way.

Example: The iron was hot now, and Richards struck it boldly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The iron was hot now, and Richards struck it boldly. Go to

2. “Since you mentioned her, connected me with her, and said I know everything about her, I will boldly improve the toast. Go to

Original English Version

1. The iron was now hot, and Richards striking on it boldly - it was a good cause and she bold in it, though instinctively afraid of Mr Dombey - requested that Miss Florence might be sent down then and there, to make friends with her little brother. Go to

bombazine /ˌbɑːmbəˈziːn/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: bombazina

Simple English: a dark woven fabric traditionally made from silk and wool or cotton

Example: At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles. Go to

bonnet /ˈbɑːnɪt/ (98 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: touca; chapéu feminino amarrado sob o queixo

Simple English: A soft hat tied under the chin, once worn by women and children.

Example: And that effort,” she continued, taking off her bonnet, and adjusting her cap and gloves, in a business-like manner, “she must be encouraged, and really, if necessary, urged to make.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She put down the bonnet she had held until then and sat on a stool at the nurse's feet, looking up into her face. Go to

2. “Please untie your bonnet and make yourself comfortable, Miss Nipper,” Jemima begged. Go to

3. Taking a key from her bonnet, she opened the door and pushed Florence into a back room. Go to

4. “I want that pretty dress, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, one or two petticoats, and anything else you can spare. Go to

5. From the bottom of the rag pile, the old woman found some miserable shoes, a girl's very old and worn-out cloak, and the crushed remains of a bonnet probably taken from a ditch or rubbish heap. Go to

6. While quickly putting on the bonnet, if that thing could be called a bonnet, since it looked more like a pad for carrying loads, Florence caught it in her thick hair and could not free it at once. Go to

Original English Version

1. And that effort,” she continued, taking off her bonnet, and adjusting her cap and gloves, in a business-like manner, “she must be encouraged, and really, if necessary, urged to make. Go to

2. With a quick perception that it was intended to relate to what she had asked, little Florence laid aside the bonnet she had held in her hand until now, and sat down on a stool at the Nurse’s feet, looking up into her face. Go to

3. “Do untie your bonnet-strings, and make yourself at home, Miss Nipper, please,” entreated Jemima. Go to

4. Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black. Go to

5. “I want that pretty frock, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, and a petticoat or two, and anything else you can spare. Go to

6. The old woman then produced some wretched substitutes from the bottom of the heap of rags, which she turned up for that purpose; together with a girl’s cloak, quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. Go to

bonnets /ˈbɑːnɪts/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: toucas; chapéus; cocares

Simple English: brimless hats, protective covers, or feathered ceremonial headgear

Example: She was accustomed to wear odd weedy little flowers in her bonnets and caps.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She was accustomed to wear odd weedy little flowers in her bonnets and caps. Go to

bookcase /ˈbʊkkeɪs/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estante de livros

Simple English: a piece of furniture with shelves for holding books

Example: The glass-fronted, locked bookcase rejected all friendly contact.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The glass-fronted, locked bookcase rejected all friendly contact. Go to

2. I have heard it praised in private circles ever since I was - goodness - this high!” Mrs Chick’s eyes wandered around the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, about ten feet above the floor. Go to

3. Mr Dombey turned his head away, walked slowly to the bookcase, unlocked it, and brought back a book to read. Go to

Original English Version

1. The bookcase, glazed and locked, repudiated all familiarities. Go to

2. I have heard it commended in private circles ever since I was - dear me - how high!” Mrs Chick’s eye wandered about the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, which was about ten feet from the ground. Go to

3. Mr Dombey turned his head away, and going slowly to the bookcase, and unlocking it, brought back a book to read. Go to

bottomless /ˈbɑːtəmləs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sem fundo

Simple English: So deep that no bottom can be found.

Example: It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Go to

bounced /baʊnst/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: quicou; ricocheteou

Simple English: Moved up or away again after hitting a surface.

Example: Jemima’s respectful behavior softened the black-eyed girl so much that Susan picked up little Miss Toodle as she ran past and immediately bounced her on an imaginary ride to Banbury Cross.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Jemima’s respectful behavior softened the black-eyed girl so much that Susan picked up little Miss Toodle as she ran past and immediately bounced her on an imaginary ride to Banbury Cross. Go to

2. She gave Polly a loud kiss on the cheek and then happily bounced little Paul. Go to

bowed /boʊd/ (82 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vergou; curvou-se; inclinou-se

Simple English: Bent forward or downward.

Example: At the same time, he bowed to the famous doctor as if to say, “Please excuse me for speaking, but this family is an important connection.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At the same time, he bowed to the famous doctor as if to say, “Please excuse me for speaking, but this family is an important connection.” Go to

2. But I hope the uncertainty connected with babies will excuse words that might otherwise seem too familiar.” As she spoke, Miss Tox bowed gracefully to Mr Dombey, and he kindly accepted it. Go to

3. He kindly bowed to her in a special way several times. Go to

4. Before turning to lead the way, he bowed to Mr Dombey and gave him half a smile of recognition. Go to

5. Mr Dombey bowed his head with formal respect, recognizing the bulbuls as a long-established body. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Go to

2. It was not so much their merit that they knew themselves, as that they knew him, and bowed low before him. Go to

3. He was not old, but his hair was white; his body was bent, or bowed as if by the weight of some great trouble: and there were deep lines in his worn and melancholy face. Go to

4. Richards, the culprit Richards, alone poured out her heart in broken words of welcome, and bowed herself over the little wandering head as if she really loved it. Go to

bowing /ˈbaʊɪŋ/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: curvando-se; fazendo reverência

Simple English: Bending the head or body forward to show respect.

Example: “Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “See,” the family doctor interrupted, bowing again. Go to

2. Their great quality was not simply knowing themselves, but knowing him and bowing low before him. Go to

3. “Joe Bagstock, ma'am,” the Major said with his usual charm, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window for a long time. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.” Go to

2. “Joe Bagstock, Ma’am,” observed the Major, with his usual gallantry, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window, for a considerable period. Go to

boyish /ˈbɔɪɪʃ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de menino; pueris

Simple English: Like a young boy.

Example: Florence could hardly be expected to understand much of this, so Walter used his usual boyish energy to change the subject.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Florence could hardly be expected to understand much of this, so Walter used his usual boyish energy to change the subject. Go to

2. Yet all these feelings were entirely boyish and innocent. Go to

Original English Version

1. As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms. Go to

2. But the sentiment of all this was as boyish and innocent as could be. Go to

bravely /ˈbreɪvli/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corajosamente; com coragem

Simple English: In a way that shows courage.

Example: But once the wine reached his lips, he drank it bravely and smacked his lips afterward.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But once the wine reached his lips, he drank it bravely and smacked his lips afterward. Go to

2. Walter continued giving examples from shipwrecks and other exciting accidents in which boys younger than he had bravely rescued and carried girls older than Florence. Go to

braver /ˈbreɪvər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais corajoso; mais valente

Simple English: More brave than someone or something else.

Example: “I believe nothing makes children so lively and cheerful as seeing other children play around them, Sir,” Polly said, growing braver.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I believe nothing makes children so lively and cheerful as seeing other children play around them, Sir,” Polly said, growing braver. Go to

breathed /briːðd/ (27 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: respirou; aspirou

Simple English: Took air into the body through the nose or mouth.

Example: The sharp smell of the medicines they had tried filled the room, but brought no freshness to the heavy, weak air the lady breathed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The sharp smell of the medicines they had tried filled the room, but brought no freshness to the heavy, weak air the lady breathed. Go to

Original English Version

1. The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room, but had no fragrance in the dull and languid air the lady breathed. Go to

breathless /ˈbrɛθləs/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sem fôlego; suspensos

Simple English: Not able to breathe easily, often from excitement.

Example: Miss Tox had arrived in the carriage whose wheels they had just heard, and she ran into the room, breathless.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox had arrived in the carriage whose wheels they had just heard, and she ran into the room, breathless. Go to

2. After another cold wait, a small, breathless church attendant with asthma - suitable for the churchyard, if not the church - called them to the font. Go to

3. The boy's open face, flowing hair, bright eyes, and breathless pleasure and excitement formed a wonderful contrast to Mr Dombey, who sat facing him in his library chair. Go to

4. Walter could not possibly speak clearly in his breathless condition. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Tox had arrived on the wheels just now alluded to, and came running into the room in a breathless condition. Go to

2. It was quite out of Walter’s power to be coherent; but he rendered himself as explanatory as he could, in his breathless state, and stated why he had come alone. Go to

breathlessly /ˈbreθləsli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ofegantemente; sem fôlego

Simple English: While breathing hard, or with great excitement.

Example: I do not know what I have done,” Florence said breathlessly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I do not know what I have done,” Florence said breathlessly. Go to

2. At his destination, he jumped out, breathlessly told the servant his purpose, and followed him straight into the library. Go to

Original English Version

1. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together. Go to

breaths /brɛθs/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: respirações; fôlegos

Simple English: Separate acts or sounds of taking air into and out of the lungs.

Example: This made Mrs Wickam shake her head meaningfully and draw many long breaths.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. This made Mrs Wickam shake her head meaningfully and draw many long breaths. Go to

breeches /ˈbrɪtʃɪz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: calções; bombachas

Simple English: Short trousers that end just below the knee.

Example: “The uniform, Richards, is a nice, warm blue wool coat with tails and a cap, both edged in orange, red wool stockings, and very strong leather knee-breeches.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “The uniform, Richards, is a nice, warm blue wool coat with tails and a cap, both edged in orange, red wool stockings, and very strong leather knee-breeches. Go to

2. But the image of her son in those early leather breeches had upset her so much that she could not recover her good spirits. Go to

brickfields /ˈbrɪkfiːldz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: olarias; terrenos de fabricação de tijolos

Simple English: fields where clay is dug and bricks are made or fired

Example: They did not go far, but they passed unpleasant places such as brickfields and tile yards.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They did not go far, but they passed unpleasant places such as brickfields and tile yards. Go to

bridegroom /ˈbraɪdɡruːm/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: noivo, no dia do casamento

Simple English: A man on the day of his wedding.

Example: The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young. Go to

Original English Version

1. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young, and a superannuated beau with one eye and an eyeglass stuck in its blank companion, was giving away the lady, while the friends were shivering. Go to

brighten /ˈbraɪtən/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: clarear; alegrar

Simple English: To become or to make lighter or happier.

Example: At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas. Go to

2. Although everyone from the nursery now wore lighter mourning clothes than before, the sad appearance of the children did nothing to brighten the day. Go to

3. At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. Go to

brightened /ˈbraɪtənd/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: iluminaram-se; brilharam

Simple English: Became brighter or happier.

Example: His solid brown face brightened as he shook hands with uncle and nephew.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His solid brown face brightened as he shook hands with uncle and nephew. Go to

Original English Version

1. His face, remarkable for a brown solidity, brightened as he shook hands with Uncle and nephew; but he seemed to be of a laconic disposition, and merely said: Go to

brightening /ˈbraɪtənɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: clareando; animando-se

Simple English: Becoming lighter or happier.

Example: “Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous idea, “here is an opportunity for you.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous idea, “here is an opportunity for you. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous thought, “Come! Go to

brightly /ˈbraɪtli/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: intensamente; com brilho

Simple English: In a way that gives a lot of light.

Example: After a moment of silence, Polly asked more brightly:

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After a moment of silence, Polly asked more brightly: Go to

britannia /brɪˈtæniə/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Britânia

Simple English: a traditional name for Great Britain, often shown as a female figure

Example: They sang ‘Rule Britannia’ as the ship sank, ending together with one terrible scream.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They sang ‘Rule Britannia’ as the ship sank, ending together with one terrible scream.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing ‘Rule Britannia’, when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.” Go to

brooding /ˈbruːdɪŋ/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: remoendo; sombrio

Simple English: thinking gloomily for a long time, or having a dark and threatening appearance

Example: He was childish and sportive enough at times, and not of a sullen disposition; but he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful way, at other times, of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair, when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales, who, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age, fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was childish and sportive enough at times, and not of a sullen disposition; but he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful way, at other times, of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair, when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales, who, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age, fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted. Go to

bryanstone /ˈbraɪənstoʊn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Bryanstone

Simple English: part of the London place name Bryanstone Square

Example: Mr Dombey's large house stood on the shady side of a tall, dark, terribly fashionable street between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey's large house stood on the shady side of a tall, dark, terribly fashionable street between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey’s house was a large one, on the shady side of a tall, dark, dreadfully genteel street in the region between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square. Go to

buckles /ˈbʌkəlz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fivelas

Simple English: Metal fasteners used to close belts or shoes.

Example: Its shoe buckles and wide waistcoat made very little sense, and at its right eye it held a piece of machinery far too large for its body.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Its shoe buckles and wide waistcoat made very little sense, and at its right eye it held a piece of machinery far too large for its body. Go to

Original English Version

1. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Go to

buckram /ˈbʌkrəm/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bucaram

Simple English: a stiff cloth used to strengthen garments, books, or hats

Example: On these occasions, Mr Dombey seemed to multiply like Falstaff’s attackers: instead of being one man in buckram, he became twelve.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. On these occasions, Mr Dombey seemed to multiply like Falstaff’s attackers: instead of being one man in buckram, he became twelve. Go to

Original English Version

1. They passed the whole of Sunday with him, and generally rode out before dinner; and on these occasions Mr Dombey seemed to grow, like Falstaff’s assailants, and instead of being one man in buckram, to become a dozen. Go to

bulbul /ˈbʊlbʊl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bulbul

Simple English: a small songbird common in Asia and Africa

Example: It only concerns the bulbul.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It only concerns the bulbul.” Go to

Original English Version

1. It merely relates to the Bulbul.” Go to

bulbuls /ˈbʊlbʊlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bulbuls

Simple English: small Asian and African songbirds

Example: Mr Dombey bowed his head with formal respect, recognizing the bulbuls as a long-established body.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey bowed his head with formal respect, recognizing the bulbuls as a long-established body. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey bent his head in stately recognition of the Bulbuls as an old-established body. Go to

burdened /ˈbɜːrdənd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sobrecarregado

Simple English: Loaded with something heavy.

Example: "Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam answered in her most solemn voice, "was burdened as that child has been, and changed as he has changed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam answered in her most solemn voice, "was burdened as that child has been, and changed as he has changed. Go to

burials /ˈbɛriəlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sepultamentos; enterros

Simple English: Ceremonies or acts of placing dead bodies in graves.

Example: An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series. Go to

Original English Version

1. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Go to

bursting /ˈbɜːrstɪŋ/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: morrendo de vontade; a ponto de estourar

Simple English: Breaking open suddenly, or being completely full of something.

Example: Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Hello, Uncle Sol!” cried Walter, bursting into the shop. Go to

Original English Version

1. Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. Go to

2. Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. Go to

3. “Yes, I was lost this morning, a long way from here - and I have had my clothes taken away, since - and I am not dressed in my own now - and my name is Florence Dombey, my little brother’s only sister - and, oh dear, dear, take care of me, if you please!” sobbed Florence, giving full vent to the childish feelings she had so long suppressed, and bursting into tears. Go to

4. “Holloa, Uncle Sol!” cried Walter, bursting into the shop, and speaking incoherently and out of breath, from that time forth, for the rest of the evening. Go to

burying /ˈberiɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enterrando; sepultando; escondendo

Simple English: Putting something under the ground, or hiding something deeply.

Example: I hope you may be able to think in your own conscience that it is nonsense; you’ll find your spirits all the better for it in this - you’ll excuse my being so free - in this burying-ground of a place; which is wearing of me down.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. I hope you may be able to think in your own conscience that it is nonsense; you’ll find your spirits all the better for it in this - you’ll excuse my being so free - in this burying-ground of a place; which is wearing of me down. Go to

bush /bʊʃ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Bush; arbusto; mato

Simple English: A dense plant with many small branches.

Example: They planted a bush in the garden to add color and beauty.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was a short row of houses with small, dirty pieces of ground in front, fenced with old doors, barrel wood, pieces of canvas, and dead bushes. Go to

busily /ˈbɪzɪli/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: atarefadamente; sem parar

Simple English: In a busy way, working hard without stopping.

Example: Miss Tox busily gave small tastes to the younger children and prepared them for their father's dangerous line of work with amazing speed: in fifteen seconds, she made four of them choke.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox busily gave small tastes to the younger children and prepared them for their father's dangerous line of work with amazing speed: in fifteen seconds, she made four of them choke. Go to

2. After tea, Berry took out a small sewing box with the Royal Pavilion pictured on its lid and began working busily. Go to

Original English Version

1. She was still busily engaged in that labour, when sought and found by Susan; who, such was her sense of duty, even under the humanizing influence of shrimps, delivered a moral address to her (punctuated with thumps) on her degenerate nature, while washing her face and hands; and predicted that she would bring the grey hairs of her family in general, with sorrow to the grave. Go to

2. After tea, Berry brought out a little work-box, with the Royal Pavilion on the lid, and fell to working busily; while Mrs Pipchin, having put on her spectacles and opened a great volume bound in green baize, began to nod. Go to

businesslike /ˈbɪznəslaɪk/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: prático; eficiente; profissional

Simple English: Serious, organized, and practical in the way work is handled.

Example: His regret would, of course, be calm, businesslike, gentlemanly, and controlled.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His regret would, of course, be calm, businesslike, gentlemanly, and controlled. Go to

butlers /ˈbʌtlərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mordomos

Simple English: Chief servants in a great house, in charge of others.

Example: At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. Go to

buttered /ˈbʌtərd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: passou manteiga em

Simple English: Spread butter on bread.

Example: At tea there was plenty of milk mixed with water, bread and butter, a small black teapot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and unlimited buttered toast for Mrs Pipchin, brought in very hot like the chops.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At tea there was plenty of milk mixed with water, bread and butter, a small black teapot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and unlimited buttered toast for Mrs Pipchin, brought in very hot like the chops. Go to

Original English Version

1. For tea there was plenty of milk and water, and bread and butter, with a little black tea-pot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and buttered toast unlimited for Mrs Pipchin, which was brought in, hot and hot, like the chops. Go to

buttoned /ˈbʌtənd/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: abotoado

Simple English: Fastened with buttons.

Example: He wore a buttoned coat, a white neckcloth, a heavy gold watch chain, and creaking boots.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He wore a buttoned coat, a white neckcloth, a heavy gold watch chain, and creaking boots. Go to

Original English Version

1. The stiff and stark fire-irons appeared to claim a nearer relationship than anything else there to Mr Dombey, with his buttoned coat, his white cravat, his heavy gold watch-chain, and his creaking boots. Go to

cabs /kæbz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: carruagens de aluguel; táxis

Simple English: Vehicles that carry people for money.

Example: Miss Tox had great experience with hired cabs, and getting into one usually took time because she carefully followed a system of preparation.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox had great experience with hired cabs, and getting into one usually took time because she carefully followed a system of preparation. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Tox had great experience in hackney cabs, and her starting in one was generally a work of time, as she was systematic in the preparatory arrangements. Go to

cactuses /ˈkæktəsɪz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: cactos

Simple English: A regular English plural of cactus.

Example: Half a dozen cactuses twisted around pieces of wood like hairy snakes; another plant stretched out broad claws like a green lobster; several creeping plants had sticky leaves; and one uncomfortable flowerpot hung from the ceiling.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Half a dozen cactuses twisted around pieces of wood like hairy snakes; another plant stretched out broad claws like a green lobster; several creeping plants had sticky leaves; and one uncomfortable flowerpot hung from the ceiling. Go to

calculate /ˈkælkjʊleɪt/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: calcular

Simple English: To form an opinion by evaluating available information.

Example: You should calculate the risks before making a major investment decision.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

calf's /kæfs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do bezerro

Simple English: The possessive form of calf, showing that something belongs to a young cow or similar animal.

Example: “This,” Mr Dombey replied, “is some cold dish made from a calf’s head, I think.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “This,” Mr Dombey replied, “is some cold dish made from a calf’s head, I think. Go to

Original English Version

1. “This,” returned Mr Dombey, “is some cold preparation of calf’s head, I think. Go to

calmed /kɑːmd/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acalmou; acalmado; serenou

Simple English: Made someone or something quiet and peaceful again.

Example: As Polly walked and calmed him, she looked through the gloomy windows and held the little boy closer to her chest while the dry leaves fell like rain.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As Polly walked and calmed him, she looked through the gloomy windows and held the little boy closer to her chest while the dry leaves fell like rain. Go to

calmer /ˈkɑːmər/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais calmo; mais sereno

Simple English: More quiet and peaceful than before.

Example: Now calmer, he saw the woman's low social position as an advantage because it created a wide distance between her and the child and would make their separation easy and natural.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Now calmer, he saw the woman's low social position as an advantage because it created a wide distance between her and the child and would make their separation easy and natural. Go to

calming /ˈkɑːmɪŋ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acalmando; calmante; tranquilizador

Simple English: Making someone feel quiet and less worried.

Example: A supply of oranges and halfpennies was pushed without order into the hands of each young Toodle, calming the first violence of their sorrow.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A supply of oranges and halfpennies was pushed without order into the hands of each young Toodle, calming the first violence of their sorrow. Go to

2. While she walked through the glass room or sat there calming the baby, often for hours as evening fell, she sometimes tried to see into the darkness beyond and discover how he looked and what he was doing. Go to

3. “I think he is cold,” said Polly, walking back and forth with him and calming him. Go to

camberling /ˈkæmbərlɪŋ taʊn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Camberling Town

Simple English: a comic local name for the London area called Camden Town

Example: This pleasant-sounding place was in a suburb whose residents called it Camberling Town.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. This pleasant-sounding place was in a suburb whose residents called it Camberling Town. Go to

Original English Version

1. This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Go to

camel's /ˈkæməlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do camelo

Simple English: belonging to the animal in the proverb about the last straw

Example: Just as the last straw breaks the overloaded camel's back, this news crushed Mr Dombey's already sinking spirits.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just as the last straw breaks the overloaded camel's back, this news crushed Mr Dombey's already sinking spirits. Go to

Original English Version

1. As the last straw breaks the laden camel’s back, this piece of information crushed the sinking spirits of Mr Dombey. Go to

canary /kəˈneri/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: canário

Simple English: A small yellow singing bird kept as a pet.

Example: The ancient little canary had a new cage with golden wires.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The ancient little canary had a new cage with golden wires. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Go to

cancel (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cancelar; anular

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the morning, Polly had so many doubts that she would have canceled the whole trip without the constant urging of her black-eyed companion. Go to

cankaby's /ˈkæŋkəbiz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: de Cankaby

Simple English: Belonging to the fictional Lady Cankaby.

Example: It appears that Lady Cankaby's system - excuse me, I mean Mrs Dombey's.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It appears that Lady Cankaby's system - excuse me, I mean Mrs Dombey's. Go to

capes /keɪps/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: capas curtas

Simple English: Short sleeveless outer garments worn over the shoulders.

Example: Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth. Go to

captain's /ˈkæptɪnz/ (157 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do capitão

Simple English: Belonging to the captain, the person in charge of a ship or a team.

Example: It was twenty-five minutes past twelve when the captain's watch stopped in his pocket, as he lay dead against the main mast, on 14 February 1749!” Walter cried excitedly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was twenty-five minutes past twelve when the captain's watch stopped in his pocket, as he lay dead against the main mast, on 14 February 1749!” Walter cried excitedly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “In the Baltic Sea, in the dead of night; five-and-twenty minutes past twelve when the captain’s watch stopped in his pocket; he lying dead against the main-mast - on the fourteenth of February, seventeen forty-nine!” cried Walter, with great animation. Go to

captained /ˈkæptənd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: comandado

Simple English: led as the captain of a ship

Example: “A private West Indies trading ship of 350 tons, captained by John Brown of Deptford and owned by Wiggs and Company,” cried Walter.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “A private West Indies trading ship of 350 tons, captained by John Brown of Deptford and owned by Wiggs and Company,” cried Walter. Go to

carelessly /ˈkɛrləsli/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: descuidadamente; sem prestar atenção

Simple English: Without paying enough attention.

Example: His clothes hung carelessly on him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His clothes hung carelessly on him. Go to

2. “Oh yes, I suppose there is plenty of that,” his nephew replied carelessly, “but such things are all in Mr Carker's room, Mr Morfin's, or Mr Dombey's.” Go to

3. The man had been walking carelessly toward her, but her answer surprised him. Go to

4. I completely agree with you, Paul, that subjects may be carelessly discussed upstairs in front of him which it would be better for his little mind not to explore. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Oh yes, plenty of that I suppose,” returned his nephew carelessly; “but all that sort of thing’s in Mr Carker’s room, or Mr Morfin’s, or Mr Dombey’s.” Go to

2. The man who had been strolling carelessly towards her, seemed surprised by this reply, and looking attentively in her face, rejoined: Go to

caressed /kəˈrest/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acariciou; afagou

Simple English: Touched gently and affectionately.

Example: She quickly put aside her work, laid her head on his pillow, and caressed him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She quickly put aside her work, laid her head on his pillow, and caressed him. Go to

caresses /kəˈresɪz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: carícias

Simple English: Gentle loving touches.

Example: When Florence appealed to her with loving gestures and caresses, Susan folded her small arms, shook her head, and let a softer expression enter her very wide-open black eyes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. When Florence appealed to her with loving gestures and caresses, Susan folded her small arms, shook her head, and let a softer expression enter her very wide-open black eyes. Go to

Original English Version

1. For, being thus appealed to with some endearing gestures and caresses, she folded her small arms and shook her head, and conveyed a relenting expression into her very-wide-open black eyes. Go to

2. Miss Tox returned no other reply than by taking the little Paul in her arms, and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses. Go to

caressing /kəˈresɪŋ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acariciando; afagando

Simple English: Touching someone or something gently and affectionately.

Example: She hurriedly put her work aside, and laid her head down on his pillow, caressing him.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She hurriedly put her work aside, and laid her head down on his pillow, caressing him. Go to

carker /ˈkɑːrkər/ (1134 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Carker

Simple English: the surname of a major character in the novel

Example: “Why, I think that is Mr Carker,” said Walter.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Why, I think that is Mr Carker,” said Walter. Go to

2. “Carker from our firm. Go to

3. Not Carker our Manager, Miss Dombey - the other Carker, the Junior. Go to

4. Hello, Mr Carker!” Go to

5. “What do you advise, Mr Carker?” said Walter, smiling. Go to

6. “Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous idea, “here is an opportunity for you. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Why, I think it’s Mr Carker,” said Walter. Go to

2. “Carker in our House. Go to

3. Not Carker our Manager, Miss Dombey - the other Carker; the Junior - Halloa! Go to

4. Mr Carker!” Go to

5. “What do you advise, Mr Carker?” said Walter, smiling. Go to

6. “Mr Carker,” said Walter, brightening with a generous thought, “Come! Go to

carker's /ˈkɑːrkərz/ (85 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Carker

Simple English: belonging to Mr Carker

Example: “Oh yes, I suppose there is plenty of that,” his nephew replied carelessly, “but such things are all in Mr Carker's room, Mr Morfin's, or Mr Dombey's.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Oh yes, I suppose there is plenty of that,” his nephew replied carelessly, “but such things are all in Mr Carker's room, Mr Morfin's, or Mr Dombey's.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Oh yes, plenty of that I suppose,” returned his nephew carelessly; “but all that sort of thing’s in Mr Carker’s room, or Mr Morfin’s, or Mr Dombey’s.” Go to

carpets /ˈkɑːrpəts/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tapetes

Simple English: Thick covers for floors made of wool or cloth.

Example: Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Go to

2. Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door. Go to

Original English Version

1. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Go to

carriages /ˈkærɪdʒɪz/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vagões; carruagens

Simple English: The separate parts of a train where people sit.

Example: Outside the doors of nautical instrument shops, these figures were forever taking observations of the hired carriages.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Outside the doors of nautical instrument shops, these figures were forever taking observations of the hired carriages. Go to

Original English Version

1. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages. Go to

carts /kɑːrts/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: carrinhos; carroças

Simple English: Small vehicles with wheels that are pushed or pulled.

Example: It arrived with water carts, old-clothes sellers, people selling geraniums, the umbrella repairer, and the man who rang the little bell of a Dutch clock as he walked.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It arrived with water carts, old-clothes sellers, people selling geraniums, the umbrella repairer, and the man who rang the little bell of a Dutch clock as he walked. Go to

2. In one place, a confused mass of overturned carts lay at the bottom of a steep, unnatural hill. Go to

3. It was two full hours later when Florence escaped the crashing noise of a narrow street filled with carts and wagons. Go to

Original English Version

1. The summer sun was never on the street, but in the morning about breakfast-time, when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men, and the people with geraniums, and the umbrella-mender, and the man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. Go to

2. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Go to

3. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Go to

castle's /ˈkɑːsəlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do castelo

Simple English: The possessive form of castle, showing that something belongs to or forms part of a castle.

Example: Later she repeated the Castle’s usual prayer of thanks, which included a special sentence thanking Mrs Pipchin for a good dinner.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Later she repeated the Castle’s usual prayer of thanks, which included a special sentence thanking Mrs Pipchin for a good dinner. Go to

castles /ˈkæsəlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: castelos

Simple English: Large strong buildings with thick walls, built for defence.

Example: Solomon Gills had no desire for dinner and sat across the fire, watching Florence sleep and building many imaginary castles of the most fantastic design.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Solomon Gills had no desire for dinner and sat across the fire, watching Florence sleep and building many imaginary castles of the most fantastic design. Go to

Original English Version

1. And this time he really was: and Solomon Gills, with no appetite for dinner, sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching Florence in her slumber, building a great many airy castles of the most fantastic architecture; and looking, in the dim shade, and in the close vicinity of all the instruments, like a magician disguised in a Welsh wig and a suit of coffee colour, who held the child in an enchanted sleep. Go to

catechism /ˈkætɪkɪzəm/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: catecismo

Simple English: A religious teaching book arranged as questions and answers, or the instruction based on it.

Example: Overhaul your catechism till you find that passage, and when found turn the leaf down.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Overhaul your catechism till you find that passage, and when found turn the leaf down. Go to

ceiling's /ˈsiːlɪŋz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do teto

Simple English: belonging to the upper inside surface of a room

Example: Every chandelier, wrapped in protective cloth, looked like a huge tear hanging from the ceiling's eye.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Every chandelier, wrapped in protective cloth, looked like a huge tear hanging from the ceiling's eye. Go to

Original English Version

1. Every chandelier or lustre, muffled in holland, looked like a monstrous tear depending from the ceiling’s eye. Go to

cell /sɛl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: célula; cela; pilha

Simple English: The smallest living unit that can perform functions independently.

Example: Each cell in our body has a specific role to play.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Richards began to imagine him in his lonely condition as a prisoner alone in a cell or a strange ghost whom no one could approach or understand. Go to

cellars /ˈselərz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: porões; adegas; caves

Simple English: Rooms under a house, often used to store wine or food.

Example: Barred windows frowned down into cellars, while crooked-looking doors stared toward the dustbins.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Barred windows frowned down into cellars, while crooked-looking doors stared toward the dustbins. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a corner house, with great wide areas containing cellars frowned upon by barred windows, and leered at by crooked-eyed doors leading to dustbins. Go to

chalky /ˈtʃɔːki/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: calcário; esbranquiçado como giz

Simple English: Containing chalk or resembling chalk in color or texture.

Example: There the soil was unusually chalky, stony, and barren, and the houses unusually fragile and thin.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. There the soil was unusually chalky, stony, and barren, and the houses unusually fragile and thin. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Go to

chandelier /ˌʃændəˈlɪr/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lustre; candelabro suspenso

Simple English: A decorative light fitting that hangs from a ceiling.

Example: Every chandelier, wrapped in protective cloth, looked like a huge tear hanging from the ceiling's eye.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Every chandelier, wrapped in protective cloth, looked like a huge tear hanging from the ceiling's eye. Go to

Original English Version

1. Every chandelier or lustre, muffled in holland, looked like a monstrous tear depending from the ceiling’s eye. Go to

charlotte's /ˈʃɑːrlətz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Charlotte

Simple English: belonging to a woman named Charlotte

Example: “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “I knew how anxious you were and wanted to help, so I hurried to the Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females, which you had forgotten, and asked whether they knew anyone suitable.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “I knew how anxious you were and wanted to help, so I hurried to the Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females, which you had forgotten, and asked whether they knew anyone suitable. Go to

Original English Version

1. “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “knowing your great anxiety, and wishing to relieve it, I posted off myself to the Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females,” which you had forgot, and put the question, Was there anybody there that they thought would suit? Go to

chart /tʃɑːrt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gráfico; carta; prontuário

Simple English: A list showing the ranking of music sales.

Example: The song reached number one on the music chart last week.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

chattered /ˈtʃætərd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tagarelaram; guincharam

Simple English: Talked quickly and noisily.

Example: She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims around her eyes and a mouth that moved and chattered by itself even when she was silent.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims around her eyes and a mouth that moved and chattered by itself even when she was silent. Go to

Original English Version

1. She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes, and a mouth that mumbled and chattered of itself when she was not speaking. Go to

cheeked /tʃiːkt/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de bochechas

Simple English: having cheeks of a stated appearance

Example: It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Go to

cheerfully /ˈtʃɪrfəli/ (34 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: alegremente; com bom humor

Simple English: In a happy way.

Example: “Oh you needn’t thank me, Polly,” said her sister, giving her a sounding kiss upon the cheek, and then dancing little Paul cheerfully.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. When it finally moved away, Walter stood cheerfully on the doorstep and waved back at her handkerchief. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Oh you needn’t thank me, Polly,” said her sister, giving her a sounding kiss upon the cheek, and then dancing little Paul cheerfully. Go to

cheerfulness /ˈtʃɪrfəlnəs/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: jovialidade; bom humor

Simple English: The quality of being happy and bright in manner.

Example: It had little value by itself, but Jemima’s cheerfulness and kindness made it more helpful.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It had little value by itself, but Jemima’s cheerfulness and kindness made it more helpful. Go to

2. So Walter continued to do his daily work with cheerfulness, care, and good humor. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a slow, prospective kind of consolation; but the cheerfulness and good nature with which it was administered, gave it a value it did not intrinsically possess. Go to

cheque /tʃek/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cheque

Simple English: a written order directing a bank to pay money from an account

Example: “No bank books, cheque books, bills, or other signs of wealth arriving every day?” old Sol asked.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “No bank books, cheque books, bills, or other signs of wealth arriving every day?” old Sol asked. Go to

Original English Version

1. “No bankers’ books, or cheque books, or bills, or such tokens of wealth rolling in from day to day?” said old Sol, looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him, and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words. Go to

cherub /ˈtʃerəb/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: querubim

Simple English: A small angel shown as a child with wings.

Example: “Still,” resumed Miss Tox, “she naturally must be interested in her young charge, and must consider it a privilege to see a little cherub connected with the superior classes, gradually unfolding itself from day to day at one common fountain - is it not so, Louisa?”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Still,” resumed Miss Tox, “she naturally must be interested in her young charge, and must consider it a privilege to see a little cherub connected with the superior classes, gradually unfolding itself from day to day at one common fountain - is it not so, Louisa?” Go to

chick's /tʃɪks/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Chick

Simple English: belonging to Mr Chick, a character in the novel

Example: She said it for Mr Chick’s benefit.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She said it for Mr Chick’s benefit. Go to

2. However, Mrs Chick’s angry expression at the thought of a Dombey going there warned him that he had said the wrong thing. Go to

3. Often, when Mr Chick seemed defeated, he would suddenly recover, turn the situation around, figuratively knock the tables against Mrs Chick’s ears, and sweep everything before him. Go to

4. The veal had come from such a cold, open pantry that its first taste sent a feeling like cold lead into Mr Chick’s arms and legs. Go to

5. They said goodbye and soon left under Mr Chick’s protection. Go to

6. Mr Dombey watched Walter Gay leave under Mrs Chick's guidance with sharp dislike. Go to

Original English Version

1. Admonished, however, that he had committed himself, by the indignation expressed in Mrs Chick’s countenance at the idea of a Dombey going there; and thinking to atone for his misconduct by a bright suggestion, he added: Go to

2. The wine was so bitter cold that it forced a little scream from Miss Tox, which she had great difficulty in turning into a “Hem!” The veal had come from such an airy pantry, that the first taste of it had struck a sensation as of cold lead to Mr Chick’s extremities. Go to

3. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, in a warning voice, “I must be spoken to kindly, or there is an end of me,” at the same time a premonitory redness developed itself in Mrs Chick’s eyelids which was an invariable sign of rain, unless the weather changed directly. Go to

4. I have heard it commended in private circles ever since I was - dear me - how high!” Mrs Chick’s eye wandered about the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, which was about ten feet from the ground. Go to

5. Within three days after Mrs Chick’s first allusion to her, this excellent old lady had the satisfaction of anticipating a handsome addition to her current receipts, from the pocket of Mr Dombey; and of receiving Florence and her little brother Paul, as inmates of the Castle. Go to

chickses /ˈtʃɪksɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: os Chick

Simple English: members of the Chick family, used humorously as a plural

Example: Your Toxes and Chickses may pull out my two double front teeth, Mrs Richards, but that is no reason for me to offer them the whole set.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Your Toxes and Chickses may pull out my two double front teeth, Mrs Richards, but that is no reason for me to offer them the whole set.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Your Toxes and your Chickses may draw out my two front double teeth, Mrs Richards, but that’s no reason why I need offer ’em the whole set.” Go to

childlike /ˈtʃaɪldlaɪk/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: infantil; de criança

Simple English: Simple and open, like a child.

Example: As he raised his face to say good night to his father, it looked so much brighter, younger, and more childlike that Mr Dombey felt greatly reassured by the change and was also amazed by it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As he raised his face to say good night to his father, it looked so much brighter, younger, and more childlike that Mr Dombey felt greatly reassured by the change and was also amazed by it. Go to

chimneys /ˈtʃɪmniz/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chaminés

Simple English: Tall pipes that carry smoke out of a building.

Example: Smells like those from vaults and damp places came from the chimneys.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Smells like those from vaults and damp places came from the chimneys. Go to

2. There were bridges leading nowhere, completely blocked roads, towers of chimneys missing half their height, and temporary wooden buildings and fences in the strangest places. Go to

3. They were so sure it would live longer than such a foolish invention that the master chimney sweep at the corner, a leader in local politics, publicly promised that if the railway ever opened, two of his boys would climb his chimneys and mock its failure from the chimney pots. Go to

4. Her low spirits grew worse because of the confusing view of chimneys from her room, the sound of the wind, and the general gloom - or ghastliness, as she strongly called it - of her present life. Go to

Original English Version

1. Odours, as from vaults and damp places, came out of the chimneys. Go to

2. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Go to

3. Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. Go to

choker /ˈtʃəʊkə/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lenço justo no pescoço

Simple English: A neckcloth or cravat worn closely around the neck.

Example: “A choker!” said Miss Tox, completely shocked.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “A choker!” said Miss Tox, completely shocked. Go to

Original English Version

1. “A choker!” said Miss Tox, quite aghast. Go to

chops /tʃɑːps/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: costeletas; corta em pedaços

Simple English: Cuts something with an axe or a heavy knife.

Example: Mrs Pipchin’s health required warm food, so she had a special meal of mutton chops, brought in very hot between two plates and smelling delicious.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin’s health required warm food, so she had a special meal of mutton chops, brought in very hot between two plates and smelling delicious. Go to

2. It rained after dinner, so they could not walk on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s health required her to rest after eating chops. Go to

3. At tea there was plenty of milk mixed with water, bread and butter, a small black teapot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and unlimited buttered toast for Mrs Pipchin, brought in very hot like the chops. Go to

4. "Wickam says you eat all the mutton chops and toast." Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin, whose constitution required warm nourishment, made a special repast of mutton-chops, which were brought in hot and hot, between two plates, and smelt very nice. Go to

2. As it rained after dinner, and they couldn’t go out walking on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s constitution required rest after chops, they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt, and made ghastly by a ragged fireplace without any stove in it. Go to

3. For tea there was plenty of milk and water, and bread and butter, with a little black tea-pot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and buttered toast unlimited for Mrs Pipchin, which was brought in, hot and hot, like the chops. Go to

4. “It’s not polite,” said Paul, innocently, “to eat all the mutton chops and toast”, Wickam says. Go to

christened /ˈkrɪsənd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: batizado; nomeado

Simple English: Baptized or formally given a name.

Example: “He will be christened Paul, my - Mrs Dombey - of course.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “He will be christened Paul, my - Mrs Dombey - of course.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “He will be christened Paul, my - Mrs Dombey - of course.” Go to

christening /ˈkrɪsənɪŋ/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: batizado; cerimônia de nomeação

Simple English: A Christian baptism ceremony, or an act of giving something a name.

Example: “Louisa,” Mr Dombey said to his sister one day, “I really think I should give your friend a small gift at Paul's christening.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Louisa,” Mr Dombey said to his sister one day, “I really think I should give your friend a small gift at Paul's christening. Go to

2. Although people in the nursery said little Paul noticed a great deal for his age, he paid as little attention to all this as he did to the preparations for his christening two days later. Go to

3. Mr Dombey himself represented the wind, shadow, and autumn of the christening. Go to

4. Apart from this incident, the main difference between the christening group and a funeral party was the colour of the carriage and horses. Go to

5. The confusion paused only when she was completely out of breath, her hair hung around her red face, and her new christening clothes were badly untidy. Go to

6. She continued forgetting him until the christening. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, one day, to his sister, “I really think I must present your friend with some little token, on the occasion of Paul’s christening. Go to

2. Though little Paul was said, in nursery phrase, “to take a deal of notice for his age,” he took as little notice of all this as of the preparations for his christening on the next day but one; which nevertheless went on about him, as to his personal apparel, and that of his sister and the two nurses, with great activity. Go to

3. Mr Dombey represented in himself the wind, the shade, and the autumn of the christening. Go to

4. But exclusive of this incident, the chief difference between the christening party and a party in a mourning coach consisted in the colours of the carriage and horses. Go to

5. As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion. Go to

6. She continued to forget him up to the time of the christening. Go to

chronometer /krəˈnɑːmɪtər/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cronômetro marítimo; relógio de alta precisão

Simple English: A very accurate timepiece, especially one used for navigation at sea.

Example: A huge chronometer rested in his watch pocket.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A huge chronometer rested in his watch pocket. Go to

2. He is checking the time on the perfectly trustworthy chronometer. Go to

3. “Where can Walter be?” said Solomon Gills after carefully putting away the chronometer. Go to

4. “My dear boy,” said Solomon, with his glasses on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, moving constantly between Florence on the sofa and his nephew everywhere in the room, “it is the most extraordinary - ” Go to

Original English Version

1. He wore a very precise shirt-frill, and carried a pair of first-rate spectacles on his forehead, and a tremendous chronometer in his fob, rather than doubt which precious possession, he would have believed in a conspiracy against it on part of all the clocks and watches in the City, and even of the very Sun itself. Go to

2. Solomon Gills is in the act of seeing what time it is by the unimpeachable chronometer. Go to

3. “Where’s Walter, I wonder!” said Solomon Gills, after he had carefully put up the chronometer again. Go to

4. “My dear boy,” said Solomon, who, with his spectacles on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, was incessantly oscillating between Florence on the sofa, and his nephew in all parts of the parlour, “it’s the most extraordinary - ” Go to

chronometers /krəˈnɒmɪtərz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cronômetros de precisão

Simple English: Highly accurate clocks or watches, especially those used for navigation.

Example: The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

Original English Version

1. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Go to

chubby /ˈtʃʌbi/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rechonchudo; gordinho; roliço

Simple English: Slightly fat in a pleasant way.

Example: That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination. Go to

chuckled /ˈtʃʌkəld/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: riu baixinho

Simple English: Laughed quietly to yourself.

Example: Her husband only chuckled and grinned, continually drawing his right hand across his mouth and wetting his palm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her husband only chuckled and grinned, continually drawing his right hand across his mouth and wetting his palm. Go to

Original English Version

1. “He’s tough, Ma’am, tough, is J.B. Tough, and de-vilish sly!” over which reflection he chuckled for the rest of the day. Go to

chuckling /ˈtʃʌklɪŋ/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rindo baixinho; de risadinha

Simple English: Laughing quietly in a pleased or amused way.

Example: The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning. Go to

Original English Version

1. The apple-faced man having sheepishly complied with this request, stood chuckling and grinning in a front row. Go to

churchyard /ˈtʃɜːrtʃjɑːrd/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: adro; cemitério junto à igreja

Simple English: The ground around a church, often used as a burial place.

Example: After another cold wait, a small, breathless church attendant with asthma - suitable for the churchyard, if not the church - called them to the font.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After another cold wait, a small, breathless church attendant with asthma - suitable for the churchyard, if not the church - called them to the font. Go to

2. It was a stiff marble bowl that looked as if it had been playing cup and ball with its plain stand in the churchyard and had just been caught on top of it. Go to

Original English Version

1. After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. Go to

cinderella's /ˌsɪndəˈrɛləz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Cinderela

Simple English: belonging to the fairy-tale character Cinderella

Example: Walter picked up Florence's shoe and placed it on her little foot as the prince in the story fitted Cinderella's slipper.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Walter picked up Florence's shoe and placed it on her little foot as the prince in the story fitted Cinderella's slipper. Go to

Original English Version

1. Walter picked up the shoe, and put it on the little foot as the Prince in the story might have fitted Cinderella’s slipper on. Go to

cinders /ˈsɪndərz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cinzas grossas; brasas apagadas

Simple English: Small partly burned pieces of coal or wood.

Example: Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black. Go to

circled /ˈsɜːrkəld/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: circundou; deu voltas; rodeou

Simple English: Moved in a circle around something, or drew a ring around it.

Example: Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre. Go to

circling /ˈsɜːrklɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: circulando; rodeando; girando em torno

Simple English: Moving in a circle around something.

Example: After circling Florence for several moments with the scissors like a strange butterfly, Mrs Brown ordered her to hide her hair under the bonnet so no curl would tempt her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After circling Florence for several moments with the scissors like a strange butterfly, Mrs Brown ordered her to hide her hair under the bonnet so no curl would tempt her. Go to

clapped /klæpt/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bateu (palmas); bateu um contra o outro

Simple English: Hit two things together, especially the hands.

Example: Florence clapped her hands and stood on tiptoe before the throne of his son and heir, tempting the baby to bend down from his high position and look at her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Florence clapped her hands and stood on tiptoe before the throne of his son and heir, tempting the baby to bend down from his high position and look at her. Go to

2. On the way to church, Mr Dombey clapped his hands to entertain his son. Go to

Original English Version

1. Once upon the road to church, Mr Dombey clapped his hands for the amusement of his son. Go to

clapping /ˈklæpɪŋ/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: batendo palmas

Simple English: Hitting the hands together to show happiness.

Example: The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder, when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter, who, clapping her hands, and standing on tip-toe before the throne of his son and heir, lured him to bend down from his high estate, and look at her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Susan!” cried Florence, clapping her hands in extreme fear. Go to

Original English Version

1. The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder, when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter, who, clapping her hands, and standing on tip-toe before the throne of his son and heir, lured him to bend down from his high estate, and look at her. Go to

2. Susan!” cried Florence, clapping her hands in the very ecstasy of her alarm. Go to

clark's /klɑːrks/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Clark

Simple English: possessive form of the surname Clark, referring to Isabella Clark

Example: Following Mr Clark's gesture, the boy approached Florence, naturally wondering what he had to do with her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Following Mr Clark's gesture, the boy approached Florence, naturally wondering what he had to do with her. Go to

Original English Version

1. Obedient to the indication of Mr Clark’s hand, the boy approached towards Florence, wondering, as well he might, what he had to do with her. Go to

clashing /ˈklæʃɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estridentes

Simple English: making loud discordant sounds together

Example: They were close enough to hear Bow Bells when the noise of the streets did not cover their clashing voices.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They were close enough to hear Bow Bells when the noise of the streets did not cover their clashing voices. Go to

Original English Version

1. Though the offices of Dombey and Son were within the liberties of the City of London, and within hearing of Bow Bells, when their clashing voices were not drowned by the uproar in the streets, yet were there hints of adventurous and romantic story to be observed in some of the adjacent objects. Go to

clasped /klæspt/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apertou; segurou firme; entrelaçou

Simple English: Held something tightly, especially with the hands.

Example: That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth lay those two figures clasped in each other’s arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth lay those two figures clasped in each other’s arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out. Go to

clasps /klæsps/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: barretas; fechos

Simple English: Small metal bars added to a medal.

Example: She often carried little bags whose clasps sounded like tiny pistols when shut.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She often carried little bags whose clasps sounded like tiny pistols when shut. Go to

cleanest /ˈkliːnɪst/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: o mais limpo

Simple English: more free from dirt than any other place being compared

Example: When I arrived at the house - the cleanest place, my dear!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. When I arrived at the house - the cleanest place, my dear! Go to

Original English Version

1. Arriving at the house (the cleanest place, my dear! Go to

clenched /klɛntʃt/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cerrou

Simple English: Closed the teeth or the hands very tightly.

Example: Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly. Go to

clergyman /ˈklɜːrdʒimən/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: clérigo; pastor

Simple English: A man who is a priest or a minister of a church.

Example: Then the clergyman appeared, a kind, gentle-looking young curate who was clearly afraid of the baby.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then the clergyman appeared, a kind, gentle-looking young curate who was clearly afraid of the baby. Go to

2. At the end, the clergyman spoke simply about the sponsors examining the child in the future and happened to look at Mr Chick. Go to

3. There he told the clergyman how pleased he would have been to invite him to dinner, if not for the unhappy condition of his household. Go to

Original English Version

1. Then the clergyman, an amiable and mild-looking young curate, but obviously afraid of the baby, appeared like the principal character in a ghost-story, “a tall figure all in white;” at sight of whom Paul rent the air with his cries, and never left off again till he was taken out black in the face. Go to

2. The only time that he unbent his visage in the least, was when the clergyman, in delivering (very unaffectedly and simply) the closing exhortation, relative to the future examination of the child by the sponsors, happened to rest his eye on Mr Chick; and then Mr Dombey might have been seen to express by a majestic look, that he would like to catch him at it. Go to

3. When it was all over, he again gave his arm to Miss Tox, and conducted her to the vestry, where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner, but for the unfortunate state of his household affairs. Go to

clinging /ˈklɪŋɪŋ/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agarrando-se; aderente

Simple English: Holding on tightly or sticking closely to something.

Example: Thus, clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Seeing his own flesh and blood clinging to this unknown, unimportant woman while he sat nearby was a knife in the proud father's heart and an arrow in his brain. Go to

2. The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate. Go to

Original English Version

1. Thus, clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world. Go to

2. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection. Go to

clumsy /ˈklʌmzi/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desajeitado; grosseiro; malfeito

Simple English: Done or made without skill or care.

Example: I would give anything to cheer you, but whenever I see something on your mind, I am sorry you do not have someone better near you than a clumsy, rough young boy like me.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I would give anything to cheer you, but whenever I see something on your mind, I am sorry you do not have someone better near you than a clumsy, rough young boy like me. Go to

Glossary: New Words (2/6)

clung /klʌŋ/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agarrava-se; apegava-se

Simple English: Held onto something very tightly.

Example: Next moment, the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and, standing on tiptoe, the better to hide her face in her embrace, had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The child clung to her as tightly as before. Go to

2. Mouldy remains still clung to the neighbourhood. Go to

Original English Version

1. Next moment, the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and, standing on tiptoe, the better to hide her face in her embrace, had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years. Go to

2. The child clung close about her, with the same intensity as before, and never raised her head, or moved her soft cheek from her mother’s face, or looked on those who stood around, or spoke, or moved, or shed a tear. Go to

3. His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still, or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her. Go to

4. It was a dagger in the haughty father’s heart, an arrow in his brain, to see how the flesh and blood he could not disown clung to this obscure stranger, and he sitting by. Go to

coachmen /ˈkoʊtʃmən/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cocheiros

Simple English: Men whose job is to drive horse-drawn coaches.

Example: The most private clothes of coachmen, their wives, and their families usually hung on the outside walls like Macbeth's banners.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The most private clothes of coachmen, their wives, and their families usually hung on the outside walls like Macbeth's banners. Go to

Original English Version

1. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls. Go to

coaxingly /ˈkoʊksɪŋli/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de maneira persuasiva e carinhosa

Simple English: In a gentle way intended to persuade someone.

Example: “Well then, what’s the matter, Uncle Sol?” said Walter, coaxingly.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Well then, what’s the matter, Uncle Sol?” said Walter, coaxingly. Go to

cobbler /ˈkɑːblər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sapateiro remendão

Simple English: A person who repairs shoes.

Example: Mr Chick broke the serious silence after this remark by humming the strangely unsuitable tune “There Was a Cobbler.” He stopped in some embarrassment and said that it was certainly our own fault if we did not learn from sad occasions like this one.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Chick broke the serious silence after this remark by humming the strangely unsuitable tune “There Was a Cobbler.” He stopped in some embarrassment and said that it was certainly our own fault if we did not learn from sad occasions like this one. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Chick invaded the grave silence which ensued on this remark with the singularly inappropriate air of “A cobbler there was;” and checking himself, in some confusion, observed, that it was undoubtedly our own faults if we didn’t improve such melancholy occasions as the present. Go to

cobwebs /ˈkɑːbwebz/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: teias de aranha

Simple English: Nets made by spiders, often old and dusty.

Example: In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.” Go to

coils /kɔɪlz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: anéis; voltas enroladas

Simple English: Rings made by something long that is wound round.

Example: Black funeral stands were stored there with shovels, baskets, and coils of deadly-looking rope.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Black funeral stands were stored there with shovels, baskets, and coils of deadly-looking rope. Go to

coldly /ˈkoʊldli/ (41 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: friamente; com frieza

Simple English: In an unfriendly way, without warmth or feeling.

Example: He looked closely and rather coldly at Toodle, who stood looking around the room, mostly at the ceiling, while still rubbing his hand across his mouth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He looked closely and rather coldly at Toodle, who stood looking around the room, mostly at the ceiling, while still rubbing his hand across his mouth. Go to

2. “Come here, Florence,” her father said coldly. Go to

3. Miss Nipper received both this sign of trust and the hope that they could freely spend time together in the future rather coldly. Go to

4. “I do not know why they should be important to my son,” said Mr Dombey coldly. Go to

5. He watched so steadily and coldly that even the warm light disappeared from little Florence's laughing eyes when they finally met his. Go to

6. It stood in the shadow like a poor relative of the great street around the corner, looked down upon coldly by powerful mansions. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Come here, Florence,” said her father, coldly. Go to

2. Miss Nipper received that proof of her confidence, as well as the prospect of their free association for the future, rather coldly, and was anything but enthusiastic in her demonstrations of joy. Go to

3. “I don’t know why they should be, to my son,” said Mr Dombey, coldly. Go to

4. He looked on so fixedly and coldly, that the warm light vanished even from the laughing eyes of little Florence, when, at last, they happened to meet his. Go to

5. Miss Tox inhabited a dark little house that had been squeezed, at some remote period of English History, into a fashionable neighbourhood at the west end of the town, where it stood in the shade like a poor relation of the great street round the corner, coldly looked down upon by mighty mansions. Go to

6. “Good morning, Sir,” said Miss Tox; very coldly. Go to

coldness /ˈkoʊldnəs/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: frieza

Simple English: A way of behaving that shows no warm feeling.

Example: Miss Tox lowered her head, but with great coldness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox lowered her head, but with great coldness. Go to

collars /ˈkɑːlərz/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: colarinhos; coleiras

Simple English: The parts of clothes that go round the neck, or bands for animals.

Example: Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. Go to

comforted /ˈkʌmfərtɪd/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: consolou; confortou

Simple English: Made someone feel less sad or worried.

Example: Besides feeling relieved to be safe at the end of her journey, his lively young face and manner comforted her greatly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Besides feeling relieved to be safe at the end of her journey, his lively young face and manner comforted her greatly. Go to

2. He comforted himself by thinking another milestone had been passed and the great end of the journey was closer. Go to

Original English Version

1. But as this was not feasible, he merely wondered, in his haughty manner, now and then, what Nature meant by it; and comforted himself with the reflection that there was another milestone passed upon the road, and that the great end of the journey lay so much the nearer. Go to

comforts /ˈkʌmfərts/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: comodidades; conforto

Simple English: Things that make life easy and pleasant.

Example: I have no objection to your adding to the comforts of your family by that means.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Those few quiet minutes gave Solomon Gills enough time to recover his senses, arrange some comforts for her, darken the room, and protect her from the bright flames. Go to

2. He says it is nothing worth mentioning, which I can confirm if that comforts you. Go to

Original English Version

1. I have no objection to your adding to the comforts of your family by that means. Go to

comma /ˈkɒmə/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vírgula

Simple English: The punctuation mark used to separate parts of a sentence or items in a list.

Example: “Not at all, I do not want that, we do not need to deal with each other in that way, since Miss Floy is permanent and Master Paul is temporary.” The fiery girl used only brief comma-like pauses.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Not at all, I do not want that, we do not need to deal with each other in that way, since Miss Floy is permanent and Master Paul is temporary.” The fiery girl used only brief comma-like pauses. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Not at all, I don’t wish it, we needn’t stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.” Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible. Go to

committee (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: comitê; comissão; conselho

Simple English: a group chosen to make decisions

Example: The committee approved the proposal.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After Richards was removed and sent away, the nursery was managed by a committee, as sometimes happens to a government department when no single strong person can support it. Go to

2. The committee members were naturally Mrs Chick and Miss Tox. Go to

commonly /ˈkɒmənli/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: comumente; vulgarmente; geralmente

Simple English: In most cases, as a usual or standard practice.

Example: It is commonly believed that exercise improves mental health significantly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I can afford to look down on the outside help that people commonly seek for their children, because I hope I am above needing it. Go to

2. Others, who naturally loved the countryside, believed the name came from old country days when groups of deer, commonly called Staggses, visited its shady spaces. Go to

companion's /kəmˈpænjənz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do companheiro; da companheira

Simple English: Belonging to the person who is travelling or spending time with you.

Example: “Do we have far to go?” Florence asked at last, raising her eyes to her companion's face.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Do we have far to go?” Florence asked at last, raising her eyes to her companion's face. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Have we far to go?” asked Florence at last, lilting up her eyes to her companion’s face. Go to

companionship /kəmˈpænjənʃɪp/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: companhia; companheirismo

Simple English: The friendly relationship and comfort of spending time with another person or animal.

Example: The cat, and Paul, and Mrs Pipchin, were constantly to be found in their usual places after dark; and Paul, eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone, went on studying Mrs Pipchin, and the cat, and the fire, night after night, as if they were a book of necromancy, in three volumes.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The cat, and Paul, and Mrs Pipchin, were constantly to be found in their usual places after dark; and Paul, eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone, went on studying Mrs Pipchin, and the cat, and the fire, night after night, as if they were a book of necromancy, in three volumes. Go to

compasses /ˈkʌmpəsɪz/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bússolas

Simple English: instruments that show direction by means of a magnetic needle

Example: The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

Original English Version

1. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Go to

complains /kəmˈpleɪnz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: reclama

Simple English: Expresses dissatisfaction, pain, or annoyance.

Example: You would be as confused as I am if you understood what an unusual interest he takes in me, although he avoids me; what a low position he holds in our office; and how he is never promoted and never complains.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. You would be as confused as I am if you understood what an unusual interest he takes in me, although he avoids me; what a low position he holds in our office; and how he is never promoted and never complains. Go to

Original English Version

1. If you could understand what an extraordinary interest he takes in me, and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office, and how he is never advanced, and never complains, though year after year he sees young men passed over his head, and though his brother (younger than he is), is our head Manager, you would be as much puzzled about him as I am.” Go to

complexion /kəmˈplekʃən/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tez; compleição; aspecto

Simple English: The natural colour and look of a person's skin.

Example: There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior,” said Mr Dombey, making a fictitious autograph on his knee; “but it is merely of a private and personal complexion.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior,” said Mr Dombey, making a fictitious autograph on his knee; “but it is merely of a private and personal complexion. Go to

2. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Go to

3. Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. Go to

4. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent. Go to

5. So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Go to

complicated /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪtɪd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: complicado; complica

Simple English: Involving many parts, making it difficult to understand.

Example: The instructions for assembling the furniture are quite complicated and unclear.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey considered complicated business plans, while the little copy considered only Heaven knew what strange ideas, half-formed thoughts, and wandering questions. Go to

condescendingly /ˌkɒndɪˈsendɪŋli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com condescendência

Simple English: in a manner that suggests one feels superior to another person

Example: “Is it, indeed, Mrs Richards?” said Susan, condescendingly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Am I to understand that this respectable lady runs an establishment, Miss Tox?” asked Mr Dombey condescendingly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Is it, indeed, Mrs Richards?” said Susan, condescendingly. Go to

2. “Do I understand that this respectable matron keeps an establishment, Miss Tox?” the Mr Dombey, condescendingly. Go to

condescension /ˌkɒndɪˈsenʃən/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: condescendência

Simple English: an attitude of patronizing superiority

Example: By way of bringing her out dexterously, Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn’t seen for a fortnight or so.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. By way of bringing her out dexterously, Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn’t seen for a fortnight or so. Go to

2. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Go to

confidentially /ˌkɑːnfɪˈdenʃəli/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: confidencialmente; em tom de segredo

Simple English: In a private or trusting manner meant not to be shared widely.

Example: “There’s nothing more than usual the matter; is there, Uncle?” said Walter, leaning his elbows on the tea tray, and bending over, to speak the more confidentially and kindly.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “There’s nothing more than usual the matter; is there, Uncle?” said Walter, leaning his elbows on the tea tray, and bending over, to speak the more confidentially and kindly. Go to

confidently /ˈkɑːnfɪdəntli/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com confiança; com desenvoltura

Simple English: In a way that shows you are sure of yourself.

Example: “Now, really, Fanny my dear,” said the sister-in-law, altering her position, and speaking less confidently, and more earnestly, in spite of herself, “I shall have to be quite cross with you, if you don’t rouse yourself.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Now, really, Fanny my dear,” said the sister-in-law, altering her position, and speaking less confidently, and more earnestly, in spite of herself, “I shall have to be quite cross with you, if you don’t rouse yourself. Go to

confinement /kənˈfaɪnmənt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: confinamento; parto

Simple English: The state of being kept within limits; historically, it can also mean childbirth.

Example: Miss Pankey, a gentle little piece of a child with blue eyes, who was vigorously rubbed every morning and seemed in danger of being rubbed away completely, was brought from confinement by the ogress herself.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Pankey, a gentle little piece of a child with blue eyes, who was vigorously rubbed every morning and seemed in danger of being rubbed away completely, was brought from confinement by the ogress herself. Go to

confound /kənˈfaʊnd/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: maldito seja; que te levem

Simple English: Used to show that you are annoyed with someone.

Example: We must not disguise from you, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that there is a want of power in Her Grace the Duchess - I beg your pardon; I confound names; I should say, in your amiable lady.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Confound it, Uncle!" Walter said, setting down his cup noisily and striking the table. Go to

Original English Version

1. We must not disguise from you, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that there is a want of power in Her Grace the Duchess - I beg your pardon; I confound names; I should say, in your amiable lady. Go to

2. “Confound the admiral!” returned Solomon Gills. Go to

3. “Confound it, Uncle!” said Walter, putting down his breakfast cup with a clatter, and striking his hand on the table: “when I see the people going up and down the street in shoals all day, and passing and re-passing the shop every minute, by scores, I feel half tempted to rush out, collar somebody, bring him in, and make him buy fifty pounds’ worth of instruments for ready money. Go to

confuses /kənˈfjuːzɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: confunde

Simple English: Makes someone unable to think or understand clearly.

Example: Even the distant noise of the world ahead confuses me.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Even the distant noise of the world ahead confuses me.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Even the noise it makes a long way ahead, confuses me.” Go to

confusing /kənˈfjuːzɪŋ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: confuso; confundindo; desconcertante

Simple English: Difficult to understand or unclear, causing uncertainty.

Example: The confusing directions led us to the wrong location for the meeting.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was dressed very lightly in a confusing collection of thin, fluttering pieces to honour the ceremony. Go to

2. Her low spirits grew worse because of the confusing view of chimneys from her room, the sound of the wind, and the general gloom - or ghastliness, as she strongly called it - of her present life. Go to

congratulating /kənˈɡrætʃuleɪtɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: parabenizando; felicitando

Simple English: Telling someone that you are pleased about their success.

Example: “I shall never stop congratulating myself,” said Mrs Chick, “for saying, when I had no idea what awaited us - as if something had inspired me - that I forgave poor dear Fanny for everything.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I shall never stop congratulating myself,” said Mrs Chick, “for saying, when I had no idea what awaited us - as if something had inspired me - that I forgave poor dear Fanny for everything. Go to

conservatory /kənˈsɜːrvətɔːri/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: conservatório; jardim de inverno

Simple English: A school for advanced study of music or the arts, or a glass room where plants are kept.

Example: They included a sitting room; a library that was really a dressing room, where the smells of fine paper and several kinds of leather competed with the smell of many pairs of boots; and beyond it, a small glass breakfast room like a conservatory, with a view of the two trees and usually a few wandering cats.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They included a sitting room; a library that was really a dressing room, where the smells of fine paper and several kinds of leather competed with the smell of many pairs of boots; and beyond it, a small glass breakfast room like a conservatory, with a view of the two trees and usually a few wandering cats. Go to

2. The next night, she found him walking around the conservatory when she came down. Go to

Original English Version

1. The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. Go to

2. Next night, she found him walking about the conservatory when she came down. Go to

contradiction /ˌkɒntrəˈdɪkʃən/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: contradição

Simple English: A statement or situation that conflicts with another statement or with itself.

Example: The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed, and who was very silent and depressed) caught her in her arms without a word of contradiction or reproach, and made a very hysterical meeting of it.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed, and who was very silent and depressed) caught her in her arms without a word of contradiction or reproach, and made a very hysterical meeting of it. Go to

contrasted /kənˈtræstɪd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: contrastou; contraposto

Simple English: Showed a clear difference when compared with something else.

Example: His pride contrasted strangely with its history.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His pride contrasted strangely with its history. Go to

2. Standing near a lamp and listening with surprise to Walter's quick explanation, the man strongly contrasted with the two young figures before him. Go to

Original English Version

1. His arrogance contrasted strangely with its history. Go to

2. The two so very much alike, and yet so monstrously contrasted. Go to

convinced /kənˈvɪnst/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: convencido; convenceu; convicto

Simple English: Having a strong belief in something.

Example: He is convinced that he will win the competition next week.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He soon convinced himself that he had rejected the idea as fanciful and unlikely, though he could not deny it was possible. Go to

cornered /ˈkɔːrnərd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de três pontas

Simple English: having corners or an angular shape

Example: So much practical navigation was fitted, cushioned, and screwed into every box - whether the box was only a flat board, or shaped like something between a three-cornered hat and a starfish, and those were simple boxes compared with others - that the shop itself seemed affected.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. So much practical navigation was fitted, cushioned, and screwed into every box - whether the box was only a flat board, or shaped like something between a three-cornered hat and a starfish, and those were simple boxes compared with others - that the shop itself seemed affected. Go to

2. All the weather instruments in the shop give sad, low readings, and rain already shines on the three-cornered hat of the wooden Midshipman. Go to

correcting /kəˈrektɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corrigindo

Simple English: Making something right, or telling someone their mistake.

Example: “No, no, sir,” replied Toodle, kindly correcting his mistake.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “No, no, sir,” replied Toodle, kindly correcting his mistake. Go to

corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: espartilho

Simple English: A close-fitting garment worn to shape or support the torso.

Example: She had suddenly become so straight and stiff that she seemed to have added an extra bone to her corset.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She had suddenly become so straight and stiff that she seemed to have added an extra bone to her corset. Go to

coughed /kɔːft/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tossiram

Simple English: Pushed air out of the throat with a sudden noise.

Example: Mr Dombey coughed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey coughed. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey coughed. Go to

coughing /ˈkɔːfɪŋ/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tossindo

Simple English: Pushing air out of the throat with a sudden noise.

Example: Meanwhile, partly because of her illness and partly so the wedding party would not forget her, the little attendant walked around the church coughing like a sea monster.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Meanwhile, partly because of her illness and partly so the wedding party would not forget her, the little attendant walked around the church coughing like a sea monster. Go to

2. They remembered the coughing church attendant, rewarded the officer, and did not forget the grave digger, who happened to be standing on the steps with great interest in the weather. Go to

Original English Version

1. Here they waited some little time while the marriage party enrolled themselves; and meanwhile the wheezy little pew-opener - partly in consequence of her infirmity, and partly that the marriage party might not forget her - went about the building coughing like a grampus. Go to

Council /ˈkaʊnsəl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: conselho; Concílio; concelho

Simple English: Group of elected people governing a town or city.

Example: The city council will decide on the new building regulations next week.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “To the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, the Common Council, and the Livery,” said the boy. Go to

2. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were called to a council at dinner the next day. Go to

courtship /ˈkɔːrtʃɪp/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corte; namoro

Simple English: The time when a man and a woman are getting to know each other before marriage.

Example: It told of the courtship and marriage of a promising young coal worker and 'lovely Peg,' the talented daughter of a Newcastle ship's master and part owner.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It told of the courtship and marriage of a promising young coal worker and 'lovely Peg,' the talented daughter of a Newcastle ship's master and part owner. Go to

Original English Version

1. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Go to

cramps /kræmps/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cãibras

Simple English: sudden painful tightenings of muscles

Example: Cramps were as common to her," Mrs Wickam added, "as boils are to you, Miss Berry." Miss Berry wrinkled her nose without meaning to.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Cramps were as common to her," Mrs Wickam added, "as boils are to you, Miss Berry." Miss Berry wrinkled her nose without meaning to. Go to

Original English Version

1. The cramps was as common to her,” said Mrs Wickam, “as biles is to yourself, Miss Berry.” Miss Berry involuntarily wrinkled her nose. Go to

cranes /kreɪnz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: guindastes

Simple English: machines with projecting arms used to lift or move heavy objects

Example: Broken buildings, unfinished walls and arches, piles of scaffolding, deserts of bricks, huge cranes, and three-legged frames stood over nothing.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Broken buildings, unfinished walls and arches, piles of scaffolding, deserts of bricks, huge cranes, and three-legged frames stood over nothing. Go to

Original English Version

1. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Go to

crash /kræʃ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acidente; bater; queda

Simple English: Accident in which a vehicle collides with something.

Example: The crash caused a major traffic jam on the highway this morning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was two full hours later when Florence escaped the crashing noise of a narrow street filled with carts and wagons. Go to

cravat /krəˈvæt/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gravata antiga; lenço de pescoço

Simple English: A wide band of cloth worn round the neck by men.

Example: The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He would then marry the grown and beautiful Florence despite Mr Dombey's teeth, cravat, and watch chain, and carry her triumphantly to some distant blue shore. Go to

Original English Version

1. The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered. Go to

2. The stiff and stark fire-irons appeared to claim a nearer relationship than anything else there to Mr Dombey, with his buttoned coat, his white cravat, his heavy gold watch-chain, and his creaking boots. Go to

3. “Perhaps, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, slightly turning his head in his cravat, as if it were a socket, “you would have preferred a fire?” Go to

4. Sometimes he thought (and then he walked very fast) what a grand thing it would have been for him to have been going to sea on the day after that first meeting, and to have gone, and to have done wonders there, and to have stopped away a long time, and to have come back an Admiral of all the colours of the dolphin, or at least a Post-Captain with epaulettes of insupportable brightness, and have married Florence (then a beautiful young woman) in spite of Mr Dombey’s teeth, cravat, and watch-chain, and borne her away to the blue shores of somewhere or other, triumphantly. Go to

creaked /kriːkt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rangeu

Simple English: Made a long high sound, as old wood or hinges do.

Example: Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.” Go to

creaking /ˈkriːkɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rangente; que chia

Simple English: Making a long high noise when it moves.

Example: Together with the creaking boots and loudly ticking watch, these things formed her idea of a father.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Together with the creaking boots and loudly ticking watch, these things formed her idea of a father. Go to

2. He wore a buttoned coat, a white neckcloth, a heavy gold watch chain, and creaking boots. Go to

Original English Version

1. The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered. Go to

2. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:” Go to

3. The stiff and stark fire-irons appeared to claim a nearer relationship than anything else there to Mr Dombey, with his buttoned coat, his white cravat, his heavy gold watch-chain, and his creaking boots. Go to

crept /krɛpt/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esgueirou-se; foi de mansinho

Simple English: Moved slowly and quietly.

Example: She crept as near him as she could without disturbing his rest; and stretching out one arm so that it timidly embraced his neck, and hiding her face on the other, over which her damp and scattered hair fell loose, lay motionless.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She crept as near him as she could without disturbing his rest; and stretching out one arm so that it timidly embraced his neck, and hiding her face on the other, over which her damp and scattered hair fell loose, lay motionless. Go to

Crisis /ˈkraɪsɪs/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: crise

Simple English: Serious or dangerous situation needing immediate attention.

Example: The country faced a financial crisis that required urgent intervention.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Then,” Doctor Parker Peps added alone and very seriously, “a crisis might arise that we would both sincerely regret.” Go to

critical /ˈkrɪtɪkəl/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: crítico; fundamental; crucial

Simple English: A very serious situation that requires immediate action.

Example: The patient is in critical condition and needs urgent surgery now.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Neighbours are often critical about such matters and easily offended by anything missing or poorly done in the ceremonies. Go to

criticism /ˈkrɪtɪsɪzəm/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: crítica; desaprovação

Simple English: The process of reviewing, evaluating, and giving opinions about creative works.

Example: Her criticism of the painting focused on its use of color and technique.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Richards trembled under the greatness of this criticism. Go to

2. Silent and miserable, she caught Florence in her arms without blame or criticism and greeted her with great emotion. Go to

3. A sharp criticism that would be acceptable about ordinary High Holborn became terrible blasphemy when said about Princess's Place. Go to

criticize /ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: criticar

Simple English: To judge something based on positive or negative points.

Example: It’s important to criticize ideas while remaining respectful of the person.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But when a sweet, young, pretty innocent who should never hear an unkind word said to her or about her is criticized, the situation is completely different. Go to

2. People had not only criticized and insulted his legs but had touched and pinched them. Go to

crouching /ˈkraʊtʃɪŋ/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agachado; encolhido

Simple English: Bending the legs so that the body is low.

Example: There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother’s face.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother’s face. Go to

crusoe's /ˈkruːzoʊz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Crusoe

Simple English: compares something to Robinson Crusoe's first strange discovery on his island

Example: After a pause, the old man continued, “Well, Wally, we are not like the people on Robinson Crusoe's island, so we cannot live on a man who asks for change and a woman who asks for directions.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After a pause, the old man continued, “Well, Wally, we are not like the people on Robinson Crusoe's island, so we cannot live on a man who asks for change and a woman who asks for directions. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Well, Wally,” resumed the old man, after a short pause: “not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe’s Island, we can’t live on a man who asks for change for a sovereign, and a woman who inquires the way to Mile-End Turnpike. Go to

cupboard /ˈkʌbərd/ (24 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: armário

Simple English: A piece of furniture with shelves and doors for keeping things.

Example: Once, she hid modestly in a cupboard when Mrs Chick brought Mr Dombey into the nursery to see his son getting ready for bed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Once, she hid modestly in a cupboard when Mrs Chick brought Mr Dombey into the nursery to see his son getting ready for bed. Go to

2. Is he not a Cupid, sir?” Then she nearly fell behind the cupboard door in embarrassment, blushing deeply. Go to

3. Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth. Go to

Original English Version

1. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Go to

2. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Go to

cupboards /ˈkʌbərdz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: armários

Simple English: Pieces of furniture with doors and shelves for keeping things.

Example: In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage. Go to

Original English Version

1. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Go to

cupid /ˈkjuːpɪd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Cupido

Simple English: The Roman god of love, often shown with a bow and arrows.

Example: Is he not a Cupid, sir?” Then she nearly fell behind the cupboard door in embarrassment, blushing deeply.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Is he not a Cupid, sir?” Then she nearly fell behind the cupboard door in embarrassment, blushing deeply. Go to

Original English Version

1. Is he not a Cupid, Sir!” and then almost sinking behind the closet door with confusion and blushes. Go to

cupping /ˈkʌpɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: em concha

Simple English: Holding the hands curved, like a cup.

Example: The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Go to

curate /ˈkjʊərət/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cura; padre auxiliar

Simple English: A member of the clergy who assists a parish priest, especially in the Anglican Church.

Example: Then the clergyman appeared, a kind, gentle-looking young curate who was clearly afraid of the baby.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then the clergyman appeared, a kind, gentle-looking young curate who was clearly afraid of the baby. Go to

Original English Version

1. Then the clergyman, an amiable and mild-looking young curate, but obviously afraid of the baby, appeared like the principal character in a ghost-story, “a tall figure all in white;” at sight of whom Paul rent the air with his cries, and never left off again till he was taken out black in the face. Go to

2. During the whole of these proceedings, Mr Dombey remained as impassive and gentlemanly as ever, and perhaps assisted in making it so cold, that the young curate smoked at the mouth as he read. Go to

curate's /ˈkjʊərəts/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: do cura; do padre auxiliar

Simple English: The possessive form of curate, an assistant parish priest.

Example: Perhaps he helped make the church so cold that mist came from the young curate’s mouth as he read.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps he helped make the church so cold that mist came from the young curate’s mouth as he read. Go to

curiously /ˈkjʊriəsli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com curiosidade; curiosamente

Simple English: In a way that shows interest, or in a strange way.

Example: The man looked at her even more curiously and rubbed the back of his head so hard in surprise that he knocked off his own hat.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The man looked at her even more curiously and rubbed the back of his head so hard in surprise that he knocked off his own hat. Go to

Original English Version

1. The man looked at her yet more curiously, and rubbed the back of his head so hard in his wonderment that he knocked his own hat off. Go to

curled /kɜːrld/ (21 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enroscou-se; encolheu-se

Simple English: Lay down with the body rolled into a round shape.

Example: Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Go to

2. Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks. Go to

Original English Version

1. Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly. Go to

curls /kɜːrlz/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cachos; anéis de cabelo; espirais

Simple English: Rings or waves of hair, or anything twisted into that shape.

Example: The Doctor gently moved the child’s loose curls away from the mother’s face and mouth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Doctor gently moved the child’s loose curls away from the mother’s face and mouth. Go to

2. She sobbed and cried against the nurse's chest, became fond of the baby lying in her lap, and - there, there, there!” Polly said, smoothing the child's curls and dropping tears onto them. Go to

3. He laughed aloud when she rushed toward him and seemed to stroke her curls with his tiny hands while she covered him with kisses. Go to

4. Anyone except me would have cut all these curls off first,” said the old woman, handling Florence's curls with fierce delight. Go to

5. Perhaps the cry helped save her curls. Go to

Original English Version

1. “And the child’s heart,” said Polly, drawing her to her breast: “the little daughter’s heart was so full of the truth of this, that even when she heard it from a strange nurse that couldn’t tell it right, but was a poor mother herself and that was all, she found a comfort in it - didn’t feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap - and - there, there, there!” said Polly, smoothing the child’s curls and dropping tears upon them. Go to

2. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Go to

3. Why, Lord!” said the old woman, ruffling her curls with a furious pleasure, “anybody but me would have had ’em off, first of all.” Go to

4. It had its part, perhaps, in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown, after hovering about her with the scissors for some moments, like a new kind of butterfly, bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her. Go to

curtsey /ˈkɜːrtsi/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: reverência; fazer uma reverência

Simple English: A respectful bending of the knees by a woman or girl, or to make that gesture.

Example: “I am sure,” said Miss Tox, with a prodigious curtsey, “that to have the honour of being presented to Mr Dombey is a distinction which I have long sought, but very little expected at the present moment.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He looked so hard that she lowered her eyes and made a curtsey without meaning to. Go to

2. “If you please, Sir, the child is very ready to notice things,” said Richards, making another curtsey, “and perhaps it is a little dull for him upstairs, Sir.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “I am sure,” said Miss Tox, with a prodigious curtsey, “that to have the honour of being presented to Mr Dombey is a distinction which I have long sought, but very little expected at the present moment. Go to

2. As the husband did nothing but chuckle and grin, and continually draw his right hand across his mouth, moistening the palm, Mrs Toodle, after nudging him twice or thrice in vain, dropped a curtsey and replied “that perhaps if she was to be called out of her name, it would be considered in the wages.” Go to

3. Such a hard-looking gentleman, that she involuntarily dropped her eyes and her curtsey at the same time. Go to

4. “If you please, Sir, the child is very much disposed to take notice of things,” said Richards, with another curtsey, “and - upstairs is a little dull for him, perhaps, Sir.” Go to

curtseys /ˈkɜːrtsiz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: reverências

Simple English: formal gestures of respect made by bending the knees

Example: She entered, making curtseys but without the baby, because Paul was asleep after the tiring morning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She entered, making curtseys but without the baby, because Paul was asleep after the tiring morning. Go to

2. Richards accepted these compliments by making curtseys and murmuring thanks. Go to

curtsied /ˈkɜːrtsid/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: fez uma reverência

Simple English: Bent the knees in a formal gesture of respect.

Example: She curtsied very low because Mr Dombey had taken one or two steps forward to meet her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She curtsied very low because Mr Dombey had taken one or two steps forward to meet her. Go to

curtsy /ˈkɜːrtsi/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mesura; reverência

Simple English: A polite movement in which a woman bends her knees and lowers her body.

Example: “I am sure,” said Miss Tox with a very deep curtsy, “that being introduced to Mr Dombey is an honour I have long wished for, though I hardly expected it now.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I am sure,” said Miss Tox with a very deep curtsy, “that being introduced to Mr Dombey is an honour I have long wished for, though I hardly expected it now. Go to

cushioned /ˈkʊʃənd/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: almofadado; acolchoado

Simple English: Made softer with a cushion.

Example: So much practical navigation was fitted, cushioned, and screwed into every box - whether the box was only a flat board, or shaped like something between a three-cornered hat and a starfish, and those were simple boxes compared with others - that the shop itself seemed affected.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. So much practical navigation was fitted, cushioned, and screwed into every box - whether the box was only a flat board, or shaped like something between a three-cornered hat and a starfish, and those were simple boxes compared with others - that the shop itself seemed affected. Go to

Original English Version

1. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world. Go to

cushions /ˈkʊʃənz/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: almofadas

Simple English: Soft bags filled with something, used for sitting on.

Example: Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm. Go to

Original English Version

1. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Go to

cuttle /ˈkʌtəlfɪʃ/ (630 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lula (choco)

Simple English: a sea creature with a soft body and tentacles, related to squid and octopus

Example: “I would not be surprised, Captain Cuttle,” the boy replied.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I would not be surprised, Captain Cuttle,” the boy replied. Go to

2. “And it would run!” said Captain Cuttle, drawing a snake shape in the air with his hook. Go to

3. These words show that Captain Cuttle deeply respected the instruments in the shop. Go to

4. They say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” he continued more quietly, “that he dislikes her and leaves her unnoticed among the servants. Go to

5. Captain Cuttle had even bought an old ballad that had long hung with many others, mostly about sailors, on a wall in Commercial Road. Go to

6. Captain Cuttle saw a deep connection between this exciting story and Walter and Florence. Go to

Original English Version

1. “I shouldn’t wonder, Captain Cuttle,” returned the boy. Go to

2. “And it would go!” said Captain Cuttle, making a species of serpent in the air with his hook. Go to

3. And they do say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” lowering his voice, “that he’s taken a dislike to her, and that she’s left, unnoticed, among the servants, and that his mind’s so set all the while upon having his son in the House, that although he’s only a baby now, he is going to have balances struck oftener than formerly, and the books kept closer than they used to be, and has even been seen (when he thought he wasn’t) walking in the Docks, looking at his ships and property and all that, as if he was exulting like, over what he and his son will possess together. Go to

4. The recollection of those incidents, and his own share in them, may have been made the more captivating, perhaps, by the weekly dreamings of old Sol and Captain Cuttle on Sundays. Go to

5. In this stirring legend, Captain Cuttle descried a profound metaphysical bearing on the case of Walter and Florence; and it excited him so much, that on very festive occasions, as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays, he would roar through the whole song in the little back parlour; making an amazing shake on the word Pe-e-eg, with which every verse concluded, in compliment to the heroine of the piece. Go to

6. So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Go to

cuttle's /ˈkʌtəlz/ (50 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Cuttle

Simple English: belonging to Captain Cuttle, the seafaring friend in the novel

Example: It may be gathered from these remarks that Captain Cuttle’s reverence for the stock of instruments was profound, and that his philosophy knew little or no distinction between trading in it and inventing it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The memory of those events and Walter's part in them may have become even more charming because of old Sol and Captain Cuttle's Sunday dreams. Go to

2. He saw through Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle's hopeful ideas, yet he had a thousand vague dreams of his own that were even less likely than theirs. Go to

Original English Version

1. It may be gathered from these remarks that Captain Cuttle’s reverence for the stock of instruments was profound, and that his philosophy knew little or no distinction between trading in it and inventing it. Go to

dares /dɛrz/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ousa; se atreve

Simple English: Is brave enough to do something.

Example: I would like to see the villain who dares trouble you now.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I would like to see the villain who dares trouble you now.” Go to

darken /ˈdɑːrkən/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escurecer

Simple English: To make or become dark or darker.

Example: Those few quiet minutes gave Solomon Gills enough time to recover his senses, arrange some comforts for her, darken the room, and protect her from the bright flames.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Those few quiet minutes gave Solomon Gills enough time to recover his senses, arrange some comforts for her, darken the room, and protect her from the bright flames. Go to

Original English Version

1. The short interval of quiet, though only a few minutes in duration, enabled Solomon Gills so far to collect his wits as to make some little arrangements for her comfort, and to darken the room, and to screen her from the blaze. Go to

darkened /ˈdɑːrkənd/ (31 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escureceu; ficou escuro

Simple English: Became darker or more serious.

Example: Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He had plenty of hair and whiskers, perhaps darkened by smoke and coal dust, hard, knotted hands, and a square forehead as rough as oak bark. Go to

2. He had lost his second mother - the first mother he had ever known - through a blow as sudden as the natural sorrow that had darkened the beginning of his life. Go to

Original English Version

1. Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Go to

2. Sooth to say, poor Paul had better reason for his tears than sons of that age often have, for he had lost his second mother - his first, so far as he knew - by a stroke as sudden as that natural affliction which had darkened the beginning of his life. Go to

darkly /ˈdɑːrkli/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sombriamente; de modo obscuro; com ar carrancudo

Simple English: In a gloomy, threatening or unclear way.

Example: “For Mrs Richards,” one of Susan's fellow servants whispered darkly as Susan passed with Florence.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “For Mrs Richards,” one of Susan's fellow servants whispered darkly as Susan passed with Florence. Go to

darlings /ˈdɑːrlɪŋz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: queridos

Simple English: A word said to people you love very much.

Example: She means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima, her little darlings, and her good, honest husband with a light heart and a smile, doesn't she, my dear?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima, her little darlings, and her good, honest husband with a light heart and a smile, doesn't she, my dear?” Go to

daybreak /ˈdeɪbreɪk/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: amanhecer; alvorada; romper do dia

Simple English: The time in the morning when light first appears.

Example: “But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, “seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, “seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.” Go to

dazzling /ˈdæzlɪŋ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: deslumbrante; ofuscante

Simple English: So bright or impressive that it almost hurts to look at it.

Example: Sometimes he imagined how grand it would have been if he had gone to sea the day after they met, performed wonders, stayed away for years, and returned as an admiral in every color of the dolphin - or at least as a post-captain with dazzling epaulettes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Sometimes he imagined how grand it would have been if he had gone to sea the day after they met, performed wonders, stayed away for years, and returned as an admiral in every color of the dolphin - or at least as a post-captain with dazzling epaulettes. Go to

dearly /ˈdɪrli/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: muito; ternamente

Simple English: Very much, with deep love.

Example: Even at that lowest point, the small, familiar, dearly loved voice brought a sign of awareness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Even at that lowest point, the small, familiar, dearly loved voice brought a sign of awareness. Go to

2. “Once upon a time,” said Richards, “there was a lady - a very good lady - and her little daughter loved her dearly.” Go to

3. “A very good lady, and her little daughter loved her dearly,” the child repeated. Go to

Original English Version

1. The little voice, familiar and dearly loved, awakened some show of consciousness, even at that ebb. Go to

2. “Once upon a time,” said Richards, “there was a lady - a very good lady, and her little daughter dearly loved her.” Go to

3. “A very good lady and her little daughter dearly loved her,” repeated the child. Go to

deathly /ˈdeθli/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: cadavérico; mortal

Simple English: Like death, especially very pale or very still.

Example: The strange, unpleasant smell and the pale, deathly light matched everything else.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The strange, unpleasant smell and the pale, deathly light matched everything else. Go to

decaying /dɪˈkeɪɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: apodrecendo; em decadência

Simple English: Slowly going bad or falling apart.

Example: A hundred thousand unfinished shapes and materials were mixed wildly out of place: upside down, digging into the earth, rising in the air, decaying in water, and as impossible to understand as a dream.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A hundred thousand unfinished shapes and materials were mixed wildly out of place: upside down, digging into the earth, rising in the air, decaying in water, and as impossible to understand as a dream. Go to

deceived /dɪˈsiːvd/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enganado

Simple English: Caused to believe something that was not true.

Example: Mrs Chick fully believed her own story, deceived herself, and felt unusually comfortable because of her supposed tolerance.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick fully believed her own story, deceived herself, and felt unusually comfortable because of her supposed tolerance. Go to

2. And remember: if I discover that you have deceived me, I will never believe you again or tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior!" Go to

deceiving /dɪˈsiːvɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enganando; iludindo

Simple English: Making someone believe something that is not true.

Example: I’ll never believe you again, and never tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior, if I find out that you have been deceiving me!”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. I’ll never believe you again, and never tell you anything more about Mr Carker the Junior, if I find out that you have been deceiving me!” Go to

deceptive /dɪˈseptɪv/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: enganoso

Simple English: Giving a false or misleading appearance.

Example: Deceptive Time would first smooth them away, then later use his scythe to cut deeper marks.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Deceptive Time would first smooth them away, then later use his scythe to cut deeper marks. Go to

decorate /ˈdekəreɪt/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: decorar; enfeitar

Simple English: To make something look more beautiful by adding things.

Example: The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Go to

Decoration /ˌdɛkəˈreɪʃən/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: decoração; enfeite

Simple English: Adding design and beauty to something for visual appeal.

Example: We chose colorful decoration for the party to make it festive.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He ordered the rooms stripped of decoration except those he kept for himself on the ground floor. Go to

2. Decorations cut from coloured card and paper covered the fireplace and tables. Go to

deepen /ˈdiːpən/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aprofundar

Simple English: To become or make something deeper, stronger, darker, or more intense.

Example: Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively. Go to

deepened /ˈdiːpənd/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aprofundou-se; intensificou-se

Simple English: Became deeper, stronger or more serious.

Example: He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Go to

defiance /dɪˈfaɪəns/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desafio; desacato

Simple English: Open refusal to obey.

Example: His face showed such dark and terrible defiance that Mrs Chick did not dare protest or disturb him in any way.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His face showed such dark and terrible defiance that Mrs Chick did not dare protest or disturb him in any way. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him. Go to

depended /dɪˈpɛndɪd/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: dependia

Simple English: Was decided by something else.

Example: Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Still, in his pride and jealousy, he bitterly hated the thought that the first step toward his greatest wish depended on a hired servant. Go to

2. This comfort depended on slow future improvement. Go to

3. His conclusion depended on the bull being mad, so for the moment he accepted defeat. Go to

Original English Version

1. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Go to

deptford /ˈdɛptfərd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Deptford

Simple English: an area of London

Example: “A private West Indies trading ship of 350 tons, captained by John Brown of Deptford and owned by Wiggs and Company,” cried Walter.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “A private West Indies trading ship of 350 tons, captained by John Brown of Deptford and owned by Wiggs and Company,” cried Walter. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Private West India Trader, burden three hundred and fifty tons, Captain, John Brown of Deptford. Go to

deserts /ˈdɛzərts/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desertos

Simple English: Large dry areas of sand with almost no plants.

Example: Long ago, wandering knights eased their feelings by carving their ladies' names in deserts and wild places where nobody was likely to read them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Long ago, wandering knights eased their feelings by carving their ladies' names in deserts and wild places where nobody was likely to read them. Go to

2. Broken buildings, unfinished walls and arches, piles of scaffolding, deserts of bricks, huge cranes, and three-legged frames stood over nothing. Go to

Original English Version

1. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Go to

desks /dɛsks/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escrivaninhas; carteiras

Simple English: Pieces of furniture with a flat surface for reading, writing, or working.

Example: In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.” Go to

devilishly /ˈdevəlɪʃli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: diabolicamente

Simple English: In a wicked, sinister, or extremely intense way.

Example: He is tough, sir, tough, and devilishly clever!” After such a statement, the Major would breathe loudly, his blue face would turn purple, and his eyes would strain and jump wildly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He is tough, sir, tough, and devilishly clever!” After such a statement, the Major would breathe loudly, his blue face would turn purple, and his eyes would strain and jump wildly. Go to

2. “J.B. is tough, ma'am, tough, and devilishly clever!” He laughed over this thought for the rest of the day. Go to

digger /ˈdɪɡər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escavador

Simple English: a person or animal that digs, especially a worker who makes graves or excavations

Example: They remembered the coughing church attendant, rewarded the officer, and did not forget the grave digger, who happened to be standing on the steps with great interest in the weather.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They remembered the coughing church attendant, rewarded the officer, and did not forget the grave digger, who happened to be standing on the steps with great interest in the weather. Go to

diggers /ˈdɪɡərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cavadores; operários

Simple English: Workers who dig the ground.

Example: We are not undertakers, funeral attendants, or grave-diggers, I believe.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. We are not undertakers, funeral attendants, or grave-diggers, I believe.” Go to

Original English Version

1. We are not undertakers, or mutes, or grave-diggers, I believe.” Go to

dined /daɪnd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: jantou

Simple English: Ate the main meal of the day.

Example: There they found that Florence, much refreshed by sleep, had dined, and greatly improved the acquaintance of Solomon Gills, with whom she was on terms of perfect confidence and ease.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. There they found that Florence, much refreshed by sleep, had dined, and greatly improved the acquaintance of Solomon Gills, with whom she was on terms of perfect confidence and ease. Go to

2. On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation. Go to

disappointments /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntmənts/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: decepções

Simple English: events or results that fail to meet hopes or expectations

Example: But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Despite the two disappointments, a visit welcomed so warmly could not be called a failure. Go to

Original English Version

1. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Go to

disapproving /ˌdɪsəˈpruːvɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: de reprovação

Simple English: Showing that you think something is wrong or bad.

Example: Mrs Chick answered only with a disapproving look, then continued what she had been saying.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick answered only with a disapproving look, then continued what she had been saying. Go to

discordant /dɪsˈkɔːrdənt/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: discordante

Simple English: harsh or lacking harmony

Example: It was as if she naturally knew about one harsh, discordant string inside him, and her very breath could make it sound.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was as if she naturally knew about one harsh, discordant string inside him, and her very breath could make it sound. Go to

Original English Version

1. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it. Go to

discouragement /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒmənt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desânimo; desencorajamento

Simple English: A loss of confidence or hope, or something that causes it.

Example: Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death. Go to

disliked /dɪsˈlaɪkt/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: não gostava de; detestava

Simple English: Did not like someone or something.

Example: He had never actually disliked her; she had not seemed important enough, and he had not felt that way.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He had never actually disliked her; she had not seemed important enough, and he had not felt that way. Go to

2. He naturally disliked the boy's clear pride and pleasure in his part in the event. Go to

3. Her secret was to give them everything they disliked and nothing they liked, a method believed to improve their tempers greatly. Go to

4. At such times, he even disliked Wickam's company and was glad when she wandered off, as she usually did, to collect shells and meet people. Go to

dislikes /dɪsˈlaɪks/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: antipatias; aversões; não gosta de

Simple English: Feelings of not liking something, and the act of not liking it.

Example: They say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” he continued more quietly, “that he dislikes her and leaves her unnoticed among the servants.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” he continued more quietly, “that he dislikes her and leaves her unnoticed among the servants. Go to

disobedience /ˌdɪsəˈbiːdiəns/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desobediência

Simple English: Refusing to do what a person in authority tells you to do.

Example: But she cautioned her, with threats of summary and deadly vengeance in case of disobedience, not to talk to strangers, nor to repair to her own home (which may have been too near for Mrs Brown’s convenience), but to her father’s office in the City; also to wait at the street corner where she would be left, until the clock struck three.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But she cautioned her, with threats of summary and deadly vengeance in case of disobedience, not to talk to strangers, nor to repair to her own home (which may have been too near for Mrs Brown’s convenience), but to her father’s office in the City; also to wait at the street corner where she would be left, until the clock struck three. Go to

disobeying /ˌdɪsəˈbeɪɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desobedecendo

Simple English: Refusing or failing to do what a rule or person commands.

Example: “So I am certainly willing,” said Susan Nipper, “to be friendly with you, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul remains a permanent member of the house, if we can plan a way without openly disobeying orders.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “So I am certainly willing,” said Susan Nipper, “to be friendly with you, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul remains a permanent member of the house, if we can plan a way without openly disobeying orders. Go to

2. She tried to find a lawful way for little Florence to help her, without disobeying anyone. Go to

displeasure /dɪsˈpleʒər/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desagrado; descontentamento

Simple English: The feeling of being annoyed or not satisfied.

Example: “Do you mean to tell me, man,” asked Mr Dombey, looking at him with clear displeasure, “that you named a child after a boiler?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Do you mean to tell me, man,” asked Mr Dombey, looking at him with clear displeasure, “that you named a child after a boiler?” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Do you mean to say, Man,” inquired Mr Dombey; looking at him with marked displeasure, “that you have called a child after a boiler?” Go to

distrust /dɪsˈtrʌst/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desconfiança; desconfiar de

Simple English: The feeling that someone cannot be trusted.

Example: An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. Go to

distrusted /dɪsˈtrʌstɪd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desconfiava de; não confiava em

Simple English: Did not trust or believe that someone or something was reliable.

Example: Young as she was, and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence, he almost felt as if she watched and distrusted him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He deeply distrusted anyone who might come between him and his son. Go to

Original English Version

1. Young as she was, and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence, he almost felt as if she watched and distrusted him. Go to

ditches /ˈdɪtʃɪz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: valas; fossos

Simple English: Long narrow holes dug to carry water.

Example: Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door. Go to

Original English Version

1. There were frowzy fields, and cow-houses, and dunghills, and dustheaps, and ditches, and gardens, and summer-houses, and carpet-beating grounds, at the very door of the Railway. Go to

dombei /ˈdɒmbi/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Dombei (variante cômica de Dombey)

Simple English: A humorous Latin-looking spelling of the family name Dombey.

Example: A.D. did not mean Anno Domini, but anno Dombei - and Son.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A.D. did not mean Anno Domini, but anno Dombei - and Son. Go to

Original English Version

1. A. D. had no concern with Anno Domini, but stood for anno Dombei - and Son. Go to

dombey /ˈdɒmbi/ (3066 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Dombey

Simple English: the surname of the central family in the novel

Example: Dombey sat in a large armchair beside the bed, in a corner of the dark room.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Dombey sat in a large armchair beside the bed, in a corner of the dark room. Go to

2. Dombey was about forty-eight years old; his son was about forty-eight minutes old. Go to

3. Dombey was rather bald and red. Go to

4. Dombey was delighted by the long-awaited event. Go to

5. “The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be Dombey and Son not only in name, but in fact.” With his eyes half closed, as if he were reading the name among flowers and breathing their scent, he added with deep pleasure, “Dom-bey and Son!” Go to

6. He hesitated, because he rarely spoke that way, and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Go to

2. Dombey was about eight-and-forty years of age. Go to

3. Dombey was rather bald, rather red, and though a handsome well-made man, too stern and pompous in appearance, to be prepossessing. Go to

4. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Go to

5. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Go to

6. “The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be not only in name but in fact Dombey and Son;” and he added, in a tone of luxurious satisfaction, with his eyes half-closed as if he were reading the name in a device of flowers, and inhaling their fragrance at the same time; “Dom-bey and Son!” Go to

dombey's /ˈdɒmbiz/ (452 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Dombey

Simple English: belonging to Mr Dombey

Example: Time and Care had marked Dombey's forehead, like workers marking a tree that would one day be cut down.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Time and Care had marked Dombey's forehead, like workers marking a tree that would one day be cut down. Go to

2. The words softened him so much that he added a loving expression to Mrs Dombey's name. Go to

3. Those three words expressed the single idea of Mr Dombey's life. Go to

4. Mr Dombey's cup of satisfaction was so full at that moment that he felt he could spare a drop or two even for his little daughter, who stood like dust beside his path. Go to

5. It appears that Lady Cankaby's system - excuse me, I mean Mrs Dombey's. Go to

6. The only answer was the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch. Go to

Original English Version

1. The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs Dombey’s name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.” Go to

2. Those three words conveyed the one idea of Mr Dombey’s life. Go to

3. Mr Dombey’s cup of satisfaction was so full at this moment, however, that he felt he could afford a drop or two of its contents, even to sprinkle on the dust in the by-path of his little daughter. Go to

4. There was no sound in answer but the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch, which seemed in the silence to be running a race. Go to

5. Mr Dombey’s watch and Dr Parker Peps’s watch seemed to be racing faster. Go to

6. It may have been characteristic of Mr Dombey’s pride, that he pitied himself through the child. Go to

dombeys /ˈdɒmbiz/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: os Dombey

Simple English: members of the Dombey family

Example: The young woman was completely amazed when the heir of the Dombeys seemed to fall into her arms from the sky.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The young woman was completely amazed when the heir of the Dombeys seemed to fall into her arms from the sky. Go to

2. “Please, is this the City?” asked the trembling daughter of the Dombeys. Go to

Original English Version

1. The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds. Go to

2. “If you please, is this the City?” asked the trembling daughter of the Dombeys. Go to

3. Mrs Chick stopped in her lamentations on the corruption of human nature, even when beckoned to the paths of virtue by a Charitable Grinder; and received her with a welcome something short of the reception due to none but perfect Dombeys. Go to

domini /ˈdɒmɪnaɪ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do Senhor (termo latino)

Simple English: The Latin word meaning of the Lord in the phrase Anno Domini.

Example: A.D. did not mean Anno Domini, but anno Dombei - and Son.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A.D. did not mean Anno Domini, but anno Dombei - and Son. Go to

Original English Version

1. A. D. had no concern with Anno Domini, but stood for anno Dombei - and Son. Go to

doorsteps /ˈdɔːrsteps/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: degraus da porta

Simple English: steps or thresholds immediately outside a door

Example: The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship. Go to

doubted /ˈdaʊtɪd/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: duvidou

Simple English: Was not sure that something was true.

Example: Anyone who doubted it would be truly ignorant and low.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Anyone who doubted it would be truly ignorant and low.” Go to

Original English Version

1. They would be ignorant and base indeed who doubted it.” Go to

2. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more entirely selfish person at heart; or at stomach is perhaps a better expression, seeing that he was more decidedly endowed with that latter organ than with the former. Go to

doubtfully /ˈdaʊtfəli/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com dúvida; desconfiado

Simple English: In a way that shows you are not sure.

Example: Walter shook his head doubtfully.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Walter shook his head doubtfully. Go to

doze /doʊz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cochilo; cochilar

Simple English: A short light sleep, or to sleep lightly.

Example: Walter was not very long in mounting to his lofty garret and descending from it, but in the meantime Florence, overcome by fatigue, had sunk into a doze before the fire.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He sat between her and the fender, his bright little face nearly lost against her black dress, studying every line and wrinkle of her face and staring into her hard gray eye until she sometimes closed it and pretended to doze. Go to

Original English Version

1. Walter was not very long in mounting to his lofty garret and descending from it, but in the meantime Florence, overcome by fatigue, had sunk into a doze before the fire. Go to

Dozen /ˈdʌzən/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: dúzia; dezenas; doze

Simple English: A group of twelve items or units together.

Example: I bought a dozen eggs for the cake I am baking.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Half a dozen cactuses twisted around pieces of wood like hairy snakes; another plant stretched out broad claws like a green lobster; several creeping plants had sticky leaves; and one uncomfortable flowerpot hung from the ceiling. Go to

drawers /drɔːrz/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gavetas

Simple English: Boxes that slide in and out of a piece of furniture.

Example: His drawers and shelves held objects of brass and glass whose top, purpose, and proper place in their mahogany cases only experts could understand.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His drawers and shelves held objects of brass and glass whose top, purpose, and proper place in their mahogany cases only experts could understand. Go to

2. In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage. Go to

Original English Version

1. Objects in brass and glass were in his drawers and on his shelves, which none but the initiated could have found the top of, or guessed the use of, or having once examined, could have ever got back again into their mahogany nests without assistance. Go to

2. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Go to

dressmakers /ˈdrɛsˌmeɪkərz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: costureiras; modistas

Simple English: People whose work is making women's dresses.

Example: Mrs Chick made this important remark in the drawing room after coming down from inspecting the dressmakers upstairs, who were preparing the family’s mourning clothes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick made this important remark in the drawing room after coming down from inspecting the dressmakers upstairs, who were preparing the family’s mourning clothes. Go to

drifted /ˈdrɪftɪd/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: foi à deriva; afastou-se aos poucos

Simple English: Moved slowly along without control or plan.

Example: And so, holding tightly to that small piece of safety in her arms, the mother drifted out onto the dark, unknown sea that surrounds the whole world.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. And so, holding tightly to that small piece of safety in her arms, the mother drifted out onto the dark, unknown sea that surrounds the whole world. Go to

Original English Version

1. Thus, clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world. Go to

dullest /ˈdʌlɪst/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: o mais lerdo

Simple English: Most lacking in brightness, sharpness, liveliness, or intelligence.

Example: It was not exactly in a court or a yard, but in the dullest dead-end street, made nervous and tired by distant double knocks at doors.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was not exactly in a court or a yard, but in the dullest dead-end street, made nervous and tired by distant double knocks at doors. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was not exactly in a court, and it was not exactly in a yard; but it was in the dullest of No-Thoroughfares, rendered anxious and haggard by distant double knocks. Go to

dusk /dʌsk/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: anoitecer; crepúsculo

Simple English: The time when the day is ending and it becomes dark.

Example: As she walked up and down the glass room, or sat hushing the baby there - which she very often did for hours together, when the dusk was closing in, too - she would sometimes try to pierce the gloom beyond, and make out how he was looking and what he was doing.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. As she walked up and down the glass room, or sat hushing the baby there - which she very often did for hours together, when the dusk was closing in, too - she would sometimes try to pierce the gloom beyond, and make out how he was looking and what he was doing. Go to

dustbins /ˈdʌstbɪnz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lixeiras

Simple English: containers for household rubbish

Example: Barred windows frowned down into cellars, while crooked-looking doors stared toward the dustbins.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Barred windows frowned down into cellars, while crooked-looking doors stared toward the dustbins. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a corner house, with great wide areas containing cellars frowned upon by barred windows, and leered at by crooked-eyed doors leading to dustbins. Go to

dutiful /ˈduːtɪfl/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cumpridor do dever

Simple English: Carefully doing what you should do.

Example: Of those years he had been married, ten - married, as some said, to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past, and who was content to bind her broken spirit to the dutiful and meek endurance of the present.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Nipper then made a terrible deep sound, supposedly coming from a dutiful bull-like goblin eager to carry out the harsh duty of his position. Go to

Original English Version

1. Of those years he had been married, ten - married, as some said, to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past, and who was content to bind her broken spirit to the dutiful and meek endurance of the present. Go to

dutifully /ˈduːtɪfəli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: obedientemente

Simple English: In a way that does what is expected of you.

Example: His nephew stood on the mouldy stairs and dutifully held the light.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His nephew stood on the mouldy stairs and dutifully held the light. Go to

Original English Version

1. When dinner was done, and the cloth was cleared away (the entertainment had been brought from a neighbouring eating-house), he lighted a candle, and went down below into a little cellar, while his nephew, standing on the mouldy staircase, dutifully held the light. Go to

eagerly /ˈiːɡərli/ (39 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: avidamente; com entusiasmo

Simple English: In a way that shows strong interest or excitement.

Example: “Nothing could be better than Miss Florence, Sir,” said Polly eagerly, “but I understood from her maid that they were not supposed to - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Nothing could be better than Miss Florence, Sir,” said Polly eagerly, “but I understood from her maid that they were not supposed to - ” Go to

2. Since this change seemed to promise her release, the child obeyed even more eagerly. Go to

3. She eagerly ran to him, leaving one loose shoe on the ground, and held his hand in both of hers. Go to

4. What place is over there?" He sat up and looked eagerly toward the horizon. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Nothing could be better than Miss Florence, Sir,” said Polly eagerly, “but I understood from her maid that they were not to - ” Go to

2. But she, who had heard what passed, and who, besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey’s end, felt reassured beyond all measure by his lively youthful face and manner, ran eagerly up to him, leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers. Go to

3. What place is over there?” He rose up, looking eagerly at the horizon. Go to

earnestly /ˈɜːrnɪstli/ (31 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: seriamente; com convicção

Simple English: In a serious and sincere way.

Example: “Now, really, Fanny my dear,” said the sister-in-law, altering her position, and speaking less confidently, and more earnestly, in spite of herself, “I shall have to be quite cross with you, if you don’t rouse yourself.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Now, really, Fanny my dear,” said the sister-in-law, altering her position, and speaking less confidently, and more earnestly, in spite of herself, “I shall have to be quite cross with you, if you don’t rouse yourself. Go to

2. But the child, instead of advancing, looked her earnestly in the face, and said: Go to

3. Indeed I will,” said the boy, earnestly. Go to

4. “Oh! dear nurse!” said the child, looking earnestly up in her face, “let me lie by my brother!” Go to

5. These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe. Go to

earthy /ˈɜːθi/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: terroso

Simple English: Resembling, smelling of, or containing soil or earth.

Example: Little Paul might have asked with Hamlet, “Into my grave?” because the place was so cold and earthy.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Little Paul might have asked with Hamlet, “Into my grave?” because the place was so cold and earthy. Go to

2. In the front parlour window, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept potted plants that added their own earthy smell. Go to

Original English Version

1. Little Paul might have asked with Hamlet “into my grave?” so chill and earthy was the place. Go to

2. It was not, naturally, a fresh-smelling house; and in the window of the front parlour, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept a collection of plants in pots, which imparted an earthy flavour of their own to the establishment. Go to

earwigs /ˈɪəwɪɡz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tesourinhas

Simple English: Small insects with a pair of forceps-like pincers at the end of the body.

Example: Mrs Pipchin’s house had an extraordinary number of spiders, though in season it was perhaps even more proud of its earwigs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin’s house had an extraordinary number of spiders, though in season it was perhaps even more proud of its earwigs. Go to

Original English Version

1. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Go to

eased /iːzd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aliviou; abrandou; moveu com cuidado

Simple English: Became less strong or painful; also moved something slowly and gently.

Example: Long ago, wandering knights eased their feelings by carving their ladies' names in deserts and wild places where nobody was likely to read them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Long ago, wandering knights eased their feelings by carving their ladies' names in deserts and wild places where nobody was likely to read them. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was on the very next day after he had eased his mind by arriving at this decision, that the Major, sitting at his breakfast, saw an apparition so tremendous and wonderful in Miss Tox’s little drawing-room, that he remained for some time rooted to his chair; then, rushing into the next room, returned with a double-barrelled opera-glass, through which he surveyed it intently for some minutes. Go to

echoed /ˈɛkoʊd/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ecoaram; devolveram o som

Simple English: Sent a sound back so that it was heard again.

Example: She feebly echoed, “Of course,” or rather expressed it by the motion of her lips, and closed her eyes again.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Wind echoed through it continually, making it sound like a large shell that the residents had to hold to their ears day and night whether they wanted to or not. Go to

Original English Version

1. She feebly echoed, “Of course,” or rather expressed it by the motion of her lips, and closed her eyes again. Go to

2. “Ignorant and base indeed!” echoed Miss Tox softly. Go to

3. “Is there!” echoed Mr Dombey, who had not intended his sister to participate in the thought he had unconsciously expressed. Go to

eighths /eɪtθs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: oitavos

Simple English: Plural of eighth: one of eight equal parts, or items in eighth position.

Example: Seven-eighths of my stock is old-fashioned.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Seven-eighths of my stock is old-fashioned. Go to

Original English Version

1. Seven-eighths of my stock is old-fashioned. Go to

elbows /ˈɛlboʊz/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cotovelos

Simple English: The joints in the middle of the arms.

Example: “Yes,” said the child, laying his hands upon the elbows of his little chair, and turning the old face up towards Mr Dombey’s; “what is money?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He rested his elbows on the tea tray and leaned forward to speak more privately and kindly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Yes,” said the child, laying his hands upon the elbows of his little chair, and turning the old face up towards Mr Dombey’s; “what is money?” Go to

2. “There’s nothing more than usual the matter; is there, Uncle?” said Walter, leaning his elbows on the tea tray, and bending over, to speak the more confidentially and kindly. Go to

electrified /ɪˈlɛktrɪfaɪd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: eletrizou

Simple English: Caused intense surprise, excitement, or shock.

Example: It is so pleasant to sit here and feel that you could be weighed, measured, enlarged, electrified, or magnetically changed in every possible way - and never know how.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It is so pleasant to sit here and feel that you could be weighed, measured, enlarged, electrified, or magnetically changed in every possible way - and never know how.” Go to

Original English Version

1. It’s so comfortable to sit here and feel that you might be weighed, measured, magnified, electrified, polarized, played the very devil with: and never know how.” Go to

elegance /ˈeləɡəns/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: elegância

Simple English: Beauty that is simple and graceful.

Example: Besides all this, Miss Tox had long dressed with unusual care and elegance in light mourning clothes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Besides all this, Miss Tox had long dressed with unusual care and elegance in light mourning clothes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Over and above all this, Miss Tox had long been dressed with uncommon care and elegance in slight mourning. Go to

eloquence /ˈeləkwəns/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: eloquência

Simple English: powerful expressive quality in speech or imagery

Example: Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox lightly brought her delicate hands together in victory and, raising her eyes, added, “True eloquence!” Go to

Original English Version

1. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows. Go to

2. Miss Tox struck her delicate hands together lightly, in triumph; and added, casting up her eyes, “eloquence indeed!” Go to

eloquent /ˈɛləkwənt/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: eloquente

Simple English: Fluent, persuasive, or powerfully expressive.

Example: I am not as clever, logical, eloquent, or anything else as you are.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I am not as clever, logical, eloquent, or anything else as you are. Go to

Original English Version

1. I am not so clever, or so reasoning, or so eloquent, or so anything, as you are. Go to

embers /ˈembərz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: brasas

Simple English: Small pieces of burning wood or coal left after a fire dies down.

Example: And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. Go to

emptied /ˈɛmptid/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esvaziou; despejou

Simple English: Took everything out of something.

Example: Then she raised her eyes and emptied her glass.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then she raised her eyes and emptied her glass. Go to

Original English Version

1. Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears, Louisa cast up her eyes, and emptied her glass. Go to

emptier /ˈɛmptiər/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: mais vazia

Simple English: more empty; more lacking in substance or interest

Example: As Mr Gills says, “The streets have become much emptier.” It looks likely to rain tonight.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As Mr Gills says, “The streets have become much emptier.” It looks likely to rain tonight. Go to

enchanted /ɪnˈtʃæntɪd/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enfeitiçou; encantado

Simple English: Put under a magic spell.

Example: A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor. Go to

2. In the dim light, surrounded closely by all his instruments, he looked like a magician disguised in a Welsh wig and coffee-coloured clothes, keeping the child in an enchanted sleep. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Pitt, in bronze, on the top, with no trace of his celestial origin about him, guarded the unattainable treasure like an enchanted Moor. Go to

2. At which instance of parental enthusiasm Miss Tox was enchanted. Go to

3. And this time he really was: and Solomon Gills, with no appetite for dinner, sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching Florence in her slumber, building a great many airy castles of the most fantastic architecture; and looking, in the dim shade, and in the close vicinity of all the instruments, like a magician disguised in a Welsh wig and a suit of coffee colour, who held the child in an enchanted sleep. Go to

engrave /ɪnˈɡreɪv/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: gravar

Simple English: to fix words or an image deeply in memory or on a surface

Example: First, Miss Tox carefully placed her head to one side and made other small preparations to engrave those words on her heart.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. First, Miss Tox carefully placed her head to one side and made other small preparations to engrave those words on her heart. Go to

engraver /ɪnˈɡreɪvər/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: gravador

Simple English: A person who cuts designs into wood, metal, or another hard surface for printing or decoration.

Example: "And she is married to a silver engraver.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "And she is married to a silver engraver. Go to

enlightened /ɪnˈlaɪtənd/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: iluminado; esclarecido

Simple English: Having deep understanding of the truth.

Example: Miss Tox seemed to be so little enlightened by this reply, as to find a difficulty in pursuing the subject.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Miss Tox seemed to be so little enlightened by this reply, as to find a difficulty in pursuing the subject. Go to

enthusiasm /ɪnˈθjuːziæzəm/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: entusiasmo

Simple English: A feeling of great excitement, passion, or eagerness toward something.

Example: Her enthusiasm for the project inspired everyone on the team to work harder.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox was delighted by this example of fatherly enthusiasm. Go to

2. One might wear the clothes oneself,” Mrs Chick added with enthusiasm, “and feel grateful.” Go to

enthusiastically /ɪnˌθuːziˈæstɪkli/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: entusiasticamente; com entusiasmo

Simple English: With great interest and excitement.

Example: She enthusiastically helped with his bath and dressing.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She enthusiastically helped with his bath and dressing. Go to

epaulettes /ˌepəˈlets/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: dragonas

Simple English: Ornamental shoulder pieces, especially on a military uniform.

Example: Sometimes he imagined how grand it would have been if he had gone to sea the day after they met, performed wonders, stayed away for years, and returned as an admiral in every color of the dolphin - or at least as a post-captain with dazzling epaulettes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Sometimes he imagined how grand it would have been if he had gone to sea the day after they met, performed wonders, stayed away for years, and returned as an admiral in every color of the dolphin - or at least as a post-captain with dazzling epaulettes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Sometimes he thought (and then he walked very fast) what a grand thing it would have been for him to have been going to sea on the day after that first meeting, and to have gone, and to have done wonders there, and to have stopped away a long time, and to have come back an Admiral of all the colours of the dolphin, or at least a Post-Captain with epaulettes of insupportable brightness, and have married Florence (then a beautiful young woman) in spite of Mr Dombey’s teeth, cravat, and watch-chain, and borne her away to the blue shores of somewhere or other, triumphantly. Go to

equalizing /ˈiːkwəlaɪzɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: igualitário

Simple English: aiming to make conditions or opportunities equal

Example: “I am far from supporting,” Mr Dombey continued, “what people with equalizing ideas call education for everyone.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I am far from supporting,” Mr Dombey continued, “what people with equalizing ideas call education for everyone. Go to

errand /ˈɛrənd/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: incumbência; recado; missão

Simple English: A short journey made to do or fetch something.

Example: She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame. Go to

2. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together. Go to

eruptions /ɪˈrʌpʃənz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: erupções

Simple English: Sudden releases of lava, gas, rock, or other material.

Example: Hot springs and fiery eruptions, the usual companions of earthquakes, added to the confusion.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Hot springs and fiery eruptions, the usual companions of earthquakes, added to the confusion. Go to

Original English Version

1. Hot springs and fiery eruptions, the usual attendants upon earthquakes, lent their contributions of confusion to the scene. Go to

escorted /ˈeskɔːrtɪd/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escoltou; acompanhado

Simple English: Went with someone to guide or protect them.

Example: It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Go to

2. Miss Tox’s hand trembled as she slipped it through Mr Dombey’s arm, and felt herself escorted up the steps, preceded by a cocked hat and a Babylonian collar. Go to

establish /ɪˈstæblɪʃ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estabelecer; instituir; determinar

Simple English: To set up a company for ongoing business activities.

Example: She aims to establish her own design firm within the next year.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey bowed his head with formal respect, recognizing the bulbuls as a long-established body. Go to

excavators /ˈekskəveɪtərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escavadores

Simple English: people who dig out earth or work on excavations

Example: In the same way, the Excavators’ House of Call had grown from a beer shop, and the old Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, serving roast pork every day for immediate profit and popularity.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the same way, the Excavators’ House of Call had grown from a beer shop, and the old Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, serving roast pork every day for immediate profit and popularity. Go to

Original English Version

1. So, the Excavators’ House of Call had sprung up from a beer-shop; and the old-established Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, with a roast leg of pork daily, through interested motives of a similar immediate and popular description. Go to

excepting /ɪkˈseptɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: exceto; exceto que

Simple English: not including something, or apart from the fact that

Example: I can tell you there is a fierce person within a hundred miles of where we are talking, Mrs Richards - always excepting present company,” said Susan Nipper.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I can tell you there is a fierce person within a hundred miles of where we are talking, Mrs Richards - always excepting present company,” said Susan Nipper. Go to

excite /ɪkˈsaɪt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: entusiasmar; excitar; provocar

Simple English: To make someone feel strong interest or emotion, or to cause a reaction.

Example: But few people noticed her at those times, in the garb she wore: or if they did, believed that she was tutored to excite compassion, and passed on.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But few people noticed her at those times, in the garb she wore: or if they did, believed that she was tutored to excite compassion, and passed on. Go to

2. So Walter, looking immensely fierce, led off Florence, looking very happy; and they went arm-in-arm along the streets, perfectly indifferent to any astonishment that their appearance might or did excite by the way. Go to

excitedly /ɪkˈsaɪtɪdli/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: excitadamente; agitadamente

Simple English: In a way that shows strong happy feeling.

Example: It was twenty-five minutes past twelve when the captain's watch stopped in his pocket, as he lay dead against the main mast, on 14 February 1749!” Walter cried excitedly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was twenty-five minutes past twelve when the captain's watch stopped in his pocket, as he lay dead against the main mast, on 14 February 1749!” Walter cried excitedly. Go to

exclaimed /ɪkˈskleɪmd/ (59 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: exclamaram; gritaram

Simple English: Said something suddenly and loudly, because of surprise or strong feeling.

Example: “Why, my dear Paul!” exclaimed his sister, as he returned, “you look quite pale!

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Why, my dear Paul!” exclaimed his sister, as he returned, “you look quite pale! Go to

2. “It was my Mama!” exclaimed the child, springing up, and clasping her round the neck. Go to

3. “Oh dear! after it was given out so “tickerlerly, that Mrs Richards wasn’t to be made free with!” exclaimed Susan. Go to

4. “Why who has cocked my silver mug up there, on a nail?” exclaimed the boy. Go to

exclamation /ˌekskləˈmeɪʃən/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: exclamação

Simple English: A sudden short cry that shows surprise, pain or anger.

Example: She no sooner saw it than, uttering a hasty exclamation, and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed, she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks. Go to

Original English Version

1. She no sooner saw it than, uttering a hasty exclamation, and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed, she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son. Go to

exclusiveness /ɪkˈskluːsɪvnəs/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: exclusividade

Simple English: the quality of keeping others out or being restricted to a few

Example: It is exclusiveness itself!” said Miss Tox.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It is exclusiveness itself!” said Miss Tox. Go to

exhaustion /ɪɡˈzɔːstʃən/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: exaustão; esgotamento

Simple English: The state of being extremely tired, with no strength left.

Example: There is exhaustion, certainly, but nothing like what I underwent myself, either with George or Frederick.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. There is exhaustion, certainly, but nothing like what I underwent myself, either with George or Frederick. Go to

expose /ɪkˈspoʊz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: expor; exponha; expõem

Simple English: To reveal something that was hidden or unknown.

Example: The documentary aimed to expose the truth about the factory's pollution.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Expose him to it,” said Mrs Chick. Go to

expressive /ɪkˈspresɪv/ (25 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: expressivo

Simple English: Showing feelings and thoughts clearly.

Example: His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice,

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice, Go to

2. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Go to

3. Not so Miss Tox, who, having listened to Mr Dombey with even a more emphatic attention than usual, and with a more expressive tendency of her head to one side, now leant across the table, and said to Mrs Chick softly: Go to

4. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Go to

extent (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: extensão; grau; alcance

Simple English: the size, amount, or degree of something

Example: We do not know the full extent of the damage.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. To that extent, I approve of schools. Go to

eyeglass /ˈaɪɡlæs/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: monóculo

Simple English: a single lens worn to help one eye see

Example: An elderly fashionable gentleman with one eye, and an eyeglass stuck where the other eye should have been, was giving the bride away while the friends shivered.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. An elderly fashionable gentleman with one eye, and an eyeglass stuck where the other eye should have been, was giving the bride away while the friends shivered. Go to

Original English Version

1. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young, and a superannuated beau with one eye and an eyeglass stuck in its blank companion, was giving away the lady, while the friends were shivering. Go to

eyelashes /ˈaɪlæʃɪz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cílios; pestanas

Simple English: The short hairs that grow on the edge of the eyelids.

Example: The child had risen, the nurse said, and her eyelashes were wet with tears.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The child had risen, the nurse said, and her eyelashes were wet with tears. Go to

eyelids /ˈaɪlɪdz/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pálpebras

Simple English: The pieces of skin that cover the eyes when they close.

Example: For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared. Go to

2. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick in a warning voice, “you must speak kindly to me, or I shall be finished.” At the same time, a warning redness appeared in Mrs Chick’s eyelids, which always meant rain unless the weather changed immediately. Go to

Original English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, in a warning voice, “I must be spoken to kindly, or there is an end of me,” at the same time a premonitory redness developed itself in Mrs Chick’s eyelids which was an invariable sign of rain, unless the weather changed directly. Go to

faintest /ˈfeɪntɪst/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais vaga; mínima

Simple English: The smallest or weakest possible.

Example: For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared. Go to

Original English Version

1. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen. Go to

faintly /ˈfeɪntli/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vagamente; de leve

Simple English: In a way that is not easy to see or hear.

Example: “Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.” Go to

2. “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water. Go to

faithfully /ˈfeɪθfəli/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fielmente

Simple English: In a way that can be trusted.

Example: These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe. Go to

falstaff's /ˈfɔːlstæfs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Falstaff

Simple English: belonging to Shakespeare's comic knight Falstaff

Example: On these occasions, Mr Dombey seemed to multiply like Falstaff’s attackers: instead of being one man in buckram, he became twelve.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. On these occasions, Mr Dombey seemed to multiply like Falstaff’s attackers: instead of being one man in buckram, he became twelve. Go to

Original English Version

1. They passed the whole of Sunday with him, and generally rode out before dinner; and on these occasions Mr Dombey seemed to grow, like Falstaff’s assailants, and instead of being one man in buckram, to become a dozen. Go to

familiarity /fəˌmɪliˈærəti/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: familiaridade; intimidade excessiva

Simple English: Close, relaxed behaviour or knowledge, sometimes more than is welcome.

Example: But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Major's safest form of light humour was treating his own name with the greatest familiarity. Go to

Original English Version

1. But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged. Go to

familiarly /fəˈmɪliərli/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com familiaridade

Simple English: in a friendly, informal, or well-known manner

Example: Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Go to

fancies /ˈfænsiz/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fantasias

Simple English: imaginative ideas, dreams, or passing desires

Example: Mr Dombey entertaining complicated worldly schemes and plans; the little image entertaining Heaven knows what wild fancies, half-formed thoughts, and wandering speculations.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey entertaining complicated worldly schemes and plans; the little image entertaining Heaven knows what wild fancies, half-formed thoughts, and wandering speculations. Go to

2. He’s very young, you know, and has his fancies.” Go to

3. “She took fancies to people; whimsical fancies, some of them; others, affections that one might expect to see - only stronger than common. Go to

4. So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Go to

fanciful /ˈfænsɪfəl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fantasioso

Simple English: created by imagination and often unrealistic

Example: He soon convinced himself that he had rejected the idea as fanciful and unlikely, though he could not deny it was possible.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He soon convinced himself that he had rejected the idea as fanciful and unlikely, though he could not deny it was possible. Go to

fanny /ˈfæni/ (51 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Fanny

Simple English: A woman's first name in the story.

Example: “But what is happening with Fanny herself?” asked Mr Dombey.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “But what is happening with Fanny herself?” asked Mr Dombey. Go to

2. “How is Fanny?” Go to

3. If dear Fanny were a Dombey! Go to

4. When I came downstairs after seeing dear Fanny and that tiny little thing, I thought I would fall out of the staircase window.” Her final baby-talk words came from suddenly remembering the infant very clearly. Go to

5. She has been making a small gift for Fanny, which I promised to present. Go to

6. “After this, I forgive Fanny for everything!” Go to

Original English Version

1. “But what is this about Fanny, herself?” said Mr Dombey. Go to

2. “How is Fanny?” Go to

3. If dear Fanny were a Dombey! - But I daresay she’ll make it; I have no doubt she’ll make it. Go to

4. I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny, and that tiddy ickle sing.” These last words originated in a sudden vivid reminiscence of the baby. Go to

5. “Miss Tox, Paul,” pursued Mrs Chick, still retaining her hand, “knowing how much I have been interested in the anticipation of the event of today, and how trembly and shaky I have been from head to foot in expectation of it, has been working at a little gift for Fanny, which I promised to present. Go to

6. “Well!” said Mrs Chick, with a sweet smile, “after this, I forgive Fanny everything!” Go to

fanny's /ˈfæniz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Fanny

Simple English: Belonging to Fanny, a character in the story.

Example: “But,” pursued Louisa, “if you have any reliance on my experience, Paul, you may rest assured that there is nothing wanting but an effort on Fanny’s part.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And you see,” Mrs Chick said in deep confidence, “the child has poor dear Fanny's nature. Go to

Original English Version

1. “But,” pursued Louisa, “if you have any reliance on my experience, Paul, you may rest assured that there is nothing wanting but an effort on Fanny’s part. Go to

2. “And the child, you see,” said Mrs Chick, in deep confidence, “has poor dear Fanny’s nature. Go to

farthings /ˈfɑːrðɪŋz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: moedas britânicas de um quarto de penny

Simple English: old British coins worth one quarter of a penny

Example: She was a sensible, steady person with practical ideas about the butcher, the baker, and how many farthings made a penny.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was a sensible, steady person with practical ideas about the butcher, the baker, and how many farthings made a penny. Go to

Original English Version

1. She had been good-humouredly working and drudging for her life all her life, and was a sober steady-going person, with matter-of-fact ideas about the butcher and baker, and the division of pence into farthings. Go to

fascination /ˌfæsɪˈneɪʃən/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fascínio; encanto

Simple English: A very strong interest in something.

Example: That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination. Go to

fatherly /ˈfɑːðəli/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: paternal; afetuoso como um pai

Simple English: Kind, protective, or caring in the manner of a good father.

Example: Miss Tox was delighted by this example of fatherly enthusiasm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox was delighted by this example of fatherly enthusiasm. Go to

2. “And where is Father, dear Jemima?” Mr Toodle was generally known in the family by that fatherly title. Go to

3. Therefore, his fatherly love could easily be traced, like many beautiful and famous buildings, to a very low foundation. Go to

fatter /ˈfætər/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: mais gordo

Simple English: Having more fat on the body than someone else.

Example: Little Paul grew fatter and stronger every day, without any harm from the Toodles' blood.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Little Paul grew fatter and stronger every day, without any harm from the Toodles' blood. Go to

fearfully /ˈfɪrfəli/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: temerosamente; com medo; terrivelmente

Simple English: In a frightened way; in older English it also means very much.

Example: I cannot say how or when, or whether the dear child knew it, but her mother watched over Betsey Jane, Miss Berry!" With a pale face, watery eyes, and a shaking voice, Mrs Wickam again looked fearfully around the room and toward Paul.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I cannot say how or when, or whether the dear child knew it, but her mother watched over Betsey Jane, Miss Berry!" With a pale face, watery eyes, and a shaking voice, Mrs Wickam again looked fearfully around the room and toward Paul. Go to

Original English Version

1. I couldn’t say how, nor I couldn’t say when, nor I couldn’t say whether the dear child knew it or not, but Betsey Jane had been watched by her mother, Miss Berry!” and Mrs Wickam, with a very white face, and with watery eyes, and with a tremulous voice, again looked fearfully round the room, and towards Paul in bed. Go to

fenced /fenst/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cercado; vedado; murado

Simple English: Surrounded or enclosed with a fence or a barrier.

Example: Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was a short row of houses with small, dirty pieces of ground in front, fenced with old doors, barrel wood, pieces of canvas, and dead bushes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Go to

2. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Go to

fender /ˈfendər/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grade de lareira; anteparo

Simple English: A low guard placed around a fireplace to contain coals and protect the room.

Example: “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Florence, put your feet on the fender to dry. Go to

2. He sat between her and the fender, his bright little face nearly lost against her black dress, studying every line and wrinkle of her face and staring into her hard gray eye until she sometimes closed it and pretended to doze. Go to

3. Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks. Go to

4. Her usual food continued to disappear regularly, although Paul studied her as closely as ever from his usual seat between her black skirts and the fender. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.” Go to

2. Miss Florence - put your feet on the fender to dry - how damp they are - here’s an adventure, Uncle, eh? - God bless my soul, how hot I am!” Go to

3. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Go to

4. Mrs Pipchin had an old black cat, who generally lay coiled upon the centre foot of the fender, purring egotistically, and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. Go to

5. Nor had she any symptoms of declining, in the course of the ensuing week, when the constitutional viands still continued to disappear in regular succession, notwithstanding that Paul studied her as attentively as ever, and occupied his usual seat between the black skirts and the fender, with unwavering constancy. Go to

feverish /ˈfiːvərɪʃ/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: febril; agitado

Simple English: Having a fever, or acting in an excited and restless way.

Example: “This is a very unwise and feverish action, I am sure.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “This is a very unwise and feverish action, I am sure. Go to

Original English Version

1. “A very ill-advised and feverish proceeding this, I am sure. Go to

fiercely /ˈfɪrsli/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ferozmente; intensamente

Simple English: In a strong and violent way.

Example: “You are a boy,” said Mr Dombey suddenly and almost fiercely, “and what you think, or pretend to think, matters little.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “You are a boy,” said Mr Dombey suddenly and almost fiercely, “and what you think, or pretend to think, matters little. Go to

Original English Version

1. “You are a boy,” said Mr Dombey, suddenly and almost fiercely; “and what you think of, or affect to think of, is of little consequence. Go to

figuratively /ˈfɪɡjərətɪvli/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: figurativamente

Simple English: in a symbolic rather than literal sense

Example: Often, when Mr Chick seemed defeated, he would suddenly recover, turn the situation around, figuratively knock the tables against Mrs Chick’s ears, and sweep everything before him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Often, when Mr Chick seemed defeated, he would suddenly recover, turn the situation around, figuratively knock the tables against Mrs Chick’s ears, and sweep everything before him. Go to

fireguard /ˈfaɪəɡɑːd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: tela de proteção da lareira

Simple English: a protective metal screen placed around a fire

Example: In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs. Go to

firelight /ˈfaɪərlaɪt/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: luz da fogueira; clarão do fogo

Simple English: The light given out by a fire.

Example: He kept shaking the heavy gold watch-chain below his neat blue coat, whose buttons shone in the weak firelight.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He kept shaking the heavy gold watch-chain below his neat blue coat, whose buttons shone in the weak firelight. Go to

2. They were the strangest pair ever lit by firelight. Go to

3. Mr Dombey was so astonished, uncomfortable, and uncertain about how to continue the conversation that he could only sit and look at his son in the firelight, with his hand resting on the boy’s back as if held there by a magnetic force. Go to

Original English Version

1. They were the strangest pair at such a time that ever firelight shone upon. Go to

firm's /fɜːrmz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da empresa

Simple English: the possessive form of firm, meaning a business company

Example: Only Miss Tox could have answered these questions at this point in the Firm's story.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Only Miss Tox could have answered these questions at this point in the Firm's story. Go to

Original English Version

1. Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved. Go to

firmness /ˈfɜːrmnəs/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: firmeza; determinação; solidez

Simple English: The quality of being strong, steady and not easily moved.

Example: Florence, too, called to her aid all the firmness and self-reliance of a character that her sad experience had prematurely formed and tried: and keeping the end she had in view steadily before her, steadily pursued it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Therefore, people considered her “an old lady of remarkable firmness who had scientific knowledge of children’s character.” Using this reputation and the story of Mr Pipchin’s broken heart, she had managed to earn a reasonably sufficient living year after year since her husband’s death. Go to

Original English Version

1. Florence, too, called to her aid all the firmness and self-reliance of a character that her sad experience had prematurely formed and tried: and keeping the end she had in view steadily before her, steadily pursued it. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Go to

fists /fɪsts/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: punhos

Simple English: Hands closed tightly with the fingers inside.

Example: His son held his tiny fists tightly closed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His son held his tiny fists tightly closed. Go to

Original English Version

1. Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly. Go to

fixedly /ˈfɪksɪdli/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fixamente; sem desviar os olhos

Simple English: Looking steadily at one thing without moving the eyes.

Example: He looked on so fixedly and coldly, that the warm light vanished even from the laughing eyes of little Florence, when, at last, they happened to meet his.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He looked on so fixedly and coldly, that the warm light vanished even from the laughing eyes of little Florence, when, at last, they happened to meet his. Go to

2. He never seemed to know what weariness was, when he was looking fixedly at Mrs Pipchin. Go to

flatter /ˈflætər/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais plano

Simple English: More level, with fewer hills.

Example: She made no effort to flatter anyone or make polite conversation and used all her energy to look as warm as possible.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She made no effort to flatter anyone or make polite conversation and used all her energy to look as warm as possible. Go to

flattering /ˈflætərɪŋ/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lisonjeiro; elogioso; favorecedor

Simple English: Saying pleasant things to please someone; also making someone look better.

Example: But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox’s friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox’s friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.” Go to

flattery /ˈflætəri/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bajulação; lisonja

Simple English: Praise that is not sincere.

Example: She made no effort at flattery or small talk, and directed all her efforts to looking as warm as she could.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She made no effort at flattery or small talk, and directed all her efforts to looking as warm as she could. Go to

flicked /flɪkt/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: deu um peteleco

Simple English: struck with a quick light movement

Example: Whenever she caught herself leaning forward toward the fire and woke up, she flicked Master Bitherstone on the nose for falling asleep too.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Whenever she caught herself leaning forward toward the fire and woke up, she flicked Master Bitherstone on the nose for falling asleep too. Go to

flickering /ˈflɪkərɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tremeluzente; bruxuleante

Simple English: Burning or shining in an unsteady way.

Example: But as soon as he released it, the face turned back to the fire and remained directed at the flickering flames until the nurse appeared to call Paul to bed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But as soon as he released it, the face turned back to the fire and remained directed at the flickering flames until the nurse appeared to call Paul to bed. Go to

Original English Version

1. But it sought the fire again as soon as he released it; and remained, addressed towards the flickering blaze, until the nurse appeared, to summon him to bed. Go to

floated /ˈfloʊtɪd/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: flutuou; boiou

Simple English: Moved along on the top of water.

Example: The picture floated before her eyes and filled them with tears.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The picture floated before her eyes and filled them with tears. Go to

florence's /ˈflɒrənsɪz/ (177 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Florence

Simple English: the possessive form of the name Florence, a character's mother

Example: Please ring for Miss Florence's nurse.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Please ring for Miss Florence's nurse. Go to

2. From Florence’s birth, his feeling toward her had simply been an absence of feeling. Go to

3. Judging Mr Dombey by her own feelings, she had great faith in the silent appeal of poor little Florence’s mourning dress. Go to

4. To calm the child further, she covered Florence's head with the bedclothes and struck the pillow angrily three or four times. Go to

5. He watched so steadily and coldly that even the warm light disappeared from little Florence's laughing eyes when they finally met his. Go to

6. She predicted that Florence’s bad nature would bring all her family’s gray hairs sadly to the grave. Go to

Original English Version

1. Please to ring there for Miss Florence’s nurse. Go to

2. Still, Polly persevered with all the better heart for seeing this; and, judging of Mr Dombey by herself, had great confidence in the mute appeal of poor little Florence’s mourning dress. Go to

3. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all. Go to

4. “Where’s Walter?” “Good-night, Walter!” “Good-bye, Walter!” “Shake hands once more, Walter!” This was still Florence’s cry, after she was shut up with her little maid, in the coach. Go to

5. “Oh, it’s not at night, Papa,” returned the child, “it’s in the day; and I lie down in Florence’s lap, and she sings to me. Go to

Glossary: New Words (3/6)

flowerpot /ˈflaʊərpɑːt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vaso de flores

Simple English: A container in which a plant or flower is grown.

Example: Half a dozen cactuses twisted around pieces of wood like hairy snakes; another plant stretched out broad claws like a green lobster; several creeping plants had sticky leaves; and one uncomfortable flowerpot hung from the ceiling.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Half a dozen cactuses twisted around pieces of wood like hairy snakes; another plant stretched out broad claws like a green lobster; several creeping plants had sticky leaves; and one uncomfortable flowerpot hung from the ceiling. Go to

floy /flɔɪ/ (187 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Floy

Simple English: the affectionate nickname used for Florence Dombey

Example: “Well, Miss Floy!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Well, Miss Floy! Go to

2. “But please remember that Miss Floy is in my care, while Master Paul is in yours.” Go to

3. “Not at all, I do not want that, we do not need to deal with each other in that way, since Miss Floy is permanent and Master Paul is temporary.” The fiery girl used only brief comma-like pauses. Go to

4. And here you are, Miss Floy, before you have been home for fifteen minutes, rubbing your wet face against the expensive mourning clothes Mrs Richards is wearing for your mother!” With this complaint, the young fiery girl, whose real name was Susan Nipper, pulled the child away from her new friend as sharply as if she were pulling a tooth. Go to

5. Now, Miss Floy, come with me. Go to

6. “Very well, Miss Floy!” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Oh well, Miss Floy! Go to

2. “Not at all, I don’t wish it, we needn’t stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.” Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible. Go to

3. “Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. Go to

4. “Oh! there’s a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we’re now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,” said Susan Nipper; “wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don’t go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don’t!” Go to

5. “Very well, Miss Floy!” Go to

6. “It ain’t right of you to ask it, Miss Floy, for you know I can’t refuse you, but Mrs Richards and me will see what can be done, if Mrs Richards likes, I may wish, you see, to take a voyage to Chaney, Mrs Richards, but I mayn’t know how to leave the London Docks.” Go to

floy's /flɔɪz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Floy está

Simple English: a contraction meaning 'Floy is'

Example: “Remembering, however, if you’ll be so good, that Miss Floy’s under my charge, and Master Paul’s under your’n.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Remembering, however, if you’ll be so good, that Miss Floy’s under my charge, and Master Paul’s under your’n.” Go to

flushed /flʌʃt/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corado; ruborizado

Simple English: Red in the face because of heat, anger or shame.

Example: As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion. Go to

fluttered /ˈflʌtərd/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esvoaçavam; adejavam

Simple English: Moved quickly and lightly in the air.

Example: Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Go to

fluttering /ˈflʌtərɪŋ/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esvoaçante; que tremula

Simple English: Moving with quick light wing beats.

Example: He stood in his library to receive the company, as hard and cold as the weather; and when he looked out through the glass room, at the trees in the little garden, their brown and yellow leaves came fluttering down, as if he blighted them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was dressed very lightly in a confusing collection of thin, fluttering pieces to honour the ceremony. Go to

Original English Version

1. He stood in his library to receive the company, as hard and cold as the weather; and when he looked out through the glass room, at the trees in the little garden, their brown and yellow leaves came fluttering down, as if he blighted them. Go to

2. And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony. Go to

foggy /ˈfɔːɡi/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: nevoento; com neblina

Simple English: Full of thick mist that is hard to see through.

Example: It was becoming dark and foggy, and rain was starting, but they did not care.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was becoming dark and foggy, and rain was starting, but they did not care. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was growing dark and foggy, and beginning to rain too; but they cared nothing for this: being both wholly absorbed in the late adventures of Florence, which she related with the innocent good faith and confidence of her years, while Walter listened as if, far from the mud and grease of Thames Street, they were rambling alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of some desert island in the tropics - as he very likely fancied, for the time, they were. Go to

fonder /ˈfɑːndər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais afeiçoado; mais carinhoso

Simple English: Feeling more affection or liking for someone or something.

Example: Her Papa does not grow any fonder of her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her Papa does not grow any fonder of her. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Wally, my dear boy,” said Solomon, “if the cosy little old lady had taken her place in this parlour five and forty years ago, I never could have been fonder of her than I am of you.” Go to

footed /ˈfʊtɪd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de pés (em flat-footed, de pés chatos)

Simple English: Having feet of a certain kind.

Example: He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira. Go to

Original English Version

1. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period, when he looked a little older than of yore, but not much; and was the same light-footed, light-hearted, light-headed lad, as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders, and lighted him to bring up the Madeira. Go to

footman /ˈfʊtmən/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lacaio

Simple English: a male servant who attends a household or carriage

Example: The cook said their mistress had been a calm-tempered lady; the housekeeper said death came to everyone; the butler said no one would have expected it; the housemaid said she could hardly believe it; and the footman said it seemed exactly like a dream.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The cook said their mistress had been a calm-tempered lady; the housekeeper said death came to everyone; the butler said no one would have expected it; the housemaid said she could hardly believe it; and the footman said it seemed exactly like a dream. Go to

Original English Version

1. That small world, like the great one out of doors, had the capacity of easily forgetting its dead; and when the cook had said she was a quiet-tempered lady, and the house-keeper had said it was the common lot, and the butler had said who’d have thought it, and the housemaid had said she couldn’t hardly believe it, and the footman had said it seemed exactly like a dream, they had quite worn the subject out, and began to think their mourning was wearing rusty too. Go to

footmen /ˈfʊtmən/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lacaios

Simple English: male household or carriage servants

Example: The Princess's Arms public house was also there and was popular with splendid footmen.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Princess's Arms public house was also there and was popular with splendid footmen. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Princess’s Arms was also there, and much resorted to by splendid footmen. Go to

forefinger /ˈfɔːrfɪŋɡər/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: dedo indicador

Simple English: The finger next to the thumb.

Example: He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Wickam secretly shook her left forefinger toward the bed where Florence lay. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger. Go to

2. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Go to

forgave /fərˈɡeɪv/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: perdoou

Simple English: Stopped being angry with someone for something they had done.

Example: “I shall never stop congratulating myself,” said Mrs Chick, “for saying, when I had no idea what awaited us - as if something had inspired me - that I forgave poor dear Fanny for everything.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I shall never stop congratulating myself,” said Mrs Chick, “for saying, when I had no idea what awaited us - as if something had inspired me - that I forgave poor dear Fanny for everything. Go to

Original English Version

1. I shall never cease to congratulate myself,” said Mrs Chick,” on having said, when I little thought what was in store for us, - really as if I was inspired by something, - that I forgave poor dear Fanny everything. Go to

formality /fɔːrˈmæləti/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: formalidade

Simple English: Careful attention to rules and to correct behaviour.

Example: She could hardly avoid seeing Biler’s metal badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as part of the day’s formality and strictness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She could hardly avoid seeing Biler’s metal badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as part of the day’s formality and strictness. Go to

Original English Version

1. She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness. Go to

fragrant /ˈfreɪɡrənt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: perfumado; aromático

Simple English: Having a pleasant, sweet smell.

Example: “Why, damn it, sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster-like eyes around Princess's Place and speaking to its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Why, damn it, sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster-like eyes around Princess's Place and speaking to its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Why, damme, Sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster eyes round and round Princess’s Place, and apostrophizing its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. Go to

freshness /ˈfrɛʃnəs/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: frescor; viço

Simple English: The quality of being cool, new, lively, or recently made.

Example: The sharp smell of the medicines they had tried filled the room, but brought no freshness to the heavy, weak air the lady breathed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The sharp smell of the medicines they had tried filled the room, but brought no freshness to the heavy, weak air the lady breathed. Go to

friendliness /ˈfrendlinəs/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: simpatia; cordialidade

Simple English: Kind, welcoming, and pleasant behavior or feeling.

Example: But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox’s friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox’s friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.” Go to

frigate /ˈfrɪɡət/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fragata

Simple English: A fast warship of medium size; the word also appears in the compound frigate bird.

Example: The plates showed the frigate Tartar sailing.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The plates showed the frigate Tartar sailing. Go to

Original English Version

1. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Go to

frill /frɪl/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: babado; folho

Simple English: A gathered or pleated strip used as a decorative edge on cloth or clothing.

Example: People noticed that the two ends of every collar, frill, wristband, or other light article she wore never met without a struggle.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. People noticed that the two ends of every collar, frill, wristband, or other light article she wore never met without a struggle. Go to

2. He wore a very neat shirt frill and kept excellent spectacles on his forehead. Go to

Original English Version

1. He wore a very precise shirt-frill, and carried a pair of first-rate spectacles on his forehead, and a tremendous chronometer in his fob, rather than doubt which precious possession, he would have believed in a conspiracy against it on part of all the clocks and watches in the City, and even of the very Sun itself. Go to

frills /frɪlz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: babados

Simple English: Narrow strips of gathered cloth sewn on for decoration.

Example: Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. Go to

fronted /ˈfrʌntɪd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: com frente de vidro

Simple English: having a particular material or feature on its front

Example: The glass-fronted, locked bookcase rejected all friendly contact.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The glass-fronted, locked bookcase rejected all friendly contact. Go to

frown /fraʊn/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: carranca; cenho franzido

Simple English: A look with the eyebrows down that shows anger or worry.

Example: “I think I told you when you came here, Richards,” said Mr Dombey with a frown, “that I wanted you to see as little of your family as possible.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I think I told you when you came here, Richards,” said Mr Dombey with a frown, “that I wanted you to see as little of your family as possible.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “I think I mentioned to you, Richards, when you came here,” said Mr Dombey, with a frown, “that I wished you to see as little of your family as possible.” Go to

frowned /fraʊnd/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: franziu o cenho

Simple English: Moved the eyebrows down to show anger or worry.

Example: Barred windows frowned down into cellars, while crooked-looking doors stared toward the dustbins.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Barred windows frowned down into cellars, while crooked-looking doors stared toward the dustbins. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a corner house, with great wide areas containing cellars frowned upon by barred windows, and leered at by crooked-eyed doors leading to dustbins. Go to

frowning /ˈfraʊnɪŋ/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: franzindo o cenho

Simple English: Showing anger or worry with the eyebrows down.

Example: “Yes, yes, yes,” said Mr Dombey, leaning over the basket bed and slightly frowning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Yes, yes, yes,” said Mr Dombey, leaning over the basket bed and slightly frowning. Go to

froze /froʊz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: congelou; ficou paralisado

Simple English: Turned to ice, or suddenly stopped moving out of fear.

Example: Tears filled her eyes as she quickly raised them toward his face, but his expression froze them there.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Tears filled her eyes as she quickly raised them toward his face, but his expression froze them there. Go to

2. She held the baby, fed him, played with him, and froze his young blood with music on the harpsichord. Go to

Original English Version

1. The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess’s Place to fetch this baby and its nurse, and walked back with them, and walked home with them again, and continually mounted guard over them; and the perseverance with which she nursed it herself, and fed it, and played with it, and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord, was extraordinary. Go to

funerals /ˈfjuːnərəlz/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: funerais

Simple English: ceremonies held when people are buried or cremated

Example: The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Lucretia, think of what he said only yesterday about funerals!” Go to

2. “And funerals again! Go to

3. Who talks to the child about funerals? Go to

Original English Version

1. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Go to

2. His expressions, Lucretia, only yesterday upon the subject of Funerals!” Go to

3. “Funerals again! who talks to the child of funerals? Go to

furs /fɜːz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: peles; agasalhos de pele

Simple English: Garments or accessories made from animal fur.

Example: Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth. Go to

gallantry /ˈɡæləntri/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: galanteria; bravura; cortesia

Simple English: Brave behaviour, or polite attention paid to women.

Example: “Joe Bagstock, Ma’am,” observed the Major, with his usual gallantry, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window, for a considerable period.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Joe Bagstock, Ma’am,” observed the Major, with his usual gallantry, “has not had the happiness of bowing to you at your window, for a considerable period. Go to

gardeners /ˈɡɑːrdənərz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: jardineiros; hortelões

Simple English: People who grow and sell plants or vegetables.

Example: Here the gardeners grew red beans, kept chickens and rabbits, built rotten summer houses - one was an old boat - dried clothes, and smoked pipes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Here the gardeners grew red beans, kept chickens and rabbits, built rotten summer houses - one was an old boat - dried clothes, and smoked pipes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Here, the Staggs’s Gardeners trained scarlet beans, kept fowls and rabbits, erected rotten summer-houses (one was an old boat), dried clothes, and smoked pipes. Go to

2. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Go to

gaslight /ˈɡæslaɪt/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: luz a gás

Simple English: Light produced by burning gas, or a lamp that produces such light.

Example: At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles. Go to

gauze /ɡɔːz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: gaze; tecido leve e transparente

Simple English: Very thin, light cloth that you can see through.

Example: Surrounded by her spreading gauze, Miss Tox folded down like a closing opera glass.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Surrounded by her spreading gauze, Miss Tox folded down like a closing opera glass. Go to

gentleman's /ˈdʒɛntəlmənz/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do cavalheiro; do senhor

Simple English: Belonging to a man of good manners or high rank.

Example: The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

2. Susan looked continuously out the window to avoid the embarrassment of facing that gentleman's large face. Go to

gentlemanly /ˈdʒentəlmənli/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cavalheiresco

Simple English: Behaving well and politely, like a gentleman.

Example: His regret would, of course, be calm, businesslike, gentlemanly, and controlled.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His regret would, of course, be calm, businesslike, gentlemanly, and controlled. Go to

2. Throughout these events, Mr Dombey remained as calm and gentlemanly as ever. Go to

Original English Version

1. Though it would be a cool, business-like, gentlemanly, self-possessed regret, no doubt. Go to

2. During the whole of these proceedings, Mr Dombey remained as impassive and gentlemanly as ever, and perhaps assisted in making it so cold, that the young curate smoked at the mouth as he read. Go to

gentleness /ˈdʒentəlnəs/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gentileza; brandura; suavidade

Simple English: The quality of being kind, calm and careful with others.

Example: How satisfying it was for Mrs Chick, an ordinary and foolish woman beside whom her sister-in-law had been an angel of intelligence and gentleness, to speak down to that lady's memory and treat it with pity, exactly as she had treated her while alive.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. How satisfying it was for Mrs Chick, an ordinary and foolish woman beside whom her sister-in-law had been an angel of intelligence and gentleness, to speak down to that lady's memory and treat it with pity, exactly as she had treated her while alive. Go to

Original English Version

1. What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! Go to

gentler /ˈdʒentlər/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais suave; mais brando; mais delicado

Simple English: Kinder, softer or less rough than before.

Example: She remained as fierce as ever, and her hard grey eye did not grow gentler.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She remained as fierce as ever, and her hard grey eye did not grow gentler. Go to

geraniums /dʒəˈreɪniəmz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gerânios

Simple English: flowering plants often grown in gardens or pots

Example: It arrived with water carts, old-clothes sellers, people selling geraniums, the umbrella repairer, and the man who rang the little bell of a Dutch clock as he walked.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It arrived with water carts, old-clothes sellers, people selling geraniums, the umbrella repairer, and the man who rang the little bell of a Dutch clock as he walked. Go to

Original English Version

1. The summer sun was never on the street, but in the morning about breakfast-time, when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men, and the people with geraniums, and the umbrella-mender, and the man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. Go to

ghastliness /ˈɡæstlinəs/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: horror sombrio

Simple English: the quality of being grim, unpleasant, or frightening

Example: Her low spirits grew worse because of the confusing view of chimneys from her room, the sound of the wind, and the general gloom - or ghastliness, as she strongly called it - of her present life.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her low spirits grew worse because of the confusing view of chimneys from her room, the sound of the wind, and the general gloom - or ghastliness, as she strongly called it - of her present life. Go to

ghostly /ˈɡoʊstli/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fantasmagórico; espectral

Simple English: Looking or sounding like a ghost; pale and unclear.

Example: In the nursery she also spoke of his “blessed legs” and was again troubled by the ghostly image of him in uniform.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the nursery she also spoke of his “blessed legs” and was again troubled by the ghostly image of him in uniform. Go to

2. Sometimes I am so tired,” little Paul said, warming his hands and looking between the bars of the grate as if a ghostly puppet show were taking place there, “and my bones ache so much - Wickam says it is my bones - that I do not know what to do.” Go to

Original English Version

1. I am so tired sometimes,” said little Paul, warming his hands, and looking in between the bars of the grate, as if some ghostly puppet-show were performing there, “and my bones ache so (Wickam says it’s my bones), that I don’t know what to do.” Go to

giggle /ˈɡɪɡəl/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: risadinha

Simple English: A short high nervous laugh.

Example: As for me,” said the little Spitfire with a giggle, “I doubt that he even knows I exist.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As for me,” said the little Spitfire with a giggle, “I doubt that he even knows I exist.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Not once since, and he hadn’t hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months, and I don’t think he’d have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets, or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow, Mrs Richards, as to me,” said Spitfire, with a giggle, “I doubt if he’s aweer of my existence.” Go to

gilded /ˈɡɪldɪd/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: dourado

Simple English: covered with a thin layer of gold or gold-coloured material

Example: The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Go to

gills /ɡɪlz/ (404 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: brânquias

Simple English: the organs fish and some other water animals use to breathe

Example: But the likeness ended there, because Solomon Gills himself, usually called old Sol, did not look like a sailor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But the likeness ended there, because Solomon Gills himself, usually called old Sol, did not look like a sailor. Go to

2. It is half past five on an autumn afternoon when the reader meets Solomon Gills. Go to

3. As Mr Gills says, “The streets have become much emptier.” It looks likely to rain tonight. Go to

4. “Where can Walter be?” said Solomon Gills after carefully putting away the chronometer. Go to

5. Mr Gills turned on his stool behind the counter and looked through the instruments in the window to see whether his nephew was crossing the road. Go to

6. “If I did not know he loves me too much to run away and join a ship against my wishes, I would begin to worry,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather instruments with his knuckles. Go to

Original English Version

1. But there it ended, for Solomon Gills himself (more generally called old Sol) was far from having a maritime appearance. Go to

2. It is half-past five o’clock, and an autumn afternoon, when the reader and Solomon Gills become acquainted. Go to

3. Solomon Gills is in the act of seeing what time it is by the unimpeachable chronometer. Go to

4. “The streets have thinned,” as Mr Gills says, “very much.” It threatens to be wet tonight. Go to

5. “Where’s Walter, I wonder!” said Solomon Gills, after he had carefully put up the chronometer again. Go to

6. Turning round upon his stool behind the counter, Mr Gills looked out among the instruments in the window, to see if his nephew might be crossing the road. Go to

gills's /ɡɪlzɪz/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Gills

Simple English: belonging to Mr Gills, the nautical instrument dealer

Example: He was certainly not the newspaper boy in an oilskin cap who slowly moved along the brass sign outside, writing his own name over Mr Gills’s name with his finger.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He was certainly not the newspaper boy in an oilskin cap who slowly moved along the brass sign outside, writing his own name over Mr Gills’s name with his finger. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger. Go to

glanced /ɡlænst/ (34 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lançou um olhar; deu uma olhada

Simple English: Looked at something quickly.

Example: The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Solomon looked more serious as he finished dinner and sometimes glanced at the boy's bright face. Go to

2. Mr Dombey glanced at the handkerchief his sister pressed to her eyes and continued: Go to

3. Mr Dombey knew the child was awake only because he sometimes glanced at Paul's eye, where the bright fire shone like a jewel. Go to

Original English Version

1. The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered. Go to

2. Solomon looked a little graver as he finished his dinner, and glanced from time to time at the boy’s bright face. Go to

3. Mr Dombey glanced at the pocket-handkerchief which his sister applied to her eyes, and resumed: Go to

4. As they stood deliberating in the street, a man passed them, who glanced quickly at Walter as he went by, as if he recognised him; but seeming to correct that first impression, he passed on without stopping. Go to

glances /ˈɡlænsɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: olhares rápidos

Simple English: Quick or brief looks.

Example: In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage. Go to

glancing /ˈɡlænsɪŋ/ (52 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: olhando de relance; dando uma olhada

Simple English: Looking at something very quickly.

Example: “Fanny!” said Louisa, glancing round, with a gathering alarm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Of course, he was not a pump operator himself,” said Mrs Chick, glancing at her brother. Go to

2. “On an extremely limited and particular scale,” Mrs Chick suggested, glancing at her brother. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Fanny!” said Louisa, glancing round, with a gathering alarm. Go to

2. “He looks so,” said Mr Dombey, glancing with great interest at the tiny face she uncovered for his observation, and yet affecting to be half careless of it. Go to

3. She came in; and after glancing round her for a moment with an uncertain air, stood pressing her small hands hard together, close within the door. Go to

4. It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked, and hushed, and, glancing through the dreary windows, pressed the little fellow closer to her breast, the withered leaves came showering down. Go to

5. The child shed tears of delight on hearing this, and accompanied the old woman willingly; though she could not help glancing at her face as they went along - particularly at that industrious mouth - and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown, if there were such a person, was at all like her. Go to

6. “Why, to be sure,” said Walter, glancing at her foot, “mine are a mile too large. Go to

glaring /ˈɡlerɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fulgurante; ofuscante; gritante

Simple English: Looking at someone with hard angry eyes.

Example: The only change ever known in his outward man, was from a complete suit of coffee-colour cut very square, and ornamented with glaring buttons, to the same suit of coffee-colour minus the inexpressibles, which were then of a pale nankeen.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The only change ever known in his outward man, was from a complete suit of coffee-colour cut very square, and ornamented with glaring buttons, to the same suit of coffee-colour minus the inexpressibles, which were then of a pale nankeen. Go to

glazed /ɡleɪzd/ (53 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esmaltado; vitrificado

Simple English: Covered with a smooth, shiny, glass-like coating.

Example: He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it. Go to

2. The bookcase, glazed and locked, repudiated all familiarities. Go to

glimpses /ˈɡlɪmpsɪz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vislumbres; relances

Simple English: Very short and incomplete views of something.

Example: From the glimpses she caught of Mr Dombey at these times, sitting in the dark distance, looking out towards the infant from among the dark heavy furniture - the house had been inhabited for years by his father, and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim - she began to entertain ideas of him in his solitary state, as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell, or a strange apparition that was not to be accosted or understood.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. From the glimpses she caught of Mr Dombey at these times, sitting in the dark distance, looking out towards the infant from among the dark heavy furniture - the house had been inhabited for years by his father, and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim - she began to entertain ideas of him in his solitary state, as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell, or a strange apparition that was not to be accosted or understood. Go to

gloom /ɡluːm/ (28 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escuridão; tristeza

Simple English: Darkness or a feeling of sadness and hopelessness.

Example: Mr Dombey came to be, in the course of a few days, invested in his own person, to her simple thinking, with all the mystery and gloom of his house.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her low spirits grew worse because of the confusing view of chimneys from her room, the sound of the wind, and the general gloom - or ghastliness, as she strongly called it - of her present life. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey came to be, in the course of a few days, invested in his own person, to her simple thinking, with all the mystery and gloom of his house. Go to

2. As she walked up and down the glass room, or sat hushing the baby there - which she very often did for hours together, when the dusk was closing in, too - she would sometimes try to pierce the gloom beyond, and make out how he was looking and what he was doing. Go to

gloomy /ˈɡluːmi/ (45 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sombrio; escuro; lúgubre

Simple English: Dark and depressing, or sad and without hope.

Example: The grand but gloomy house had a rounded back containing a whole series of drawing rooms.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The grand but gloomy house had a rounded back containing a whole series of drawing rooms. Go to

2. One day she returned upstairs after a sad walk through the gloomy formal rooms. Go to

3. Even the wedding looked gloomy as they passed before the altar. Go to

4. As Polly walked and calmed him, she looked through the gloomy windows and held the little boy closer to her chest while the dry leaves fell like rain. Go to

5. Of course, Mr Dombey's magnificent knowledge never received even a hint of this gloomy quality. Go to

6. With this remarkable attendant pulling him, Florence always walking beside him, and the gloomy Wickam following behind, Paul went to the ocean's edge every day. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him. Go to

goblin /ˈɡɑːblɪn/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: goblin; duende maligno

Simple English: A small ugly or mischievous creature in folklore.

Example: Miss Nipper then made a terrible deep sound, supposedly coming from a dutiful bull-like goblin eager to carry out the harsh duty of his position.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Nipper then made a terrible deep sound, supposedly coming from a dutiful bull-like goblin eager to carry out the harsh duty of his position. Go to

2. Then he continued warming his hands and thinking about those dreams, like an old man or a young goblin. Go to

Original English Version

1. Here Miss Nipper made a horrible lowing, supposed to issue from a conscientious goblin of the bull species, impatient to discharge the severe duty of his position. Go to

2. And he went on, warming his hands again, and thinking about them, like an old man or a young goblin. Go to

goblins /ˈɡɑːblɪnz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: duendes; gnomos

Simple English: Small ugly creatures in old stories.

Example: Good heavens, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you do not close your eyes this instant, I will call the goblins who live in the attic to come and eat you alive!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Good heavens, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you do not close your eyes this instant, I will call the goblins who live in the attic to come and eat you alive!” Go to

godfather /ˈɡɒdfɑːðər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: padrinho

Simple English: a man who sponsors a child at baptism or takes a protective role

Example: The steam engine was almost as good as a godfather to him, so we called him Biler, don't you see?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The steam engine was almost as good as a godfather to him, so we called him Biler, don't you see?” Go to

Original English Version

1. The Steamingine was a’most as good as a godfather to him, and so we called him Biler, don’t you see!” Go to

godfathers /ˈɡɒdfɑːðərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: padrinhos

Simple English: Plural of godfather: male baptismal or ceremonial sponsors.

Example: “Godfathers, of course,” Mrs Chick continued, “are important because of their connections and influence.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Godfathers, of course,” Mrs Chick continued, “are important because of their connections and influence.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Godfathers, of course,” continued Mrs Chick, “are important in point of connexion and influence.” Go to

godmother /ˈɡɒdmʌðər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: madrinha

Simple English: A woman who promises to support a child at baptism, or a woman who gives special guidance.

Example: Perhaps,” she hesitated again, uncertain of her way, “perhaps that is a reason why you might object less to letting Miss Tox be the dear child's godmother, even if she served only as the representative of someone else.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps,” she hesitated again, uncertain of her way, “perhaps that is a reason why you might object less to letting Miss Tox be the dear child's godmother, even if she served only as the representative of someone else. Go to

2. Miss Tox was thus raised to the position of little Paul's godmother because she was unimportant. Go to

Original English Version

1. Perhaps;” here Mrs Chick faltered again, as not quite comfortably feeling her way; “perhaps that is a reason why you might have the less objection to allowing Miss Tox to be godmother to the dear thing, if it were only as deputy and proxy for someone else. Go to

godparents /ˈɡɒdpɛərənts/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: padrinhos

Simple English: people who promise at a baptism to support a child's religious upbringing

Example: I suppose your husband and I will serve well enough as the other godparents.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I suppose your husband and I will serve well enough as the other godparents.” Go to

godson /ˈɡɒdsʌn/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: afilhado

Simple English: A boy or man in relation to his godparent.

Example: “And now good night to my sweet, sweet, sweet godson,” said Miss Tox, giving him a gentle shower of kisses with each repetition of the word.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And now good night to my sweet, sweet, sweet godson,” said Miss Tox, giving him a gentle shower of kisses with each repetition of the word. Go to

2. When they arrived, Miss Tox gave her godson a mug, and Mr Chick gave him a knife, fork, and spoon in a case. Go to

Original English Version

1. “And now good-night to my sweet, sweet, sweet, godson,” said Miss Tox, with a soft shower of kisses at each repetition of the adjective; “and Louisa, my dear friend, promise me to take a little something warm before you go to bed, and not to distress yourself!” Go to

2. On their arrival Miss Tox produced a mug for her godson, and Mr Chick a knife and fork and spoon in a case. Go to

gog /ɡɒɡ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Gogue

Simple English: part of the biblical/legendary pair of names 'Gog and Magog'

Example: Gog and Magog stood in their greatness only ten minutes away.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Gog and Magog stood in their greatness only ten minutes away. Go to

Original English Version

1. Gog and Magog held their state within ten minutes’ walk; the Royal Exchange was close at hand; the Bank of England, with its vaults of gold and silver “down among the dead men” underground, was their magnificent neighbour. Go to

gored /ɡɔːrd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ferido pelos chifres

Simple English: wounded by the horn of an animal

Example: "Remember the little boy who was gored to death by a mad bull because he asked questions."

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Remember the little boy who was gored to death by a mad bull because he asked questions." Go to

Original English Version

1. “Remember the story of the little boy that was gored to death by a mad bull for asking questions.” Go to

graceful /ˈɡreɪsfəl/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gracioso; elegante; airoso

Simple English: Moving or shaped in a smooth and attractive way.

Example: But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged. Go to

gracefully /ˈɡreɪsfəli/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: graciosamente; com elegância

Simple English: In a smooth and attractive way, or with good manners.

Example: But I hope the uncertainty connected with babies will excuse words that might otherwise seem too familiar.” As she spoke, Miss Tox bowed gracefully to Mr Dombey, and he kindly accepted it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But I hope the uncertainty connected with babies will excuse words that might otherwise seem too familiar.” As she spoke, Miss Tox bowed gracefully to Mr Dombey, and he kindly accepted it. Go to

graciously /ˈɡreɪʃəsli/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gentilmente; com benevolência

Simple English: In a kind and polite way, especially by someone of high rank.

Example: But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged. Go to

2. Susan relaxing, took a little more of the chair, and smiled graciously. Go to

grandeur /ˈɡrændʒər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grandiosidade; magnificência

Simple English: The quality of being very large, beautiful and impressive.

Example: In the course of these remarks, delivered with great majesty and grandeur, Mr Dombey had truly revealed the secret feelings of his breast.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. In the course of these remarks, delivered with great majesty and grandeur, Mr Dombey had truly revealed the secret feelings of his breast. Go to

2. Impatience for the time to come, when his visions of their united consequence and grandeur would be triumphantly realized. Go to

grandfather's /ˈɡrænfɑːðəz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do avô

Simple English: Belonging to or associated with a grandfather.

Example: “His father's name, Mrs Dombey, and his grandfather's!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “His father's name, Mrs Dombey, and his grandfather's! Go to

Original English Version

1. “His father’s name, Mrs Dombey, and his grandfather’s! Go to

grandly /ˈɡrændli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grandiosamente; com pompa

Simple English: In a rich or impressive way.

Example: Mrs Chick then walked grandly to the window and looked through the blind, drawn by the sound of wheels.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick then walked grandly to the window and looked through the blind, drawn by the sound of wheels. Go to

2. I know how she was lost.” Here he looked grandly at Richards. Go to

grasses /ˈɡrɑːsɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gramíneas; capins ornamentais

Simple English: Different kinds or stems of grass, here worn as decoration.

Example: She often wore strange, weak little flowers on her hats and caps, and unusual grasses sometimes appeared in her hair.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She often wore strange, weak little flowers on her hats and caps, and unusual grasses sometimes appeared in her hair. Go to

Original English Version

1. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. Go to

grate /ɡreɪt/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rangido; raspar áspero

Simple English: A metal frame that holds the fire in a fireplace.

Example: Throw those shoes under the grate.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Throw those shoes under the grate. Go to

2. Sometimes I am so tired,” little Paul said, warming his hands and looking between the bars of the grate as if a ghostly puppet show were taking place there, “and my bones ache so much - Wickam says it is my bones - that I do not know what to do.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Here! just help me lift the little sofa near the fire, will you, Uncle Sol - take care of the plates - cut some dinner for her, will you, Uncle - throw those shoes under the grate. Go to

2. I am so tired sometimes,” said little Paul, warming his hands, and looking in between the bars of the grate, as if some ghostly puppet-show were performing there, “and my bones ache so (Wickam says it’s my bones), that I don’t know what to do.” Go to

gravely /ˈɡreɪvli/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gravemente; com seriedade

Simple English: In a serious manner or to a severe degree.

Example: “Then,” added Doctor Parker Peps, alone and very gravely, “a crisis might arise, which we should both sincerely deplore.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Then,” added Doctor Parker Peps, alone and very gravely, “a crisis might arise, which we should both sincerely deplore.” Go to

2. Little Paul Dombey’s foster-mother had led this life herself, and had carried little Paul through it for some weeks; and had returned upstairs one day from a melancholy saunter through the dreary rooms of state (she never went out without Mrs Chick, who called on fine mornings, usually accompanied by Miss Tox, to take her and Baby for an airing - or in other words, to march them gravely up and down the pavement, like a walking funeral); when, as she was sitting in her own room, the door was slowly and quietly opened, and a dark-eyed little girl looked in. Go to

greasy /ˈɡriːsi/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gorduroso; ensebado

Simple English: Covered with fat or oil.

Example: Although Mrs Pipchin became very greasy on the outside while eating it, it did not soften her inside at all.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Although Mrs Pipchin became very greasy on the outside while eating it, it did not soften her inside at all. Go to

Original English Version

1. Though Mrs Pipchin got very greasy, outside, over this dish, it didn’t seem to lubricate her internally, at all; for she was as fierce as ever, and the hard grey eye knew no softening. Go to

grieves /ɡriːvz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sofre

Simple English: feels deep sorrow, especially after a loss

Example: You surely do not think he grieves for his mother?" Berry argued, sitting on the side of the bed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. You surely do not think he grieves for his mother?" Berry argued, sitting on the side of the bed. Go to

Original English Version

1. You don’t think he grieves for his Mama, sure?” argued Berry, sitting down on the side of the bed. Go to

grieving /ˈɡriːvɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de luto; sofrendo a perda

Simple English: Feeling great sadness, especially after a death.

Example: He naturally tended to whistle and hum tunes, but he knew such sounds were improper in a grieving house and was now making an effort to hold them back.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He naturally tended to whistle and hum tunes, but he knew such sounds were improper in a grieving house and was now making an effort to hold them back. Go to

griffins /ˈɡrɪfɪnz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grifos

Simple English: Mythical creatures with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.

Example: Who has ever heard anything like those two griffins, Mrs Richards?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Who has ever heard anything like those two griffins, Mrs Richards?” Go to

Original English Version

1. “You might keep me in a strait-waistcoat for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got it off I’d only be more aggravated, who ever heard the like of them two Griffins, Mrs Richards?” Go to

grimly /ˈɡrɪmli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sombriamente; com ar severo

Simple English: In a serious, determined way that shows no cheerfulness.

Example: “Thank you, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey grimly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Thank you, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey grimly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Thank you, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, grimly. Go to

grinder /ˈɡraɪndər/ (177 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: moedor; amolador; dente molar

Simple English: A person or device that grinds, or informally a molar tooth.

Example: “I am certainly very grateful, Sir,” Richards answered weakly, “and it is very kind of you to remember my little children.” At the same time, Richards imagined Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very short legs inside the practical clothes Mrs Chick had described.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I am certainly very grateful, Sir,” Richards answered weakly, “and it is very kind of you to remember my little children.” At the same time, Richards imagined Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very short legs inside the practical clothes Mrs Chick had described. Go to

2. The master was an old former Grinder with a cruel nature who had been made a teacher because he knew nothing and was fit for nothing. Go to

3. When they found a Charitable Grinder among them, as if he had strangely been delivered into their hands, they gave a general yell and rushed at him. Go to

Original English Version

1. “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water. Go to

2. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination. Go to

3. These, finding a Charitable Grinder in the midst of them - unaccountably delivered over, as it were, into their hands - set up a general yell and rushed upon him. Go to

4. Mrs Chick stopped in her lamentations on the corruption of human nature, even when beckoned to the paths of virtue by a Charitable Grinder; and received her with a welcome something short of the reception due to none but perfect Dombeys. Go to

grinders /ˈɡraɪndərz/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Grinders Caritativos

Simple English: the name of an old charitable institution in the novel

Example: I have the right to name a child for free support at an old institution called the Charitable Grinders, after a respected company.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I have the right to name a child for free support at an old institution called the Charitable Grinders, after a respected company. Go to

2. The Charitable Grinders!” Go to

3. She felt ungrateful, but the day’s influence even touched the Charitable Grinders. Go to

4. Since the previous morning, poor Biler’s life had become miserable because of the Charitable Grinders’ uniform. Go to

5. That very morning, someone had given him a black eye for no reason while he walked to the Grinders’ school. Go to

Original English Version

1. Having the power of nominating a child on the foundation of an ancient establishment, called (from a worshipful company) the Charitable Grinders; where not only is a wholesome education bestowed upon the scholars, but where a dress and badge is likewise provided for them; I have (first communicating, through Mrs Chick, with your family) nominated your eldest son to an existing vacancy; and he has this day, I am informed, assumed the habit. Go to

2. The Charitable Grinders!” Go to

3. She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness. Go to

4. Now, it happened that poor Biler’s life had been, since yesterday morning, rendered weary by the costume of the Charitable Grinders. Go to

5. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination. Go to

6. “If it was my ungrateful case,” said Mrs Chick, solemnly, “and I had your reflections, Richards, I should feel as if the Charitable Grinders’ dress would blight my child, and the education choke him.” Go to

grinned /ɡrɪnd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sorriu de orelha a orelha

Simple English: Smiled widely, showing the teeth.

Example: Her husband only chuckled and grinned, continually drawing his right hand across his mouth and wetting his palm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her husband only chuckled and grinned, continually drawing his right hand across his mouth and wetting his palm. Go to

grinning /ˈɡrɪnɪŋ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: arreganhando os dentes; sorrindo largamente

Simple English: Smiling widely so that the teeth show.

Example: The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning. Go to

Original English Version

1. The apple-faced man having sheepishly complied with this request, stood chuckling and grinning in a front row. Go to

grog /ɡrɑːɡ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grogue; bebida alcoólica diluída

Simple English: A strong alcoholic drink, traditionally rum mixed with water.

Example: “Before you have your glass of grog, Ned, we must finish the bottle.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Before you have your glass of grog, Ned, we must finish the bottle.” Go to

growl /ɡraʊl/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rosnar

Simple English: To make a low, angry sound, as an animal does.

Example: The apple-faced man seemed to growl, “Flat iron.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The apple-faced man seemed to growl, “Flat iron.” Go to

Original English Version

1. The apple-faced man was understood to growl, “Flat iron.” Go to

growling /ˈɡraʊlɪŋ/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rosnando; que rosna

Simple English: Making low, angry sounds.

Example: The Major stood watching her with a face bluer than ever, muttering and growling comments that were not at all kind.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Major stood watching her with a face bluer than ever, muttering and growling comments that were not at all kind. Go to

Original English Version

1. As Miss Tox, with her most fascinating step and carriage, disappeared from Princess’s Place, the Major stood looking after her with a bluer face than ever: muttering and growling some not at all complimentary remarks. Go to

guesses /ˈɡesɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: suposições; palpites; adivinha

Simple English: Opinions formed without enough information; also the act of forming them.

Example: If the Major had known how many hopes and risks, plans and guesses rested on that baby's head, and had seen them all flying in mixed confusion around little Paul's wrinkled cap, he would truly have stared.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. If the Major had known how many hopes and risks, plans and guesses rested on that baby's head, and had seen them all flying in mixed confusion around little Paul's wrinkled cap, he would truly have stared. Go to

guineas /ˈɡɪniz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: guinéus (antiga moeda inglesa)

Simple English: Old British gold coins worth twenty-one shillings.

Example: Guineas, shillings, and halfpennies.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Guineas, shillings, and halfpennies. Go to

Original English Version

1. Guineas, shillings, half-pence. Go to

gunpowder /ˈɡʌnpaʊdər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pólvora

Simple English: A black powder that explodes, used in old guns.

Example: Miss Tox kept her prayer book open at the service for the Gunpowder Plot and sometimes answered with words from that service.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox kept her prayer book open at the service for the Gunpowder Plot and sometimes answered with words from that service. Go to

Original English Version

1. This so distracted the attention of the two ladies, that Mrs Chick was constantly deploying into the centre aisle, to send out messages by the pew-opener, while Miss Tox kept her Prayer-book open at the Gunpowder Plot, and occasionally read responses from that service. Go to

gutters /ˈɡʌtərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sarjetas; valetas

Simple English: Channels that carry rainwater away from streets or roofs.

Example: People had thrown stones at him in the streets, knocked him into gutters, covered him with mud, and violently pressed him flat against posts.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. People had thrown stones at him in the streets, knocked him into gutters, covered him with mud, and violently pressed him flat against posts. Go to

Original English Version

1. He had been overthrown into gutters; bespattered with mud; violently flattened against posts. Go to

halfpennies /ˈheɪpəniz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: moedas de meio penny

Simple English: Coins, each worth half of an old British penny.

Example: A supply of oranges and halfpennies was pushed without order into the hands of each young Toodle, calming the first violence of their sorrow.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A supply of oranges and halfpennies was pushed without order into the hands of each young Toodle, calming the first violence of their sorrow. Go to

2. Under Jemima's care, the children crowded the window and dropped oranges and halfpennies all along the road. Go to

3. Guineas, shillings, and halfpennies. Go to

hammered /ˈhæmərd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: martelaram

Simple English: Hit something again and again with a hammer.

Example: She had a bent figure, a spotted face like bad marble, a hooked nose, and a hard grey eye that looked as if it could be hammered on an anvil without damage.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She had a bent figure, a spotted face like bad marble, a hooked nose, and a hard grey eye that looked as if it could be hammered on an anvil without damage. Go to

Original English Version

1. This celebrated Mrs Pipchin was a marvellous ill-favoured, ill-conditioned old lady, of a stooping figure, with a mottled face, like bad marble, a hook nose, and a hard grey eye, that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. Go to

handbag /ˈhændbæɡ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: bolsa de mão

Simple English: A small bag, especially one used for carrying personal items.

Example: Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth. Go to

handkerchief /ˈhæŋkərtʃɪf/ (78 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lenço

Simple English: A small square of cloth used for wiping the nose or face.

Example: “It is very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down and taking out her handkerchief, “but he is - he is such a perfect Dombey!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “It is very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down and taking out her handkerchief, “but he is - he is such a perfect Dombey!” Go to

2. Mr Dombey glanced at the handkerchief his sister pressed to her eyes and continued: Go to

3. She soon found a chance to improve the blood flow at the end of her nose by secretly rubbing it with her handkerchief. Go to

4. He patted Florence's head, urged her to eat and drink, and rubbed the bottoms of her feet with his handkerchief after warming it at the fire. Go to

5. When it finally moved away, Walter stood cheerfully on the doorstep and waved back at her handkerchief. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down, and taking out her pocket-handkerchief, “but he’s - he’s such a perfect Dombey!” Go to

2. He wore a loose black silk handkerchief round his neck, and such a very large coarse shirt collar, that it looked like a small sail. Go to

3. Mr Dombey glanced at the pocket-handkerchief which his sister applied to her eyes, and resumed: Go to

4. She took an early opportunity of promoting the circulation in the tip of her nose by secretly chafing it with her pocket handkerchief, lest, by its very low temperature, it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it. Go to

5. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all. Go to

6. And when the coach at length moved off, Walter on the door-step gaily returned the waving of her handkerchief, while the wooden Midshipman behind him seemed, like himself, intent upon that coach alone, excluding all the other passing coaches from his observation. Go to

handkerchiefs /ˈhæŋkərtʃɪfs/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lenços

Simple English: Small squares of cloth used for wiping the face.

Example: The Strangers’ Map of London, printed on pocket handkerchiefs for easy and pleasant use, shortened this name with some reason to Camden Town.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Strangers’ Map of London, printed on pocket handkerchiefs for easy and pleasant use, shortened this name with some reason to Camden Town. Go to

Original English Version

1. This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Go to

handle /ˈhændl/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lidar com; identificador; manipular

Simple English: To deal with a situation or problem successfully.

Example: It is important to handle conflicts with care and understanding.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Newspaper covered bell handles, window blinds, and mirrors, showing pieces of reports about deaths and terrible murders. Go to

2. Anyone except me would have cut all these curls off first,” said the old woman, handling Florence's curls with fierce delight. Go to

3. The explanation really seemed necessary because Miss Tox had spoken as if he had died at the pump handle. Go to

harmed /hɑːrmd/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ferido; prejudicado

Simple English: Hurt or damaged.

Example: Then, apparently afraid that this tender act had harmed his dignity, he walked away rather awkwardly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then, apparently afraid that this tender act had harmed his dignity, he walked away rather awkwardly. Go to

2. In fact, although Mrs Chick did not know it, the uniform had already harmed the boy quite badly. Go to

harpsichord /ˈhɑːrpsɪkɔːrd/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cravo

Simple English: an old keyboard instrument whose strings are plucked when the keys are pressed

Example: It included a plate warmer that always stretched its four thin, curved legs into someone's way and an old-fashioned harpsichord decorated around the maker's name with a painted circle of sweet peas.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It included a plate warmer that always stretched its four thin, curved legs into someone's way and an old-fashioned harpsichord decorated around the maker's name with a painted circle of sweet peas. Go to

2. Miss Tox sometimes practised the harpsichord, proudly displaying its painted sweet peas beneath the Copenhagen Waltz and Bird Waltz in a music book copied in her own hand. Go to

3. She held the baby, fed him, played with him, and froze his young blood with music on the harpsichord. Go to

Original English Version

1. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. Go to

2. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Go to

3. The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess’s Place to fetch this baby and its nurse, and walked back with them, and walked home with them again, and continually mounted guard over them; and the perseverance with which she nursed it herself, and fed it, and played with it, and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord, was extraordinary. Go to

haste /heɪst/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pressa; urgência

Simple English: Great speed in doing something, often too much.

Example: He merely shook him by the hand in answer; he seemed in a manner ashamed and afraid even to do that; and bidding him good-night, and advising him to make haste, turned away.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He merely shook him by the hand in answer; he seemed in a manner ashamed and afraid even to do that; and bidding him good-night, and advising him to make haste, turned away. Go to

hastily /ˈheɪstɪli/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apressadamente

Simple English: with excessive speed and little delay

Example: Mr Dombey being hastily summoned out of the room at this moment, the two ladies were left alone together.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey being hastily summoned out of the room at this moment, the two ladies were left alone together. Go to

2. “I am glad of it,” said Mr Dombey hastily. Go to

hasty /ˈheɪsti/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apressado; precipitado; impulsivo

Simple English: Done too quickly and without enough thought.

Example: She no sooner saw it than, uttering a hasty exclamation, and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed, she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She no sooner saw it than, uttering a hasty exclamation, and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed, she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son. Go to

haughtily /ˈhɔːtɪli/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: altivamente

Simple English: in a proud and contemptuous manner

Example: Then he added in one of his rough whispers, “We plan to raise little Biler for that kind of work.” Mr Dombey haughtily asked who little Biler was.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then he added in one of his rough whispers, “We plan to raise little Biler for that kind of work.” Mr Dombey haughtily asked who little Biler was. Go to

Original English Version

1. As he added in one of his hoarse whispers, “We means to bring up little Biler to that line,” Mr Dombey inquired haughtily who little Biler was. Go to

haunts /hɔːnts/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lugares frequentados; assombra

Simple English: Places someone often visits, or the verb meaning repeatedly troubles or appears to someone.

Example: You leave this house, Richards, for taking my son - my son,” said Mr Dombey, emphatically repeating these two words, “into haunts and into society which are not to be thought of without a shudder.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. You leave this house, Richards, for taking my son - my son,” said Mr Dombey, emphatically repeating these two words, “into haunts and into society which are not to be thought of without a shudder. Go to

headfirst /ˌhɛdˈfɜːrst/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de cabeça; com a cabeça à frente

Simple English: With the head going first.

Example: One person may tell another to dive headfirst from a bridge into forty-five feet of water, Mrs Richards, but that second person may be very far from diving.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. One person may tell another to dive headfirst from a bridge into forty-five feet of water, Mrs Richards, but that second person may be very far from diving.” Go to

heaps /hiːps/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: montes; montinhos

Simple English: Untidy piles of things.

Example: Heaps of ashes blocked public paths and completely changed the neighborhood’s laws and habits.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Heaps of ashes blocked public paths and completely changed the neighborhood’s laws and habits. Go to

2. Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door. Go to

Original English Version

1. Houses were knocked down; streets broken through and stopped; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground; enormous heaps of earth and clay thrown up; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood. Go to

heartfelt /ˈhɑːrtfɛlt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sincero; sentido de coração

Simple English: Deeply and sincerely felt.

Example: This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber. Go to

hearthrug /ˈhɑːrθrʌɡ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tapete diante da lareira

Simple English: A rug placed on the floor in front of a fireplace.

Example: Mrs Pipchin's niece did not really expect to find that admirable dragon lying dead on the hearthrug when she went downstairs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin's niece did not really expect to find that admirable dragon lying dead on the hearthrug when she went downstairs. Go to

heartless /ˈhɑːrtləs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desalmado; sem coração

Simple English: Showing no pity or kindness at all.

Example: “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn. Go to

heir's /erz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do herdeiro

Simple English: belonging to a person entitled to inherit property or title

Example: She happily supervised the young heir's innocent meals, almost as if she shared ownership of them with Richards.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She happily supervised the young heir's innocent meals, almost as if she shared ownership of them with Richards. Go to

helper /ˈhɛlpər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ajudante; auxiliar

Simple English: A person who helps someone else.

Example: “You are Dombey's young helper, are you not?” said the first man.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “You are Dombey's young helper, are you not?” said the first man. Go to

hesitantly /ˈhɛzɪtəntli/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hesitantemente

Simple English: in an uncertain or doubtful manner

Example: “She was - she was pretty, I believe?” Miss Tox asked hesitantly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “She was - she was pretty, I believe?” Miss Tox asked hesitantly. Go to

2. “I do not think you could send the child anywhere at present without Florence, my dear Paul,” his sister replied hesitantly. Go to

hesitate /ˈhɛzɪteɪt/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hesite; duvide

Simple English: To pause before acting due to uncertainty or nervousness.

Example: She always hesitates before making an important decision about her career.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. If he had looked with greater interest and with a father’s eyes, he might have read in her sharp glance all the wishes and fears that made her hesitate. Go to

hesitated /ˈhɛzɪteɪtɪd/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hesitou; vacilou

Simple English: Waited before acting because of doubt or fear.

Example: He hesitated, because he rarely spoke that way, and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He hesitated, because he rarely spoke that way, and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.” Go to

2. His little daughter hesitated for one more moment, as if she still wanted to put her arms around him or still hoped he would lift her, hold her, and kiss her. Go to

3. Perhaps,” she hesitated again, uncertain of her way, “perhaps that is a reason why you might object less to letting Miss Tox be the dear child's godmother, even if she served only as the representative of someone else. Go to

Original English Version

1. His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still, or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her. Go to

hesitating /ˈhezɪteɪtɪŋ/ (24 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hesitante; titubeante

Simple English: Pausing before acting because of doubt or fear.

Example: Florence was afraid of her, and looked, hesitating, up the street, of which she had almost reached the bottom.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Florence was afraid of her, and looked, hesitating, up the street, of which she had almost reached the bottom. Go to

2. “I don’t think you could send the child anywhere at present without Florence, my dear Paul,” returned his sister, hesitating. Go to

hinted /ˈhɪntɪd/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: insinuou; deu a entender

Simple English: Said something in an indirect way.

Example: Several times at his club, he had hinted at this while making jokes in which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Several times at his club, he had hinted at this while making jokes in which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, or some similar name was always the subject. Go to

Original English Version

1. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name. Go to

hissed /hɪst/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chiaram; sibilaram

Simple English: Made a long sound like the letter s.

Example: Boiling water hissed and rose inside ruined walls, from which the light and roar of flames also came.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Boiling water hissed and rose inside ruined walls, from which the light and roar of flames also came. Go to

Original English Version

1. Boiling water hissed and heaved within dilapidated walls; whence, also, the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way, and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood. Go to

hoarse /hɔːrs/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rouco; áspero

Simple English: With a rough low voice, often from shouting or illness.

Example: As he added in one of his hoarse whispers, “We means to bring up little Biler to that line,” Mr Dombey inquired haughtily who little Biler was.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. As he added in one of his hoarse whispers, “We means to bring up little Biler to that line,” Mr Dombey inquired haughtily who little Biler was. Go to

holborn /ˈhoʊbərn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Holborn (bairro/restaurante de Londres)

Simple English: A real district of London, and the name of a well-known restaurant there.

Example: A sharp criticism that would be acceptable about ordinary High Holborn became terrible blasphemy when said about Princess's Place.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A sharp criticism that would be acceptable about ordinary High Holborn became terrible blasphemy when said about Princess's Place. Go to

Original English Version

1. The great street round the corner trailed off into Princess’s Place; and that which of High Holborn would have become a choleric word, spoken of Princess’s Place became flat blasphemy. Go to

hookahs /ˈhʊkəz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: narguilés

Simple English: Pipes that draw smoke through water.

Example: Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Go to

hopelessly /ˈhoʊpləsli/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desesperadamente; irremediavelmente

Simple English: Without any hope, or so completely that nothing can be done.

Example: At the same time, after walking for a full hour and looking hopelessly down the road, Polly said there was no use going farther.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At the same time, after walking for a full hour and looking hopelessly down the road, Polly said there was no use going farther. Go to

Original English Version

1. But it so fell out likewise, that, at the same time, Polly, looking hopelessly along the road before her, after a good hour’s walk, had said it was no use going any further, when suddenly she saw this sight. Go to

hornpipe /ˈhɔːrnpaɪp/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hornpipe; dança de marinheiros

Simple English: A lively traditional dance, especially one associated with sailors.

Example: “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Go to

horrified /ˈhɔːrɪfaɪd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: horrorizado; aterrorizado

Simple English: Filled with shock and fear at something very bad.

Example: “Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?” Mr Dombey asked, horrified by the familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?” Mr Dombey asked, horrified by the familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before. Go to

house's /ˈhaʊsɪz/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da casa

Simple English: Belonging to the house.

Example: It does not affect the House's letters.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It does not affect the House's letters. Go to

2. In the wealth and honour of the House's name, she was only a false coin that could not be invested - a bad business deal, and nothing more. Go to

Original English Version

1. In the capital of the House’s name and dignity, such a child was merely a piece of base coin that couldn’t be invested - a bad Boy - nothing more. Go to

housekeeper /ˈhaʊskiːpər/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: governanta; caseira

Simple English: A person employed to manage a household.

Example: The cook said their mistress had been a calm-tempered lady; the housekeeper said death came to everyone; the butler said no one would have expected it; the housemaid said she could hardly believe it; and the footman said it seemed exactly like a dream.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The cook said their mistress had been a calm-tempered lady; the housekeeper said death came to everyone; the butler said no one would have expected it; the housemaid said she could hardly believe it; and the footman said it seemed exactly like a dream. Go to

2. The other private house in Princess's Place belonged to a retired butler married to a former housekeeper. Go to

Original English Version

1. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Go to

housemaid /ˈhaʊsmeɪd/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: empregada doméstica

Simple English: a female servant employed to clean and care for rooms in a house

Example: The cook said their mistress had been a calm-tempered lady; the housekeeper said death came to everyone; the butler said no one would have expected it; the housemaid said she could hardly believe it; and the footman said it seemed exactly like a dream.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The cook said their mistress had been a calm-tempered lady; the housekeeper said death came to everyone; the butler said no one would have expected it; the housemaid said she could hardly believe it; and the footman said it seemed exactly like a dream. Go to

Original English Version

1. That small world, like the great one out of doors, had the capacity of easily forgetting its dead; and when the cook had said she was a quiet-tempered lady, and the house-keeper had said it was the common lot, and the butler had said who’d have thought it, and the housemaid had said she couldn’t hardly believe it, and the footman had said it seemed exactly like a dream, they had quite worn the subject out, and began to think their mourning was wearing rusty too. Go to

howdahs /ˈhaʊdəz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: howdahs; assentos sobre elefantes

Simple English: seats or covered platforms carried on the backs of elephants or camels

Example: Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Go to

howled /haʊld/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: uivou

Simple English: Made a long, loud crying sound.

Example: Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.” Go to

hubert /ˈhjuːbət/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Hubert (nome próprio)

Simple English: A male given name, here in Sir Hubert Stanley.

Example: “Such praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Such praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!” Go to

Original English Version

1. “‘Praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!’” Go to

hugged /hʌɡd/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: abraçou

Simple English: Held someone closely in the arms to show love.

Example: Despite all this, poor Polly hugged each of them in great distress.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Despite all this, poor Polly hugged each of them in great distress. Go to

hugging /ˈhʌɡɪŋ/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: abraçando; apertando junto ao corpo

Simple English: Holding someone or something closely in your arms.

Example: “That is excellent!” he whispered, hugging Solomon so tightly that a new expression appeared on the old man's face.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “That is excellent!” he whispered, hugging Solomon so tightly that a new expression appeared on the old man's face. Go to

humbly /ˈhʌmbli/ (29 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: humildemente; com modéstia

Simple English: In a modest way, without pride.

Example: "I know I am a little gloomy at such times," Solomon said, humbly rubbing his hands.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "I know I am a little gloomy at such times," Solomon said, humbly rubbing his hands. Go to

humiliating /hjuːˈmɪlieɪtɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: humilhante; vexatório

Simple English: Making someone feel ashamed and foolish.

Example: The idea that Dombey and Son could fall because it lacked a nurse was deeply humiliating.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The idea that Dombey and Son could fall because it lacked a nurse was deeply humiliating. Go to

hummed /hʌmd/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cantarolou; sussurrou uma melodia

Simple English: Sang with the lips closed, or made a low steady sound.

Example: They continued slowly upward while she sang all the way and Paul sometimes hummed a weak accompaniment.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They continued slowly upward while she sang all the way and Paul sometimes hummed a weak accompaniment. Go to

humming /ˈhʌmɪŋ/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cantarolando

Simple English: Singing a tune with the lips closed.

Example: Mr Chick broke the serious silence after this remark by humming the strangely unsuitable tune “There Was a Cobbler.” He stopped in some embarrassment and said that it was certainly our own fault if we did not learn from sad occasions like this one.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Chick broke the serious silence after this remark by humming the strangely unsuitable tune “There Was a Cobbler.” He stopped in some embarrassment and said that it was certainly our own fault if we did not learn from sad occasions like this one. Go to

2. Twice, Mr Chick was heard humming at the far end of the table, but both times it was part of the Dead March from Saul. Go to

humour (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: humor; graça; comicidade

Simple English: the quality of being funny

Example: His stories are full of humour.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Major's safest form of light humour was treating his own name with the greatest familiarity. Go to

hurrah /həˈrɑː/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hurra!; viva!

Simple English: A shout of joy or of victory.

Example: “Hurrah for the admiral!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Hurrah for the admiral!” Go to

2. “Hurrah for the admiral! Go to

3. Hurrah for the admiral! Go to

4. Here is to you, Uncle Sol, and hurrah for the - ” Go to

5. Hurrah! Go to

Original English Version

1. “Hurrah for the admiral!” Go to

2. “Hurrah for the admiral! Go to

3. Hurrah for the admiral! Go to

4. Here’s to you, Uncle Sol, and Hurrah for the - ” Go to

5. Hurrah! and you’ll return thanks, Uncle, when we drink the last bottle together; won’t you?” Go to

hurried /ˈhɜːrid/ (88 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: correram; foram depressa

Simple English: Moved or went quickly.

Example: She hurried to him with her face and body twisted by hidden emotion, threw her arms around his neck, and said in a choking voice:

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She hurried to him with her face and body twisted by hidden emotion, threw her arms around his neck, and said in a choking voice: Go to

2. “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “I knew how anxious you were and wanted to help, so I hurried to the Queen Charlotte’s Royal Married Females, which you had forgotten, and asked whether they knew anyone suitable. Go to

3. As soon as I heard this and the matron confirmed it - excellent references and perfect character - I took the address, my dear, and hurried away again.” Go to

4. With a lighter heart, though still very afraid, Florence felt herself released and hurried to the corner. Go to

5. After repeatedly looking over her shoulder, walking a little way, and returning in case Mrs Brown's powerful spies became angry, she hurried off as fast as her loose shoes allowed, holding the rabbit skin tightly. Go to

Original English Version

1. At last the steeples rang out three o’clock; there was one close by, so she couldn’t be mistaken; and - after often looking over her shoulder, and often going a little way, and as often coming back again, lest the all-powerful spies of Mrs Brown should take offence - she hurried off, as fast as she could in her slipshod shoes, holding the rabbit-skin tight in her hand. Go to

2. As he stood near a lamp, listening with surprise to Walter’s hurried explanation, he presented a remarkable contrast to the two youthful figures arm-in-arm before him. Go to

hurriedly /ˈhɜːrɪdli/ (28 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: às pressas; apressadamente

Simple English: In a rushed way because there is little time.

Example: She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame. Go to

2. In hurriedly putting on the bonnet, if that may be called a bonnet which was more like a pad to carry loads on, she caught it in her hair which grew luxuriantly, and could not immediately disentangle it. Go to

3. She hurriedly put her work aside, and laid her head down on his pillow, caressing him. Go to

hurrying /ˈhɜːriɪŋ/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: correndo; apressando-se

Simple English: Moving faster than usual.

Example: “Where are they?” said an old woman, hurrying across from the other side of the road as fast as she could.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Where are they?” said an old woman, hurrying across from the other side of the road as fast as she could. Go to

hush /hʌʃ/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: silêncio; quieto

Simple English: Used to tell someone to be quiet.

Example: “Oh, hush if you please!” said Miss Tox.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Oh, hush if you please!” said Miss Tox. Go to

hussy /ˈhʌsi/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: descarada

Simple English: an old insulting word for an impertinent young woman

Example: “Wickam,” retorted Mrs Pipchin, colouring, “is a wicked, impudent, bold-faced hussy.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin tried to prevent her own 'young hussy,' her usual name for a maid, from speaking with Mrs Wickam. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Wickam,” retorted Mrs Pipchin, colouring, “is a wicked, impudent, bold-faced hussy.” Go to

2. It was a part of Mrs Pipchin’s policy to prevent her own “young hussy” - that was Mrs Pipchin’s generic name for female servant - from communicating with Mrs Wickam: to which end she devoted much of her time to concealing herself behind doors, and springing out on that devoted maiden, whenever she made an approach towards Mrs Wickam’s apartment. Go to

hysterical /hɪˈsterɪkəl/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: histérico

Simple English: Unable to control extreme fear, grief, excitement, or laughter.

Example: Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears, Louisa cast up her eyes, and emptied her glass.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears, Louisa cast up her eyes, and emptied her glass. Go to

2. The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed, and who was very silent and depressed) caught her in her arms without a word of contradiction or reproach, and made a very hysterical meeting of it. Go to

iddity /ˈɪdɪti/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: refrão sem sentido

Simple English: a playful nonsense syllable used in a comic song

Example: “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Go to

imitation /ˌɪmɪˈteɪʃən/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: imitação; cópia

Simple English: The act of copying someone, or a copy of something.

Example: Mr Dombey was stiff with fine clothing and pride; the little copy was stiff through inheritance and unconscious imitation.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey was stiff with fine clothing and pride; the little copy was stiff through inheritance and unconscious imitation. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey stiff with starch and arrogance; the little image by inheritance, and in unconscious imitation. Go to

2. Solomon Gills persisted that there was nothing the matter; and maintained it so resolutely, that his nephew had no resource but to make a very indifferent imitation of believing him. Go to

impatience /ɪmˈpeɪʃəns/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: impaciência

Simple English: The feeling of not wanting to wait.

Example: The sight gave wings to Polly’s impatience.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The sight gave wings to Polly’s impatience. Go to

2. His strongest feeling, which constantly grew as Paul became older, was impatience: impatience for the future when his dreams of their shared importance and greatness would triumphantly come true. Go to

Original English Version

1. The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds. Go to

2. For the feeling uppermost in his mind, now and constantly intensifying, and increasing in it as Paul grew older, was impatience. Go to

3. Impatience for the time to come, when his visions of their united consequence and grandeur would be triumphantly realized. Go to

impatiently /ɪmˈpeɪʃəntli/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: impacientemente

Simple English: In a way that shows you do not want to wait.

Example: Mr Dombey looked at her impatiently.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey looked at her impatiently. Go to

2. Even so, every two or three minutes he put his head out the window and impatiently protested to the driver. Go to

3. Therefore, Mr Dombey impatiently wanted to enter the future and hurry through the middle parts of the boy's life. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey looked at her impatiently. Go to

imperfect /ɪmˈpɜːrfɪkt/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: imperfeito; incompleto; defeituoso

Simple English: Having faults, or not complete.

Example: Yes!” returned Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him, and seeming still to have but a very imperfect understanding of his meaning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Through the fog of his pride, he could partly see what they meant, although their meaning appeared only in imperfect forms. Go to

Original English Version

1. Yes!” returned Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him, and seeming still to have but a very imperfect understanding of his meaning. Go to

2. Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Go to

impostor /ɪmˈpɑːstər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: impostor

Simple English: A person who pretends to be someone else.

Example: Could a man in that position take away from the impostor everything built by so many years of habit, trust, and belief, and give it all to a stranger?

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Could a man in that position take away from the impostor everything built by so many years of habit, trust, and belief, and give it all to a stranger? Go to

Original English Version

1. Whether a man so situated would be able to pluck away the result of so many years of usage, confidence, and belief, from the impostor, and endow a stranger with it? Go to

incident /ˈɪnsɪdənt/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: incidente

Simple English: A serious conflict or disagreement often involving countries.

Example: The incident between the two countries threatened to escalate into a war.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Apart from this incident, the main difference between the christening group and a funeral party was the colour of the carriage and horses. Go to

inconvenient /ˌɪnkənˈviːnjənt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: incômodo; inconveniente

Simple English: Causing trouble or difficulty at the wrong moment.

Example: It is a little inconvenient to have to write ‘Junior,’” said Mr Dombey, pretending to sign his name on his knee, “but that is only private and personal.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It is a little inconvenient to have to write ‘Junior,’” said Mr Dombey, pretending to sign his name on his knee, “but that is only private and personal. Go to

2. Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm. Go to

3. From top to bottom, it may have been the most inconvenient and crooked little house in England. Go to

Original English Version

1. Perhaps, taken altogether, from top to bottom, it was the most inconvenient little house in England, and the crookedest; but then, Miss Tox said, what a situation! Go to

indescribable /ˌɪndɪˈskraɪbəbəl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: indescritível

Simple English: Too unusual, strong, or remarkable to describe adequately.

Example: An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Very far from it,” said Mrs Chick with an indescribable expression. Go to

Original English Version

1. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. Go to

indifference /ɪnˈdɪfərəns/ (50 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: indiferença

Simple English: A lack of interest or feeling about something.

Example: His former indifference toward little Florence changed into a strange uneasiness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His former indifference toward little Florence changed into a strange uneasiness. Go to

Original English Version

1. Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Go to

indifferent /ɪnˈdɪfrənt/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: indiferente; apático; medíocre

Simple English: Not interested and not caring; also only average in quality.

Example: But lunch had rendered her companion more than indifferent to this grave consideration, so she allowed no weight to it, and they resolved to go “a little round.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But lunch had rendered her companion more than indifferent to this grave consideration, so she allowed no weight to it, and they resolved to go “a little round.” Go to

2. So Walter, looking immensely fierce, led off Florence, looking very happy; and they went arm-in-arm along the streets, perfectly indifferent to any astonishment that their appearance might or did excite by the way. Go to

3. Solomon Gills persisted that there was nothing the matter; and maintained it so resolutely, that his nephew had no resource but to make a very indifferent imitation of believing him. Go to

infancy /ˈɪnfənsi/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: infância; estágio inicial

Simple English: The earliest period of a person's life or of something's development.

Example: I will be satisfied if Paul's infancy and childhood go well and I see him prepared, without wasting time, for his destined career.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I will be satisfied if Paul's infancy and childhood go well and I see him prepared, without wasting time, for his destined career. Go to

Original English Version

1. So that Paul’s infancy and childhood pass away well, and I see him becoming qualified without waste of time for the career on which he is destined to enter, I am satisfied. Go to

2. “Mrs Pipchin, my dear Paul,” returned his sister, “is an elderly lady - Miss Tox knows her whole history - who has for some time devoted all the energies of her mind, with the greatest success, to the study and treatment of infancy, and who has been extremely well connected. Go to

innocently /ˈɪnəsəntli/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inocentemente; com candura

Simple English: In a way that shows no bad meaning.

Example: "It is not polite," Paul said innocently.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "It is not polite," Paul said innocently. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s not polite,” said Paul, innocently, “to eat all the mutton chops and toast”, Wickam says. Go to

inspecting /ɪnˈspɛktɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: encarregado de inspeções

Simple English: Responsible for examining places or work officially.

Example: Mrs Chick made this important remark in the drawing room after coming down from inspecting the dressmakers upstairs, who were preparing the family’s mourning clothes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick made this important remark in the drawing room after coming down from inspecting the dressmakers upstairs, who were preparing the family’s mourning clothes. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin stood with her back to the fire, inspecting the newcomers like an old soldier. Go to

inspirations /ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃənz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inspirações

Simple English: deep breaths drawn into the lungs

Example: He was a pretty little fellow; though there was something wan and wistful in his small face, that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam’s head, and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam’s breath.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was a pretty little fellow; though there was something wan and wistful in his small face, that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam’s head, and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam’s breath. Go to

inspire /ɪnˈspaɪər/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inspirar

Simple English: To cause something to be created by giving ideas.

Example: The author wanted to inspire young readers with her adventurous stories.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I shall never stop congratulating myself,” said Mrs Chick, “for saying, when I had no idea what awaited us - as if something had inspired me - that I forgave poor dear Fanny for everything. Go to

2. For the rest of the day, Paul was busy examining Master Bitherstone from head to foot and watching every change in his face with the interest inspired by a boy who had undergone mysterious and terrible experiences. Go to

instinctively /ɪnˈstɪŋktɪvli/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: instintivamente; por instinto

Simple English: Without thinking, because of a natural feeling.

Example: The iron was now hot, and Richards striking on it boldly - it was a good cause and she bold in it, though instinctively afraid of Mr Dombey - requested that Miss Florence might be sent down then and there, to make friends with her little brother.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The iron was now hot, and Richards striking on it boldly - it was a good cause and she bold in it, though instinctively afraid of Mr Dombey - requested that Miss Florence might be sent down then and there, to make friends with her little brother. Go to

2. He thought how like her expression was then, to what it had been when she looked round at the Doctor - that night - and instinctively dropped her hand and turned away. Go to

institution /ˌɪnstɪˈtuːʃən/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: instituição

Simple English: A large organization for religious, educational, or social purposes.

Example: The university is a well-known institution for higher education in the country.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I have the right to name a child for free support at an old institution called the Charitable Grinders, after a respected company. Go to

intending /ɪnˈtendɪŋ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pretendendo; tencionando

Simple English: Planning to do something.

Example: “No, Mrs Richards, quite contrairy,” returned Susan, “and them two inspectors Tox and Chick, not intending to be on duty tomorrow, as I heard ’em say, me and Miss Floy will go along with you tomorrow morning, and welcome, Mrs Richards, if you like, for we may as well walk there as up and down a street, and better too.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Still, she felt relieved to find her unusually bad-tempered and severe, apparently intending to live a long time and comfort everyone who knew her. Go to

Original English Version

1. “No, Mrs Richards, quite contrairy,” returned Susan, “and them two inspectors Tox and Chick, not intending to be on duty tomorrow, as I heard ’em say, me and Miss Floy will go along with you tomorrow morning, and welcome, Mrs Richards, if you like, for we may as well walk there as up and down a street, and better too.” Go to

2. Although the niece of Mrs Pipchin did not expect to find that exemplary dragon prostrate on the hearth-rug when she went downstairs, she was relieved to find her unusually fractious and severe, and with every present appearance of intending to live a long time to be a comfort to all who knew her. Go to

intense /ɪnˈtɛns/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: intenso

Simple English: Extremely great in degree, strength, or emotional or physical impact.

Example: The intense workout left him feeling exhausted but accomplished afterward.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He could only whistle and stare so intensely that his eyes in earlier times now seemed deep and sunken by comparison. Go to

interrupting /ˌɪntəˈrʌptɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: interrompendo

Simple English: Stopping someone while they are speaking or doing something.

Example: “Goodness, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, sharply interrupting her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Goodness, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, sharply interrupting her. Go to

2. “I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her irritably, “that some of those people upstairs suggest unsuitable subjects to the child. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Miss Florence was afraid of interrupting, Sir, if she came in to say good-night,” said Richards. Go to

2. “I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her testily, “that some of those persons upstairs suggest improper subjects to the child. Go to

inventing /ɪnˈvɛntɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inventando

Simple English: Creating something new or making up an idea or story.

Example: His ideas made little or no difference between selling such instruments and inventing them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His ideas made little or no difference between selling such instruments and inventing them. Go to

Original English Version

1. It may be gathered from these remarks that Captain Cuttle’s reverence for the stock of instruments was profound, and that his philosophy knew little or no distinction between trading in it and inventing it. Go to

investment /ɪnˈvɛstmənt/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: investimento

Simple English: Money put into something to earn profit in the future.

Example: Her investment in the business led to significant financial returns.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then he might have understood the nature of that lady's uncertain investment in the Dombey Firm. Go to

irritably /ˈɪrɪtəbli/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: irritadamente

Simple English: in an annoyed and impatient manner

Example: “I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her irritably, “that some of those people upstairs suggest unsuitable subjects to the child.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her irritably, “that some of those people upstairs suggest unsuitable subjects to the child. Go to

2. “Well, Louisa, you are not on trial before a court at present,” Mr Dombey replied irritably, “so it does not matter.” Go to

irritation /ˌɪrɪˈteɪʃən/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: irritação; aborrecimento

Simple English: A feeling of annoyance or the act of causing discomfort.

Example: “Good Lord!” said Mr Dombey, rising in irritation.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Good Lord!” said Mr Dombey, rising in irritation. Go to

jars /dʒɑːrz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: potes; jarros

Simple English: Round glass or clay containers with wide mouths.

Example: Pickles appeared in large wholesale jars labeled “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions.” Strong drinks were served in square bottles without necks.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Pickles appeared in large wholesale jars labeled “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions.” Strong drinks were served in square bottles without necks. Go to

Original English Version

1. Pickles were produced upon it, in great wholesale jars, with “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions” on the label; spirits were set forth in case bottles with no throats. Go to

jawbones /ˈdʒɔːboʊnz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: maxilares; ossos da mandíbula

Simple English: Bones that form the jaws.

Example: He had almost no neck, very stiff jawbones, long hanging ears like an elephant, and the excited eyes and skin colour already described.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He had almost no neck, very stiff jawbones, long hanging ears like an elephant, and the excited eyes and skin colour already described. Go to

jealously /ˈdʒɛləsli/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com ciúme; invejosamente

Simple English: In a way that shows you want what another has.

Example: He had recently begun to suspect that his power to bend and control other people's wills was not perfect, and he jealously feared any second resistance or defeat.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He had recently begun to suspect that his power to bend and control other people's wills was not perfect, and he jealously feared any second resistance or defeat. Go to

jemima /dʒɪˈmaɪmə/ (54 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Jemima

Simple English: a female given name

Example: Her name is Jemima.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her name is Jemima. Go to

2. How are you, Jemima?” Go to

3. “I am quite well, thank you, Ma’am,” Jemima replied. Go to

4. With many tears and kisses, she handed her own baby to Jemima. Go to

5. “Your little child will do wonderfully well with your sister Jemima, Richards,” said Mrs Chick. Go to

6. She means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima, her little darlings, and her good, honest husband with a light heart and a smile, doesn't she, my dear?” Go to

Original English Version

1. Her name’s Jemima. Go to

2. How do you do, Jemima?” Go to

3. “I’m pretty well, I thank you, Ma’am,” returned Jemima. Go to

4. Meanwhile terms were ratified and agreed upon between Mrs Chick and Richards, with the assistance of Miss Tox; and Richards being with much ceremony invested with the Dombey baby, as if it were an Order, resigned her own, with many tears and kisses, to Jemima. Go to

5. “Your little child will thrive charmingly with your sister Jemima, Richards,” said Mrs Chick; “and you have only to make an effort - this is a world of effort, you know, Richards - to be very happy indeed. Go to

6. “You see, my love, she’s already quite contented and comfortable, and means to say goodbye to her sister Jemima and her little pets, and her good honest husband, with a light heart and a smile; don’t she, my dear?” Go to

jemima's /dʒəˈmaɪməz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Jemima

Simple English: belonging to Jemima, who cares for the children

Example: Under Jemima's care, the children crowded the window and dropped oranges and halfpennies all along the road.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Under Jemima's care, the children crowded the window and dropped oranges and halfpennies all along the road. Go to

2. Jemima’s respectful behavior softened the black-eyed girl so much that Susan picked up little Miss Toodle as she ran past and immediately bounced her on an imaginary ride to Banbury Cross. Go to

3. It had little value by itself, but Jemima’s cheerfulness and kindness made it more helpful. Go to

joe's /dʒoʊz/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Joe

Simple English: belonging to a character named Joe, referring to his train ticket

Example: “Perhaps Joe's bright star has been out of town, ma'am?” asked the Major.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Perhaps Joe's bright star has been out of town, ma'am?” asked the Major. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Joe’s luminary has been out of town, Ma’am, perhaps,” inquired the Major. Go to

journey's /ˈdʒɝniz/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da jornada; da viagem

Simple English: the possessive form of journey

Example: But she, who had heard what passed, and who, besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey’s end, felt reassured beyond all measure by his lively youthful face and manner, ran eagerly up to him, leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But she, who had heard what passed, and who, besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey’s end, felt reassured beyond all measure by his lively youthful face and manner, ran eagerly up to him, leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers. Go to

2. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together. Go to

joyful /ˈdʒɔɪfəl/ (21 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: jubiloso; alegre

Simple English: Feeling or showing great happiness.

Example: “My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured as she embraced him, “I hope this is the beginning of many joyful days!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured as she embraced him, “I hope this is the beginning of many joyful days!” Go to

Original English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured, as she embraced him, “the beginning, I hope, of many joyful days!” Go to

joyless /ˈdʒɔɪləs/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: sem alegria; triste

Simple English: having no happiness or pleasure

Example: Instead of calling for little Paul as usual, he sat alone all evening in his joyless room.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Instead of calling for little Paul as usual, he sat alone all evening in his joyless room. Go to

jug /dʒʌɡ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: jarro; bilha

Simple English: A container with a handle for holding water.

Example: Soon the clerk came with a jug of warm water.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Soon the clerk came with a jug of warm water. Go to

Original English Version

1. Presently the clerk (the only cheerful-looking object there, and he was an undertaker) came up with a jug of warm water, and said something, as he poured it into the font, about taking the chill off; which millions of gallons boiling hot could not have done for the occasion. Go to

jugs /dʒʌɡz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: jarros; bilhas

Simple English: Containers with handles for holding water.

Example: In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage. Go to

justice /ˈdʒʌstɪs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: justiça; judicial; juiz

Simple English: Fair and just behavior treatment in society.

Example: Justice is essential for a fair society where everyone is treated equally.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” his sister replied, “you are only giving Miss Tox the justice that I knew a man of your understanding would give her. Go to

kettles /ˈkɛtəlz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chaleiras; caldeirões

Simple English: Metal pots used for boiling water or cooking.

Example: Kettles without bottoms and worn-out iron fire guards filled the gaps.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Kettles without bottoms and worn-out iron fire guards filled the gaps. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Go to

kindest /ˈkaɪndɪst/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: o mais bondoso; o mais gentil

Simple English: The most kind of all.

Example: She is the kindest person!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She is the kindest person! Go to

Original English Version

1. The kindest creature! Go to

kirby's /ˈkɜːrbiz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da Kirby, Beard and Kirby

Simple English: belonging to the manufacturer named Kirby, Beard and Kirby

Example: Perhaps Miss Tox believed that, because Fate had chosen her to welcome little Dombey before his birth with a pincushion made from Kirby, Beard and Kirby's Best Mixed Pins, she must welcome him at every other early stage of life.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps Miss Tox believed that, because Fate had chosen her to welcome little Dombey before his birth with a pincushion made from Kirby, Beard and Kirby's Best Mixed Pins, she must welcome him at every other early stage of life. Go to

Original English Version

1. Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved. Go to

kittens /ˈkɪtənz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gatinhos

Simple English: Very young cats.

Example: Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth. Go to

2. The people of Staggs’s Gardens considered these kittens wonders of realistic art. Go to

Original English Version

1. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Go to

knocker /ˈnɑːkər/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aldrava; batente de porta

Simple English: A metal fitting on a door, used for knocking to announce a visitor.

Example: “Well, sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a full, deep voice, softened for the occasion like the door knocker, “did your visit wake your dear wife at all?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Well, sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a full, deep voice, softened for the occasion like the door knocker, “did your visit wake your dear wife at all?” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Well, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a round, deep, sonorous voice, muffled for the occasion, like the knocker; “do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?” Go to

knockers /ˈnɑːkərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aldravas; batentes de porta

Simple English: Metal fittings on doors, used for knocking to announce a visitor.

Example: It also had a huge pair of gates with enormous lion-headed knockers.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It also had a huge pair of gates with enormous lion-headed knockers. Go to

Original English Version

1. There was another private house besides Miss Tox’s in Princess’s Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates, with an immense pair of lion-headed knockers on them, which were never opened by any chance, and were supposed to constitute a disused entrance to somebody’s stables. Go to

knotted /ˈnɑːtɪd/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: nodoso; de músculos retesados

Simple English: Tied with knots, or full of knots.

Example: He had plenty of hair and whiskers, perhaps darkened by smoke and coal dust, hard, knotted hands, and a square forehead as rough as oak bark.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He had plenty of hair and whiskers, perhaps darkened by smoke and coal dust, hard, knotted hands, and a square forehead as rough as oak bark. Go to

2. He wore a loose blue suit and had a hook instead of a right hand, thick black eyebrows, and a heavy, knotted stick in his left hand. Go to

knuckles /ˈnʌkəlz/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: nós dos dedos; juntas da mão

Simple English: The joints where the fingers bend, on the back of the hand.

Example: “If I did not know he loves me too much to run away and join a ship against my wishes, I would begin to worry,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather instruments with his knuckles.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “If I did not know he loves me too much to run away and join a ship against my wishes, I would begin to worry,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather instruments with his knuckles. Go to

Original English Version

1. “If I didn’t know he was too fond of me to make a run of it, and go and enter himself aboard ship against my wishes, I should begin to be fidgetty,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather-glasses with his knuckles. Go to

laborer /see source pronunciation/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: termo lexical

Simple English: A lexical English word used in the source context.

Example: “Joe!” he called to another man, a laborer, as he picked up his hat and put it on again.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Joe!” he called to another man, a laborer, as he picked up his hat and put it on again. Go to

lady's /ˈleɪdiz/ (48 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da senhora

Simple English: Belonging to a woman of high rank or good manners.

Example: A transient flush of faint surprise overspread the sick lady’s face as she raised her eyes towards him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The dead lady's funeral had been performed to the complete satisfaction of both the undertaker and the whole neighbourhood. Go to

2. How satisfying it was for Mrs Chick, an ordinary and foolish woman beside whom her sister-in-law had been an angel of intelligence and gentleness, to speak down to that lady's memory and treat it with pity, exactly as she had treated her while alive. Go to

3. “Then please tell the man, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady's uncle is a magistrate and that if he behaves rudely to her, he will be punished terribly. Go to

4. Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth. Go to

5. Then he might have understood the nature of that lady's uncertain investment in the Dombey Firm. Go to

Original English Version

1. A transient flush of faint surprise overspread the sick lady’s face as she raised her eyes towards him. Go to

2. The two interlopers, however, blissfully unconscious of the young lady’s sentiments, saw little Paul safe through all the stages of undressing, airy exercise, supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. Go to

3. “Mention to the man, then, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady’s uncle is a magistrate, and that if he gives her any of his impertinence he will be punished terribly. Go to

4. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Go to

5. Then would he have recognised, among the crowd, some few ambitious motes and beams belonging to Miss Tox; then would he perhaps have understood the nature of that lady’s faltering investment in the Dombey Firm. Go to

lamplighter /ˈlæmpˌlaɪtər/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: acendedor de lampiões

Simple English: A person whose job was to light and put out street lamps.

Example: At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas. Go to

laughingly /ˈlæfɪŋli/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rindo

Simple English: in a manner accompanied by laughter

Example: Though very tired, Florence laughingly refused because he might drop her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Though very tired, Florence laughingly refused because he might drop her. Go to

Original English Version

1. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door. Go to

2. Solomon Gills laughingly defied him to find out anything of the kind; and Walter, revolving in his thoughts all sorts of impracticable ways of making fortunes and placing the wooden Midshipman in a position of independence, betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there. Go to

launch /lɔːntʃ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: lançamento; lançar; iniciar

Simple English: To start an organized activity or project officially.

Example: The company will launch its new product line next week.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It almost became a neat, seaworthy vessel that needed only enough open water, if it were suddenly launched, to sail safely to any desert island in the world. Go to

lawyer's /ˈlɔːjərz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: de advogado

Simple English: Belonging to a person trained in the law.

Example: An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series. Go to

leaned /liːnd/ (36 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apoiou; encostou

Simple English: Rested part of the body against something for support.

Example: She had listened admiringly to others for so long, looking as if she were printing their images forever on her soul, that her head now permanently leaned to one side.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She had listened admiringly to others for so long, looking as if she were printing their images forever on her soul, that her head now permanently leaned to one side. Go to

2. It leaned out over the pavement with its right leg forward and with an unbearable smooth manner. Go to

3. Now she leaned across the table and softly said to Mrs Chick: Go to

4. Once their backs were turned on the house and its master was alone as usual, Mr Chick put his hands in his pockets, leaned back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” for the whole journey. Go to

5. He rested his elbows on the tea tray and leaned forward to speak more privately and kindly. Go to

leaped /liːpt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: saltou

Simple English: Jumped a long way or high into the air.

Example: Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together. Go to

lifeless /ˈlaɪfləs/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sem vida; inanimado; apático

Simple English: Dead, or without energy and interest.

Example: The house was as empty and lifeless inside as it was outside.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The house was as empty and lifeless inside as it was outside. Go to

2. The stiff, lifeless fireplace tools seemed more closely related to Mr Dombey than anything else in the room. Go to

lighted /ˈlaɪtɪd/ (35 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acesa; iluminada

Simple English: Turned on or set on fire so as to give light.

Example: Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Go to

2. When dinner was done, and the cloth was cleared away (the entertainment had been brought from a neighbouring eating-house), he lighted a candle, and went down below into a little cellar, while his nephew, standing on the mouldy staircase, dutifully held the light. Go to

3. It was not the first time that his eye had lighted on it He carried the key in his pocket; and he brought it to his table and opened it now - having previously locked the room door - with a well-accustomed hand. Go to

4. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period, when he looked a little older than of yore, but not much; and was the same light-footed, light-hearted, light-headed lad, as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders, and lighted him to bring up the Madeira. Go to

lighthearted /ˌlaɪtˈhɑːrtɪd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: alegre

Simple English: cheerful and carefree

Example: He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira. Go to

lightness /ˈlaɪtnəs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: leveza; suavidade; frivolidade

Simple English: The quality of having little weight, or of being cheerful and not serious.

Example: “Fanny, my dear,” said Mrs Chick, with assumed lightness, “here’s Mr Dombey come to see you.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Fanny, my dear,” said Mrs Chick, with assumed lightness, “here’s Mr Dombey come to see you. Go to

likeness /ˈlaɪknəs/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aparência; figura

Simple English: The fact of looking similar to someone.

Example: But the likeness ended there, because Solomon Gills himself, usually called old Sol, did not look like a sailor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But the likeness ended there, because Solomon Gills himself, usually called old Sol, did not look like a sailor. Go to

livelier /ˈlɪvɛlɪr/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: termo inglês: livelier

Simple English: Full of energy, animation, or interest.

Example: She managed little Paul so well that it became very clear he was much livelier with his sister near him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She managed little Paul so well that it became very clear he was much livelier with his sister near him. Go to

Original English Version

1. So, Polly kept her before his eyes, as long as she could, and managed so well with little Paul, as to make it very plain that he was all the livelier for his sister’s company. Go to

liveliness /ˈlɪvɛlɪnɛss/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: termo inglês: livelines

Simple English: Full of energy, animation, or interest.

Example: The child immediately sprang up with sudden energy and liveliness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The child immediately sprang up with sudden energy and liveliness. Go to

livery /ˈlɪvəri/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: libré; aluguel de cavalos

Simple English: A distinctive uniform worn by a servant or employee.

Example: “To the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, the Common Council, and the Livery,” said the boy.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “To the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, the Common Council, and the Livery,” said the boy. Go to

Original English Version

1. “For the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Common Council, and Livery,” said the boy. Go to

locket /ˈlɑːkɪt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: medalhão; relicário

Simple English: A small case worn on a chain around the neck, often holding a picture.

Example: When fully dressed, she wore a very plain locket showing a dull old eye with no thoughtful expression.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. When fully dressed, she wore a very plain locket showing a dull old eye with no thoughtful expression. Go to

2. The dead owner of the fish-like eye shown in her locket had left it to her. Go to

Original English Version

1. The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. Go to

lodgers /ˈlɑːdʒərz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inquilinos; hóspedes

Simple English: People who pay to live in a rented room in someone else's house.

Example: Every night he regularly went upstairs to bed in a noisy attic far from his lodgers.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Every night he regularly went upstairs to bed in a noisy attic far from his lodgers. Go to

Original English Version

1. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns. Go to

lodging /ˈlɑːdʒɪŋ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: alojamento; pousada

Simple English: A place where you stay for a short time.

Example: Owners of lodging houses also supported the railway for similar reasons and could not be trusted.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Owners of lodging houses also supported the railway for similar reasons and could not be trusted. Go to

Original English Version

1. Lodging-house keepers were favourable in like manner; and for the like reasons were not to be trusted. Go to

Glossary: New Words (4/6)

logical /ˈlɒdʒɪkəl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lógico

Simple English: Based on clear reasoning and good judgment in thought.

Example: Her logical approach to solving problems impressed the entire team.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I am not as clever, logical, eloquent, or anything else as you are. Go to

lonelier /ˈloʊnliər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais solitário; mais ermo

Simple English: More lonely, with fewer people around.

Example: “This house is not exactly full of laughter and celebration,” said Miss Nipper, “so there is no need to be lonelier than necessary.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “This house is not exactly full of laughter and celebration,” said Miss Nipper, “so there is no need to be lonelier than necessary. Go to

Original English Version

1. “This house ain’t so exactly ringing with merry-making,” said Miss Nipper, “that one need be lonelier than one must be. Go to

loo /luː/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Loo (nome próprio)

Simple English: The name of a unicorn who helps rule the forest of Oz.

Example: “Do not tire yourself too much, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you will become ill with spasms, I can see.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Do not tire yourself too much, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you will become ill with spasms, I can see. Go to

2. “How is the Baby, Loo?” asked Mr Chick, changing the subject. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Don’t you over-exert yourself, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you’ll be laid up with spasms, I see. Go to

2. “How’s the Baby, Loo?” asked Mr Chick: to change the subject. Go to

loor /luːr/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sílaba sem sentido

Simple English: a nonsense syllable in a playful chant

Example: Right tol loor rul!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Right tol loor rul! Go to

Original English Version

1. Right tol loor rul! Go to

loosened /ˈluːsənd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: soltaram-se; afrouxaram

Simple English: Became less tight or less closed.

Example: Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration. Go to

2. On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation. Go to

loosening /ˈluːsənɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: afrouxando; soltando

Simple English: Making a grip, fastening, or hold less tight.

Example: The little girl did not understand what he meant, so she turned her completely pale face and deep dark eyes toward him, without loosening her hold at all.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The little girl did not understand what he meant, so she turned her completely pale face and deep dark eyes toward him, without loosening her hold at all. Go to

Original English Version

1. Not having understood the purport of his whisper, the little creature turned her perfectly colourless face and deep dark eyes towards him; but without loosening her hold in the least. Go to

louisa /luˈiːzə/ (168 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Luísa

Simple English: a girl's first name, belonging to a character

Example: Do not upset yourself, Louisa.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Do not upset yourself, Louisa.” Go to

2. “It is very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down and taking out her handkerchief, “but he is - he is such a perfect Dombey!” Go to

3. “It is so extraordinary that it is almost ridiculous,” said Louisa, smiling through tears that were not very strong. Go to

4. “My dear Paul,” Louisa replied, “it is nothing at all. Go to

5. “I will not drink to you, Paul,” said Louisa. Go to

6. Louisa ended this opinion with a short, nervous laugh that turned into tears. Go to

Original English Version

1. Don’t agitate yourself, Louisa.” Go to

2. “It’s very foolish of me,” said Louisa, sitting down, and taking out her pocket-handkerchief, “but he’s - he’s such a perfect Dombey!” Go to

3. “It’s so extraordinary,” said Louisa; smiling through her tears, which indeed were not overpowering, “as to be perfectly ridiculous. Go to

4. “My dear Paul,” returned Louisa, “it’s nothing whatever. Go to

5. “I shall not drink my love to you, Paul,” said Louisa: “I shall drink to the little Dombey. Go to

6. Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears, Louisa cast up her eyes, and emptied her glass. Go to

lucretia /luːˈkriːʃə/ (73 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Lucrécia

Simple English: a woman's first name, here referring to a legendary Roman woman known for her virtue

Example: “Will you take this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Will you take this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.” Go to

2. Lucretia, think of what he said only yesterday about funerals!” Go to

Original English Version

1. It seemed for a moment like that other solemn institution, “Wilt thou have this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.” Go to

2. His expressions, Lucretia, only yesterday upon the subject of Funerals!” Go to

lumpkin /ˈtɔːni ˈlʌmpkɪn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Tony Lumpkin

Simple English: a comic character in Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer

Example: Like Tony Lumpkin, she could bear other people’s disappointment fairly well, but could not bear to disappoint herself.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Like Tony Lumpkin, she could bear other people’s disappointment fairly well, but could not bear to disappoint herself. Go to

Original English Version

1. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Go to

lured /lʊrd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: atraiu; seduziu; iscou

Simple English: Persuaded someone to go somewhere by offering something attractive.

Example: The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder, when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter, who, clapping her hands, and standing on tip-toe before the throne of his son and heir, lured him to bend down from his high estate, and look at her.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder, when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter, who, clapping her hands, and standing on tip-toe before the throne of his son and heir, lured him to bend down from his high estate, and look at her. Go to

macbeth's /məkˈbeθs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Macbeth

Simple English: belonging to Shakespeare's tragic hero or his play

Example: The most private clothes of coachmen, their wives, and their families usually hung on the outside walls like Macbeth's banners.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The most private clothes of coachmen, their wives, and their families usually hung on the outside walls like Macbeth's banners. Go to

Original English Version

1. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls. Go to

madeira /məˈdɪərə/ (27 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vinho Madeira; Madeira, nos usos geográficos

Simple English: A fortified wine from Madeira; in the geographical contexts, the same name identifies the Portuguese island or Brazil's Madeira River.

Example: That is the wonderful Madeira!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. That is the wonderful Madeira! Go to

2. “I am sure of it.” He enjoyed a second glass of old Madeira even more. Go to

3. Only the wonderful Madeira and the special occasion, when Walter's mind should be improved, could have made the Captain give such a long speech. Go to

4. He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Why, Uncle Sol!” said the boy, “what are you about? that’s the wonderful Madeira! - there’s only one more bottle!” Go to

2. “I am sure of it,” and he applied himself to a second glass of the old Madeira, with increased relish. Go to

3. Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration. Go to

4. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period, when he looked a little older than of yore, but not much; and was the same light-footed, light-hearted, light-headed lad, as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders, and lighted him to bring up the Madeira. Go to

magnetically /mæɡˈnetɪkli/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: magneticamente

Simple English: by magnetic force or in a way that strongly attracts

Example: It is so pleasant to sit here and feel that you could be weighed, measured, enlarged, electrified, or magnetically changed in every possible way - and never know how.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It is so pleasant to sit here and feel that you could be weighed, measured, enlarged, electrified, or magnetically changed in every possible way - and never know how.” Go to

magog /ˈmeɪɡɒɡ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Magogue

Simple English: a legendary giant, here also used as a cat's name

Example: Gog and Magog stood in their greatness only ten minutes away.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Gog and Magog stood in their greatness only ten minutes away. Go to

Original English Version

1. Gog and Magog held their state within ten minutes’ walk; the Royal Exchange was close at hand; the Bank of England, with its vaults of gold and silver “down among the dead men” underground, was their magnificent neighbour. Go to

mahogany /məˈhɑːɡəni/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mogno; castanho-avermelhado

Simple English: A hard reddish brown wood, or its colour.

Example: His drawers and shelves held objects of brass and glass whose top, purpose, and proper place in their mahogany cases only experts could understand.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His drawers and shelves held objects of brass and glass whose top, purpose, and proper place in their mahogany cases only experts could understand. Go to

Original English Version

1. Objects in brass and glass were in his drawers and on his shelves, which none but the initiated could have found the top of, or guessed the use of, or having once examined, could have ever got back again into their mahogany nests without assistance. Go to

major's /ˈmeɪdʒərz/ (45 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do Major

Simple English: belonging to a man who holds the military rank of Major

Example: From time to time, they exchanged newspapers, pamphlets, and mild signs of romantic interest through the Major's dark-skinned servant.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. From time to time, they exchanged newspapers, pamphlets, and mild signs of romantic interest through the Major's dark-skinned servant. Go to

2. The Major's safest form of light humour was treating his own name with the greatest familiarity. Go to

3. But he continued sleeping, unaware of Miss Tox's kind intentions, the Major's wonder, his sister's early sorrows, and his father's stern visions. Go to

Original English Version

1. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Go to

2. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name. Go to

3. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively. Go to

4. She had been wont, once upon a time, to look out at one of her little dark windows by accident, and blushingly return the Major’s greeting; but now, she never gave the Major a chance, and cared nothing at all whether he looked over the way or not. Go to

maker's /ˈmeɪkərz/ (28 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do fabricante; do criador

Simple English: Belonging to the person or company that made something.

Example: They were still talking about this when they reached the instrument maker's door.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They were still talking about this when they reached the instrument maker's door. Go to

2. It included a plate warmer that always stretched its four thin, curved legs into someone's way and an old-fashioned harpsichord decorated around the maker's name with a painted circle of sweet peas. Go to

Original English Version

1. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door. Go to

2. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. Go to

manhood /ˈmænhʊd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: idade adulta; virilidade

Simple English: The state of being a grown man.

Example: After passing this dangerous part of his race toward manhood, he still found the road extremely rough and full of obstacles.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After passing this dangerous part of his race toward manhood, he still found the road extremely rough and full of obstacles. Go to

Original English Version

1. This dangerous ground in his steeple-chase towards manhood passed, he still found it very rough riding, and was grievously beset by all the obstacles in his course. Go to

mansions /ˈmænʃənz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mansões

Simple English: large impressive houses

Example: It stood in the shadow like a poor relative of the great street around the corner, looked down upon coldly by powerful mansions.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It stood in the shadow like a poor relative of the great street around the corner, looked down upon coldly by powerful mansions. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Tox inhabited a dark little house that had been squeezed, at some remote period of English History, into a fashionable neighbourhood at the west end of the town, where it stood in the shade like a poor relation of the great street round the corner, coldly looked down upon by mighty mansions. Go to

mantelpiece /ˈmæntəlpiːs/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: consolo da lareira

Simple English: The shelf above a fireplace.

Example: Strange shells, seaweed, and moss decorated the mantelpiece.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Strange shells, seaweed, and moss decorated the mantelpiece. Go to

2. Look at the mantelpiece.” Go to

3. Meanwhile, after several imaginary trips to Banbury Cross, the black-eyed girl carefully studied the furniture: the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantelpiece with red and green windows that could be lit by a piece of candle inside, and two small black velvet kittens, each holding a lady’s handbag in its mouth. Go to

manure /məˈnjʊr/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: esterco

Simple English: animal waste used to fertilize soil

Example: Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door. Go to

marigolds /ˈmærɪɡoʊldz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cravos-de-defunto

Simple English: Marigolds are bright yellow or orange garden flowers.

Example: The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Go to

mass /mæs/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: massa; missa; maciça

Simple English: Affecting a large number of people or things together.

Example: The mass protest gathered thousands of people in the city center.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “No sensible person would believe what a morning I have had, with that dining room downstairs filled with one great mass of babies.” Go to

2. “A mass of babies!” Mr Chick repeated, looking around in alarm. Go to

3. In one place, a confused mass of overturned carts lay at the bottom of a steep, unnatural hill. Go to

masts /mæsts/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mastros

Simple English: Tall poles on a ship that hold the sails.

Example: Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.” Go to

2. Outside it, a stout man stood whistling, watching the nearby masts and boats. Go to

Original English Version

1. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:” Go to

2. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Go to

material /məˈtɪriəl/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: material

Simple English: The substance used to make something.

Example: This material is very strong.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The very best materials, too!” Go to

2. A hundred thousand unfinished shapes and materials were mixed wildly out of place: upside down, digging into the earth, rising in the air, decaying in water, and as impossible to understand as a dream. Go to

matron /ˈmeɪtrən/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: matrona

Simple English: a woman in charge of a school, hospital, or household

Example: Mr Dombey, who, besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned, had really faith in her as an experienced and bustling matron, acquiesced; and followed her, at once, to the sick chamber.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But one of the Royal Married Females heard my question and reminded the matron about another woman who had returned home and would probably be completely satisfactory. Go to

2. As soon as I heard this and the matron confirmed it - excellent references and perfect character - I took the address, my dear, and hurried away again.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey, who, besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned, had really faith in her as an experienced and bustling matron, acquiesced; and followed her, at once, to the sick chamber. Go to

2. But it did so happen, that one of the Royal Married Females, hearing the inquiry, reminded the matron of another who had gone to her own home, and who, she said, would in all likelihood be most satisfactory. Go to

3. The moment I heard this, and had it corroborated by the matron - excellent references and unimpeachable character - I got the address, my dear, and posted off again.” Go to

4. “Do I understand that this respectable matron keeps an establishment, Miss Tox?” the Mr Dombey, condescendingly. Go to

meaningfully /ˈmiːnɪŋfəli/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de modo significativo

Simple English: In a way that has an important meaning or purpose.

Example: This made Mrs Wickam shake her head meaningfully and draw many long breaths.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. This made Mrs Wickam shake her head meaningfully and draw many long breaths. Go to

measles /ˈmiːzəlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sarampo

Simple English: A contagious viral disease that causes fever and a red rash.

Example: Every new tooth was a deadly fence, and every measles spot was a stone wall.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Every new tooth was a deadly fence, and every measles spot was a stone wall. Go to

Original English Version

1. Every tooth was a break-neck fence, and every pimple in the measles a stone wall to him. Go to

meats /miːts/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: carnes

Simple English: Different kinds or portions of meat.

Example: It was familiar with dried meats and tongues, possessing an extraordinary flavour of rope yarn.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. It was familiar with dried meats and tongues, possessing an extraordinary flavour of rope yarn. Go to

meek /miːk/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: manso; humilde

Simple English: Quiet, gentle, and not proud.

Example: Of those years he had been married, ten - married, as some said, to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past, and who was content to bind her broken spirit to the dutiful and meek endurance of the present.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Of those years he had been married, ten - married, as some said, to a lady with no heart to give him; whose happiness was in the past, and who was content to bind her broken spirit to the dutiful and meek endurance of the present. Go to

2. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent. Go to

meekly /ˈmiːkli/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: humildemente; docilmente

Simple English: In a quiet way, without arguing or complaining.

Example: “I am a little dull at such times, I know,” observed Solomon, meekly rubbing his hands.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “I am a little dull at such times, I know,” observed Solomon, meekly rubbing his hands. Go to

melancholy /ˈmɛlənkəli/ (40 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: melancolia; tristeza pensativa

Simple English: Melancholy is a quiet, thoughtful feeling of sadness.

Example: Mr Chick invaded the grave silence which ensued on this remark with the singularly inappropriate air of “A cobbler there was;” and checking himself, in some confusion, observed, that it was undoubtedly our own faults if we didn’t improve such melancholy occasions as the present.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Left alone with the two children again, she noticed the wind blowing sadly and enjoyed melancholy - the cheapest and easiest luxury to obtain - until sleep overcame her. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Chick invaded the grave silence which ensued on this remark with the singularly inappropriate air of “A cobbler there was;” and checking himself, in some confusion, observed, that it was undoubtedly our own faults if we didn’t improve such melancholy occasions as the present. Go to

2. Little Paul Dombey’s foster-mother had led this life herself, and had carried little Paul through it for some weeks; and had returned upstairs one day from a melancholy saunter through the dreary rooms of state (she never went out without Mrs Chick, who called on fine mornings, usually accompanied by Miss Tox, to take her and Baby for an airing - or in other words, to march them gravely up and down the pavement, like a walking funeral); when, as she was sitting in her own room, the door was slowly and quietly opened, and a dark-eyed little girl looked in. Go to

3. A dusty urn at each high corner, dug up from an ancient tomb, preached desolation and decay, as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass, reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow, seemed fraught with melancholy meditations. Go to

4. “I was about to say to you, Richards,” resumed Mr Dombey, with an appalling glance at Mr John, “that I was further assisted in my decision, by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room, on the occasion of your being hired, when he disclosed to me the melancholy fact that your family, himself at the head, were sunk and steeped in ignorance.” Go to

5. He was not old, but his hair was white; his body was bent, or bowed as if by the weight of some great trouble: and there were deep lines in his worn and melancholy face. Go to

6. Oh! the age of the face that was turned up again, with an expression, half of melancholy, half of slyness, on it! Go to

melt /mɛlt/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: derreter; derretimento; degelo

Simple English: To turn from solid into liquid because of heat exposure.

Example: The ice will melt quickly when exposed to the warm sun.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Now that all the force of that nature was fixed on his narrow plan of parental interest and ambition, its icy current did not melt and flow freely. Go to

midshipman /ˈmɪdˌʃɪpmən/ (105 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: guarda-marinha

Simple English: A junior officer or trainee in a navy.

Example: The old gentleman owned that Midshipman and was proud of him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman owned that Midshipman and was proud of him. Go to

2. Many small details of the home life of the maker of ships’ instruments, who was proud of his little Midshipman, supported this idea. Go to

3. He also lived there like a captain, alone with his nephew Walter, a fourteen-year-old boy who looked enough like a midshipman to support the general idea. Go to

4. For many years he had lived like this in the shop and back room behind the little Midshipman. Go to

5. All the weather instruments in the shop give sad, low readings, and rain already shines on the three-cornered hat of the wooden Midshipman. Go to

6. They were already near the wooden Midshipman. Go to

Original English Version

1. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Go to

2. Many minor incidents in the household life of the Ships’ Instrument-maker who was proud of his little Midshipman, assisted and bore out this fancy. Go to

3. Here he lived too, in skipper-like state, all alone with his nephew Walter: a boy of fourteen who looked quite enough like a midshipman, to carry out the prevailing idea. Go to

4. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns. Go to

5. All the weatherglasses in the shop are in low spirits, and the rain already shines upon the cocked hat of the wooden Midshipman. Go to

6. When that uniform was worn,” pointing out towards the little Midshipman, “then indeed, fortunes were to be made, and were made. Go to

midshipmen /ˈmɪdʃɪpmən/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: guardas-marinhas

Simple English: junior officers in naval training

Example: Everywhere nearby, one could see pictures of ships sailing at full speed to every part of the world, stores ready to equip and send anyone anywhere within half an hour, and small wooden midshipmen in old-fashioned naval uniforms.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Everywhere nearby, one could see pictures of ships sailing at full speed to every part of the world, stores ready to equip and send anyone anywhere within half an hour, and small wooden midshipmen in old-fashioned naval uniforms. Go to

2. For more years than many real, fully grown midshipmen had lived, he had paid rent, taxes, rates, and charges there. Go to

3. And some real midshipmen in the English Navy had certainly reached a fine old age. Go to

Original English Version

1. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages. Go to

2. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Go to

mildest /ˈmaɪldɪst/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: o mais suave

Simple English: Least strong, harsh or severe.

Example: Even in the mildest ending, the hero - a naughty boy - was rarely killed by anything less than a lion or a bear.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Even in the mildest ending, the hero - a naughty boy - was rarely killed by anything less than a lion or a bear. Go to

Original English Version

1. It being a part of Mrs Pipchin’s system not to encourage a child’s mind to develop and expand itself like a young flower, but to open it by force like an oyster, the moral of these lessons was usually of a violent and stunning character: the hero - a naughty boy - seldom, in the mildest catastrophe, being finished off anything less than a lion, or a bear. Go to

mischief /ˈmɪstʃɪf/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: travessura; malícia; peraltice

Simple English: Behaviour that causes trouble, often playful.

Example: No young vagabond could be brought to bear its contemplation for a moment, without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer, and doing him a mischief.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. No young vagabond could be brought to bear its contemplation for a moment, without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer, and doing him a mischief. Go to

miserably /ˈmɪzərəbli/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: miseravelmente; tristemente; lamentavelmente

Simple English: In a very unhappy way, or very badly.

Example: She was miserably dressed, and carried some skins over her arm.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She was miserably dressed, and carried some skins over her arm. Go to

misfortune /mɪsˈfɔːrtʃən/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: infortúnio; desgraça; azar

Simple English: Bad luck, or an unhappy event.

Example: I know that very well, and it is my misfortune.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I know that very well, and it is my misfortune. Go to

mistress's /ˈmɪstrəsɪz/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da senhora

Simple English: Belonging to a mistress, the lady a servant works for.

Example: As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Go to

moaning /ˈmoʊnɪŋ/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: gemendo; lamentando-se

Simple English: Making a long low sound because of pain or unhappiness.

Example: It was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning for a long time afterward in the worst bedroom, while Mrs Pipchin occasionally went in to shake her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning for a long time afterward in the worst bedroom, while Mrs Pipchin occasionally went in to shake her. Go to

Original English Version

1. As little Miss Pankey was afraid of sleeping alone in the dark, Mrs Pipchin always made a point of driving her upstairs herself, like a sheep; and it was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning long afterwards, in the least eligible chamber, and Mrs Pipchin now and then going in to shake her. Go to

modestly /ˈmɑːdɪstli/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: modestamente; com modéstia

Simple English: In a quiet way, without boasting about yourself.

Example: Once, she hid modestly in a cupboard when Mrs Chick brought Mr Dombey into the nursery to see his son getting ready for bed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Once, she hid modestly in a cupboard when Mrs Chick brought Mr Dombey into the nursery to see his son getting ready for bed. Go to

2. “Well, I believe I found Miss Dombey, sir,” said Walter modestly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Why, I believe I found Miss Dombey, Sir,” said Walter modestly, “at least I don’t know that I can claim the merit of having exactly found her, Sir, but I was the fortunate instrument of - ” Go to

modesty /ˈmɑːdəsti/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: modéstia; recato

Simple English: The habit of not talking proudly about yourself.

Example: The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey!

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Go to

moment's /ˈmoʊmənts/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de um momento; de um instante

Simple English: Lasting only a very short time.

Example: After a moment’s groping here and there, he presently returned with a very ancient-looking bottle, covered with dust and dirt.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick after a moment’s silence, “there is no use asking. Go to

Original English Version

1. After a moment’s groping here and there, he presently returned with a very ancient-looking bottle, covered with dust and dirt. Go to

2. After a moment’s silence, Polly asked, in a more sprightly manner: Go to

3. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, after a moment’s silence, “it is of no use inquiring. Go to

momus /ˈmoʊməs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Momus

Simple English: the Greek god of mockery and criticism

Example: “A daughter of Momus,” Miss Tox suggested softly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “A daughter of Momus,” Miss Tox suggested softly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “A daughter of Momus,” Miss Tox softly suggested. Go to

monstrous /ˈmɒnstrəs/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: monstruoso

Simple English: Very large, frightening, or cruel.

Example: Every chandelier or lustre, muffled in holland, looked like a monstrous tear depending from the ceiling’s eye.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Every chandelier or lustre, muffled in holland, looked like a monstrous tear depending from the ceiling’s eye. Go to

moods /muːdz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estados de espírito; humores

Simple English: The ways a person feels at different times.

Example: He did not like her and was not afraid of her, but in his old, serious moods she seemed strangely fascinating to him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He did not like her and was not afraid of her, but in his old, serious moods she seemed strangely fascinating to him. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was not fond of her; he was not afraid of her; but in those old, old moods of his, she seemed to have a grotesque attraction for him. Go to

moor /mʊə/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: charneca

Simple English: Open high land, usually covered with low plants.

Example: A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Pitt, in bronze, on the top, with no trace of his celestial origin about him, guarded the unattainable treasure like an enchanted Moor. Go to

morfin's /ˈmɔːrfɪnz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Morfin

Simple English: belonging to Mr Morfin

Example: “Oh yes, I suppose there is plenty of that,” his nephew replied carelessly, “but such things are all in Mr Carker's room, Mr Morfin's, or Mr Dombey's.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Oh yes, I suppose there is plenty of that,” his nephew replied carelessly, “but such things are all in Mr Carker's room, Mr Morfin's, or Mr Dombey's.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Oh yes, plenty of that I suppose,” returned his nephew carelessly; “but all that sort of thing’s in Mr Carker’s room, or Mr Morfin’s, or Mr Dombey’s.” Go to

motherless /ˈmʌðərləs/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sem mãe

Simple English: Having no living or present mother.

Example: Now, Richards, if you nurse my motherless child, I want you always to remember this.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Now, Richards, if you nurse my motherless child, I want you always to remember this. Go to

2. During that simple meeting between Polly and the motherless little girl, Polly’s motherly heart had been touched as deeply as the child’s. Go to

3. “It is truly hard,” Polly thought, “if he only cares for one motherless child when another one, a girl, is right before his eyes.” Go to

Original English Version

1. In the simple passage that had taken place between herself and the motherless little girl, her own motherly heart had been touched no less than the child’s; and she felt, as the child did, that there was something of confidence and interest between them from that moment. Go to

2. “It’s hard indeed,” thought Polly, “if he takes only to one little motherless child, when he has another, and that a girl, before his eyes.” Go to

motherly /ˈmʌðərli/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: maternal

Simple English: Kind and caring in the way a mother is.

Example: During that simple meeting between Polly and the motherless little girl, Polly’s motherly heart had been touched as deeply as the child’s.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. During that simple meeting between Polly and the motherless little girl, Polly’s motherly heart had been touched as deeply as the child’s. Go to

2. Mrs Chick interrupted with some motherly words about being a good girl and going to sleep. Go to

Original English Version

1. In the simple passage that had taken place between herself and the motherless little girl, her own motherly heart had been touched no less than the child’s; and she felt, as the child did, that there was something of confidence and interest between them from that moment. Go to

2. Mrs Chick interposed with some motherly words about going to sleep like a dear, but Florence repeated her supplication, with a frightened look, and in a voice broken by sobs and tears. Go to

motionless /ˈmoʊʃənləs/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: imóvel; sem se mexer

Simple English: Not moving at all.

Example: She crept as near him as she could without disturbing his rest; and stretching out one arm so that it timidly embraced his neck, and hiding her face on the other, over which her damp and scattered hair fell loose, lay motionless.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She crept as near him as she could without disturbing his rest; and stretching out one arm so that it timidly embraced his neck, and hiding her face on the other, over which her damp and scattered hair fell loose, lay motionless. Go to

mouldy /ˈmoʊldi/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mofado

Simple English: Covered with or smelling of mould.

Example: Mouldy remains still clung to the neighbourhood.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mouldy remains still clung to the neighbourhood. Go to

2. His nephew stood on the mouldy stairs and dutifully held the light. Go to

Original English Version

1. When dinner was done, and the cloth was cleared away (the entertainment had been brought from a neighbouring eating-house), he lighted a candle, and went down below into a little cellar, while his nephew, standing on the mouldy staircase, dutifully held the light. Go to

muffin /ˈmʌfɪn/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: muffin; bolinho

Simple English: A small round bread or cake, especially one baked in an individual portion.

Example: He was placed so close to it that he seemed like a new muffin that had to be toasted brown.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He was placed so close to it that he seemed like a new muffin that had to be toasted brown. Go to

Original English Version

1. Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Go to

muffs /mʌfs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aquecedores de mãos de pele

Simple English: Fur cylinders in which both hands are placed for warmth.

Example: Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth. Go to

Original English Version

1. She had furry articles for winter wear, as tippets, boas, and muffs, which stood up on end in rampant manner, and were not at all sleek. Go to

mugs /mʌɡz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: canecas

Simple English: Cups with handles for drinking.

Example: “No more mugs now.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “No more mugs now. Go to

Original English Version

1. “No more mugs now. Go to

mule /mjuːl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mula

Simple English: An animal used to carry heavy loads, half horse and half donkey.

Example: “Do not behave like a stubborn little mule,” said Good Mrs Brown, shaking her awake.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Do not behave like a stubborn little mule,” said Good Mrs Brown, shaking her awake. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Now don’t be a young mule,” said Good Mrs Brown, reviving her with a shake. Go to

multiply /ˈmʌltɪplaɪ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: multiplicar; multiplicam

Simple English: To increase greatly or calculate by multiplication.

Example: Bacteria can multiply quickly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. On these occasions, Mr Dombey seemed to multiply like Falstaff’s attackers: instead of being one man in buckram, he became twelve. Go to

mumbled /ˈmʌmbəld/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: balbuciou; disse entre dentes

Simple English: Spoke quietly and not clearly.

Example: She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes, and a mouth that mumbled and chattered of itself when she was not speaking.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes, and a mouth that mumbled and chattered of itself when she was not speaking. Go to

mumbling /ˈmʌmbəlɪŋ/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mastigando; balbuciando

Simple English: Speaking or chewing quietly and not clearly.

Example: Having accomplished this victory over herself, Mrs Brown resumed her seat on the bones, and smoked a very short black pipe, mowing and mumbling all the time, as if she were eating the stem.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Having accomplished this victory over herself, Mrs Brown resumed her seat on the bones, and smoked a very short black pipe, mowing and mumbling all the time, as if she were eating the stem. Go to

murmured /ˈmɜːrmərd/ (44 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: murmuraram

Simple English: Said something in a soft, low voice.

Example: “There are so many,” murmured the family doctor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “There are so many,” murmured the family doctor. Go to

2. “And vigorous,” murmured the family doctor. Go to

3. “Oh!” murmured the family doctor. Go to

4. “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn. Go to

5. “And I say,” Mrs Chick murmured, “that I never thought it could.” Go to

6. “My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured as she embraced him, “I hope this is the beginning of many joyful days!” Go to

Original English Version

1. “So very numerous,” murmured the family practitioner - “can’t be expected I’m sure - quite wonderful if otherwise - Doctor Parker Peps’s West-End practice - ” Go to

2. “And vigorous,” murmured the family practitioner. Go to

3. “Oh!” murmured the family practitioner. Go to

4. “And I say,” murmured Mrs Chick, “that I never thought it was.” Go to

5. “My dear Paul,” Mrs Chick murmured, as she embraced him, “the beginning, I hope, of many joyful days!” Go to

6. “Bless him!” murmured Miss Tox, taking a sip of wine. Go to

murmuring /ˈmɜːrmərɪŋ/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: murmurando; sussurrando

Simple English: The sound of soft low voices.

Example: Richards accepted these compliments by making curtseys and murmuring thanks.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Richards accepted these compliments by making curtseys and murmuring thanks. Go to

Original English Version

1. Richards deferred to these compliments by curtseying and murmuring her thanks; but finding it quite impossible to recover her spirits from the disorder into which they had been thrown by the image of her son in his precocious nether garments, she gradually approached the door and was heartily relieved to escape by it. Go to

musty /ˈmʌsti/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bolorento; com cheiro de mofo

Simple English: Smelling old, damp and long shut away.

Example: Visitors usually noticed a musty smell everywhere in the house.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Visitors usually noticed a musty smell everywhere in the house. Go to

muttering /ˈmʌtərɪŋ/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: resmungando

Simple English: Speaking in a low voice that is hard to hear.

Example: The Major stood watching her with a face bluer than ever, muttering and growling comments that were not at all kind.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The Major stood watching her with a face bluer than ever, muttering and growling comments that were not at all kind. Go to

Original English Version

1. As Miss Tox, with her most fascinating step and carriage, disappeared from Princess’s Place, the Major stood looking after her with a bluer face than ever: muttering and growling some not at all complimentary remarks. Go to

mutton /ˈmʌtən/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: carne de carneiro

Simple English: The meat of a grown sheep.

Example: “Yes, yes, yes,” cried Solomon, cutting instantly into a leg of mutton, as if he were catering for a giant.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin’s health required warm food, so she had a special meal of mutton chops, brought in very hot between two plates and smelling delicious. Go to

2. "Wickam says you eat all the mutton chops and toast." Go to

Original English Version

1. “Yes, yes, yes,” cried Solomon, cutting instantly into a leg of mutton, as if he were catering for a giant. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin, whose constitution required warm nourishment, made a special repast of mutton-chops, which were brought in hot and hot, between two plates, and smelt very nice. Go to

3. “It’s not polite,” said Paul, innocently, “to eat all the mutton chops and toast”, Wickam says. Go to

mysteriously /mɪˈstɪriəsli/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: misteriosamente

Simple English: In a way that is strange and not explained.

Example: The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate. Go to

natured /ˈneɪtʃərd/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de índole; de temperamento

Simple English: Having a nature of a certain kind, as in good-natured.

Example: Even the sort of recognition of Dombey and Son, conveyed in the foregoing conversation, was so palatable to him, that his sister, Mrs Chick - though he affected to consider her a weak good-natured person - had perhaps more influence over him than anybody else.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The little Spitfire was generally good-natured, although she followed a school of child training which believed that childhood, like money, must be shaken, rattled, and pushed around a great deal to keep it bright. Go to

2. Her middle-aged niece was her good-natured and devoted slave, though she had a thin, hard appearance and suffered badly from boils on her nose. Go to

Original English Version

1. Even the sort of recognition of Dombey and Son, conveyed in the foregoing conversation, was so palatable to him, that his sister, Mrs Chick - though he affected to consider her a weak good-natured person - had perhaps more influence over him than anybody else. Go to

2. Spitfire seemed to be in the main a good-natured little body, although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood, like money, must be shaken and rattled and jostled about a good deal to keep it bright. Go to

3. Mrs Pipchin’s middle-aged niece, her good-natured and devoted slave, but possessing a gaunt and iron-bound aspect, and much afflicted with boils on her nose, was divesting Master Bitherstone of the clean collar he had worn on parade. Go to

nautical /ˈnɔːtɪkəl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: náutico; marítimo

Simple English: Having to do with ships and the sea.

Example: Outside the doors of nautical instrument shops, these figures were forever taking observations of the hired carriages.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Outside the doors of nautical instrument shops, these figures were forever taking observations of the hired carriages. Go to

Original English Version

1. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages. Go to

nearer /ˈnɪrər/ (51 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais perto; mais próximo

Simple English: Closer in distance.

Example: “Come nearer here, my dear Miss!

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Come nearer here, my dear Miss! Go to

2. “I am not afraid of you,” said the child, drawing nearer. Go to

3. She had been rung down into the glass room as usual, and had walked about and about it a long time, with the baby in her arms, when, to her great surprise and dismay, Mr Dombey - whom she had seen at first leaning on his elbow at the table, and afterwards walking up and down the middle room, drawing, each time, a little nearer, she thought, to the open folding doors - came out, suddenly, and stopped before her. Go to

4. The stiff and stark fire-irons appeared to claim a nearer relationship than anything else there to Mr Dombey, with his buttoned coat, his white cravat, his heavy gold watch-chain, and his creaking boots. Go to

5. But as this was not feasible, he merely wondered, in his haughty manner, now and then, what Nature meant by it; and comforted himself with the reflection that there was another milestone passed upon the road, and that the great end of the journey lay so much the nearer. Go to

neatly /ˈniːtli/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com capricho; cuidadosamente

Simple English: In a careful, tidy way.

Example: Mr Dombey belonged to the clean-shaven, neatly cut class of rich gentlemen who look smooth and fresh like new banknotes, and who seem to be held stiff and tight by showers of gold.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey belonged to the clean-shaven, neatly cut class of rich gentlemen who look smooth and fresh like new banknotes, and who seem to be held stiff and tight by showers of gold. Go to

neckcloth /ˈnɛkklɔːθ/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lenço de pescoço; gravata antiga

Simple English: A cloth worn around the neck, an early form of necktie.

Example: The child looked sharply at the blue coat and stiff white neckcloth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The child looked sharply at the blue coat and stiff white neckcloth. Go to

2. He wore a buttoned coat, a white neckcloth, a heavy gold watch chain, and creaking boots. Go to

3. “Perhaps, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, turning his head slightly inside his neckcloth as if it were fixed in a socket, “you would have preferred a fire?” Go to

4. “Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, adjusting his neckcloth and seeming offended by the idea. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, settling his neckcloth, and seeming to resent the idea. Go to

necks /nɛks/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pescoços

Simple English: The parts of the body that join the head to the shoulders.

Example: Pickles appeared in large wholesale jars labeled “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions.” Strong drinks were served in square bottles without necks.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Pickles appeared in large wholesale jars labeled “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions.” Strong drinks were served in square bottles without necks. Go to

neighborhood's /ˈneɪbərhʊdz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: do bairro

Simple English: belonging to a local district or community

Example: Heaps of ashes blocked public paths and completely changed the neighborhood’s laws and habits.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Heaps of ashes blocked public paths and completely changed the neighborhood’s laws and habits. Go to

nephew's /ˈnefjuːz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do sobrinho

Simple English: belonging to the son of a sibling

Example: His hand also shook as he touched his glass to his nephew's.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His hand also shook as he touched his glass to his nephew's. Go to

Original English Version

1. His hand shook too, as he clinked his glass against his nephew’s. Go to

newcomers /ˈnuːkʌmərz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: recém-chegados; novatos

Simple English: People who have recently arrived in a place or group.

Example: Mrs Pipchin stood with her back to the fire, inspecting the newcomers like an old soldier.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin stood with her back to the fire, inspecting the newcomers like an old soldier. Go to

nightly /ˈnaɪtli/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: todas as noites

Simple English: happening every night

Example: At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At twilight, butlers whose families were dining out began standing at the doors, and the lamplighter made his nightly failure to brighten the street with gas. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. Go to

nipper /ˈnɪpər/ (322 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Nipper

Simple English: the surname of Susan Nipper, Florence's devoted maid

Example: And here you are, Miss Floy, before you have been home for fifteen minutes, rubbing your wet face against the expensive mourning clothes Mrs Richards is wearing for your mother!” With this complaint, the young fiery girl, whose real name was Susan Nipper, pulled the child away from her new friend as sharply as if she were pulling a tooth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. And here you are, Miss Floy, before you have been home for fifteen minutes, rubbing your wet face against the expensive mourning clothes Mrs Richards is wearing for your mother!” With this complaint, the young fiery girl, whose real name was Susan Nipper, pulled the child away from her new friend as sharply as if she were pulling a tooth. Go to

2. “Goodness, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, sharply interrupting her. Go to

3. “No,” Susan Nipper interrupted. Go to

4. “Pretty dear!” said Richards, meaning little Florence, not Miss Nipper. Go to

5. I can tell you there is a fierce person within a hundred miles of where we are talking, Mrs Richards - always excepting present company,” said Susan Nipper. Go to

6. Despite this command, and despite Susan Nipper pulling hard enough to almost separate the girl’s right shoulder, little Florence broke free and kissed her new friend warmly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. Go to

2. “Lork, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, taking up her words with a jerk. Go to

3. “No,” interrupted Susan Nipper. Go to

4. “Pretty dear!” said Richards; meaning, not Miss Nipper, but the little Florence. Go to

5. “Oh! there’s a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we’re now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,” said Susan Nipper; “wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don’t go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don’t!” Go to

6. In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately. Go to

nipper's /ˈnɪpərz/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Nipper

Simple English: belonging to Miss Nipper

Example: At that time, Polly only thought about building on her success in winning Miss Nipper’s favor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At that time, Polly only thought about building on her success in winning Miss Nipper’s favor. Go to

2. At last she reasoned that there could be no great harm in stopping at the door for one moment, and she accepted Nipper’s plan. Go to

nobility /noʊˈbɪləti/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: nobreza; fidalguia; grandeza de caráter

Simple English: The people of the highest social class; also greatness of character.

Example: I believe even young members of the nobility are familiar with her establishment.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I believe even young members of the nobility are familiar with her establishment.” Go to

Original English Version

1. I believe juvenile nobility itself is no stranger to her establishment.” Go to

nobler /ˈnoʊblər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais nobre; mais elevado

Simple English: More honourable, generous or high in rank than another.

Example: But she was a good, simple example of a nature that, as a whole, is better, truer, higher, and nobler than men’s nature - quicker to feel tenderness, pity, self-denial, and devotion, and far more faithful in keeping them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But she was a good, simple example of a nature that, as a whole, is better, truer, higher, and nobler than men’s nature - quicker to feel tenderness, pity, self-denial, and devotion, and far more faithful in keeping them. Go to

Original English Version

1. But she was a good plain sample of a nature that is ever, in the mass, better, truer, higher, nobler, quicker to feel, and much more constant to retain, all tenderness and pity, self-denial and devotion, than the nature of men. Go to

nodded /ˈnɑːdɪd/ (68 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acenou com a cabeça

Simple English: Moved the head up and down to say yes or to greet someone.

Example: His uncle nodded with great satisfaction.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His uncle nodded with great satisfaction. Go to

2. Uncle Sol nodded to show that he knew exactly what he was doing. Go to

3. Mrs Pipchin nodded yes. Go to

Original English Version

1. The uncle nodded his head with great satisfaction. Go to

2. Uncle Sol nodded his head, implying that he knew very well what he was about; and having drawn the cork in solemn silence, filled two glasses and set the bottle and a third clean glass on the table. Go to

3. Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences. Go to

nodding /ˈnɑːdɪŋ/ (36 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acenando com a cabeça

Simple English: Moving the head down and up to show yes.

Example: “And you are very glad to leave your dear, good wife in such a comfortable home, aren't you, sir?” said Miss Tox, secretly nodding and winking at him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And you are very glad to leave your dear, good wife in such a comfortable home, aren't you, sir?” said Miss Tox, secretly nodding and winking at him. Go to

2. “She will be quite happy now that she is home again,” said Polly, nodding at Florence with an encouraging smile on her healthy face. Go to

Original English Version

1. “And you’re very glad to leave your dear good wife in such a comfortable home, ain’t you, Sir?” said Miss Tox, nodding and winking at him stealthily. Go to

2. “She’ll be quite happy, now she has come home again,” said Polly, nodding to her with an encouraging smile upon her wholesome face, “and will be so pleased to see her dear Papa tonight.” Go to

3. And whenever Mrs Pipchin caught herself falling forward into the fire, and woke up, she filliped Master Bitherstone on the nose for nodding too. Go to

noisily /ˈnɔɪzɪli/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: ruidosamente; com estardalhaço

Simple English: In a way that makes a lot of noise.

Example: "Confound it, Uncle!" Walter said, setting down his cup noisily and striking the table.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Confound it, Uncle!" Walter said, setting down his cup noisily and striking the table. Go to

nostril /ˈnɒstrəl/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: narina

Simple English: One of the two openings of the nose.

Example: For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared. Go to

Original English Version

1. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen. Go to

nurse's /ˈnɜːrsɪz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da enfermeira; da babá

Simple English: Belonging to a nurse or nanny.

Example: She put down the bonnet she had held until then and sat on a stool at the nurse's feet, looking up into her face.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She put down the bonnet she had held until then and sat on a stool at the nurse's feet, looking up into her face. Go to

2. She sobbed and cried against the nurse's chest, became fond of the baby lying in her lap, and - there, there, there!” Polly said, smoothing the child's curls and dropping tears onto them. Go to

Original English Version

1. With a quick perception that it was intended to relate to what she had asked, little Florence laid aside the bonnet she had held in her hand until now, and sat down on a stool at the Nurse’s feet, looking up into her face. Go to

nursed /nɜːrst/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cuidei de; tratei

Simple English: Cared for someone sick, young, or weak.

Example: The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess’s Place to fetch this baby and its nurse, and walked back with them, and walked home with them again, and continually mounted guard over them; and the perseverance with which she nursed it herself, and fed it, and played with it, and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord, was extraordinary.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Of course you think his mother has nursed him too?" Berry asked, gently doing as requested. Go to

Original English Version

1. The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess’s Place to fetch this baby and its nurse, and walked back with them, and walked home with them again, and continually mounted guard over them; and the perseverance with which she nursed it herself, and fed it, and played with it, and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord, was extraordinary. Go to

2. “Of course you think,” said Berry, gently doing what she was asked, “that he has been nursed by his mother, too?” Go to

obedient /oʊˈbiːdiənt/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: obediente; submisso

Simple English: Doing what you are told to do by someone in authority.

Example: Obedient to the indication of Mr Clark’s hand, the boy approached towards Florence, wondering, as well he might, what he had to do with her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In fact, I have never seen a more obedient woman. Go to

Original English Version

1. Obedient to the indication of Mr Clark’s hand, the boy approached towards Florence, wondering, as well he might, what he had to do with her. Go to

obeyed /oʊˈbeɪd/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: obedecido; cumprido

Simple English: Done as someone has ordered.

Example: The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning. Go to

2. Florence obeyed, holding out her folded hands in silent appeal. Go to

3. Florence obeyed as quickly as her trembling hands allowed, keeping a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. Go to

4. Since this change seemed to promise her release, the child obeyed even more eagerly. Go to

Original English Version

1. Florence obeyed her, holding out her folded hands, in mute supplication. Go to

2. Florence obeyed, as fast as her trembling hands would allow; keeping, all the while, a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. Go to

obeying /oʊˈbeɪɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: obedecendo a

Simple English: Doing what a rule or a person says.

Example: But wherever, whenever, and however you were born - which you know best - please remember that giving orders is one thing and obeying them is quite another.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But wherever, whenever, and however you were born - which you know best - please remember that giving orders is one thing and obeying them is quite another. Go to

observation (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: observação; comentário; percepção

Simple English: the act of watching or noticing something

Example: His conclusion was based on careful observation.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Outside the doors of nautical instrument shops, these figures were forever taking observations of the hired carriages. Go to

obtain /əbˈteɪn/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: obter; obtenção; obtêm

Simple English: To get something, often requiring effort or difficulty.

Example: You need to obtain a visa before traveling to that country.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For example, it had obtained Mr Pilkins’s services for Paul’s Mama, and Paul himself had often benefited from them, as well as the services of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom Paul had never met. Go to

2. Left alone with the two children again, she noticed the wind blowing sadly and enjoyed melancholy - the cheapest and easiest luxury to obtain - until sleep overcame her. Go to

3. A small carriage was obtained so he could lie comfortably with an alphabet book and other elementary reading and be wheeled to the seaside. Go to

occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ocasionalmente; às vezes

Simple English: Happening from time to time; not regular.

Example: I occasionally go to the cinema on weekends with friends.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning for a long time afterward in the worst bedroom, while Mrs Pipchin occasionally went in to shake her. Go to

ocean's /ˈəʊʃənz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: do oceano

Simple English: Belonging to the ocean.

Example: With this remarkable attendant pulling him, Florence always walking beside him, and the gloomy Wickam following behind, Paul went to the ocean's edge every day.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. With this remarkable attendant pulling him, Florence always walking beside him, and the gloomy Wickam following behind, Paul went to the ocean's edge every day. Go to

offending /əˈfendɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ofensivo; que causa ofensa

Simple English: Causing anger or hurt feelings.

Example: Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection. Go to

ogress /ˈəʊɡrɪs/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ogra

Simple English: A female ogre in a story.

Example: The castle of this ogress and child-tamer stood on a steep side street in Brighton.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The castle of this ogress and child-tamer stood on a steep side street in Brighton. Go to

2. Miss Pankey, a gentle little piece of a child with blue eyes, who was vigorously rubbed every morning and seemed in danger of being rubbed away completely, was brought from confinement by the ogress herself. Go to

3. He would sit there, looking at her and warming his hands, then looking at her again, until he sometimes confused even the ogress Mrs Pipchin. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Go to

2. At one o’clock there was a dinner, chiefly of the farinaceous and vegetable kind, when Miss Pankey (a mild little blue-eyed morsel of a child, who was shampoo’d every morning, and seemed in danger of being rubbed away, altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself, and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. Go to

3. There he would sit, looking at her, and warming his hands, and looking at her, until he sometimes quite confounded Mrs Pipchin, Ogress as she was. Go to

oilskin /ˈɔɪlskɪn/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: oleado; encerado

Simple English: Cloth treated with oil to keep out water.

Example: He was certainly not the newspaper boy in an oilskin cap who slowly moved along the brass sign outside, writing his own name over Mr Gills’s name with his finger.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He was certainly not the newspaper boy in an oilskin cap who slowly moved along the brass sign outside, writing his own name over Mr Gills’s name with his finger. Go to

2. Instead, he chose the boy's grandfather: a thin, crab-faced old man in a worn oilskin suit, made tough and stringy by years in salt water, who smelled like a weedy beach at low tide. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger. Go to

2. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. Go to

origin (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: origem; fonte; raiz

Simple English: the place or cause where something begins

Example: The origin of the word is Latin.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor. Go to

2. It might have been better for Mr Dombey if he had thought a little less about his own importance and a little more about the great origin and purpose of the ceremony in which he took such a formal, stiff part. Go to

ornament /ˈɔːrnəmənt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ornamento; enfeite

Simple English: An object kept only because it looks nice.

Example: The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Go to

ornaments /ˈɔːrnəmənts/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ornamentos; enfeites; adornos

Simple English: Objects or details added to make something look more attractive.

Example: The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Go to

ous /əs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: -oso

Simple English: a suffix that usually forms an adjective meaning full of a quality

Example: At night I dream about such cu-ri-ous things!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At night I dream about such cu-ri-ous things!” Go to

Original English Version

1. At night I dream about such cu-ri-ous things!” Go to

overboard /ˈoʊvərbɔːrd/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ao mar

Simple English: over the side of a ship into the water

Example: “But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, “seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, “seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.” Go to

overcame /ˌɑʊvərkæmɛ/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fazer come em excesso

Simple English: to do, have, or cause come more than is suitable or necessary

Example: Left alone with the two children again, she noticed the wind blowing sadly and enjoyed melancholy - the cheapest and easiest luxury to obtain - until sleep overcame her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Left alone with the two children again, she noticed the wind blowing sadly and enjoyed melancholy - the cheapest and easiest luxury to obtain - until sleep overcame her. Go to

overflowing /ˌɑʊvərflæʊɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fazer flow em excesso

Simple English: to do, have, or cause flow more than is suitable or necessary

Example: Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved. Go to

overloaded /ˌoʊvərˈloʊdɪd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: sobrecarregado

Simple English: carrying more weight or work than can be managed

Example: Just as the last straw breaks the overloaded camel's back, this news crushed Mr Dombey's already sinking spirits.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just as the last straw breaks the overloaded camel's back, this news crushed Mr Dombey's already sinking spirits. Go to

overturned /ˌoʊvərˈtɜːrnd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: virou; tombou

Simple English: Turned over so that the top was at the bottom.

Example: In one place, a confused mass of overturned carts lay at the bottom of a steep, unnatural hill.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In one place, a confused mass of overturned carts lay at the bottom of a steep, unnatural hill. Go to

overworked /ˌoʊvərˈwɜːrkt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sobrecarregado de trabalho

Simple English: made to work too hard or for too long

Example: An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series. Go to

pace /peɪs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ritmo; passo; palma

Simple English: The speed at which someone moves or runs.

Example: She maintained a steady pace during the long marathon run.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then Mr Dombey locked the door and paced up and down the room in lonely misery. Go to

2. Despite all his stiff, unreadable dignity and calm, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced the room. Go to

painfully /ˈpeɪnfəli/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: penosamente; com esforço

Simple English: In a way that causes pain, or with great difficulty.

Example: Perhaps in dreams she searched for natural comfort for a heart deeply and painfully wounded, although it belonged to such a young child.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps in dreams she searched for natural comfort for a heart deeply and painfully wounded, although it belonged to such a young child. Go to

palanquins /ˌpælənˈkiːnz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: palanquins

Simple English: covered seats carried on poles by people

Example: Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Go to

pamphlets /ˈpæmflɪts/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: panfletos

Simple English: small unbound booklets about a particular subject

Example: From time to time, they exchanged newspapers, pamphlets, and mild signs of romantic interest through the Major's dark-skinned servant.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. From time to time, they exchanged newspapers, pamphlets, and mild signs of romantic interest through the Major's dark-skinned servant. Go to

Original English Version

1. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Go to

paneled /ˈpænəld/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: revestido de painéis

Simple English: covered or lined with flat decorative wooden sections

Example: A skylight lit the small, wooden-paneled back room like a ship’s cabin.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A skylight lit the small, wooden-paneled back room like a ship’s cabin. Go to

pankey /ˈpæŋki/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Pankey

Simple English: the surname of Miss Pankey, a boarder at Mrs Pipchin's

Example: Miss Pankey, the only other young boarder at that time, had just been sent to the Castle Dungeon - an empty room at the back used for punishment - because she had sniffed three times in front of visitors.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Pankey, the only other young boarder at that time, had just been sent to the Castle Dungeon - an empty room at the back used for punishment - because she had sniffed three times in front of visitors. Go to

2. Miss Pankey, a gentle little piece of a child with blue eyes, who was vigorously rubbed every morning and seemed in danger of being rubbed away completely, was brought from confinement by the ogress herself. Go to

3. After this great truth had been firmly taught, Miss Pankey was rewarded with rice. Go to

4. Little Miss Pankey was afraid to sleep alone in the dark, so Mrs Pipchin always made a point of driving her upstairs herself like a sheep. Go to

5. It was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning for a long time afterward in the worst bedroom, while Mrs Pipchin occasionally went in to shake her. Go to

6. After that, Miss Pankey was carried away to be rubbed, and Master Bitherstone was taken to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and sad. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Pankey, the only other little boarder at present, had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back, devoted to correctional purposes), for having sniffed thrice, in the presence of visitors. Go to

2. At one o’clock there was a dinner, chiefly of the farinaceous and vegetable kind, when Miss Pankey (a mild little blue-eyed morsel of a child, who was shampoo’d every morning, and seemed in danger of being rubbed away, altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself, and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. Go to

3. As little Miss Pankey was afraid of sleeping alone in the dark, Mrs Pipchin always made a point of driving her upstairs herself, like a sheep; and it was cheerful to hear Miss Pankey moaning long afterwards, in the least eligible chamber, and Mrs Pipchin now and then going in to shake her. Go to

4. That done, Miss Pankey was borne away to be shampoo’d; and Master Bitherstone to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and dejected. Go to

5. Miss Pankey was generally brought back from an aunt’s at Rottingdean, in deep distress; and Master Bitherstone, whose relatives were all in India, and who was required to sit, between the services, in an erect position with his head against the parlour wall, neither moving hand nor foot, suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence, on a Sunday night, if she could give him any idea of the way back to Bengal. Go to

panted /ˈpæntɪd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ofegou; arquejou

Simple English: Breathed quickly and loudly after hard effort.

Example: I don’t know what I have done,” panted Florence.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. I don’t know what I have done,” panted Florence. Go to

panting /ˈpæntɪŋ/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ofegante; arquejante

Simple English: Breathing quickly with short noisy breaths.

Example: The boy with his open face, and flowing hair, and sparkling eyes, panting with pleasure and excitement, was wonderfully opposed to Mr Dombey, as he sat confronting him in his library chair.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The boy with his open face, and flowing hair, and sparkling eyes, panting with pleasure and excitement, was wonderfully opposed to Mr Dombey, as he sat confronting him in his library chair. Go to

pantry /ˈpæntri/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: despensa; copa

Simple English: A small room or cupboard where food is kept.

Example: The veal had come from such a cold, open pantry that its first taste sent a feeling like cold lead into Mr Chick’s arms and legs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The veal had come from such a cold, open pantry that its first taste sent a feeling like cold lead into Mr Chick’s arms and legs. Go to

Original English Version

1. The wine was so bitter cold that it forced a little scream from Miss Tox, which she had great difficulty in turning into a “Hem!” The veal had come from such an airy pantry, that the first taste of it had struck a sensation as of cold lead to Mr Chick’s extremities. Go to

papa's /pəˈpɑːz/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do papai

Simple English: belonging to a father called papa

Example: She will never twist and wind herself around her Papa's heart like - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She will never twist and wind herself around her Papa's heart like - ” Go to

2. She will never slide gently into the centre of her Papa's affections like the - ” Go to

Original English Version

1. She’ll never wind and twine herself about her Papa’s heart like - ” Go to

2. She’ll never glide and nestle into the bosom of her Papa’s affections like - the - ” Go to

parchment /ˈpɑːrtʃmənt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pergaminho

Simple English: A thick material made from animal skin, used for writing.

Example: An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series. Go to

Original English Version

1. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Go to

parlor /ˈpɑːrlər/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sala de visitas

Simple English: A room in a house used for receiving guests.

Example: Then she pointed it downward several times toward the floor, directly below which was the parlor where Mrs Pipchin regularly ate her toast.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then she pointed it downward several times toward the floor, directly below which was the parlor where Mrs Pipchin regularly ate her toast. Go to

2. It moved him so much that on birthdays and a few other festive weekdays he sang the whole song loudly in the back parlor, stretching the word 'Pe-e-eg' at the end of every verse to honor its heroine. Go to

3. He kept in his room the shoes that had so often fallen off her feet, and in the back parlor he drew many imaginary portraits of Good Mrs Brown. Go to

4. He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira. Go to

5. "Wally, my dear boy," Solomon said, "if that cozy little old lady had taken her place in this parlor forty-five years ago, I could never have loved her more than I love you." Go to

parlour /ˈpɑːrlər/ (111 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sala de visitas (grafia britânica)

Simple English: A room for receiving visitors, in British spelling.

Example: Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then she temporarily turned the parlour into a private dressing room and carefully dressed Florence in proper clothes. Go to

2. A small portrait of him with powdered hair and a pigtail hung on one side of the parlour fireplace, balancing a kettle holder on the other. Go to

3. In the front parlour window, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept potted plants that added their own earthy smell. Go to

4. Master Bitherstone’s relatives were all in India, and between church services he was required to sit perfectly straight with his head against the parlour wall, moving neither hand nor foot. Go to

Original English Version

1. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Go to

2. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns. Go to

3. “I believe,” said Mr Gills, blowing the dust off the glass top of a compass-case, “that you don’t point more direct and due to the back parlour than the boy’s inclination does after all. Go to

4. And the parlour couldn’t bear straighter either. Go to

5. At this word of command, the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour, as at the head of a boarding party of five hundred men; and Uncle Sol and his nephew were speedily engaged on a fried sole with a prospect of steak to follow. Go to

6. He seemed quite amazed himself at the manner in which it opened up to view the sources of the taciturn delight he had had in eating Sunday dinners in that parlour for ten years. Go to

parting /ˈpɑːrtɪŋ/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: despedida; separação

Simple English: The act of leaving someone, often for a long time.

Example: Pointing out this gateway, and informing Florence that when the clocks struck three she was to go to the left, Mrs Brown, after making a parting grasp at her hair which seemed involuntary and quite beyond her own control, told her she knew what to do, and bade her go and do it: remembering that she was watched.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Pointing out this gateway, and informing Florence that when the clocks struck three she was to go to the left, Mrs Brown, after making a parting grasp at her hair which seemed involuntary and quite beyond her own control, told her she knew what to do, and bade her go and do it: remembering that she was watched. Go to

2. When she reached it, she looked back and saw the head of Good Mrs Brown peeping out of the low wooden passage, where she had issued her parting injunctions; likewise the fist of Good Mrs Brown shaking towards her. Go to

passionately /ˈpæʃənətli/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apaixonadamente

Simple English: with very strong feeling

Example: She passionately wanted to run to him, hold him, hide her face in his arms, and cry, “Oh, Father, try to love me!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She passionately wanted to run to him, hold him, hide her face in his arms, and cry, “Oh, Father, try to love me! Go to

patted /ˈpætɪd/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: deu tapinhas; ajeitou com as mãos

Simple English: Touched something gently and repeatedly with the flat hand.

Example: “It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He patted Florence's head, urged her to eat and drink, and rubbed the bottoms of her feet with his handkerchief after warming it at the fire. Go to

2. Mr Dombey moved his chair back to its old place and patted Paul’s head. Go to

3. In her emotion, Miss Berry might have patted Paul too hard or stopped the steady soothing motion. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed. Go to

2. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all. Go to

3. Mr Dombey drew his chair back to its former place, and patted him on the head. Go to

patting /ˈpætɪŋ/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: afagando; dando tapinhas

Simple English: Touching gently and repeatedly with the flat hand.

Example: Be a good girl,” he said, patting her head.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Be a good girl,” he said, patting her head. Go to

Original English Version

1. Be a good girl,” he said, patting her on the head, and regarding her as it were by stealth with a disturbed and doubtful look. Go to

2. Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence. Go to

paused /pɔːzd/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fizeram uma pausa; detiveram-se

Simple English: Stopped for a short time before going on.

Example: The confusion paused only when she was completely out of breath, her hair hung around her red face, and her new christening clothes were badly untidy.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The confusion paused only when she was completely out of breath, her hair hung around her red face, and her new christening clothes were badly untidy. Go to

2. Mrs Chick paused in her complaints about the corruption of human nature, even when a charity school offered a path to goodness, and welcomed Florence with less warmth than a perfect Dombey deserved. Go to

pauses /ˈpɔːzɪz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pausas; intervalos

Simple English: Short stops in speaking or in doing something.

Example: “Not at all, I do not want that, we do not need to deal with each other in that way, since Miss Floy is permanent and Master Paul is temporary.” The fiery girl used only brief comma-like pauses.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Not at all, I do not want that, we do not need to deal with each other in that way, since Miss Floy is permanent and Master Paul is temporary.” The fiery girl used only brief comma-like pauses. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Not at all, I don’t wish it, we needn’t stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.” Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible. Go to

pausing /ˈpɔːzɪŋ/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: parando

Simple English: stopping briefly before continuing

Example: I do not need to ask you,” he added, pausing beside the sofa near the fire, “to take special care of this young gentleman, Mrs - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I do not need to ask you,” he added, pausing beside the sofa near the fire, “to take special care of this young gentleman, Mrs - ” Go to

Original English Version

1. I needn’t beg you,” he added, pausing for a moment at the settee before the fire, “to take particular care of this young gentleman, Mrs - - ” Go to

paving /ˈpeɪvɪŋ/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pavimentação

Simple English: The hard surface laid down on a road or a square.

Example: This quiet place, where grass grew between the paving stones, was called Princess's Place.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. This quiet place, where grass grew between the paving stones, was called Princess's Place. Go to

peckham /ˈpɛkəm/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Peckham (bairro de Londres)

Simple English: A real district of south London.

Example: “Since you came home from your weekly boarding school in Peckham - and that was ten days ago,” said Solomon, “I remember only one person entering the shop.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Since you came home from your weekly boarding school in Peckham - and that was ten days ago,” said Solomon, “I remember only one person entering the shop.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Since you came home from weekly boarding-school at Peckham, for instance - and that’s ten days,” said Solomon, “I don’t remember more than one person that has come into the shop.” Go to

peeped /piːpt/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: espiou

Simple English: looked quickly or secretly

Example: Mrs Chick then walked majestically to the window and peeped through the blind, attracted by the sound of wheels.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Mrs Chick then walked majestically to the window and peeped through the blind, attracted by the sound of wheels. Go to

2. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Go to

3. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Go to

peeping /ˈpiːpɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: espreitando; espiando; assomando

Simple English: Looking quickly and secretly, or just beginning to appear.

Example: Looking back, she saw Good Mrs Brown's head peeping from the low wooden passage where the woman had given her final orders.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Looking back, she saw Good Mrs Brown's head peeping from the low wooden passage where the woman had given her final orders. Go to

Original English Version

1. When she reached it, she looked back and saw the head of Good Mrs Brown peeping out of the low wooden passage, where she had issued her parting injunctions; likewise the fist of Good Mrs Brown shaking towards her. Go to

peg /pɛɡ/ (27 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cabide; pino de madeira

Simple English: A short piece of wood or metal used to hang things on.

Example: He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It told of the courtship and marriage of a promising young coal worker and 'lovely Peg,' the talented daughter of a Newcastle ship's master and part owner. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was evidently the person for whom the spare wine-glass was intended, and evidently knew it; for having taken off his rough outer coat, and hung up, on a particular peg behind the door, such a hard glazed hat as a sympathetic person’s head might ache at the sight of, and which left a red rim round his own forehead as if he had been wearing a tight basin, he brought a chair to where the clean glass was, and sat himself down behind it. Go to

2. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Go to

peps /pɛps/ (27 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Peps

Simple English: the surname of Doctor Parker Peps

Example: I had better ask Doctor Peps to come upstairs again, perhaps.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I had better ask Doctor Peps to come upstairs again, perhaps. Go to

2. Doctor Parker Peps was one of the royal doctors and was famous for helping important families have more children. Go to

3. For six weeks, that surgeon had told every patient, friend, and acquaintance about this case, saying that he expected to be called at any hour, day or night, to work beside Doctor Parker Peps. Go to

4. “Well, sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a full, deep voice, softened for the occasion like the door knocker, “did your visit wake your dear wife at all?” Go to

5. He said he would be grateful if Doctor Parker Peps would go upstairs again. Go to

6. We must not hide from you, sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that Her Grace the Duchess lacks strength - I beg your pardon; I have confused the names. Go to

Original English Version

1. I - had better ask Doctor Peps if he’ll have the goodness to step upstairs again perhaps. Go to

2. Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep. Go to

3. “Well, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a round, deep, sonorous voice, muffled for the occasion, like the knocker; “do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?” Go to

4. He said that it would be a satisfaction to him, if Doctor Parker Peps would walk upstairs again. Go to

5. We must not disguise from you, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that there is a want of power in Her Grace the Duchess - I beg your pardon; I confound names; I should say, in your amiable lady. Go to

6. “Quite so,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “which we would rather not see. Go to

peps's /ˈpepsɪz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Peps

Simple English: Belonging to or associated with Doctor Parker Peps.

Example: It would be amazing if you did not confuse them, with Doctor Parker Peps's great West End practice.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It would be amazing if you did not confuse them, with Doctor Parker Peps's great West End practice.” Go to

2. The only answer was the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch. Go to

3. Mr Dombey’s watch and Dr Parker Peps’s watch seemed to race even faster. Go to

Original English Version

1. “So very numerous,” murmured the family practitioner - “can’t be expected I’m sure - quite wonderful if otherwise - Doctor Parker Peps’s West-End practice - ” Go to

2. There was no sound in answer but the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch, which seemed in the silence to be running a race. Go to

3. Mr Dombey’s watch and Dr Parker Peps’s watch seemed to be racing faster. Go to

permanent /ˈpɜːrmənənt/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: permanente; definitiva

Simple English: Continuing or lasting for a very long time without change.

Example: She found a permanent job after months of searching and interviewing at companies.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She had listened admiringly to others for so long, looking as if she were printing their images forever on her soul, that her head now permanently leaned to one side. Go to

2. “Not at all, I do not want that, we do not need to deal with each other in that way, since Miss Floy is permanent and Master Paul is temporary.” The fiery girl used only brief comma-like pauses. Go to

3. “So I am certainly willing,” said Susan Nipper, “to be friendly with you, Mrs Richards, while Master Paul remains a permanent member of the house, if we can plan a way without openly disobeying orders. Go to

4. Since I am only permanent, no one could expect me to show it like a temporary person,” said Susan Nipper. Go to

5. “Temporary people always give orders to permanent people here. Go to

peruvian /pəˈruːviən/ (30 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: peruano; peruana

Simple English: Relating to Peru or its people; as a noun, a person from Peru.

Example: “While pumping water out of the Peruvian mines,” Miss Tox replied.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “While pumping water out of the Peruvian mines,” Miss Tox replied. Go to

2. The fact that Mrs Pipchin’s husband had broken his heart over the Peruvian mines sounded impressive and respectable. Go to

3. Mr Dombey thought again about the husband breaking his heart over the Peruvian mines. Go to

4. At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles. Go to

5. She was such a bitter old lady that one might believe the Peruvian machinery had been used incorrectly and had pumped every drop of joy and human kindness out of her instead of pumping out the mines. Go to

6. People also said it was highly admirable that Mrs Pipchin had devoted herself to this life, sacrificed her feelings, and firmly resisted her troubles after Mr Pipchin broke his heart over the Peruvian mines. Go to

Original English Version

1. “In pumping water out of the Peruvian Mines,” replied Miss Tox. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin’s husband having broken his heart of the Peruvian mines was good. Go to

3. Broke his heart of the Peruvian mines, mused Mr Dombey. Go to

4. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. Go to

5. She was such a bitter old lady, that one was tempted to believe there had been some mistake in the application of the Peruvian machinery, and that all her waters of gladness and milk of human kindness, had been pumped out dry, instead of the mines. Go to

6. It was generally said, too, that it was highly creditable of Mrs Pipchin to have devoted herself to this way of life, and to have made such a sacrifice of her feelings, and such a resolute stand against her troubles, when Mr Pipchin broke his heart in the Peruvian mines. Go to

petted /ˈpɛtɪd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acariciou

Simple English: touched an animal or person gently and affectionately

Example: “It is very easy for some people to remain calm and speak gently, Mrs Richards,” Susan replied, a little less angry, “when their child is treated like a prince and is loved and petted until it wishes its friends would go away.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “It is very easy for some people to remain calm and speak gently, Mrs Richards,” Susan replied, a little less angry, “when their child is treated like a prince and is loved and petted until it wishes its friends would go away. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed. Go to

petticoats /ˈpɛtɪkoʊts/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: anáguas

Simple English: skirt-like garments worn under dresses or skirts

Example: “I want that pretty dress, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, one or two petticoats, and anything else you can spare.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I want that pretty dress, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, one or two petticoats, and anything else you can spare. Go to

pew /pjuː/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: banco de igreja

Simple English: A long wooden bench in a church.

Example: After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. Go to

2. Here they waited some little time while the marriage party enrolled themselves; and meanwhile the wheezy little pew-opener - partly in consequence of her infirmity, and partly that the marriage party might not forget her - went about the building coughing like a grampus. Go to

3. This so distracted the attention of the two ladies, that Mrs Chick was constantly deploying into the centre aisle, to send out messages by the pew-opener, while Miss Tox kept her Prayer-book open at the Gunpowder Plot, and occasionally read responses from that service. Go to

4. The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship. Go to

pews /pjuːz/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bancos da igreja

Simple English: Long backed benches on which members of a church congregation sit.

Example: Empty pews stretched sadly beneath the galleries, while empty benches rose toward the roof and disappeared in the shadow of the great, grim organ.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Empty pews stretched sadly beneath the galleries, while empty benches rose toward the roof and disappeared in the shadow of the great, grim organ. Go to

Original English Version

1. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Go to

pewter /ˈpjuːtər/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estanho; peltre

Simple English: A grey metal made by mixing tin and lead.

Example: She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. On fine mornings, a pewter beer pot decorated the top of each of the forty-eight rails, as Miss Tox had often counted. Go to

Original English Version

1. She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness. Go to

2. A sedan chair was kept inside the railing before the Princess’s Arms, but it had never come out within the memory of man; and on fine mornings, the top of every rail (there were eight-and-forty, as Miss Tox had often counted) was decorated with a pewter-pot. Go to

pickles /ˈpɪklz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: picles

Simple English: Vegetables kept in salty water or vinegar.

Example: “And perhaps pickles,” Miss Tox suggested.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And perhaps pickles,” Miss Tox suggested. Go to

2. Pickles appeared in large wholesale jars labeled “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions.” Strong drinks were served in square bottles without necks. Go to

Original English Version

1. “And pickles, perhaps,” suggested Miss Tox. Go to

2. Pickles were produced upon it, in great wholesale jars, with “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions” on the label; spirits were set forth in case bottles with no throats. Go to

pigtail /ˈpɪɡteɪl/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: trança; rabicho

Simple English: Here, pigtail is used as a noun; in this context it means trança.

Example: A small portrait of him with powdered hair and a pigtail hung on one side of the parlour fireplace, balancing a kettle holder on the other.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A small portrait of him with powdered hair and a pigtail hung on one side of the parlour fireplace, balancing a kettle holder on the other. Go to

Original English Version

1. The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. Go to

piled /paɪld/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: amontoamos; empilhamos

Simple English: Put many things one on top of another.

Example: Tables and chairs were piled in the middle of rooms and covered with great white sheets, becoming mysterious shapes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Tables and chairs were piled in the middle of rooms and covered with great white sheets, becoming mysterious shapes. Go to

pilkins /ˈpɪlkɪnz/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Pilkins

Simple English: the surname of a man whose services were secured for Paul's mother

Example: Mr Pilkins here, as this family's medical adviser - and nobody could be better qualified for that position, I am sure - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Pilkins here, as this family's medical adviser - and nobody could be better qualified for that position, I am sure - ” Go to

2. “Because of his position, Mr Pilkins knows the patient's health in normal times, which is very useful when we form an opinion on such occasions. Go to

3. When the table was cleared, Mr Dombey opened the discussion by demanding to know, plainly and without hiding anything, whether something was wrong with Paul and what Mr Pilkins had said about him. Go to

4. “Mr Pilkins saw Paul this morning, I believe?” said Mr Dombey. Go to

5. Mr Pilkins has seen Paul for several days, and I believe him to be a very clever man. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Pilkins here, who from his position of medical adviser in this family - no one better qualified to fill that position, I am sure.” Go to

2. Mr Pilkins who, from his position, is best acquainted with the patient’s constitution in its normal state (an acquaintance very valuable to us in forming our opinions in these occasions), is of opinion, with me, that Nature must be called upon to make a vigorous effort in this instance; and that if our interesting friend the Countess of Dombey - I _beg_ your pardon; Mrs Dombey - should not be - ” Go to

3. How, for example, it had secured to his Mama the services of Mr Pilkins, by which he, Paul, had often profited himself; likewise of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom he had never known. Go to

4. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed, Mr Dombey opened the proceedings by requiring to be informed, without any gloss or reservation, whether there was anything the matter with Paul, and what Mr Pilkins said about him. Go to

5. “Mr Pilkins saw Paul this morning, I believe?” said Mr Dombey. Go to

6. Mr Pilkins has seen him for some days past, and a very clever man I believe him to be. Go to

pilkins's /ˈpɪlkɪnzɪz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: de Pilkins

Simple English: belonging to Mr Pilkins

Example: For example, it had obtained Mr Pilkins’s services for Paul’s Mama, and Paul himself had often benefited from them, as well as the services of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom Paul had never met.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For example, it had obtained Mr Pilkins’s services for Paul’s Mama, and Paul himself had often benefited from them, as well as the services of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom Paul had never met. Go to

pinched /pɪntʃt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: beliscou; apertou; encovado

Simple English: Squeezed between finger and thumb; also thin and drawn from hunger or cold.

Example: People had not only criticized and insulted his legs but had touched and pinched them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. People had not only criticized and insulted his legs but had touched and pinched them. Go to

Original English Version

1. His legs had not only undergone verbal criticisms and revilings, but had been handled and pinched. Go to

pincushion /ˈpɪnkʊʃn/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: alfineteira

Simple English: A small soft cushion used for holding pins.

Example: “It is only a pincushion for the dressing table, Paul,” his sister continued.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “It is only a pincushion for the dressing table, Paul,” his sister continued. Go to

2. Perhaps Miss Tox believed that, because Fate had chosen her to welcome little Dombey before his birth with a pincushion made from Kirby, Beard and Kirby's Best Mixed Pins, she must welcome him at every other early stage of life. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It is only a pincushion for the toilette table, Paul,” resumed his sister; “one of those trifles which are insignificant to your sex in general, as it’s very natural they should be - we have no business to expect they should be otherwise - but to which we attach some interest.” Go to

pipchin /ˈpɪptʃɪn/ (446 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Pipchin

Simple English: the surname of Mrs Pipchin, Paul's severe caretaker

Example: Like Miss Tox, I think that a short time away from this house, the air of Brighton, and the physical and mental training of a sensible person such as Mrs Pipchin, for example - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Like Miss Tox, I think that a short time away from this house, the air of Brighton, and the physical and mental training of a sensible person such as Mrs Pipchin, for example - ” Go to

2. “Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?” Mr Dombey asked, horrified by the familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before. Go to

3. “Mrs Pipchin, my dear Paul,” his sister replied, “is an elderly lady - Miss Tox knows her whole history - who has for some time devoted all her mental energy, with the greatest success, to studying and caring for infants, and who has had excellent social connections. Go to

4. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox’s recommendation of Mrs Pipchin had great influence on him, because he knew they were jealous of anyone interfering with the child in their care. Go to

5. The famous Mrs Pipchin was a remarkably ugly and unpleasant old lady. Go to

6. In the front parlour window, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept potted plants that added their own earthy smell. Go to

Original English Version

1. I must say I think, with Miss Tox, that a short absence from this house, the air of Brighton, and the bodily and mental training of so judicious a person as Mrs Pipchin for instance - ” Go to

2. “Who is Mrs Pipchin, Louisa?” asked Mr Dombey; aghast at this familiar introduction of a name he had never heard before. Go to

3. “Mrs Pipchin, my dear Paul,” returned his sister, “is an elderly lady - Miss Tox knows her whole history - who has for some time devoted all the energies of her mind, with the greatest success, to the study and treatment of infancy, and who has been extremely well connected. Go to

4. “Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,” observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, “having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Go to

5. Their recommendation of Mrs Pipchin had great weight with him; for he knew that they were jealous of any interference with their charge, and he never for a moment took it into account that they might be solicitous to divide a responsibility, of which he had, as shown just now, his own established views. Go to

6. This celebrated Mrs Pipchin was a marvellous ill-favoured, ill-conditioned old lady, of a stooping figure, with a mottled face, like bad marble, a hook nose, and a hard grey eye, that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. Go to

pipchin's /ˈpɪptʃɪnz/ (83 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Pipchin

Simple English: belonging to Mrs Pipchin

Example: I believe Mrs Pipchin’s management of children is astonishing.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I believe Mrs Pipchin’s management of children is astonishing. Go to

2. “Perhaps I should say, my dear sir,” Miss Tox observed with an innocent blush, “since Mrs Pipchin’s history has been so directly referred to me, that the praise your sweet sister has given her is fully deserved. Go to

3. The fact that Mrs Pipchin’s husband had broken his heart over the Peruvian mines sounded impressive and respectable. Go to

4. “With Paul in Mrs Pipchin’s care, you could hardly send anyone who might place further limits on her. Go to

5. At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles. Go to

6. Mrs Pipchin’s house had an extraordinary number of spiders, though in season it was perhaps even more proud of its earwigs. Go to

Original English Version

1. I believe that Mrs Pipchin’s management of children is quite astonishing. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin’s husband having broken his heart of the Peruvian mines was good. Go to

3. “Paul being in such hands as Mrs Pipchin’s, you could hardly send anybody who would be a further check upon her. Go to

4. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Go to

5. Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Go to

6. Mrs Pipchin’s middle-aged niece, her good-natured and devoted slave, but possessing a gaunt and iron-bound aspect, and much afflicted with boils on her nose, was divesting Master Bitherstone of the clean collar he had worn on parade. Go to

pistols /ˈpɪstəlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pistolas

Simple English: Small firearms designed to be held in one hand.

Example: She often carried little bags whose clasps sounded like tiny pistols when shut.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She often carried little bags whose clasps sounded like tiny pistols when shut. Go to

Original English Version

1. She was much given to the carrying about of small bags with snaps to them, that went off like little pistols when they were shut up; and when full-dressed, she wore round her neck the barrenest of lockets, representing a fishy old eye, with no approach to speculation in it. Go to

pitied /ˈpɪtid/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: teve pena de; compadeceu-se; lastimou

Simple English: Felt sorry for someone because of their suffering.

Example: Perhaps it showed Mr Dombey's pride that he pitied himself through the child.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps it showed Mr Dombey's pride that he pitied himself through the child. Go to

Original English Version

1. It may have been characteristic of Mr Dombey’s pride, that he pitied himself through the child. Go to

2. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent. Go to

plainest /pleɪn/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais evidente

Simple English: most clear or easy to understand

Example: His Welsh wig was the plainest and most stubborn Welsh wig ever worn, and it made him look like anything except a sea adventurer.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His Welsh wig was the plainest and most stubborn Welsh wig ever worn, and it made him look like anything except a sea adventurer. Go to

plainly /ˈpleɪnli/ (39 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: claramente; sem rodeios

Simple English: In a clear and simple way.

Example: Sensible that she was plainly to be seen by him, however, she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Please speak plainly and clearly.” Go to

2. When the table was cleared, Mr Dombey opened the discussion by demanding to know, plainly and without hiding anything, whether something was wrong with Paul and what Mr Pilkins had said about him. Go to

Original English Version

1. Sensible that she was plainly to be seen by him, however, she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time. Go to

2. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility. Go to

platonic /pləˈtɒnɪk/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: platônico

Simple English: affectionate but not sexual or romantic

Example: At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Go to

pleasantly /ˈplɛzəntli/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: amavelmente; de modo agradável

Simple English: In a way that is enjoyable or friendly.

Example: Old Sol tried to look cheerful and smiled across the small table as pleasantly as he could.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Old Sol tried to look cheerful and smiled across the small table as pleasantly as he could. Go to

Original English Version

1. Old Sol endeavoured to assume a cheery look, and smiled across the little table at him as pleasantly as he could. Go to

pleases /ˈpliːzɪz/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agrada; apraz

Simple English: Makes someone happy; also, chooses to do as one wishes.

Example: Louisa, my dear, arrange with Richards about money, and let her have it when and how she pleases.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Louisa, my dear, arrange with Richards about money, and let her have it when and how she pleases. Go to

2. He will make what powerful friends he pleases in after-life, when he is actively maintaining - and extending, if that is possible - the dignity and credit of the Firm. Go to

plump /plʌmp/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rechonchudo; roliço

Simple English: Pleasantly fat and round.

Example: Miss Tox led in a plump, healthy young woman with rosy cheeks and an apple-shaped face, carrying a baby.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox led in a plump, healthy young woman with rosy cheeks and an apple-shaped face, carrying a baby. Go to

2. A younger woman, less plump but also apple-faced, held the hands of two plump, apple-faced children. Go to

3. Another plump, apple-faced boy walked alone. Go to

4. Last came a plump, apple-faced man carrying one more plump, apple-faced boy. Go to

Original English Version

1. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Go to

politeness /pəˈlaɪtnəs/ (37 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cortesia; boas maneiras

Simple English: Good manners in the way you treat people.

Example: The family doctor opened the door for the famous professional and followed him with the most humble politeness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The family doctor opened the door for the famous professional and followed him with the most humble politeness. Go to

2. Apart from this, she was the perfect picture of politeness and a wish to please. Go to

3. Then he immediately returned it with proud politeness. Go to

Original English Version

1. Then, on the motion - made in dumb show - of Doctor Parker Peps, they went upstairs; the family practitioner opening the room door for that distinguished professional, and following him out, with most obsequious politeness. Go to

2. But for this she might have been described as the very pink of general propitiation and politeness. Go to

3. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, or seaweed, or some such clammy substance, and immediately returned it to him with exalted politeness. Go to

polly /ˈpɒli/ (281 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Polly

Simple English: part of the title of the folk song 'Polly Wolly Doodle'

Example: “How are you, Polly?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “How are you, Polly?” Go to

2. “I am quite well, thank you, Ma’am,” said Polly. Go to

3. To help Polly speak naturally, Miss Tox asked the question in the friendly but superior manner she might use with an old acquaintance she had not seen for two weeks. Go to

4. But Mrs Chick helped her by questioning Polly closely and privately about herself, her children, her marriage certificate, her references, and other matters. Go to

5. Polly passed this test without any problem. Go to

6. This was especially true because Polly Toodle seemed to have no fault after his sister described her qualifications and warmly praised Miss Tox’s tireless friendship. Go to

Original English Version

1. “How do you do, Polly?” Go to

2. “I’m pretty well, I thank you, Ma’am,” said Polly. Go to

3. But Mrs Chick relieved her, by entering into a close private examination of Polly, her children, her marriage certificate, testimonials, and so forth. Go to

4. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Go to

5. The less so, as there seemed to be no flaw in the title of Polly Toodle after his sister had set it forth, with many commendations on the indefatigable friendship of Miss Tox. Go to

6. “Polly heerd it,” said Toodle, jerking his hat over his shoulder in the direction of the door, with an air of perfect confidence in his better half. Go to

polly's /ˈpɒliz/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Polly

Simple English: belonging to Aunt Polly, a character in the story

Example: “It was my Mama!” cried the child, jumping up and throwing her arms around Polly's neck.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “It was my Mama!” cried the child, jumping up and throwing her arms around Polly's neck. Go to

2. She had so much love that no one seemed to want, and such sad understanding that no one seemed to care about hurting, that Polly’s heart ached when she was alone again. Go to

3. During that simple meeting between Polly and the motherless little girl, Polly’s motherly heart had been touched as deeply as the child’s. Go to

4. She raised many clever doubts about Polly’s second idea and supported the original plan with so many clever arguments that, almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s grand back was turned and he began his daily journey to the City, his unsuspecting son was traveling toward Staggs’s Gardens. Go to

5. The sight gave wings to Polly’s impatience. Go to

Original English Version

1. The child, in her grief and neglect, was so gentle, so quiet, and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have, and so much sorrowful intelligence that no one seemed to mind or think about the wounding of, that Polly’s heart was sore when she was left alone again. Go to

2. The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds. Go to

polyphemus /ˌpɒlɪˈfiːməs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Polifemo

Simple English: a one-eyed giant (Cyclops) from Greek mythology, from the story of Odysseus

Example: “And when,” said old Sol, “when the Polyphemus - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And when,” said old Sol, “when the Polyphemus - ” Go to

Original English Version

1. “And when,” said old Sol, “when the Polyphemus - ” Go to

popularity (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: popularidade; fama; aceitação

Simple English: the state of being liked by many people

Example: The app grew in popularity.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the same way, the Excavators’ House of Call had grown from a beer shop, and the old Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, serving roast pork every day for immediate profit and popularity. Go to

porcupine /ˈpɔːrkjəpaɪn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: porco-espinho

Simple English: An animal covered with long sharp spines.

Example: Bands and wandering Punch shows followed it away, leaving the street to the saddest street organs and white mice, with an occasional porcupine for variety.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Bands and wandering Punch shows followed it away, leaving the street to the saddest street organs and white mice, with an occasional porcupine for variety. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. Go to

potted /ˈpɒtɪd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: em vasos

Simple English: grown or kept in pots

Example: In the front parlour window, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept potted plants that added their own earthy smell.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the front parlour window, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept potted plants that added their own earthy smell. Go to

powdered /ˈpaʊdərd/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: empoadado

Simple English: covered with or made into a fine dry powder

Example: A small portrait of him with powdered hair and a pigtail hung on one side of the parlour fireplace, balancing a kettle holder on the other.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A small portrait of him with powdered hair and a pigtail hung on one side of the parlour fireplace, balancing a kettle holder on the other. Go to

2. Why are you staring through the door?" Walter continued, silently addressing an old powdered gentleman who was studying a ship's telescope very closely. Go to

Original English Version

1. The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. Go to

2. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. Go to

3. What are you looking in at the door for? - ” continued Walter, apostrophizing an old gentleman with a powdered head (inaudibly to him of course), who was staring at a ship’s telescope with all his might and main. Go to

practised /ˈpræktɪst/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: praticavam; exerciam

Simple English: Did something again and again in order to do it better.

Example: Miss Tox sometimes practised the harpsichord, proudly displaying its painted sweet peas beneath the Copenhagen Waltz and Bird Waltz in a music book copied in her own hand.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox sometimes practised the harpsichord, proudly displaying its painted sweet peas beneath the Copenhagen Waltz and Bird Waltz in a music book copied in her own hand. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Go to

preached /priːtʃt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pregou; sermoneou

Simple English: Gave a religious talk, or told others how they should behave.

Example: At each high corner, a dusty ancient funeral urn preached loneliness and decay from its own pulpit.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At each high corner, a dusty ancient funeral urn preached loneliness and decay from its own pulpit. Go to

Original English Version

1. A dusty urn at each high corner, dug up from an ancient tomb, preached desolation and decay, as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass, reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow, seemed fraught with melancholy meditations. Go to

preparatory /prɪˈpærətɔːri/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: preparatório

Simple English: Done in order to get ready for something.

Example: Miss Tox had great experience in hackney cabs, and her starting in one was generally a work of time, as she was systematic in the preparatory arrangements.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It is certainly not a preparatory school. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Tox had great experience in hackney cabs, and her starting in one was generally a work of time, as she was systematic in the preparatory arrangements. Go to

2. It is not a Preparatory School by any means. Go to

preserve /prɪˈzɜːrv/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: preservar; conservar; conserva

Simple English: To keep something in its original or good condition.

Example: We must preserve natural habitats to protect endangered species.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After the funeral, Mr Dombey ordered the furniture to be covered, perhaps to preserve it for the son at the centre of all his plans. Go to

2. In other words, the House will be able to support and preserve itself and pass on its own strength without such ordinary assistance. Go to

3. Later in life, he may make whatever powerful friends he chooses while actively preserving - and, if possible, increasing - the dignity and reputation of the Firm. Go to

4. He carefully preserved the memory, especially the part in which he had helped her, until it became the spoiled child of his imagination and did whatever it pleased there. Go to

presumptuous /prɪˈzʌmptʃuəs/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: presunçoso

Simple English: too bold or confident in a way that shows little respect

Example: “What is money after all!” said Mr Dombey, backing his chair a little, that he might the better gaze in sheer amazement at the presumptuous atom that propounded such an inquiry.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “But she is extremely attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous. Go to

Original English Version

1. “What is money after all!” said Mr Dombey, backing his chair a little, that he might the better gaze in sheer amazement at the presumptuous atom that propounded such an inquiry. Go to

2. Presumptuous as it is to aspire to such a level; still, if the bird of night may - but I’ll not trouble Mr Dombey with the sentiment. Go to

3. “Exactly so,” said Mrs Chick; “but she is exceedingly attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous; indeed I never saw a more biddable woman. Go to

pretence /prɪˈtɛns/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pretexto

Simple English: a false claim or appearance used to hide the real reason

Example: She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Go to

princess's /ˈprɪnsesɪz/ (74 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: da princesa

Simple English: Belonging to a princess.

Example: This quiet place, where grass grew between the paving stones, was called Princess's Place.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. This quiet place, where grass grew between the paving stones, was called Princess's Place. Go to

2. It contained Princess's Chapel, with a thin-sounding bell, where sometimes as many as twenty-five people attended Sunday service. Go to

3. The Princess's Arms public house was also there and was popular with splendid footmen. Go to

4. Besides Miss Tox's home, Princess's Place contained one other private house. Go to

5. Indeed, Princess's Place smelled slightly of stables. Go to

6. The other private house in Princess's Place belonged to a retired butler married to a former housekeeper. Go to

Original English Version

1. The name of this retirement, where grass grew between the chinks in the stone pavement, was Princess’s Place; and in Princess’s Place was Princess’s Chapel, with a tinkling bell, where sometimes as many as five-and-twenty people attended service on a Sunday. Go to

2. The Princess’s Arms was also there, and much resorted to by splendid footmen. Go to

3. A sedan chair was kept inside the railing before the Princess’s Arms, but it had never come out within the memory of man; and on fine mornings, the top of every rail (there were eight-and-forty, as Miss Tox had often counted) was decorated with a pewter-pot. Go to

4. There was another private house besides Miss Tox’s in Princess’s Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates, with an immense pair of lion-headed knockers on them, which were never opened by any chance, and were supposed to constitute a disused entrance to somebody’s stables. Go to

5. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls. Go to

6. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Go to

professional /prəˈfɛʃənəl/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: profissional

Simple English: Doing an activity as a job rather than just for pleasure.

Example: He is a professional chef with many years of experience.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The family doctor opened the door for the famous professional and followed him with the most humble politeness. Go to

2. “You sound more like a professional singer with rabies than a man in your position!” Go to

progress /ˈprɑːɡrɛs/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: progresso; andamento; progredir

Simple English: Gradual movement toward achieving a specific goal.

Example: We need to keep track of our progress in the project each week.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He had built such hopes on this life and its progress, but now it was in danger from the very beginning because of such a common need. Go to

2. Polly had the satisfaction of feeling that he had completely misunderstood her purpose and that she had lost his favor without making the least progress toward her goal. Go to

project /ˈprɒdʒɛkt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: projeto; projetar

Simple English: A planned piece of work.

Example: We finished the project.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “But he invested money in the project, which failed. Go to

pulpit /ˈpʊlpɪt/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: púlpito

Simple English: The raised place in a church where the preacher stands.

Example: At each high corner, a dusty ancient funeral urn preached loneliness and decay from its own pulpit.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At each high corner, a dusty ancient funeral urn preached loneliness and decay from its own pulpit. Go to

2. The tall pulpit and reading desk were covered. Go to

Original English Version

1. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Go to

punctual /ˈpʊŋktʃuəl/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pontual

Simple English: Arriving or happening at the expected time.

Example: He said I must be attentive and punctual, and then he left.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He said I must be attentive and punctual, and then he left. Go to

Original English Version

1. Then he told me that you had spoken to him about me, and that he had found me employment in the House accordingly, and that I was expected to be attentive and punctual, and then he went away. Go to

purring /ˈpɜːrɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ronronando; ronronante

Simple English: Making the soft low sound of a happy cat.

Example: Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her old black cat usually curled up on the middle foot of the fender, purring proudly and blinking at the fire until its narrow pupils looked like two exclamation marks. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Pipchin had an old black cat, who generally lay coiled upon the centre foot of the fender, purring egotistically, and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. Go to

quadrants /ˈkwɒdrənts/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: quadrantes

Simple English: instruments used to measure angles in navigation

Example: The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

Original English Version

1. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Go to

quarrel /ˈkwɔːrəl/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: briga; disputa (em quarrel-some, briguento)

Simple English: An angry argument, or to argue angrily.

Example: “But we do not need to quarrel,” said Polly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “But we do not need to quarrel,” said Polly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “But still we needn’t quarrel,” said Polly. Go to

quarrels /ˈkwɔːrəlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: brigas; discussões

Simple English: Angry arguments between people.

Example: In their married quarrels, they were generally a well-matched, evenly balanced couple who gave as much as they received.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In their married quarrels, they were generally a well-matched, evenly balanced couple who gave as much as they received. Go to

rabies /ˈreɪ.biːz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: raiva

Simple English: a deadly viral disease passed by infected animals

Example: “You sound more like a professional singer with rabies than a man in your position!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “You sound more like a professional singer with rabies than a man in your position!” Go to

ragged /ˈræɡɪd/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esfarrapada; maltrapilha

Simple English: Old and torn in many places.

Example: Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At last Mrs Brown came out and led her changed, ragged little companion through a maze of narrow streets, lanes, and alleys. Go to

Original English Version

1. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Go to

2. At length, Mrs Brown, issuing forth, conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys, which emerged, after a long time, upon a stable yard, with a gateway at the end, whence the roar of a great thoroughfare made itself audible. Go to

3. As it rained after dinner, and they couldn’t go out walking on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s constitution required rest after chops, they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt, and made ghastly by a ragged fireplace without any stove in it. Go to

rags /ræɡz/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: trapos; farrapos

Simple English: Old torn pieces of cloth, or very worn clothes.

Example: On the floor lay a large pile of colored rags, a pile of bones, and a pile of sifted dust or ashes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. On the floor lay a large pile of colored rags, a pile of bones, and a pile of sifted dust or ashes. Go to

2. Sit on the rags.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black. Go to

2. Sit upon the rags.” Go to

3. The old woman then produced some wretched substitutes from the bottom of the heap of rags, which she turned up for that purpose; together with a girl’s cloak, quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. Go to

railing /ˈreɪlɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: balaustrada; grade; corrimão

Simple English: A fence of bars, or a bar to hold on to.

Example: A sedan chair was kept inside the railing before the Princess’s Arms, but it had never come out within the memory of man; and on fine mornings, the top of every rail (there were eight-and-forty, as Miss Tox had often counted) was decorated with a pewter-pot.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. A sedan chair was kept inside the railing before the Princess’s Arms, but it had never come out within the memory of man; and on fine mornings, the top of every rail (there were eight-and-forty, as Miss Tox had often counted) was decorated with a pewter-pot. Go to

railings /ˈreɪlɪŋz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grades; balaustrada

Simple English: A fence of metal or wooden bars.

Example: A sedan chair stood behind the railings in front of it but had never moved in living memory.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A sedan chair stood behind the railings in front of it but had never moved in living memory. Go to

railway's /ˈreɪlweɪz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: da ferrovia

Simple English: belonging to the railway system

Example: Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Dirty fields, cow houses, manure heaps, rubbish heaps, ditches, gardens, summer houses, and places for beating carpets stood at the railway’s very door. Go to

rainbows /ˈreɪnbəʊz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: arco-íris

Simple English: Coloured arcs of light that appear when sunlight passes through rain.

Example: Rivers and seas carried their ships; rainbows promised them good weather; winds helped or opposed their business; and stars and planets moved to protect a system with Dombey and Son at its centre.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Rivers and seas carried their ships; rainbows promised them good weather; winds helped or opposed their business; and stars and planets moved to protect a system with Dombey and Son at its centre. Go to

Original English Version

1. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre. Go to

rained /reɪnd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: choveu; choveram em profusão

Simple English: Water fell from the clouds; also, things fell thickly like rain.

Example: It rained after dinner, so they could not walk on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s health required her to rest after eating chops.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It rained after dinner, so they could not walk on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s health required her to rest after eating chops. Go to

Original English Version

1. As it rained after dinner, and they couldn’t go out walking on the beach, and Mrs Pipchin’s constitution required rest after chops, they went away with Berry (otherwise Berinthia) to the Dungeon; an empty room looking out upon a chalk wall and a water-butt, and made ghastly by a ragged fireplace without any stove in it. Go to

rascal /ˈræskəl/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: malandro; velhaco; traquinas

Simple English: A dishonest person, or a child who behaves badly in a playful way.

Example: “As for managing,” Solomon said kindly, “it would be strange if I could not manage much better without a young rascal like you than with you.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “As for managing,” Solomon said kindly, “it would be strange if I could not manage much better without a young rascal like you than with you. Go to

rate /reɪt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: taxa; tarifa; ritmo

Simple English: The amount of money charged or paid for something.

Example: The interest rate on my savings account has increased recently.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For more years than many real, fully grown midshipmen had lived, he had paid rent, taxes, rates, and charges there. Go to

2. After that, she forgot him at an even faster rate. Go to

3. He wanted to give an explanation using terms such as medium of exchange, currency, loss of currency value, paper money, gold and silver bars, exchange rates, market value of precious metals, and so on. Go to

rattled /ˈrætəld/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sacudiu; fez chocalhar

Simple English: Made a series of short hard sounds; also made someone nervous.

Example: They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves. Go to

2. The little Spitfire was generally good-natured, although she followed a school of child training which believed that childhood, like money, must be shaken, rattled, and pushed around a great deal to keep it bright. Go to

3. Whenever something rattled, she imagined he was wrapping an appropriate money gift for her in paper. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. Go to

2. Spitfire seemed to be in the main a good-natured little body, although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood, like money, must be shaken and rattled and jostled about a good deal to keep it bright. Go to

3. Susan looking out of window, without intermission, as a relief from the embarrassment of confronting the large face of that gentleman, and thinking whenever anything rattled that he was putting up in paper an appropriate pecuniary compliment for herself. Go to

realistic /ˌriːəˈlɪstɪk/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: realista

Simple English: Depicting subjects exactly as they appear in reality.

Example: The realistic portrait captured every detail of the subject's expression beautifully.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The people of Staggs’s Gardens considered these kittens wonders of realistic art. Go to

reasonable /ˈriːzənəbəl/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: razoável; sensato; racional

Simple English: Showing good judgment fairness and sensible decision-making in situations.

Example: It is reasonable to ask for a raise after working hard for a year.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “If you are a reasonable person, do not make such ridiculous excuses. Go to

reasoned /ˈriːzənd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: raciocinou; concluiu; ponderado

Simple English: Thought carefully to reach a conclusion.

Example: Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself _must_, in the nature of things, be gratifying and honourable to any woman of common sense.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At last she reasoned that there could be no great harm in stopping at the door for one moment, and she accepted Nipper’s plan. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself _must_, in the nature of things, be gratifying and honourable to any woman of common sense. Go to

reassured /ˌriːəˈʃʊrd/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tranquilizado; convencido de que estava tudo bem

Simple English: Made less worried or more certain that nothing was wrong.

Example: But she, who had heard what passed, and who, besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey’s end, felt reassured beyond all measure by his lively youthful face and manner, ran eagerly up to him, leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As he raised his face to say good night to his father, it looked so much brighter, younger, and more childlike that Mr Dombey felt greatly reassured by the change and was also amazed by it. Go to

Original English Version

1. But she, who had heard what passed, and who, besides the relief of so suddenly considering herself safe at her journey’s end, felt reassured beyond all measure by his lively youthful face and manner, ran eagerly up to him, leaving one of the slipshod shoes upon the ground and caught his hand in both of hers. Go to

2. The child immediately started up with sudden readiness and animation, and raised towards his father in bidding him good-night, a countenance so much brighter, so much younger, and so much more child-like altogether, that Mr Dombey, while he felt greatly reassured by the change, was quite amazed at it. Go to

reddening /ˈredənɪŋ/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: corando

Simple English: becoming red, often from embarrassment

Example: “Yes, yes, he has, Uncle,” said the boy, reddening and laughing.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Yes, yes, he has, Uncle,” said the boy, reddening and laughing. Go to

2. “Nonsense, Uncle,” cried the boy, still reddening and laughing, boy-like. Go to

redness ˈrɛdnəs (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vermelhidão

Simple English: The quality of being red.

Example: “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick in a warning voice, “you must speak kindly to me, or I shall be finished.” At the same time, a warning redness appeared in Mrs Chick’s eyelids, which always meant rain unless the weather changed immediately.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick in a warning voice, “you must speak kindly to me, or I shall be finished.” At the same time, a warning redness appeared in Mrs Chick’s eyelids, which always meant rain unless the weather changed immediately. Go to

Original English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, in a warning voice, “I must be spoken to kindly, or there is an end of me,” at the same time a premonitory redness developed itself in Mrs Chick’s eyelids which was an invariable sign of rain, unless the weather changed directly. Go to

refilled ˌriːˈfɪld (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: reabasteceu

Simple English: Filled again.

Example: Mr Dombey of course officiated, and also refilled his sister’s glass, which she (looking another way, and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while, and then regarded with great astonishment, saying, “My dear Paul, what have you been doing!”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey of course officiated, and also refilled his sister’s glass, which she (looking another way, and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while, and then regarded with great astonishment, saying, “My dear Paul, what have you been doing!” Go to

refreshed /rɪˈfrɛʃt/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: revigorados; descansados

Simple English: Feeling strong and rested again.

Example: They found Florence greatly refreshed by sleep.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They found Florence greatly refreshed by sleep. Go to

Original English Version

1. There they found that Florence, much refreshed by sleep, had dined, and greatly improved the acquaintance of Solomon Gills, with whom she was on terms of perfect confidence and ease. Go to

Glossary: New Words (5/6)

register /ˈrɛdʒɪstər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: registrar; registo; cadastrar

Simple English: To record one's name on an official institutional list.

Example: You need to register for the course before attending the first class.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series. Go to

2. They waited there while the wedding party signed the register. Go to

3. They signed the register and paid the fees. Go to

regretted /rɪˈɡretɪd/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lamentou; arrependeu-se de

Simple English: Felt sorry about something that happened or was done.

Example: Naturally, the more this troubled him, the more he regretted the event that had made them necessary.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Naturally, the more this troubled him, the more he regretted the event that had made them necessary. Go to

reluctance /rɪˈlʌktəns/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: relutância; hesitação

Simple English: Unwillingness to do something.

Example: After some resistance and reluctance, Mrs Wickam put down her knife, looked around the room and toward Paul in bed again, and answered:

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After some resistance and reluctance, Mrs Wickam put down her knife, looked around the room and toward Paul in bed again, and answered: Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Berry repeated her question, therefore; and after some resistance, and reluctance, Mrs Wickam laid down her knife, and again glancing round the room and at Paul in bed, replied: Go to

repairer rɪˈpɛərər (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: reparador

Simple English: A person who fixes damaged things.

Example: It arrived with water carts, old-clothes sellers, people selling geraniums, the umbrella repairer, and the man who rang the little bell of a Dutch clock as he walked.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It arrived with water carts, old-clothes sellers, people selling geraniums, the umbrella repairer, and the man who rang the little bell of a Dutch clock as he walked. Go to

repetition /ˌrɛpəˈtɪʃən/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: repetição

Simple English: The act of saying or doing something again.

Example: “And now good night to my sweet, sweet, sweet godson,” said Miss Tox, giving him a gentle shower of kisses with each repetition of the word.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And now good night to my sweet, sweet, sweet godson,” said Miss Tox, giving him a gentle shower of kisses with each repetition of the word. Go to

Original English Version

1. “And now good-night to my sweet, sweet, sweet, godson,” said Miss Tox, with a soft shower of kisses at each repetition of the adjective; “and Louisa, my dear friend, promise me to take a little something warm before you go to bed, and not to distress yourself!” Go to

representative /ˌrɛprɪˈzɛntətɪv/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: representante; representativo; mandatário

Simple English: Standing for or symbolizing something else.

Example: The representative showed us various options for our project.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Perhaps,” she hesitated again, uncertain of her way, “perhaps that is a reason why you might object less to letting Miss Tox be the dear child's godmother, even if she served only as the representative of someone else. Go to

reproach rɪˈproʊtʃ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: reprovação

Simple English: Blame or disappointment shown toward someone.

Example: The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Of course he did, my dear,” Mrs Chick replied with gentle reproach. Go to

Original English Version

1. The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him. Go to

2. The black-eyed (who had cried so much that she might now be called the red-eyed, and who was very silent and depressed) caught her in her arms without a word of contradiction or reproach, and made a very hysterical meeting of it. Go to

resent /rɪˈzent/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ressentir-se de; melindrar-se com

Simple English: To feel angry about something you think is unfair.

Example: “Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, settling his neckcloth, and seeming to resent the idea.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, settling his neckcloth, and seeming to resent the idea. Go to

resident /ˈrɛzɪdənt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: residente; morador; habitante

Simple English: A person who lives in a place, usually long-term.

Example: She is a long-term resident of this town and knows everyone.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. This pleasant-sounding place was in a suburb whose residents called it Camberling Town. Go to

2. Whatever the truth, its residents considered Staggs’s Gardens a sacred wood that no railway could destroy. Go to

3. Wind echoed through it continually, making it sound like a large shell that the residents had to hold to their ears day and night whether they wanted to or not. Go to

4. Within three days of Mrs Chick first mentioning her, this excellent old lady happily expected a fine addition to her income from Mr Dombey’s pocket and welcomed Florence and her little brother Paul as residents of the Castle. Go to

respectably rɪˈspɛktəbli (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de modo respeitável

Simple English: In a satisfactory and socially proper way.

Example: He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility. Go to

restlessness /ˈrestləsnəs/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inquietação; desassossego

Simple English: The state of being unable to stay still or be satisfied.

Example: As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms. Go to

rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ritmo

Simple English: A pattern of sounds creating timing in music.

Example: The dancer moved to the rhythm of the upbeat music perfectly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The eldest, known in the family as Biler in memory of the steam engine, beat a wild rhythm of grief with his boots, and the rest of the family joined him. Go to

richards's /ˈrɪtʃərdzɪz/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Richards

Simple English: a surname, used in possessive form to describe someone's carriage

Example: Wearing only a short, light linen jacket, Paul took a little uphill walk over Richards's dress.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Wearing only a short, light linen jacket, Paul took a little uphill walk over Richards's dress. Go to

Original English Version

1. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Go to

2. Some honest act of Richards’s may have aided the effect, but he did look down, and held his peace. Go to

3. “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water. Go to

rigging /ˈrɪɡɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cordame; enxárcia

Simple English: All the ropes and chains that hold up the sails of a ship.

Example: Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:” Go to

rightful /ˈraɪtfəl/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: legítimo; de direito

Simple English: Having a fair and legal claim to something.

Example: His temper gave abundant promise of being imperious in after-life; and he had as hopeful an apprehension of his own importance, and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it, as heart could desire.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. His temper gave abundant promise of being imperious in after-life; and he had as hopeful an apprehension of his own importance, and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it, as heart could desire. Go to

rims /rɪmz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bordas

Simple English: outer edges surrounding a circular opening

Example: She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims around her eyes and a mouth that moved and chattered by itself even when she was silent.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims around her eyes and a mouth that moved and chattered by itself even when she was silent. Go to

Original English Version

1. She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes, and a mouth that mumbled and chattered of itself when she was not speaking. Go to

risked /rɪskt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: arriscou

Simple English: Put something in danger of being lost.

Example: Faithful to her role, Miss Tox risked saying, “members.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Faithful to her role, Miss Tox risked saying, “members.” Go to

rosiest /ˈroʊziɪst/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais rosados

Simple English: having the most pink healthy colour

Example: Mrs Chick then went to report to her brother’s room, taking the two rosiest little Toodles with her as strong proof of her report.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick then went to report to her brother’s room, taking the two rosiest little Toodles with her as strong proof of her report. Go to

Original English Version

1. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Go to

rosy /ˈroʊzi/ (29 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rosado; corado; risonho

Simple English: Pink like a rose; also hopeful and promising.

Example: Miss Tox led in a plump, healthy young woman with rosy cheeks and an apple-shaped face, carrying a baby.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox led in a plump, healthy young woman with rosy cheeks and an apple-shaped face, carrying a baby. Go to

2. They all pressed their rosy cheeks close to hers and clearly grew from the same tree. Go to

3. True to his unusual tastes, he rejected the rosy-faced boy suggested to pull it. Go to

Original English Version

1. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Go to

2. That they did, if one might judge from the noise they made, and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner, where her own honest apple face became immediately the centre of a bunch of smaller pippins, all laying their rosy cheeks close to it, and all evidently the growth of the same tree. Go to

rottingdean /ˈrɒtɪŋdiːn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Rottingdean

Simple English: a village on the Sussex coast

Example: Miss Pankey usually returned in great distress from visiting an aunt at Rottingdean.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Pankey usually returned in great distress from visiting an aunt at Rottingdean. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Pankey was generally brought back from an aunt’s at Rottingdean, in deep distress; and Master Bitherstone, whose relatives were all in India, and who was required to sit, between the services, in an erect position with his head against the parlour wall, neither moving hand nor foot, suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence, on a Sunday night, if she could give him any idea of the way back to Bengal. Go to

rubs /rʌbz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esfrega

Simple English: Moves a hand back and forth over something.

Example: It would be harsh, and perhaps not altogether true, to say of him that he felt these rubs and gratings against his pride more keenly than he had felt his wife’s death: but certainly they impressed that event upon him with new force, and communicated to it added weight and bitterness.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. It would be harsh, and perhaps not altogether true, to say of him that he felt these rubs and gratings against his pride more keenly than he had felt his wife’s death: but certainly they impressed that event upon him with new force, and communicated to it added weight and bitterness. Go to

rudely /ˈruːdli/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grosseiramente; sem educação

Simple English: In a way that is not polite.

Example: “Then please tell the man, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady's uncle is a magistrate and that if he behaves rudely to her, he will be punished terribly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Then please tell the man, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady's uncle is a magistrate and that if he behaves rudely to her, he will be punished terribly. Go to

rul /rʊl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rul (refrão sem sentido de canção)

Simple English: A nonsense syllable used as a refrain in an old song.

Example: Right tol loor rul!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Right tol loor rul! Go to

2. In a low voice he added, “With my tiddle tol toor rul,” but fortunately Towlinson stopped him by announcing: Go to

Original English Version

1. Right tol loor rul! Go to

2. He added in a low voice, “With my tiddle tol toor rul” - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson, who announced: Go to

rump /rʌmp/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: garupa; anca

Simple English: The back part of an animal above the legs.

Example: “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Go to

rung /rʌŋ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: degrau; travessa de escada

Simple English: One of the crossbars of a ladder.

Example: In the morning, when Mr Dombey was at his breakfast in one or other of the two first-mentioned of them, as well as in the afternoon when he came home to dinner, a bell was rung for Richards to repair to this glass chamber, and there walk to and fro with her young charge.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. In the morning, when Mr Dombey was at his breakfast in one or other of the two first-mentioned of them, as well as in the afternoon when he came home to dinner, a bell was rung for Richards to repair to this glass chamber, and there walk to and fro with her young charge. Go to

2. She had been rung down into the glass room as usual, and had walked about and about it a long time, with the baby in her arms, when, to her great surprise and dismay, Mr Dombey - whom she had seen at first leaning on his elbow at the table, and afterwards walking up and down the middle room, drawing, each time, a little nearer, she thought, to the open folding doors - came out, suddenly, and stopped before her. Go to

rusted /ˈrʌstɪd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enferrujado

Simple English: Covered with rust, so that it cannot move.

Example: Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Go to

rusting /ˈrʌstɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: enferrujando

Simple English: Becoming covered with rust.

Example: In another, pieces of iron lay soaking and rusting in something that had accidentally become a pond.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In another, pieces of iron lay soaking and rusting in something that had accidentally become a pond. Go to

rustled /ˈrʌsəld/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: farfalhavam

Simple English: Made a soft sound while moving.

Example: They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. Go to

rustling /ˈrʌsəlɪŋ/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sussurrantes; que farfalham

Simple English: Making a soft sound like dry leaves moving.

Example: His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice,

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice, Go to

sadder /ˈsædər/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais triste

Simple English: More sad than before.

Example: Now sadder and wiser, he thought quietly and said no more.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Now sadder and wiser, he thought quietly and said no more. Go to

2. Walter went to the offices of Dombey and Son looking sadder than usual, while imagining many impossible ways to make a fortune and give the wooden Midshipman financial independence. Go to

Original English Version

1. Becoming a sadder and a wiser man, he mused and held his peace. Go to

saddest /ˈsædəst/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: o mais triste

Simple English: The most unhappy of all.

Example: Bands and wandering Punch shows followed it away, leaving the street to the saddest street organs and white mice, with an occasional porcupine for variety.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Bands and wandering Punch shows followed it away, leaving the street to the saddest street organs and white mice, with an occasional porcupine for variety. Go to

2. She had an amazing natural ability to see every subject in the saddest possible way, find terrible earlier examples, and gain the greatest comfort from using this talent. Go to

3. Sunday evening was the saddest evening of the week because Mrs Pipchin always made a point of being especially cross on Sunday nights. Go to

sailor's /ˈseɪlərz/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do marinheiro

Simple English: Belonging to a sailor.

Example: Yet as Solomon Gills spoke about the sea, he rubbed his hands with secret pleasure and looked with great satisfaction at the sailor's objects around him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Yet as Solomon Gills spoke about the sea, he rubbed his hands with secret pleasure and looked with great satisfaction at the sailor's objects around him. Go to

Satisfy /ˈsætɪsfaɪ/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: satisfazer; atender; saciar

Simple English: To make someone happy by meeting their desires.

Example: You need to satisfy your customers to keep them coming back.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I felt that no description of them could satisfy you and Mr Dombey as much as seeing them all together, so I brought them all here. Go to

2. How satisfying it was for Mrs Chick, an ordinary and foolish woman beside whom her sister-in-law had been an angel of intelligence and gentleness, to speak down to that lady's memory and treat it with pity, exactly as she had treated her while alive. Go to

scaffolding /ˈskæfəldɪŋ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: andaimes

Simple English: A temporary framework used to support workers and materials during building work.

Example: A maze of scaffolding surrounded the whole house from the basement to the roof.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Broken buildings, unfinished walls and arches, piles of scaffolding, deserts of bricks, huge cranes, and three-legged frames stood over nothing. Go to

Original English Version

1. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Go to

Scale /skeɪl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: escala; balança; escalar

Simple English: A measurement of size or degree compared with another item.

Example: The scale of this project is much larger than I expected it to be.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Do you want to put the North Star on scales and weigh it? Go to

2. There was a large wooden scale and a small wooden hut on wheels. Go to

3. “On an extremely limited and particular scale,” Mrs Chick suggested, glancing at her brother. Go to

scold /skəʊld/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: repreender; ralhar

Simple English: To speak angrily to someone because of a fault or mistake.

Example: I really must scold you if you do not!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I really must scold you if you do not!” Go to

Original English Version

1. I must really scold you if you don’t!” Go to

scorn /skɔːrn/ (40 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desdém; desprezo

Simple English: A strong feeling that someone or something is worth nothing.

Example: “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I should think such occasions could be used better, Mr C.,” his wife replied after a short pause, “than by bringing in either the college hornpipe or the equally foolish and heartless words, rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” Mr Chick had indeed murmured these words, and Mrs Chick repeated them with crushing scorn. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Go to

2. If the miserable waste ground lying near it could have laughed, it would have laughed it to scorn, like many of the miserable neighbours. Go to

scraps /skræps/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: restos; sobras

Simple English: Small pieces of food that are left over.

Example: From beneath a sheet of torn and rejected scraps of paper, he took out one complete letter.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. From beneath a sheet of torn and rejected scraps of paper, he took out one complete letter. Go to

Original English Version

1. From beneath a leaf of torn and cancelled scraps of paper, he took one letter that remained entire. Go to

2. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Go to

scythe /saɪð/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: foice

Simple English: A long curved blade on a handle, used for cutting grass or crops.

Example: Deceptive Time would first smooth them away, then later use his scythe to cut deeper marks.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Deceptive Time would first smooth them away, then later use his scythe to cut deeper marks. Go to

Original English Version

1. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Go to

seaweed /ˈsiːwiːd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: alga marinha

Simple English: A plant that grows in the sea.

Example: Strange shells, seaweed, and moss decorated the mantelpiece.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Strange shells, seaweed, and moss decorated the mantelpiece. Go to

2. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, seaweed, or some other wet and unpleasant object. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, or seaweed, or some such clammy substance, and immediately returned it to him with exalted politeness. Go to

seaworthy /ˈsiːˌwɜːrði/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: em condições de navegar

Simple English: safe and strong enough for travel at sea

Example: It almost became a neat, seaworthy vessel that needed only enough open water, if it were suddenly launched, to sail safely to any desert island in the world.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It almost became a neat, seaworthy vessel that needed only enough open water, if it were suddenly launched, to sail safely to any desert island in the world. Go to

secure /sɪˈkjʊr/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: seguro; fixar; garantir

Simple English: To gain or achieve something with effort or persistence.

Example: He worked hard to secure a scholarship for college.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Work hard, try to like your work, earn a secure independence, and be happy!” Go to

securely /sɪˈkjʊrli/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com segurança; bem trancado

Simple English: In a firm way that will not come loose.

Example: Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world. Go to

seeming /ˈsiːmɪŋ/ (31 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aparente; que parece ser

Simple English: Appearing to be true, though perhaps it is not.

Example: A destiny, little fellow!” As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips, and kissed it; then, seeming to fear that the action involved some compromise of his dignity, went, awkwardly enough, away.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Yet enough of their shadow remained for him to decide firmly to watch Richards closely himself, without seeming to do so. Go to

2. Then, seeming to decide he was mistaken, the man continued without stopping. Go to

3. “Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, adjusting his neckcloth and seeming offended by the idea. Go to

Original English Version

1. A destiny, little fellow!” As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips, and kissed it; then, seeming to fear that the action involved some compromise of his dignity, went, awkwardly enough, away. Go to

2. Yes!” returned Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him, and seeming still to have but a very imperfect understanding of his meaning. Go to

3. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Go to

4. As they stood deliberating in the street, a man passed them, who glanced quickly at Walter as he went by, as if he recognised him; but seeming to correct that first impression, he passed on without stopping. Go to

5. “Cruel!” said Mr Dombey, settling his neckcloth, and seeming to resent the idea. Go to

seizing /ˈsiːzɪŋ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agarrando; apoderando-se de; aproveitando

Simple English: Taking hold of something suddenly and firmly.

Example: The warm ground,” returned Polly, seizing her advantage, “where the ugly little seeds turn into beautiful flowers, and into grass, and corn, and I don’t know what all besides.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The warm ground,” returned Polly, seizing her advantage, “where the ugly little seeds turn into beautiful flowers, and into grass, and corn, and I don’t know what all besides. Go to

select /sɪˈlɛkt/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: selecione; marque; seleto

Simple English: To highlight or choose an item on a computer screen.

Example: You must select the file before you can open it in the program.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Would I express myself correctly,” said Miss Tox with special sweetness, “if I called it a very select boarding house for young children?” Go to

selection (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: seleção; escolha; variedade

Simple English: a group of things chosen

Example: The shop has a wide selection of books.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He would gladly have paid generous terms to free Paul from them or provide another person to suffer in his place, as someone might escape an unlucky military selection. Go to

selfishness /ˈsɛlfɪʃnəs/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: egoísmo

Simple English: Caring only about yourself and not others.

Example: Some philosophers say selfishness lies at the root of our best love and affection.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Some philosophers say selfishness lies at the root of our best love and affection. Go to

Original English Version

1. Some philosophers tell us that selfishness is at the root of our best loves and affections. Go to

sentence /ˈsɛntəns/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sentença; frase; sentencio

Simple English: A group of words expressing an idea.

Example: Write a complete sentence.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Whenever possible, she fired out everything she had to say in one sentence and one breath. Go to

2. Later she repeated the Castle’s usual prayer of thanks, which included a special sentence thanking Mrs Pipchin for a good dinner. Go to

serpent /ˈsɜːrpənt/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: serpente

Simple English: A snake, especially a large one.

Example: “And it would go!” said Captain Cuttle, making a species of serpent in the air with his hook.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “And it would go!” said Captain Cuttle, making a species of serpent in the air with his hook. Go to

sextants ˈsɛkstənts (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sextantes

Simple English: instruments for measuring the angle of stars at sea

Example: The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

Original English Version

1. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Go to

shabby /ˈʃæbi/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: surrado; maltrapilho; mesquinho

Simple English: Old and worn out; also unfair or mean in behaviour.

Example: She stopped before a shabby little house, shut as tightly as a house full of cracks could be.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She stopped before a shabby little house, shut as tightly as a house full of cracks could be. Go to

Original English Version

1. She stopped before a shabby little house, as closely shut up as a house that was full of cracks and crevices could be. Go to

2. It might be poor, mean, shabby, stupid, dull. Go to

shade /ʃeɪd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sombra; máscara; tonalidade

Simple English: Area blocked from sunlight, producing darkness and coolness.

Example: We sat under the tree's shade to escape the heat.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At least forty years had passed since the Peruvian mines caused Mr Pipchin’s death, but his widow still wore black bombazine of such a dull, deep, dead, dark shade that even gaslight could not brighten her after dark, and her presence could put out any number of candles. Go to

shaggy /ˈʃæɡi/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hirsuto; peludo e desgrenhado

Simple English: Covered with long, thick, untidy hair.

Example: He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Go to

shameless /ˈʃeɪmləs/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sem-vergonha; descarada

Simple English: Not feeling sorry about doing something wrong.

Example: "Wickam," Mrs Pipchin replied, turning red, "is a wicked, rude, shameless girl."

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Wickam," Mrs Pipchin replied, turning red, "is a wicked, rude, shameless girl." Go to

sharpening /ˈʃɑːrpənɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: afiando

Simple English: making an edge or point sharper

Example: The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He rubbed it gently back and forth on the arm of his chair, as if his intelligence were in his palm and he were sharpening it. Go to

Original English Version

1. The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it. Go to

2. But Paul got his hand free as soon as he could; and rubbing it gently to and fro on the elbow of his chair, as if his wit were in the palm, and he were sharpening it - and looking at the fire again, as though the fire had been his adviser and prompter - repeated, after a short pause: Go to

sharpest /ˈʃɑːrpɪst/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais mordaz

Simple English: most quick, cutting, or clever

Example: Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm. Go to

shaven /ˈʃeɪvən/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: rapado; de cabeça raspada

Simple English: With the hair cut off very close to the skin.

Example: Mr Dombey belonged to the clean-shaven, neatly cut class of rich gentlemen who look smooth and fresh like new banknotes, and who seem to be held stiff and tight by showers of gold.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey belonged to the clean-shaven, neatly cut class of rich gentlemen who look smooth and fresh like new banknotes, and who seem to be held stiff and tight by showers of gold. Go to

sheriffs ʃˈɛrʌfs (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: xerifes

Simple English: county law officers

Example: “To the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, the Common Council, and the Livery,” said the boy.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “To the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, the Common Council, and the Livery,” said the boy. Go to

Original English Version

1. “For the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Common Council, and Livery,” said the boy. Go to

sherry /ˈʃɛri/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: xerez

Simple English: A strong wine from the south of Spain.

Example: “Well, Sir,” said Mr Chick, making a desperate effort after a long silence and filling a glass with sherry, “if you permit me, I shall drink this to little Paul.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Well, Sir,” said Mr Chick, making a desperate effort after a long silence and filling a glass with sherry, “if you permit me, I shall drink this to little Paul.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Well, Sir,” said Mr Chick, making a desperate plunge, after a long silence, and filling a glass of sherry; “I shall drink this, if you’ll allow me, Sir, to little Paul.” Go to

shilling /ˈʃɪlɪŋ/ (14 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: xelim

Simple English: An old British coin worth one twentieth of a pound.

Example: “I must also trouble you, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this address card and this shilling.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I must also trouble you, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this address card and this shilling. Go to

2. He must drive to the address on the card and understand that he will receive no more than the shilling under any circumstances.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “I’ll trouble you also, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this card and this shilling. Go to

2. He’s to drive to the card, and is to understand that he will not on any account have more than the shilling.” Go to

shillings /ˈʃɪlɪŋz/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: xelins

Simple English: Old British coins worth one twentieth of a pound.

Example: Guineas, shillings, and halfpennies.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Guineas, shillings, and halfpennies. Go to

Original English Version

1. Guineas, shillings, half-pence. Go to

shipwrecks ʃˈɪprɛk (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: naufrágios

Simple English: destructions of ships at sea

Example: Walter continued giving examples from shipwrecks and other exciting accidents in which boys younger than he had bravely rescued and carried girls older than Florence.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Walter continued giving examples from shipwrecks and other exciting accidents in which boys younger than he had bravely rescued and carried girls older than Florence. Go to

Original English Version

1. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door. Go to

shivered /ˈʃɪvərd/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estremeceu; teve um arrepio

Simple English: Shook for a moment because of cold or fear.

Example: The child shivered.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The child shivered. Go to

2. An elderly fashionable gentleman with one eye, and an eyeglass stuck where the other eye should have been, was giving the bride away while the friends shivered. Go to

shivering /ˈʃɪvərɪŋ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tremendo de frio; tiritando

Simple English: Shaking slightly because of cold or fear.

Example: “The cold ground?” said the child, shivering again.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “The cold ground?” said the child, shivering again. Go to

Original English Version

1. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young, and a superannuated beau with one eye and an eyeglass stuck in its blank companion, was giving away the lady, while the friends were shivering. Go to

shone /ʃoʊn/ (72 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: brilhavam; reluziam

Simple English: Gave out or reflected light.

Example: He kept shaking the heavy gold watch-chain below his neat blue coat, whose buttons shone in the weak firelight.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He kept shaking the heavy gold watch-chain below his neat blue coat, whose buttons shone in the weak firelight. Go to

2. Mr Dombey knew the child was awake only because he sometimes glanced at Paul's eye, where the bright fire shone like a jewel. Go to

Original English Version

1. They were the strangest pair at such a time that ever firelight shone upon. Go to

shopkeepers /ˈʃɑːpkiːpərz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: lojistas; comerciantes

Simple English: People who own or run small shops.

Example: Shopkeepers, apprentices, business, and goods are not what they were.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Shopkeepers, apprentices, business, and goods are not what they were. Go to

shouldered /ˈʃoʊldərd/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pôs ao ombro; carregou no ombro

Simple English: Lifted something onto the shoulder.

Example: He was a strong, loosely built, round-shouldered man who walked heavily and had a rough, hairy appearance.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He was a strong, loosely built, round-shouldered man who walked heavily and had a rough, hairy appearance. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Go to

shovels /ˈʃʌvlz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pás

Simple English: Tools with a broad blade, used for digging or lifting.

Example: Black funeral stands were stored there with shovels, baskets, and coils of deadly-looking rope.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Black funeral stands were stored there with shovels, baskets, and coils of deadly-looking rope. Go to

Original English Version

1. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Go to

shrivelled /ˈʃrɪvəld/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: engelhado; murcho; encolhido

Simple English: Dried, wrinkled, or reduced in size.

Example: “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.” Go to

2. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events, for she had lost her breath; and this made her uglier still, as she stood trying to regain it: working her shrivelled yellow face and throat into all sorts of contortions. Go to

shuddered /ˈʃʌdərd/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estremeceu; teve um arrepio

Simple English: Shook suddenly because of cold, fear or disgust.

Example: The child shuddered.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The child shuddered. Go to

shuddering ʃʌdɜrɪŋ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tremendo

Simple English: shaking because of fear or disgust

Example: “The cold ground?” said the child, shuddering again.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “The cold ground?” said the child, shuddering again. Go to

shuffling /ˈʃʌfəlɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: arrastando; levantando aos pés

Simple English: Walking without lifting the feet properly.

Example: He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Go to

shyly /ˈʃaɪli/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: timidamente; acanhadamente

Simple English: In a nervous way, without confidence.

Example: The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The apple-faced man shyly obeyed and stood in the front row, chuckling and grinning. Go to

2. Then he looked shyly at Uncle Sol. Go to

sickroom /ˈsɪkruːm/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: quarto de doente

Simple English: A room in which an ill person is cared for.

Example: Therefore, he agreed and immediately followed her to the sickroom.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Therefore, he agreed and immediately followed her to the sickroom. Go to

sifted /ˈsɪftɪd/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: peneirada

Simple English: separated into fine parts by passing through a sieve

Example: On the floor lay a large pile of colored rags, a pile of bones, and a pile of sifted dust or ashes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. On the floor lay a large pile of colored rags, a pile of bones, and a pile of sifted dust or ashes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black. Go to

sighed /saɪd/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: suspirou

Simple English: Let out a long, slow breath to show sadness or relief.

Example: "Ah!" Mrs Wickam sighed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Ah!" Mrs Wickam sighed. Go to

2. "Ah!" Mrs Wickam sighed. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Ah!” sighed Mrs Wickam. Go to

2. “Ah!” sighed Mrs Wickam, and she shook her head again, expressing to the watchful Berry, “we shall be cold enough, some of us, by and by!” Go to

sighing /ˈsaɪɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: suspirando; lamentando

Simple English: Letting out a long breath, in sadness or in relief.

Example: “I worry and upset myself greatly about her,” said Mrs Chick, sighing at her own modest goodness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I worry and upset myself greatly about her,” said Mrs Chick, sighing at her own modest goodness. Go to

sighs /saɪz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: suspira

Simple English: Lets out a long breath to show tiredness or sadness.

Example: For the moment, he dismissed the memory of his wife with one or two sighs in tribute.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For the moment, he dismissed the memory of his wife with one or two sighs in tribute. Go to

sinful /ˈsɪnfəl/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pecaminoso; pecador

Simple English: Morally wrong according to religious law.

Example: Good heavens, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you do not close your eyes this instant, I will call the goblins who live in the attic to come and eat you alive!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Good heavens, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you do not close your eyes this instant, I will call the goblins who live in the attic to come and eat you alive!” Go to

Original English Version

1. My goodness gracious me, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you don’t shut your eyes this minute, I’ll call in them hobgoblins that lives in the cock-loft to come and eat you up alive!” Go to

skylight /ˈskaɪlaɪt/ (27 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: claraboia; abertura envidraçada no convés

Simple English: A window or glazed opening in a roof or ship's deck that admits light.

Example: A skylight lit the small, wooden-paneled back room like a ship’s cabin.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A skylight lit the small, wooden-paneled back room like a ship’s cabin. Go to

2. He kept staring upward until the dull moonlight, shining sadly through the dim skylight, sent him back to his room. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey looked after them until they reached the top of the staircase - not without halting to rest by the way - and passed out of his sight; and then he still stood gazing upwards, until the dull rays of the moon, glimmering in a melancholy manner through the dim skylight, sent him back to his room. Go to

skylights /ˈskaɪlˌaɪt/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: claraboia

Simple English: A window in a roof.

Example: But these dreams rarely turned the brass sign at Dombey and Son into a golden promise or made its dirty skylights shine.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But these dreams rarely turned the brass sign at Dombey and Son into a golden promise or made its dirty skylights shine. Go to

Original English Version

1. But these flights of fancy seldom burnished the brass plate of Dombey and Son’s Offices into a tablet of golden hope, or shed a brilliant lustre on their dirty skylights; and when the Captain and Uncle Sol talked about Richard Whittington and masters’ daughters, Walter felt that he understood his true position at Dombey and Son’s, much better than they did. Go to

sleek /slˈik/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: liso e brilhante

Simple English: smooth and shiny

Example: She had furry articles for winter wear, as tippets, boas, and muffs, which stood up on end in rampant manner, and were not at all sleek.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She had furry articles for winter wear, as tippets, boas, and muffs, which stood up on end in rampant manner, and were not at all sleek. Go to

sleeper /ˈsliːpər/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: quem dorme; o adormecido

Simple English: A person who is sleeping.

Example: She sat beside the bed and spoke in the low, careful voice of someone trying to wake a sleeper:

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She sat beside the bed and spoke in the low, careful voice of someone trying to wake a sleeper: Go to

Original English Version

1. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper: Go to

slide (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: deslizar; escorregar; slide

Simple English: to move smoothly over a surface

Example: The glass began to slide off the table.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She will never slide gently into the centre of her Papa's affections like the - ” Go to

slighted /ˈslaɪtɪd/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desprezada

Simple English: treated as unimportant or with disrespect

Example: The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was neglected and treated coldly, and his young heart cared for the slighted child in her gloomy, grand home. Go to

Original English Version

1. The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him. Go to

2. This reference to Florence, who had been standing by the door not unobservant of what passed, directed the attention of the younger branches towards her; and had likewise the happy effect of leading to the formal recognition of Miss Nipper, who was not quite free from a misgiving that she had been already slighted. Go to

3. He had no idea of being overlooked or slighted by anybody; least of all, had he the remotest comprehension of being overlooked and slighted by Miss Tox. Go to

4. Florence was neglected and coldly looked upon, and his breast was full of youthful interest for the slighted child in her dull, stately home. Go to

slipper /slˈɪpɝ/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chinelo

Simple English: a soft shoe worn indoors

Example: Walter picked up Florence's shoe and placed it on her little foot as the prince in the story fitted Cinderella's slipper.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Walter picked up Florence's shoe and placed it on her little foot as the prince in the story fitted Cinderella's slipper. Go to

Original English Version

1. Walter picked up the shoe, and put it on the little foot as the Prince in the story might have fitted Cinderella’s slipper on. Go to

slippers /ˈslɪpərz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chinelos; pantufas

Simple English: Soft light shoes worn inside a house.

Example: Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Go to

sly /slaɪ/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: matreiro; malicioso

Simple English: Clever in a secret and not honest way.

Example: Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Oh, how old the face looked when it turned up again, with an expression that was half sad and half sly! Go to

Original English Version

1. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively. Go to

2. “He’s tough, Ma’am, tough, is J.B. Tough, and de-vilish sly!” over which reflection he chuckled for the rest of the day. Go to

smacked /smˈækt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tapa

Simple English: hit lightly, taste strongly of, or make a sharp sound

Example: But once the wine reached his lips, he drank it bravely and smacked his lips afterward.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But once the wine reached his lips, he drank it bravely and smacked his lips afterward. Go to

Original English Version

1. But having once got the wine to his lips, he tossed it off like a man, and smacked them afterwards. Go to

smearing /ˈsmɪrɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esfregando

Simple English: rubbing or wiping something wet against a surface so that it leaves a mark

Example: “Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. Go to

smoothing /ˈsmuːðɪŋ/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: alisando; desamassando

Simple English: Making something flat and even with the hands.

Example: On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She sobbed and cried against the nurse's chest, became fond of the baby lying in her lap, and - there, there, there!” Polly said, smoothing the child's curls and dropping tears onto them. Go to

Original English Version

1. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Go to

2. “And the child’s heart,” said Polly, drawing her to her breast: “the little daughter’s heart was so full of the truth of this, that even when she heard it from a strange nurse that couldn’t tell it right, but was a poor mother herself and that was all, she found a comfort in it - didn’t feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap - and - there, there, there!” said Polly, smoothing the child’s curls and dropping tears upon them. Go to

snails /sneɪlz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: caracóis

Simple English: Small soft animals that carry a shell on the back.

Example: “I may be very fond of sea snails, Mrs Richards, but that does not mean I should have them for tea.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I may be very fond of sea snails, Mrs Richards, but that does not mean I should have them for tea.” Go to

2. The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate. Go to

Original English Version

1. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Go to

snares /snˈɛrz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: laço

Simple English: a trap made from a noose

Example: After some thought, the Major decided it meant traps for men, plots, and snares.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After some thought, the Major decided it meant traps for men, plots, and snares. Go to

sniffed /snɪft/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: farejou; cheirou

Simple English: Smelled something by breathing in through the nose.

Example: Miss Pankey, the only other young boarder at that time, had just been sent to the Castle Dungeon - an empty room at the back used for punishment - because she had sniffed three times in front of visitors.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Pankey, the only other young boarder at that time, had just been sent to the Castle Dungeon - an empty room at the back used for punishment - because she had sniffed three times in front of visitors. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin taught her that no one who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Pankey, the only other little boarder at present, had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back, devoted to correctional purposes), for having sniffed thrice, in the presence of visitors. Go to

2. At one o’clock there was a dinner, chiefly of the farinaceous and vegetable kind, when Miss Pankey (a mild little blue-eyed morsel of a child, who was shampoo’d every morning, and seemed in danger of being rubbed away, altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself, and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. Go to

soaking /ˈsoʊkɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: encharcando; molhando toda

Simple English: Making something completely wet.

Example: In another, pieces of iron lay soaking and rusting in something that had accidentally become a pond.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In another, pieces of iron lay soaking and rusting in something that had accidentally become a pond. Go to

sobbed /sɑːbd/ (27 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: soluçou

Simple English: Cried noisily, taking short breaths.

Example: “Ye-es, ma'am,” Polly sobbed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Ye-es, ma'am,” Polly sobbed. Go to

2. She sobbed and cried against the nurse's chest, became fond of the baby lying in her lap, and - there, there, there!” Polly said, smoothing the child's curls and dropping tears onto them. Go to

3. Oh, please take care of me!” Florence sobbed. Go to

4. Louisa, I think the other nurse, the young person” - Miss Nipper sobbed loudly - “may stay because she is much younger and was naturally influenced by Paul's nurse. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Ye - es, Ma’am,” sobbed Polly. Go to

2. “And the child’s heart,” said Polly, drawing her to her breast: “the little daughter’s heart was so full of the truth of this, that even when she heard it from a strange nurse that couldn’t tell it right, but was a poor mother herself and that was all, she found a comfort in it - didn’t feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap - and - there, there, there!” said Polly, smoothing the child’s curls and dropping tears upon them. Go to

3. “Yes, I was lost this morning, a long way from here - and I have had my clothes taken away, since - and I am not dressed in my own now - and my name is Florence Dombey, my little brother’s only sister - and, oh dear, dear, take care of me, if you please!” sobbed Florence, giving full vent to the childish feelings she had so long suppressed, and bursting into tears. Go to

4. I think, Louisa, the other nurse, the young person,” here Miss Nipper sobbed aloud, “being so much younger, and necessarily influenced by Paul’s nurse, may remain. Go to

sobbing /ˈsɑːbɪŋ/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: soluçando; aos soluços

Simple English: Crying loudly while taking short sharp breaths.

Example: “Mama!” cried the child, sobbing aloud.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Mama!” cried the child, sobbing aloud. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Mama!” cried the child sobbing aloud. Go to

sobs /sɑːbz/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: soluços; soluça

Simple English: Loud cries made while breathing in short sharp gasps.

Example: But Florence repeated her request with a frightened look and a voice broken by sobs and tears.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But Florence repeated her request with a frightened look and a voice broken by sobs and tears. Go to

2. As for the education, its punishment might also arrive in time, because it was a storm of sobs and blows. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Chick interposed with some motherly words about going to sleep like a dear, but Florence repeated her supplication, with a frightened look, and in a voice broken by sobs and tears. Go to

2. For the matter of that - but Mrs Chick didn’t know it - he had been pretty well blighted by the dress already; and as to the education, even its retributive effect might be produced in time, for it was a storm of sobs and blows. Go to

soften /ˈsɔːfən/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: amolecer; suavizar; abrandar

Simple English: To make something less hard, less strong or less severe.

Example: Although Mrs Pipchin became very greasy on the outside while eating it, it did not soften her inside at all.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Although Mrs Pipchin became very greasy on the outside while eating it, it did not soften her inside at all. Go to

softened /ˈsɔːfənd/ (53 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: suavizaram-se; enterneceram-se

Simple English: Became or made less hard, less strong or less severe.

Example: The words softened him so much that he added a loving expression to Mrs Dombey's name.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The words softened him so much that he added a loving expression to Mrs Dombey's name. Go to

2. “Well, sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a full, deep voice, softened for the occasion like the door knocker, “did your visit wake your dear wife at all?” Go to

3. Jemima’s respectful behavior softened the black-eyed girl so much that Susan picked up little Miss Toodle as she ran past and immediately bounced her on an imaginary ride to Banbury Cross. Go to

4. Mrs Pipchin charged high fees to everyone who could afford them and rarely softened her steady bitterness for anyone. Go to

Original English Version

1. The black-eyed was so softened by this deferential behaviour, that she caught up little Miss Toodle who was running past, and took her to Banbury Cross immediately. Go to

softening /ˈsɔːfənɪŋ/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: abrandando; amolecendo

Simple English: Becoming gentler or less hard.

Example: The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs Dombey’s name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.”

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs Dombey’s name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.” Go to

2. Though Mrs Pipchin got very greasy, outside, over this dish, it didn’t seem to lubricate her internally, at all; for she was as fierce as ever, and the hard grey eye knew no softening. Go to

softest /ˈsɔːftəst/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: o mais suave; o mais meloso

Simple English: The most gentle and quiet.

Example: She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything. Go to

solemn /ˈsɑːləm/ (63 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: solene; grave; sério

Simple English: Very serious, without smiling.

Example: There was a solemn silence around the bed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. There was a solemn silence around the bed. Go to

2. But even if these were my last words - and last words should be very solemn to you and me after poor dear Fanny - I would still say that I never thought it could. Go to

3. For a moment, it seemed like another solemn ceremony. Go to

4. Mr Dombey sat straight and solemn, staring at the flames. Go to

5. "Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam answered in her most solemn voice, "was burdened as that child has been, and changed as he has changed. Go to

Original English Version

1. There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. Go to

2. He walked up to my seat, - I wish he wasn’t so solemn and stiff, Uncle, - and said, ‘Oh! you are the son of Mr Gills the Ships’ Instrument-maker.’ ‘Nephew, Sir,’ I said. Go to

3. Uncle Sol nodded his head, implying that he knew very well what he was about; and having drawn the cork in solemn silence, filled two glasses and set the bottle and a third clean glass on the table. Go to

4. But if they were the last words I had to utter - and last words should be very solemn to you and me, Paul, after poor dear Fanny - I would still say I never thought it was. Go to

5. It seemed for a moment like that other solemn institution, “Wilt thou have this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.” Go to

6. Mr Dombey so erect and solemn, gazing at the glare; his little image, with an old, old face, peering into the red perspective with the fixed and rapt attention of a sage. Go to

solemnly /ˈsɑːləmli/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: solenemente; com gravidade

Simple English: In a very serious way.

Example: She never went outside without Mrs Chick, who came on fine mornings, usually with Miss Tox, to take Richards and the baby for fresh air - or rather, to march them solemnly up and down the pavement like a moving funeral.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She never went outside without Mrs Chick, who came on fine mornings, usually with Miss Tox, to take Richards and the baby for fresh air - or rather, to march them solemnly up and down the pavement like a moving funeral. Go to

2. “If I were in your ungrateful position,” said Mrs Chick solemnly, “and had your thoughts, Richards, I would feel that the charity school's uniform would destroy my child and its education would choke him.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “If it was my ungrateful case,” said Mrs Chick, solemnly, “and I had your reflections, Richards, I should feel as if the Charitable Grinders’ dress would blight my child, and the education choke him.” Go to

soles /soʊlz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: solas

Simple English: The bottom parts of shoes or feet.

Example: He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all. Go to

solitude /ˈsɑləˌtud/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: solidão

Simple English: the state of being alone, especially in a quiet place

Example: There was anything but solitude in the nursery; for there, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening, so much to the disgust of Miss Susan Nipper, that that young lady embraced every opportunity of making wry faces behind the door.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. There was anything but solitude in the nursery; for there, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening, so much to the disgust of Miss Susan Nipper, that that young lady embraced every opportunity of making wry faces behind the door. Go to

somewhat /ˈsʌmwʌt/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: algo; ligeiramente

Simple English: To a limited extent; moderately so.

Example: I am somewhat tired after all the work we did today.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She was somewhat past middle age but dressed like a much younger woman, especially in a very tight dress. Go to

2. “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of someone summarizing what everyone had already agreed, though she was saying it for the first time, “has been somewhat weakened by his last illness and is not in the vigorous health we would wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his body and sometimes seems about to lose, for a moment, the use of his - ” Go to

3. "Nonsense!" Miss Berry cried, somewhat offended by the idea. Go to

soothe /suːð/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: acalmar; aliviar; abrandar

Simple English: To make someone calmer, or to make pain less strong.

Example: “Most men would have realized,” said Mrs Chick, “that since poor dear Fanny is no longer with us - those words of mine will always comfort and soothe me,” and here she dried her eyes, “we must find a nurse.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Most men would have realized,” said Mrs Chick, “that since poor dear Fanny is no longer with us - those words of mine will always comfort and soothe me,” and here she dried her eyes, “we must find a nurse.” Go to

soothing /ˈsuːðɪŋ/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: calmante

Simple English: making someone feel calm or less upset

Example: “You must not distress yourself, my dear,” said Miss Tox, in a soothing voice.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In her emotion, Miss Berry might have patted Paul too hard or stopped the steady soothing motion. Go to

Original English Version

1. “You must not distress yourself, my dear,” said Miss Tox, in a soothing voice. Go to

2. No one else leant over her, and whispered soothing words to her, or was near enough to hear the flutter of her beating heart. Go to

3. Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence. Go to

soothingly /ˈsuːðɪŋli/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de modo calmante

Simple English: in a way that makes someone calmer or less upset

Example: “You must not upset yourself, my dear,” said Miss Tox soothingly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “You must not upset yourself, my dear,” said Miss Tox soothingly. Go to

sorrowful /ˈsɑːroʊfəl/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lamentável; penoso

Simple English: Full of sadness.

Example: The child, in her grief and neglect, was so gentle, so quiet, and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have, and so much sorrowful intelligence that no one seemed to mind or think about the wounding of, that Polly’s heart was sore when she was left alone again.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. The child, in her grief and neglect, was so gentle, so quiet, and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have, and so much sorrowful intelligence that no one seemed to mind or think about the wounding of, that Polly’s heart was sore when she was left alone again. Go to

2. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility. Go to

sorrows /ˈsɑːroʊz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tristezas; mágoas; pesares

Simple English: Feelings of deep sadness, or the events that cause them.

Example: But he continued sleeping, unaware of Miss Tox's kind intentions, the Major's wonder, his sister's early sorrows, and his father's stern visions.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But he continued sleeping, unaware of Miss Tox's kind intentions, the Major's wonder, his sister's early sorrows, and his father's stern visions. Go to

Original English Version

1. But he slumbered on, alike unconscious of the kind intentions of Miss Tox, the wonder of the Major, the early sorrows of his sister, and the stern visions of his father; and innocent that any spot of earth contained a Dombey or a Son. Go to

sparkled /ˈspɑːrkəld/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cintilavam; brilhavam

Simple English: Shone with small, bright points of light.

Example: Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Go to

spasms /ˈspæzəmz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: espasmos

Simple English: Sudden short tightenings of the muscles.

Example: “Do not tire yourself too much, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you will become ill with spasms, I can see.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Do not tire yourself too much, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you will become ill with spasms, I can see. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Don’t you over-exert yourself, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you’ll be laid up with spasms, I see. Go to

spectacles /ˈspɛktəkəlz/ (57 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: óculos

Simple English: A pair of glasses worn over the eyes to help someone see.

Example: He wore a very neat shirt frill and kept excellent spectacles on his forehead.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He wore a very neat shirt frill and kept excellent spectacles on his forehead. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin put on her spectacles, opened a large book covered in green cloth, and began to fall asleep. Go to

Original English Version

1. He wore a very precise shirt-frill, and carried a pair of first-rate spectacles on his forehead, and a tremendous chronometer in his fob, rather than doubt which precious possession, he would have believed in a conspiracy against it on part of all the clocks and watches in the City, and even of the very Sun itself. Go to

2. “My dear boy,” said Solomon, who, with his spectacles on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, was incessantly oscillating between Florence on the sofa, and his nephew in all parts of the parlour, “it’s the most extraordinary - ” Go to

3. After tea, Berry brought out a little work-box, with the Royal Pavilion on the lid, and fell to working busily; while Mrs Pipchin, having put on her spectacles and opened a great volume bound in green baize, began to nod. Go to

spitfire /ˈspɪtfaɪər/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Spitfire

Simple English: a name used for a sharp-tempered person or character

Example: “Oh no, Mrs Richards,” rejoined Spitfire.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As for me,” said the little Spitfire with a giggle, “I doubt that he even knows I exist.” Go to

2. The little Spitfire was generally good-natured, although she followed a school of child training which believed that childhood, like money, must be shaken, rattled, and pushed around a great deal to keep it bright. Go to

3. Once she was safely upstairs again, she told the little Spitfire the entire story. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Oh no, Mrs Richards,” rejoined Spitfire. Go to

2. “Not at all, I don’t wish it, we needn’t stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.” Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible. Go to

3. “Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. Go to

4. “Not once since, and he hadn’t hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months, and I don’t think he’d have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets, or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow, Mrs Richards, as to me,” said Spitfire, with a giggle, “I doubt if he’s aweer of my existence.” Go to

5. Spitfire seemed to be in the main a good-natured little body, although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood, like money, must be shaken and rattled and jostled about a good deal to keep it bright. Go to

6. However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Go to

sponsor /ˈspɒnsər/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: patrocinador; patrocinar; padrinho

Simple English: To pay for a project or activity in exchange for promotion.

Example: The local business will sponsor the sports team this season.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At the end, the clergyman spoke simply about the sponsors examining the child in the future and happened to look at Mr Chick. Go to

sprang /spræŋ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: saltou; pulou

Simple English: Jumped or moved suddenly and quickly.

Example: As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The child immediately sprang up with sudden energy and liveliness. Go to

Original English Version

1. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Go to

Stable /ˈsteɪbəl/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estável; estábulo; estabilidade

Simple English: Farm building designed to house horses or livestock.

Example: The horses live in a stable near the big red barn.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After a long time, they reached a stable yard with a gateway at the end, beyond which Florence could hear the roar of a busy main road. Go to

2. Miss Tox's rear bedroom looked along a row of stable buildings where stablemen constantly added lively noises to whatever work they did. Go to

stablemen /ˈsteɪbəlmɛn/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: tratadores de cavalos

Simple English: men who work in a stable

Example: Miss Tox's rear bedroom looked along a row of stable buildings where stablemen constantly added lively noises to whatever work they did.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox's rear bedroom looked along a row of stable buildings where stablemen constantly added lively noises to whatever work they did. Go to

stables /ˈsteɪbəlz/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estábulos; cavalariças

Simple English: Buildings where horses are kept.

Example: Every rising wind blew around the corner from the nearby stables pieces of the straw spread before the house during her illness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Every rising wind blew around the corner from the nearby stables pieces of the straw spread before the house during her illness. Go to

2. They were never opened and were believed to be an unused entrance to someone's stables. Go to

3. Indeed, Princess's Place smelled slightly of stables. Go to

Original English Version

1. There was another private house besides Miss Tox’s in Princess’s Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates, with an immense pair of lion-headed knockers on them, which were never opened by any chance, and were supposed to constitute a disused entrance to somebody’s stables. Go to

staggs /stæɡz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Staggs

Simple English: a surname associated with the supposed founder of a place

Example: Some believed the place was named after a dead rich man called Mr Staggs, who had built it for his pleasure.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Some believed the place was named after a dead rich man called Mr Staggs, who had built it for his pleasure. Go to

Original English Version

1. Some were of opinion that Staggs’s Gardens derived its name from a deceased capitalist, one Mr Staggs, who had built it for his delectation. Go to

staggs's /ˈstæɡzɪz/ (33 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Staggs

Simple English: belonging to Mr Staggs

Example: She raised many clever doubts about Polly’s second idea and supported the original plan with so many clever arguments that, almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s grand back was turned and he began his daily journey to the City, his unsuspecting son was traveling toward Staggs’s Gardens.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She raised many clever doubts about Polly’s second idea and supported the original plan with so many clever arguments that, almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s grand back was turned and he began his daily journey to the City, his unsuspecting son was traveling toward Staggs’s Gardens. Go to

2. Staggs’s Gardens especially refused to believe in the railway. Go to

3. Whatever the truth, its residents considered Staggs’s Gardens a sacred wood that no railway could destroy. Go to

4. The people of Staggs’s Gardens considered these kittens wonders of realistic art. Go to

5. “To Staggs's Gardens.” Go to

Original English Version

1. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Go to

2. This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Go to

3. Staggs’s Gardens was uncommonly incredulous. Go to

4. Here, the Staggs’s Gardeners trained scarlet beans, kept fowls and rabbits, erected rotten summer-houses (one was an old boat), dried clothes, and smoked pipes. Go to

5. Some were of opinion that Staggs’s Gardens derived its name from a deceased capitalist, one Mr Staggs, who had built it for his delectation. Go to

6. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots. Go to

staggses /ˈstæɡzɪz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: os Staggs

Simple English: the Staggs family considered as a group

Example: Others, who naturally loved the countryside, believed the name came from old country days when groups of deer, commonly called Staggses, visited its shady spaces.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Others, who naturally loved the countryside, believed the name came from old country days when groups of deer, commonly called Staggses, visited its shady spaces. Go to

Original English Version

1. Others, who had a natural taste for the country, held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd, under the familiar denomination of Staggses, had resorted to its shady precincts. Go to

starfish /ˈstɑːrfɪʃ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: estrela-do-mar

Simple English: a sea animal with a central body and usually five arms

Example: So much practical navigation was fitted, cushioned, and screwed into every box - whether the box was only a flat board, or shaped like something between a three-cornered hat and a starfish, and those were simple boxes compared with others - that the shop itself seemed affected.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. So much practical navigation was fitted, cushioned, and screwed into every box - whether the box was only a flat board, or shaped like something between a three-cornered hat and a starfish, and those were simple boxes compared with others - that the shop itself seemed affected. Go to

startled /ˈstɑːrtəld/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: assustada; sobressaltada

Simple English: Suddenly surprised or frightened.

Example: He was not a man of whom it could properly be said that he was ever startled, or shocked; but he certainly had a sense within him, that if his wife should sicken and decay, he would be very sorry, and that he would find a something gone from among his plate and furniture, and other household possessions, which was well worth the having, and could not be lost without sincere regret.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He was not a man of whom it could properly be said that he was ever startled, or shocked; but he certainly had a sense within him, that if his wife should sicken and decay, he would be very sorry, and that he would find a something gone from among his plate and furniture, and other household possessions, which was well worth the having, and could not be lost without sincere regret. Go to

2. “Startled fawn?” suggested Miss Tox. Go to

3. “Like the startled fawn,” said Mrs Chick. Go to

starved /stɑːrvd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: faminto; morrendo de fome

Simple English: Suffering badly from lack of food, or of anything needed.

Example: “Indeed I am not,” said Mrs Chick; “nor likely to be, so far as I can see, and in the meantime the poor child seems likely to be starved to death.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “Indeed I am not,” said Mrs Chick; “nor likely to be, so far as I can see, and in the meantime the poor child seems likely to be starved to death. Go to

stately /ˈsteɪtli/ (40 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: imponente; majestoso

Simple English: Grand and dignified.

Example: Something so stately, you know: so uncompromising: so very wide across the chest: so upright!

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Something so stately, you know: so uncompromising: so very wide across the chest: so upright! Go to

2. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Go to

3. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Go to

4. Susan took the extreme corner of a chair, with a stately and ceremonious aspect. Go to

5. Mr Dombey bent his head in stately recognition of the Bulbuls as an old-established body. Go to

6. Florence was neglected and coldly looked upon, and his breast was full of youthful interest for the slighted child in her dull, stately home. Go to

steep /stiːp/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: íngreme; acentuada; escarpadas

Simple English: (Of an angle) measuring less than ninety degrees.

Example: The mountain climb was steep, making it very challenging for hikers.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In one place, a confused mass of overturned carts lay at the bottom of a steep, unnatural hill. Go to

2. The castle of this ogress and child-tamer stood on a steep side street in Brighton. Go to

sternly /ˈstɜːrnli/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: severamente; com firmeza

Simple English: In a serious and strict way.

Example: “Of course there is none,” said Mr Dombey sternly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Of course there is none,” said Mr Dombey sternly. Go to

2. “You hear this, girl?” Mr Dombey said sternly to the black-eyed maid. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Why none,” said Mr Dombey, sternly. Go to

2. “You hear this, girl?” said Mr Dombey sternly to the black-eyed. Go to

sticky /ˈstɪki/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pegajoso; autoadesivas; grudento

Simple English: Having a substance that clings to surfaces; adhesive.

Example: The sticky tape is perfect for wrapping gifts without leaving residue.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Half a dozen cactuses twisted around pieces of wood like hairy snakes; another plant stretched out broad claws like a green lobster; several creeping plants had sticky leaves; and one uncomfortable flowerpot hung from the ceiling. Go to

stiffly /ˈstɪfli/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: rigidamente; com dificuldade

Simple English: In a way that shows the body does not bend easily.

Example: Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her winter furs - small capes, boas, and muffs - stood stiffly on end and were never smooth. Go to

2. “I hope I know, Louisa,” Mr Dombey said stiffly, “how to behave before the world.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “I hope I know, Louisa,” said Mr Dombey, stiffly, “how to bear myself before the world.” Go to

stillness /ˈstɪlnəs/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: silêncio; imobilidade

Simple English: A state with no movement and no sound.

Example: There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. Go to

stockings /ˈstɑːkɪŋz/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: meias longas; meias de malha

Simple English: Close-fitting coverings for the feet and legs.

Example: “The uniform, Richards, is a nice, warm blue wool coat with tails and a cap, both edged in orange, red wool stockings, and very strong leather knee-breeches.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “The uniform, Richards, is a nice, warm blue wool coat with tails and a cap, both edged in orange, red wool stockings, and very strong leather knee-breeches. Go to

Original English Version

1. “One hundred and forty-seven,” said Mrs Chick “The dress, Richards, is a nice, warm, blue baize tailed coat and cap, turned up with orange coloured binding; red worsted stockings; and very strong leather small-clothes. Go to

stoker /ˈstoʊkər/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: foguista

Simple English: A worker who feeds coal or other fuel into an engine or furnace.

Example: “Stoker,” said the man.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Stoker,” said the man. Go to

2. “Stoker,” said the man. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Stoker,” said the man. Go to

2. “Stoker,” said the man. Go to

stony /ˈstoʊni/ (15 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pedregosas

Simple English: Covered with stones.

Example: There the soil was unusually chalky, stony, and barren, and the houses unusually fragile and thin.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. There the soil was unusually chalky, stony, and barren, and the houses unusually fragile and thin. Go to

stools /stuːlz/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: banquinhos

Simple English: Seats with no back and no arms.

Example: In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In my room there is a high fireguard, an iron safe, cards about ships that will sail, a calendar, desks, stools, an ink bottle, books, boxes, and many cobwebs. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.” Go to

2. Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner. Go to

stout /staʊt/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: grosso e resistente; robusto

Simple English: Rather fat and heavy, or strong and thick.

Example: She delivered it for the behoof of Mr Chick, who was a stout bald gentleman, with a very large face, and his hands continually in his pockets, and who had a tendency in his nature to whistle and hum tunes, which, sensible of the indecorum of such sounds in a house of grief, he was at some pains to repress at present.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Outside it, a stout man stood whistling, watching the nearby masts and boats. Go to

Original English Version

1. She delivered it for the behoof of Mr Chick, who was a stout bald gentleman, with a very large face, and his hands continually in his pockets, and who had a tendency in his nature to whistle and hum tunes, which, sensible of the indecorum of such sounds in a house of grief, he was at some pains to repress at present. Go to

2. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Go to

3. “For the child is hardly,” said Mr Dombey, “as stout as I could wish.” Go to

4. Our darling is altogether as stout as we could wish. Go to

straighter /ˈstreɪtər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais ereta

Simple English: With the body held more upright.

Example: And the parlour couldn’t bear straighter either.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. And the parlour couldn’t bear straighter either. Go to

straitjacket /ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: camisa de força

Simple English: A strong garment that restrains a person's arms.

Example: “You could keep me in a straitjacket for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got free, I would only be angrier.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “You could keep me in a straitjacket for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got free, I would only be angrier. Go to

strangest /ˈstreɪndʒɪst/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: o mais estranho

Simple English: The most strange of all.

Example: There were bridges leading nowhere, completely blocked roads, towers of chimneys missing half their height, and temporary wooden buildings and fences in the strangest places.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. There were bridges leading nowhere, completely blocked roads, towers of chimneys missing half their height, and temporary wooden buildings and fences in the strangest places. Go to

2. After a minute of looking down at the gentle, patient little face beside him, he said, “Mr Carker the Junior is the strangest man you could imagine, Miss Florence. Go to

3. They were the strangest pair ever lit by firelight. Go to

Original English Version

1. After a minute’s pause, during which he had been looking down upon the gentle patient little face moving on at his side, he said, “The strangest man, Mr Carker the Junior is, Miss Florence, that ever you heard of. Go to

2. They were the strangest pair at such a time that ever firelight shone upon. Go to

stressing /ˈstrɛsɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enfatizando

Simple English: Giving special importance or emphasis to something.

Example: He looked hopefully at his nephew through the fog that always seemed to surround him, stressing the words with pleasure.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He looked hopefully at his nephew through the fog that always seemed to surround him, stressing the words with pleasure. Go to

2. Last night he spoke to me about his - about his bones,” Mr Dombey said, stressing the word angrily. Go to

3. Oh yes, miss, SHE is alive," Mrs Wickam said, strongly stressing the word. Go to

strict /strɪkt/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estrita; rigoroso; rígidas

Simple English: Absolute rules that must always be obeyed.

Example: The school has strict rules about student behavior during classes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Yet she seemed to act more from an extremely strict performance of her duties than from any planned cruelty. Go to

2. He was exactly the same strict, stiff gentleman he had seemed on her first day. Go to

strictness /ˈstrɪktnəs/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: rigor; severidade

Simple English: The quality of enforcing rules firmly or allowing little freedom.

Example: She could hardly avoid seeing Biler’s metal badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as part of the day’s formality and strictness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She could hardly avoid seeing Biler’s metal badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as part of the day’s formality and strictness. Go to

stringy /ˈstrɪŋi/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fibroso; filamentoso

Simple English: Containing long, thin fibres or threads.

Example: Instead, he chose the boy's grandfather: a thin, crab-faced old man in a worn oilskin suit, made tough and stringy by years in salt water, who smelled like a weedy beach at low tide.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Instead, he chose the boy's grandfather: a thin, crab-faced old man in a worn oilskin suit, made tough and stringy by years in salt water, who smelled like a weedy beach at low tide. Go to

Original English Version

1. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. Go to

stumble /ˈstʌmbəl/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: tropeçar

Simple English: To trip or lose balance while moving.

Example: The watches seemed to push against each other and make each other stumble.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The watches seemed to push against each other and make each other stumble. Go to

stumbling /ˈstʌmblɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tropeçando; andando aos tropeços

Simple English: Making someone lose their step or fail.

Example: Master Bitherstone read aloud to the others a family line from Genesis, wisely chosen by Mrs Pipchin, and passed through the names with the ease and clarity of someone stumbling up a treadmill.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the others a family line from Genesis, wisely chosen by Mrs Pipchin, and passed through the names with the ease and clarity of someone stumbling up a treadmill. Go to

suction /ˈsʌkʃən/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: sucção

Simple English: the pulling force that makes a suction cup stick to a surface

Example: The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The little front gardens mysteriously produced nothing but marigolds, no matter what was planted in them, and snails were constantly found clinging like suction cups to front doors and other public places they were not meant to decorate. Go to

summarizing /ˈsʌməraɪzɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: resumindo

Simple English: giving the main points in a short form

Example: “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of someone summarizing what everyone had already agreed, though she was saying it for the first time, “has been somewhat weakened by his last illness and is not in the vigorous health we would wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his body and sometimes seems about to lose, for a moment, the use of his - ”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of someone summarizing what everyone had already agreed, though she was saying it for the first time, “has been somewhat weakened by his last illness and is not in the vigorous health we would wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his body and sometimes seems about to lose, for a moment, the use of his - ” Go to

summoning /ˈsʌmənɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: invocando

Simple English: calling up a quality, person, or force

Example: But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper:

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper: Go to

sunbeam /ˈsʌnbiːm/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: raio de sol

Simple English: a narrow stream of sunlight

Example: If any sunbeam stole into the room to light the children at their play, it never reached his face.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. If any sunbeam stole into the room to light the children at their play, it never reached his face. Go to

sunken /ˈsʌŋkən/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: afundado; submerso; encovado

Simple English: Under water, or lower than the surface around it.

Example: He could only whistle and stare so intensely that his eyes in earlier times now seemed deep and sunken by comparison.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He could only whistle and stare so intensely that his eyes in earlier times now seemed deep and sunken by comparison. Go to

Original English Version

1. He could do nothing but whistle, and stare to that extent, that his eyes, compared with what they now became, had been in former times quite cavernous and sunken. Go to

surest /ˈʃʊrɪst/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais certa

Simple English: most certain or most likely to succeed

Example: That was the surest way to make Berry ask again.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. That was the surest way to make Berry ask again. Go to

Original English Version

1. This was the surest way of being asked again. Go to

surrounding (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: circundante; ao redor; vizinho

Simple English: around something

Example: The surrounding area is very quiet.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. These were also excellent examples of plants suited to surrounding Mrs Pipchin. Go to

surrounds /səˈraʊndz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: cerca; rodeia

Simple English: Extends all around a person, place, or thing.

Example: And so, holding tightly to that small piece of safety in her arms, the mother drifted out onto the dark, unknown sea that surrounds the whole world.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. And so, holding tightly to that small piece of safety in her arms, the mother drifted out onto the dark, unknown sea that surrounds the whole world. Go to

susan's /ˈsuːzənz/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Susan

Simple English: Belonging to a character named Susan.

Example: Even under the kind influence of shrimp, Susan’s sense of duty made her give Florence a moral lecture, marked by blows, while washing her face and hands.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Even under the kind influence of shrimp, Susan’s sense of duty made her give Florence a moral lecture, marked by blows, while washing her face and hands. Go to

2. “For Mrs Richards,” one of Susan's fellow servants whispered darkly as Susan passed with Florence. Go to

Original English Version

1. Again, too, the coach was ordered to wait - “for Mrs Richards,” one of Susan’s fellow-servants ominously whispered, as she passed with Florence. Go to

swam /swæm/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: nadou

Simple English: Moved through water using the arms and legs.

Example: “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water. Go to

sweep /swiːp/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: varrer; varredura; varra

Simple English: To clean an area by removing dirt with a broom.

Example: I sweep the patio every morning to keep it clean.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Often, when Mr Chick seemed defeated, he would suddenly recover, turn the situation around, figuratively knock the tables against Mrs Chick’s ears, and sweep everything before him. Go to

2. “I see that temporary people sweep everything before them here. Go to

3. They were so sure it would live longer than such a foolish invention that the master chimney sweep at the corner, a leader in local politics, publicly promised that if the railway ever opened, two of his boys would climb his chimneys and mock its failure from the chimney pots. Go to

sweetbread /ˈswiːtbrɛd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: moleja (prato de miúdos)

Simple English: the pancreas or thymus gland of an animal, used as food

Example: At about half past nine, the smell of a warm sweetbread - Mrs Pipchin’s health would not allow her to sleep without one - mixed with the usual smell of the house, which Mrs Wickam called “the smell of a building.” Soon afterward, sleep fell over the Castle.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At about half past nine, the smell of a warm sweetbread - Mrs Pipchin’s health would not allow her to sleep without one - mixed with the usual smell of the house, which Mrs Wickam called “the smell of a building.” Soon afterward, sleep fell over the Castle. Go to

sweeter /ˈswiːtər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais doce; mais melosa

Simple English: More sweet, or more pleasant to hear or to feel.

Example: I could not wish for a sweeter one.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I could not wish for a sweeter one. Go to

Original English Version

1. I couldn’t wish to see a sweeter. Go to

sweetness /ˈswiːtnəs/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: doçura; suavidade

Simple English: The quality of tasting like sugar, or of being gentle and kind.

Example: Would I express myself correctly,” said Miss Tox with special sweetness, “if I called it a very select boarding house for young children?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Would I express myself correctly,” said Miss Tox with special sweetness, “if I called it a very select boarding house for young children?” Go to

Original English Version

1. Should I express my meaning,” said Miss Tox, with peculiar sweetness, “if I designated it an infantine Boarding-House of a very select description?” Go to

swelled /swɛld/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inchou; encheu-se

Simple English: Became larger, often by filling with air or water.

Example: Her heart swelled so as she stood before the woman, looking into her eyes, that she was fain to press her little hand upon her breast and hold it there.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Her heart swelled so as she stood before the woman, looking into her eyes, that she was fain to press her little hand upon her breast and hold it there. Go to

syllable /ˈsɪləbəl/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sílaba

Simple English: A part of a word with one vowel sound.

Example: “Bow-wow-wow!” repeated Mrs Chick with an emphasis of blighting contempt on the last syllable.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He read it slowly and carefully, giving close attention to every syllable. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Bow-wow-wow!” repeated Mrs Chick with an emphasis of blighting contempt on the last syllable. Go to

2. He read it slowly and attentively, and with a nice particularity to every syllable. Go to

sympathize /ˈsɪmpəθaɪz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: solidarizar-se; compadecer-se

Simple English: To share and understand the feelings of another person.

Example: Her feelings were so strong that she had to find this relief even without anyone to watch or sympathize.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her feelings were so strong that she had to find this relief even without anyone to watch or sympathize. Go to

Tale /teɪl/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: conto; fadas; história

Simple English: True or imaginary story full of events, often exciting.

Example: She told a fascinating tale about her travels around the world.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then he looked and spoke like one of those frightening little creatures in fairy tales who are one hundred and fifty or two hundred years old but strangely replace the human children taken away. Go to

tamer /ˈteɪmər/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: domador

Simple English: A person who trains or controls wild animals.

Example: The castle of this ogress and child-tamer stood on a steep side street in Brighton.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The castle of this ogress and child-tamer stood on a steep side street in Brighton. Go to

tartar /ˈtɑːrtər/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cremor tártaro; pessoa severa

Simple English: Cream of tartar, or figuratively a harsh and difficult person.

Example: “Oh! there’s a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we’re now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,” said Susan Nipper; “wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don’t go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don’t!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The plates showed the frigate Tartar sailing. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Oh! there’s a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we’re now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,” said Susan Nipper; “wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don’t go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don’t!” Go to

2. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Go to

teapot /ˈtiːpɑːt/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bule de chá

Simple English: A pot with a spout, used for making and pouring tea.

Example: “Could you not use a teapot for a while?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Could you not use a teapot for a while?” Go to

2. At tea there was plenty of milk mixed with water, bread and butter, a small black teapot for Mrs Pipchin and Berry, and unlimited buttered toast for Mrs Pipchin, brought in very hot like the chops. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Couldn’t something temporary be done with a teapot?” Go to

tearful /ˈtɪrfəl/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: lacrimoso; em lágrimas

Simple English: Crying, or close to crying.

Example: “No, my dear Paul,” she protested with tearful dignity, “I really must be allowed to speak.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “No, my dear Paul,” she protested with tearful dignity, “I really must be allowed to speak. Go to

2. Florence continued her tiring journey with tearful eyes. Go to

Original English Version

1. “No, my dear Paul,” she remonstrated with tearful dignity, “I must really be allowed to speak. Go to

2. Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. Go to

telescopes /ˈtɛləˌskoʊps/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: telescópios

Simple English: instruments for seeing distant objects

Example: The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The old gentleman’s stock included chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and examples of every instrument used to guide a ship, calculate its position, or make discoveries. Go to

Original English Version

1. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Go to

tempers /ˈtempərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: temperamentos; ânimos

Simple English: The moods of people, especially when they get angry.

Example: “It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her secret was to give them everything they disliked and nothing they liked, a method believed to improve their tempers greatly. Go to

Original English Version

1. “It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed. Go to

tempt /tɛmpt/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tentar; seduzir

Simple English: To make someone want to do something wrong.

Example: After circling Florence for several moments with the scissors like a strange butterfly, Mrs Brown ordered her to hide her hair under the bonnet so no curl would tempt her.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After circling Florence for several moments with the scissors like a strange butterfly, Mrs Brown ordered her to hide her hair under the bonnet so no curl would tempt her. Go to

Original English Version

1. It had its part, perhaps, in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown, after hovering about her with the scissors for some moments, like a new kind of butterfly, bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her. Go to

tenderly /ˈtɛndərli/ (16 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ternamente; com carinho

Simple English: with gentleness, affection, or loving care

Example: Mr Dombey also produced a bracelet for Miss Tox; and, on the receipt of this token, Miss Tox was tenderly affected.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey also produced a bracelet for Miss Tox; and, on the receipt of this token, Miss Tox was tenderly affected. Go to

tenderness /ˈtendərnəs/ (46 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ternura; carinho; sensibilidade

Simple English: Gentle and loving feeling; also soreness when a part of the body is touched.

Example: But she was a good, simple example of a nature that, as a whole, is better, truer, higher, and nobler than men’s nature - quicker to feel tenderness, pity, self-denial, and devotion, and far more faithful in keeping them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But she was a good, simple example of a nature that, as a whole, is better, truer, higher, and nobler than men’s nature - quicker to feel tenderness, pity, self-denial, and devotion, and far more faithful in keeping them. Go to

Original English Version

1. But she was a good plain sample of a nature that is ever, in the mass, better, truer, higher, nobler, quicker to feel, and much more constant to retain, all tenderness and pity, self-denial and devotion, than the nature of men. Go to

2. That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth lay those two figures clasped in each other’s arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out. Go to

thaw /θɔː/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: degelo

Simple English: thaw means a time when ice or frozen ground becomes liquid or soft.

Example: Instead, it seemed to thaw for one moment to receive its burden and then freeze with it into one hard, unbending block.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Instead, it seemed to thaw for one moment to receive its burden and then freeze with it into one hard, unbending block. Go to

Original English Version

1. Such temporary indications of a partial thaw that had appeared with her, vanished with her; and the frost set in again, as cold and hard as ever. Go to

thoughtfully /ˈθɔːtfəli/ (63 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pensativamente; com ar pensativo

Simple English: In a quiet way, while thinking carefully.

Example: “Going to the Devil,” said Mr Chick thoughtfully.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Going to the Devil,” said Mr Chick thoughtfully. Go to

2. Yes!” Miss Tox replied, looking at him thoughtfully, though she still seemed to understand his meaning only partly. Go to

3. “And - I am sorry to give you so much trouble, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him. Go to

4. “If it is a good thing and can do anything,” said the little boy thoughtfully, looking back at the fire, “I wonder why it didn’t save my Mama.” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Going to the Devil,” said Mr Chick, thoughtfully, “to be sure.” Go to

2. Yes!” returned Miss Tox, looking thoughtfully at him, and seeming still to have but a very imperfect understanding of his meaning. Go to

3. “If it’s a good thing, and can do anything,” said the little fellow, thoughtfully, as he looked back at the fire, “I wonder why it didn’t save me my Mama.” Go to

thoughtless /ˈθɔːtləs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: irrefletido; desatencioso

Simple English: Not thinking about how your actions affect others.

Example: He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He looked a little older than before, but not much, and remained the same quick-footed, lighthearted, thoughtless boy who had once rushed into the parlor ahead of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders and held a light while he brought up the Madeira. Go to

thrush /θrʌʃ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tordo

Simple English: A songbird, often brown-backed, known for a clear musical call.

Example: Instead of ordinary thrush, some bird of prey seemed to enter his throat.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Instead of ordinary thrush, some bird of prey seemed to enter his throat. Go to

Original English Version

1. Some bird of prey got into his throat instead of the thrush; and the very chickens turning ferocious - if they have anything to do with that infant malady to which they lend their name - worried him like tiger-cats. Go to

ticking /ˈtɪkɪŋ/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tiquetaqueando

Simple English: Making the short repeated sound of a clock.

Example: Together with the creaking boots and loudly ticking watch, these things formed her idea of a father.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Together with the creaking boots and loudly ticking watch, these things formed her idea of a father. Go to

2. The only answer was the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch. Go to

Original English Version

1. The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered. Go to

2. There was no sound in answer but the loud ticking of Mr Dombey’s watch and Doctor Parker Peps’s watch, which seemed in the silence to be running a race. Go to

tickling /ˈtɪklɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fazendo cócegas

Simple English: Touching someone lightly so as to make them laugh.

Example: It looked as if it had boiled over and, by tickling people below with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It looked as if it had boiled over and, by tickling people below with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders. Go to

Original English Version

1. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Go to

tiddle /ˈtɪdəl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: (sílaba sem sentido de canção)

Simple English: A nonsense syllable used in a rhyming children's song.

Example: In a low voice he added, “With my tiddle tol toor rul,” but fortunately Towlinson stopped him by announcing:

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In a low voice he added, “With my tiddle tol toor rul,” but fortunately Towlinson stopped him by announcing: Go to

Original English Version

1. He added in a low voice, “With my tiddle tol toor rul” - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson, who announced: Go to

tightened /ˈtaɪtənd/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: apertou

Simple English: Made something firmer or closer.

Example: A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then she folded her arms, tightened her mouth, and sat staring at the fire for the rest of the evening. Go to

Original English Version

1. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths. Go to

tightest /ˈtaɪtəst/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: os mais avarentos

Simple English: The least willing to spend money.

Example: Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Everything was pressed into the tightest cases, fitted into the smallest corners, protected by the most inconvenient cushions, and screwed into the sharpest angles so that the rolling sea could not disturb its scientific calm. Go to

Original English Version

1. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Go to

timepiece /ˈtaɪmpiːs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: relógio

Simple English: an instrument for measuring and showing time

Example: For a moment or two he seemed quite lost in contemplating the pace of this ideal timepiece, and sat looking at the boy as if his face were the dial.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. For a moment or two he seemed quite lost in contemplating the pace of this ideal timepiece, and sat looking at the boy as if his face were the dial. Go to

timid /ˈtɪmɪd/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tímido; receoso

Simple English: Shy and easily frightened.

Example: When it was time to withdraw upstairs again, she would have sent Florence into the inner room to say good-night to her father, but the child was timid and drew back; and when she urged her again, said, spreading her hands before her eyes, as if to shut out her own unworthiness, “Oh no, no!

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. When it was time to withdraw upstairs again, she would have sent Florence into the inner room to say good-night to her father, but the child was timid and drew back; and when she urged her again, said, spreading her hands before her eyes, as if to shut out her own unworthiness, “Oh no, no! Go to

2. “I don’t want anything, thank you,” was the timid answer. Go to

timidly /ˈtɪmɪdli/ (33 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: timidamente; com receio

Simple English: In a shy, frightened way.

Example: That child had entered the room unseen and now hid timidly in a corner, where she could see her mother's face.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. That child had entered the room unseen and now hid timidly in a corner, where she could see her mother's face. Go to

2. When little Florence appeared timidly, Mr Dombey stopped walking and looked at her. Go to

3. “I do not want anything, thank you,” she answered timidly. Go to

Original English Version

1. There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother’s face. Go to

2. When little Florence timidly presented herself, Mr Dombey stopped in his pacing up and down and looked towards her. Go to

3. She crept as near him as she could without disturbing his rest; and stretching out one arm so that it timidly embraced his neck, and hiding her face on the other, over which her damp and scattered hair fell loose, lay motionless. Go to

tiptoe /ˈtɪptoʊ/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: na ponta dos pés; andar na ponta dos pés

Simple English: To walk quietly on the front part of the feet.

Example: The child ran to her, stood on tiptoe to hide her face more deeply in her mother's embrace, and held her with a desperate love far stronger than anyone would expect at her age.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The child ran to her, stood on tiptoe to hide her face more deeply in her mother's embrace, and held her with a desperate love far stronger than anyone would expect at her age. Go to

2. Florence clapped her hands and stood on tiptoe before the throne of his son and heir, tempting the baby to bend down from his high position and look at her. Go to

Original English Version

1. Next moment, the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and, standing on tiptoe, the better to hide her face in her embrace, had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years. Go to

tiredness /ˈtaɪərdnəs/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cansaço

Simple English: The feeling of needing rest or sleep.

Example: Meanwhile, Florence, overcome by tiredness, had fallen asleep before the fire.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Meanwhile, Florence, overcome by tiredness, had fallen asleep before the fire. Go to

tireless /ˈtaɪərləs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: incansável

Simple English: Working on and on without becoming tired.

Example: This was especially true because Polly Toodle seemed to have no fault after his sister described her qualifications and warmly praised Miss Tox’s tireless friendship.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. This was especially true because Polly Toodle seemed to have no fault after his sister described her qualifications and warmly praised Miss Tox’s tireless friendship. Go to

tiring /ˈtaɪərɪŋ/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cansativo

Simple English: Making you feel that you need to rest.

Example: She entered, making curtseys but without the baby, because Paul was asleep after the tiring morning.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She entered, making curtseys but without the baby, because Paul was asleep after the tiring morning. Go to

2. Florence continued her tiring journey with tearful eyes. Go to

Original English Version

1. Then converting the parlour, for the nonce, into a private tiring room, she dressed her, with great care, in proper clothes; and presently led her forth, as like a Dombey as her natural disqualifications admitted of her being made. Go to

2. “Florence is older than I am, but I’m not as strong and well as Florence, “I know,” returned the child; “and I believe that when Florence was as little as me, she could play a great deal longer at a time without tiring herself. Go to

title /ˈtaɪtəl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: título; denominação

Simple English: Name given to a book, movie, or other work.

Example: The title of the book was intriguing and made me curious to read it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And where is Father, dear Jemima?” Mr Toodle was generally known in the family by that fatherly title. Go to

toad /toʊd/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sapo

Simple English: An animal like a frog, with dry rough skin.

Example: Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner. Go to

toasted /ˈtoʊstɪd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: brindou a

Simple English: Honoured someone by drinking a toast.

Example: He was placed so close to it that he seemed like a new muffin that had to be toasted brown.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He was placed so close to it that he seemed like a new muffin that had to be toasted brown. Go to

tol /toʊl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sílaba sem sentido

Simple English: a comic nonsense sound used in a playful chant

Example: Right tol loor rul!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Right tol loor rul! Go to

2. In a low voice he added, “With my tiddle tol toor rul,” but fortunately Towlinson stopped him by announcing: Go to

Original English Version

1. Right tol loor rul! Go to

2. He added in a low voice, “With my tiddle tol toor rul” - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson, who announced: Go to

tongues /tʌŋz/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: línguas; bocas

Simple English: The soft parts inside the mouth used for speaking.

Example: Dried meat and tongues, with a strange taste of rope, were also familiar there.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Dried meat and tongues, with a strange taste of rope, were also familiar there. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was familiar with dried meats and tongues, possessing an extraordinary flavour of rope yarn. Go to

2. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together. Go to

3. In good time Mr Dombey’s mansion was gained again, and again there was a noise of tongues in the library. Go to

toodle /ˈtuːdəl/ (197 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Toodle

Simple English: the surname of Polly Toodle and her family

Example: Toodle was the family name of the apple-faced group.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Toodle was the family name of the apple-faced group. Go to

2. This was especially true because Polly Toodle seemed to have no fault after his sister described her qualifications and warmly praised Miss Tox’s tireless friendship. Go to

3. Mrs Chick carried away the gentle pair of Toodle children and soon returned with the tougher adult couple her brother had ordered her to bring. Go to

4. Mrs Toodle pushed him with her elbow two or three times, but it did no good. Go to

5. Mrs Toodle seemed uncertain whether she understood. Go to

6. As for Toodle himself, there was clearly no doubt that he was completely confused. Go to

Original English Version

1. Toodle being the family name of the apple-faced family. Go to

2. The less so, as there seemed to be no flaw in the title of Polly Toodle after his sister had set it forth, with many commendations on the indefatigable friendship of Miss Tox. Go to

3. As the husband did nothing but chuckle and grin, and continually draw his right hand across his mouth, moistening the palm, Mrs Toodle, after nudging him twice or thrice in vain, dropped a curtsey and replied “that perhaps if she was to be called out of her name, it would be considered in the wages.” Go to

4. Mrs Toodle seemed doubtful about it; and as to Toodle himself, he had evidently no doubt whatever, that he was all abroad. Go to

5. Mrs Toodle, with a little more colour in her cheeks than she had had before, said “she hoped she knew her place.” Go to

6. Thus arrested on the threshold as he was following his wife out of the room, Toodle returned and confronted Mr Dombey alone. Go to

toodle's /ˈtuːdəlz/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Toodle

Simple English: belonging to Mr Toodle

Example: Notwithstanding Mr Toodle’s great reliance on Polly, she was perhaps in point of artificial accomplishments very little his superior.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Notwithstanding Mr Toodle’s great reliance on Polly, she was perhaps in point of artificial accomplishments very little his superior. Go to

toodles /ˈtuːdl̩z/ (18 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tchau, Toodles

Simple English: a playful nickname or farewell expression used by a character

Example: Mrs Chick then went to report to her brother’s room, taking the two rosiest little Toodles with her as strong proof of her report.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick then went to report to her brother’s room, taking the two rosiest little Toodles with her as strong proof of her report. Go to

2. Little Paul grew fatter and stronger every day, without any harm from the Toodles' blood. Go to

3. The young Toodles took her outside to see some mushrooms and other wonders of the Gardens. Go to

4. But first, the young Toodles became victims of a kindly trick. Go to

Original English Version

1. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Go to

2. Mrs Chick bore off the tender pair of Toodles, and presently returned with that tougher couple whose presence her brother had commanded. Go to

3. Little Paul, suffering no contamination from the blood of the Toodles, grew stouter and stronger every day. Go to

4. Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner. Go to

5. But first the young Toodles, victims of a pious fraud, were deluded into repairing in a body to a chandler’s shop in the neighbourhood, for the ostensible purpose of spending a penny; and when the coast was quite clear, Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back, they would be sure to meet little Biler coming from school. Go to

toor /tʊər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Toor

Simple English: a nonsense sound used in a made-up song

Example: “Toor-ru! - that is life, I mean.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Toor-ru! - that is life, I mean. Go to

2. In a low voice he added, “With my tiddle tol toor rul,” but fortunately Towlinson stopped him by announcing: Go to

Original English Version

1. “Toor-ru! - such is life, I mean. Go to

2. He added in a low voice, “With my tiddle tol toor rul” - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson, who announced: Go to

Glossary: New Words (6/6)

toothache /ˈtuːθeɪk/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: dor de dente

Simple English: A pain in a tooth.

Example: Everything felt like a toothache.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Everything felt like a toothache. Go to

Original English Version

1. There was a toothache in everything. Go to

tormented /ˈtɔːrmɛntɪd/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: atormentados

Simple English: Suffering great pain of body or mind.

Example: Therefore, on his way home, Biler chose quiet paths and moved secretly through narrow passages and back streets to avoid those who tormented him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Therefore, on his way home, Biler chose quiet paths and moved secretly through narrow passages and back streets to avoid those who tormented him. Go to

tossing /ˈtɔːsɪŋ/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: atirando; lançando

Simple English: Throwing something lightly.

Example: “Polly heard it,” said Toodle, tossing his hat over his shoulder toward the door with complete confidence in his wife.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Polly heard it,” said Toodle, tossing his hat over his shoulder toward the door with complete confidence in his wife. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Brown’s was not a melodious cry, but, accompanied with a wild tossing up of her lean arms, it was full of passionate grief, and thrilled to the heart of Florence, whom it frightened more than ever. Go to

towlinson /ˈtoʊlɪnsən/ (135 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Towlinson

Simple English: the surname of a servant addressed by Miss Tox

Example: “Please be kind enough, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “first to carry out a pen and ink and write down the driver's number clearly.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Please be kind enough, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “first to carry out a pen and ink and write down the driver's number clearly.” Go to

2. “Yes, miss,” said Towlinson. Go to

3. “Then, please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “be kind enough to turn over the seat cushion. Go to

4. “Yes, miss,” said Towlinson. Go to

5. “I must also trouble you, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this address card and this shilling. Go to

6. “No, miss,” said Towlinson. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Have the goodness, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “first of all, to carry out a pen and ink and take his number legibly.” Go to

2. “Yes, Miss,” said Towlinson. Go to

3. “Then, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “have the goodness to turn the cushion. Go to

4. “Yes, Miss,” said Towlinson. Go to

5. “I’ll trouble you also, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “with this card and this shilling. Go to

6. “No, Miss,” said Towlinson. Go to

tox /tɒks/ (698 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Tox

Simple English: the surname of Miss Lucretia Tox

Example: “My dear Paul,” Louisa said quietly as she rose, “it is Miss Tox.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” Louisa said quietly as she rose, “it is Miss Tox. Go to

2. Miss Tox, this is my brother, Mr Dombey. Go to

3. Paul, my dear, this is my very close friend, Miss Tox.” Go to

4. These details made people believe that Miss Tox had only a small private income, which she used as carefully as possible. Go to

5. “I am sure,” said Miss Tox with a very deep curtsy, “that being introduced to Mr Dombey is an honour I have long wished for, though I hardly expected it now. Go to

6. “My dear Louisa, then,” said Miss Tox, “my sweet friend, how are you now?” Go to

Original English Version

1. “My dear Paul,” said Louisa in a low voice, as she rose from her seat, “it’s Miss Tox. Go to

2. Miss Tox, my brother Mr Dombey. Go to

3. Paul, my dear, my very particular friend Miss Tox.” Go to

4. These and other appearances of a similar nature, had served to propagate the opinion, that Miss Tox was a lady of what is called a limited independence, which she turned to the best account. Go to

5. “I am sure,” said Miss Tox, with a prodigious curtsey, “that to have the honour of being presented to Mr Dombey is a distinction which I have long sought, but very little expected at the present moment. Go to

6. “My dear Louisa then,” said Miss Tox, “my sweet friend, how are you now?” Go to

tox's /tɒksɪz/ (74 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Tox

Simple English: belonging to Miss Tox

Example: Miss Tox's clothes were respectable and good, but they looked narrow, sharp, and rather small.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox's clothes were respectable and good, but they looked narrow, sharp, and rather small. Go to

2. Mrs Chick took Miss Tox's hand, rested the base of her wineglass on it, held back a tear, and said quietly, “God bless you!” Go to

3. “And I do say, will say, and must say,” his sister continued, pressing the base of the wineglass onto Miss Tox's hand at each phrase, “that Miss Tox has very beautifully matched the message to the occasion. Go to

4. Miss Tox's hands and eyes showed how much she admired him. Go to

5. This was especially true because Polly Toodle seemed to have no fault after his sister described her qualifications and warmly praised Miss Tox’s tireless friendship. Go to

6. Meanwhile, Mrs Chick and Richards agreed on the terms with Miss Tox's help. Go to

Original English Version

1. Miss Tox’s dress, though perfectly genteel and good, had a certain character of angularity and scantiness. Go to

2. Mrs Chick took Miss Tox’s hand in hers, rested the foot of her wine-glass upon it, repressed a tear, and said in a low voice, “God bless you!” Go to

3. “And I do say, and will say, and must say,” pursued his sister, pressing the foot of the wine-glass on Miss Tox’s hand, at each of the three clauses, “that Miss Tox has very prettily adapted the sentiment to the occasion. Go to

4. Miss Tox’s hands and eyes expressed how much. Go to

5. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death. Go to

6. Miss Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child; and an observer of Miss Tox’s proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation. Go to

toxes /ˈtɒksɪz/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: os Tox

Simple English: the Tox family or people named Tox

Example: Your Toxes and Chickses may pull out my two double front teeth, Mrs Richards, but that is no reason for me to offer them the whole set.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Your Toxes and Chickses may pull out my two double front teeth, Mrs Richards, but that is no reason for me to offer them the whole set.” Go to

Original English Version

1. Your Toxes and your Chickses may draw out my two front double teeth, Mrs Richards, but that’s no reason why I need offer ’em the whole set.” Go to

trampled /ˈtræmpəld/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pisoteado

Simple English: Pressed down by many feet walking on it.

Example: Early in the storm, the horses escaped below deck, ran wildly, and trampled one another to death.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Early in the storm, the horses escaped below deck, ran wildly, and trampled one another to death. Go to

treadmill /ˈtredmɪl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: esteira; trabalho forçado

Simple English: A machine for walking or a repetitive system of hard work.

Example: Master Bitherstone read aloud to the others a family line from Genesis, wisely chosen by Mrs Pipchin, and passed through the names with the ease and clarity of someone stumbling up a treadmill.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the others a family line from Genesis, wisely chosen by Mrs Pipchin, and passed through the names with the ease and clarity of someone stumbling up a treadmill. Go to

Original English Version

1. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the rest a pedigree from Genesis (judiciously selected by Mrs Pipchin), getting over the names with the ease and clearness of a person tumbling up the treadmill. Go to

trembled /ˈtrɛmbəld/ (51 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tremeu; vacilou

Simple English: Shook because of fear or strong feeling.

Example: For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. For a moment, the closed eyelids trembled, the nostril moved, and the faintest shadow of a smile appeared. Go to

2. Miss Tox's hand trembled as she placed it through Mr Dombey's arm and felt him guide her up the steps behind a formal hat and an enormous collar. Go to

3. Richards trembled under the greatness of this criticism. Go to

Original English Version

1. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen. Go to

2. Miss Tox’s hand trembled as she slipped it through Mr Dombey’s arm, and felt herself escorted up the steps, preceded by a cocked hat and a Babylonian collar. Go to

trembling /ˈtrɛmblɪŋ/ (106 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: trêmulo; que treme

Simple English: Shaking a little because of fear, cold or strong feeling.

Example: She looked down again and held out her trembling hand.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She looked down again and held out her trembling hand. Go to

2. Florence obeyed as quickly as her trembling hands allowed, keeping a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. Go to

3. “Please, is this the City?” asked the trembling daughter of the Dombeys. Go to

Original English Version

1. She looked down again, and put out her trembling hand. Go to

2. Florence obeyed, as fast as her trembling hands would allow; keeping, all the while, a frightened eye on Mrs Brown. Go to

3. “If you please, is this the City?” asked the trembling daughter of the Dombeys. Go to

trespassers /ˈtrɛspəsərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: invasores de propriedade

Simple English: People who enter private land without permission.

Example: Posts, rails, old warnings against trespassers, the backs of poor houses, and patches of miserable plants seemed to stare it down.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Posts, rails, old warnings against trespassers, the backs of poor houses, and patches of miserable plants seemed to stare it down. Go to

Original English Version

1. Posts, and rails, and old cautions to trespassers, and backs of mean houses, and patches of wretched vegetation, stared it out of countenance. Go to

tripped /trɪpt/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tropeçou

Simple English: Hit the foot on something and fell.

Example: With a lighter heart, but still sore afraid, Florence felt herself released, and tripped off to the corner.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. With a lighter heart, but still sore afraid, Florence felt herself released, and tripped off to the corner. Go to

triumphantly /traɪˈʌmfəntli/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: triunfalmente; com ar de vitória

Simple English: In a way that shows great satisfaction at winning.

Example: Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His strongest feeling, which constantly grew as Paul became older, was impatience: impatience for the future when his dreams of their shared importance and greatness would triumphantly come true. Go to

2. "Yes, miss, she is alive," Mrs Wickam answered triumphantly, because Miss Berry had clearly expected the opposite. Go to

3. He would then marry the grown and beautiful Florence despite Mr Dombey's teeth, cravat, and watch chain, and carry her triumphantly to some distant blue shore. Go to

Original English Version

1. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door. Go to

2. Impatience for the time to come, when his visions of their united consequence and grandeur would be triumphantly realized. Go to

3. Sometimes he thought (and then he walked very fast) what a grand thing it would have been for him to have been going to sea on the day after that first meeting, and to have gone, and to have done wonders there, and to have stopped away a long time, and to have come back an Admiral of all the colours of the dolphin, or at least a Post-Captain with epaulettes of insupportable brightness, and have married Florence (then a beautiful young woman) in spite of Mr Dombey’s teeth, cravat, and watch-chain, and borne her away to the blue shores of somewhere or other, triumphantly. Go to

tropical /ˈtrɒpɪkl/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: tropical

Simple English: Very warm and humid weather often with lots of rain.

Example: The tropical climate in the region makes it perfect for growing bananas.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Walter listened as if they were not in the mud and grease of Thames Street but walking alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of a tropical desert island, which he probably imagined for a time. Go to

truer /ˈtruːər/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais verdadeiro; mais fiel; mais autêntico

Simple English: More correct, or more loyal and faithful.

Example: But she was a good, simple example of a nature that, as a whole, is better, truer, higher, and nobler than men’s nature - quicker to feel tenderness, pity, self-denial, and devotion, and far more faithful in keeping them.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But she was a good, simple example of a nature that, as a whole, is better, truer, higher, and nobler than men’s nature - quicker to feel tenderness, pity, self-denial, and devotion, and far more faithful in keeping them. Go to

Original English Version

1. But she was a good plain sample of a nature that is ever, in the mass, better, truer, higher, nobler, quicker to feel, and much more constant to retain, all tenderness and pity, self-denial and devotion, than the nature of men. Go to

trunks /trʌŋks/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: troncos

Simple English: The thick main stems of trees.

Example: They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They looked onto a gravel yard where two thin trees with blackened trunks and branches rattled rather than rustled because smoke had dried their leaves. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. Go to

tumbled /ˈtʌmbəld/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: despencou; entrou aos trambolhões

Simple English: Fell or rolled over suddenly.

Example: Her miserable bonnet fell off and her hair tumbled around her face.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her miserable bonnet fell off and her hair tumbled around her face. Go to

Original English Version

1. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all. Go to

2. The shoes that had so often tumbled off by the way, he preserved in his own room; and, sitting in the little back parlour of an evening, he had drawn a whole gallery of fancy portraits of Good Mrs Brown. Go to

turnpike /ˈtɜːrnpaɪk/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: estrada com pedágio

Simple English: A road on which travelers once paid a toll.

Example: Doesn't the woman who asked the way to Mile End Turnpike count as someone?”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Doesn't the woman who asked the way to Mile End Turnpike count as someone?” Go to

Original English Version

1. “Why Uncle! don’t you call the woman anybody, who came to ask the way to Mile-End Turnpike?” Go to

2. “Well, Wally,” resumed the old man, after a short pause: “not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe’s Island, we can’t live on a man who asks for change for a sovereign, and a woman who inquires the way to Mile-End Turnpike. Go to

turpentine /ˈtɜːrpənˌtaɪn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: terebintina

Simple English: A strong-smelling liquid used to thin paint or clean it away.

Example: In warm weather, Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in cracks in the wooden walls with the wrong end of a pen dipped in turpentine.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In warm weather, Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in cracks in the wooden walls with the wrong end of a pen dipped in turpentine. Go to

Original English Version

1. In any part of the house, visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine. Go to

twisting /ˈtwɪstɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: torcendo; contorcendo

Simple English: Turning something so that it changes shape.

Example: As she stood trying to breathe normally, twisting her thin yellow face and throat into many shapes, she looked uglier than ever.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As she stood trying to breathe normally, twisting her thin yellow face and throat into many shapes, she looked uglier than ever. Go to

uglier /ˈʌɡliər/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais feio

Simple English: more unpleasant or unattractive in appearance

Example: As she stood trying to breathe normally, twisting her thin yellow face and throat into many shapes, she looked uglier than ever.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. As she stood trying to breathe normally, twisting her thin yellow face and throat into many shapes, she looked uglier than ever. Go to

Original English Version

1. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events, for she had lost her breath; and this made her uglier still, as she stood trying to regain it: working her shrivelled yellow face and throat into all sorts of contortions. Go to

umbrellas /ʌmˈbrɛləz/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: guarda-sóis; guarda-chuvas

Simple English: Round covers on a stick that keep off rain or sun.

Example: Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Just around the corner stood the rich East India House, which brought to mind precious cloth and jewels, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and magnificent brown-skinned princes sitting on carpets with slippers that curled high at the toes. Go to

2. Walter was not among the moving umbrellas. Go to

Original English Version

1. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Go to

2. He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger. Go to

unattractive /ˌʌnəˈtræktɪv/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pouco atraente

Simple English: Not pleasant to look at.

Example: He was very fond of the wharf where he had met Florence and even of the unattractive streets along which they had walked home.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He was very fond of the wharf where he had met Florence and even of the unattractive streets along which they had walked home. Go to

unbearable /ʌnˈbɛrəbəl/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: insuportável

Simple English: Too painful or unpleasant to accept.

Example: It leaned out over the pavement with its right leg forward and with an unbearable smooth manner.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It leaned out over the pavement with its right leg forward and with an unbearable smooth manner. Go to

unbeliever /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: descrente; infiel

Simple English: A person who does not follow a religion.

Example: "Not even if it happened to be a tame bull, you little unbeliever?" Mrs Pipchin asked.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "Not even if it happened to be a tame bull, you little unbeliever?" Mrs Pipchin asked. Go to

unbending /ʌnˈbendɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inflexível; rígido; intransigente

Simple English: Refusing to change an opinion or to become gentler.

Example: Instead, it seemed to thaw for one moment to receive its burden and then freeze with it into one hard, unbending block.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Instead, it seemed to thaw for one moment to receive its burden and then freeze with it into one hard, unbending block. Go to

uncertainly /ʌnˈsɜːrtənli/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: com hesitação; sem certeza

Simple English: In a doubtful way, without being sure.

Example: “Please forgive me, Sir,” Polly said uncertainly, “but we already go out quite often, Sir, thank you.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Please forgive me, Sir,” Polly said uncertainly, “but we already go out quite often, Sir, thank you.” Go to

2. He saw her pause uncertainly at the door and look toward him, and he saw no more. Go to

3. After looking around uncertainly for a moment, she stood close to the door, pressing her small hands tightly together. Go to

4. Florence was afraid of her and looked uncertainly up the street, whose end she had almost reached. Go to

uncle's /ˈʌŋkəlz/ (49 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do tio

Simple English: Belonging to an uncle, the brother of a parent.

Example: Or wait - perhaps I should take you to my uncle's house, where I live.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Or wait - perhaps I should take you to my uncle's house, where I live. Go to

2. “We will go to my uncle's as quickly as possible. Go to

3. When one of her unlucky shoes fell off again at just the right time, he offered to carry her to his uncle's house. Go to

4. Perhaps his mind followed the boy with no greater pleasure as Walter rode back to his uncle's shop with Miss Susan Nipper. Go to

5. Neither was my uncle's Betsey Jane," Mrs Wickam said. Go to

6. Berry looked as if she wanted to understand the connection between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam's uncle's Betsey Jane. Go to

Original English Version

1. Suppose I take you to my Uncle’s, where I live - it’s very near here - and go to your house in a coach to tell them you are safe, and bring you back some clothes. Go to

2. “Come, Miss Dombey,” said Walter, looking after him as they turned away also, “we’ll go to my Uncle’s as quick as we can. Go to

3. As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms. Go to

4. Mr Dombey’s glance followed Walter Gay with sharp disfavour, as he left the room under the pilotage of Mrs Chick; and it may be that his mind’s eye followed him with no greater relish, as he rode back to his Uncle’s with Miss Susan Nipper. Go to

5. No more was my Uncle’s Betsey Jane,” said Mrs Wickam. Go to

6. Berry looked as if she would like to trace the connexion of ideas between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam’s Uncle’s Betsey Jane. Go to

unconcerned /ˌʌnkənˈsɜːrnd/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: despreocupado; indiferente

Simple English: not worried or interested about something

Example: But lunch had made Susan completely unconcerned about this serious point, so she gave it no importance.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But lunch had made Susan completely unconcerned about this serious point, so she gave it no importance. Go to

2. They walked arm in arm through the streets, completely unconcerned by the surprise their appearance caused along the way. Go to

unconscious /ʌnˈkɒnʃəs/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inconsciente; desmaiado; subconsciente

Simple English: Unresponsive and unaware of surroundings, usually from an injury.

Example: He was unconscious after the fall and required immediate medical attention.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey was stiff with fine clothing and pride; the little copy was stiff through inheritance and unconscious imitation. Go to

undertaker /ʌndərtækər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agente funerário

Simple English: the thing, state, or idea meant by undertaker

Example: The dead lady's funeral had been performed to the complete satisfaction of both the undertaker and the whole neighbourhood.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The dead lady's funeral had been performed to the complete satisfaction of both the undertaker and the whole neighbourhood. Go to

2. He was the only cheerful-looking object there, and he was an undertaker. Go to

Original English Version

1. The funeral of the deceased lady having been “performed” to the entire satisfaction of the undertaker, as well as of the neighbourhood at large, which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point, and is prone to take offence at any omissions or short-comings in the ceremonies, the various members of Mr Dombey’s household subsided into their several places in the domestic system. Go to

2. Presently the clerk (the only cheerful-looking object there, and he was an undertaker) came up with a jug of warm water, and said something, as he poured it into the font, about taking the chill off; which millions of gallons boiling hot could not have done for the occasion. Go to

undertakers /ʌndərtækərs/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: agentes funerários

Simple English: to do the action meant by undertakers

Example: We are not undertakers, funeral attendants, or grave-diggers, I believe.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. We are not undertakers, funeral attendants, or grave-diggers, I believe.” Go to

Original English Version

1. We are not undertakers, or mutes, or grave-diggers, I believe.” Go to

undressing /ʌnˈdresɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: despindo-se

Simple English: Taking off one's clothes.

Example: Happily, they watched little Paul safely pass through every stage of undressing, light exercise, supper, and bed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Happily, they watched little Paul safely pass through every stage of undressing, light exercise, supper, and bed. Go to

Original English Version

1. The two interlopers, however, blissfully unconscious of the young lady’s sentiments, saw little Paul safe through all the stages of undressing, airy exercise, supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. Go to

uneasiness /ʌnɪæsɪnɛss/ (28 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inquietação

Simple English: the thing, state, or idea meant by uneasiness

Example: His former indifference toward little Florence changed into a strange uneasiness.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His former indifference toward little Florence changed into a strange uneasiness. Go to

Original English Version

1. Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Go to

2. It would have been remarkable, indeed, if any had; when no one in the house - not even Mrs Chick or Miss Tox - dared ever whisper to him that there had, on any one occasion, been the least reason for uneasiness in reference to little Paul. Go to

uneasy /ʌnˈiːzi/ (37 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inquieto; pouco à vontade

Simple English: Feeling worried or not comfortable.

Example: “There is nothing to be made uneasy by, in that,” said Mrs Chick.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. "I would not want to make you uneasy," Mrs Wickam replied, continuing her supper. Go to

Original English Version

1. “There is nothing to be made uneasy by, in that,” said Mrs Chick. Go to

2. “I wouldn’t wish to make you uneasy,” returned Mrs Wickam, pursuing her supper. Go to

unfeeling /ʌnˈfiːlɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: insensível; sem coração

Simple English: Not caring about the feelings of others.

Example: “She is as unfeeling toward a brother as she is toward everything else,” Mr Dombey said to himself.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “She is as unfeeling toward a brother as she is toward everything else,” Mr Dombey said to himself. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Go to

unfolded /ʌnˈfoʊldɪd/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desdobrou; abriu

Simple English: opened something that was folded, or opened its arms

Example: After finishing, he slowly folded and unfolded the letter several times, then carefully tore it into pieces.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. After finishing, he slowly folded and unfolded the letter several times, then carefully tore it into pieces. Go to

unfriendly /ʌnˈfrɛndli/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: hostil; pouco amigável

Simple English: Not kind or pleasant to others.

Example: At times, he was playful and childish and was not naturally unfriendly.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At times, he was playful and childish and was not naturally unfriendly. Go to

ungrateful /ʌnˈɡreɪtfəl/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ingrato

Simple English: Not showing thanks for what someone has done.

Example: She felt ungrateful, but the day’s influence even touched the Charitable Grinders.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She felt ungrateful, but the day’s influence even touched the Charitable Grinders. Go to

2. “If I were in your ungrateful position,” said Mrs Chick solemnly, “and had your thoughts, Richards, I would feel that the charity school's uniform would destroy my child and its education would choke him.” Go to

Original English Version

1. She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness. Go to

2. “If it was my ungrateful case,” said Mrs Chick, solemnly, “and I had your reflections, Richards, I should feel as if the Charitable Grinders’ dress would blight my child, and the education choke him.” Go to

unholy /ʌnˈhoʊli/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: profano; ímpio

Simple English: Not holy, and against religious rules.

Example: Fate and Richards were now carrying little Paul to this unholy place, whose very name Mr Dombey’s sister had carefully hidden from him until then.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Fate and Richards were now carrying little Paul to this unholy place, whose very name Mr Dombey’s sister had carefully hidden from him until then. Go to

unimportant /ˌʌnɪmˈpɔːrtənt/ (24 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sem importância

Simple English: Not mattering very much.

Example: “Such little things naturally seem unimportant to men - we have no right to expect otherwise - but women care about them.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Such little things naturally seem unimportant to men - we have no right to expect otherwise - but women care about them.” Go to

2. Miss Tox was thus raised to the position of little Paul's godmother because she was unimportant. Go to

3. Seeing his own flesh and blood clinging to this unknown, unimportant woman while he sat nearby was a knife in the proud father's heart and an arrow in his brain. Go to

4. In short, Miss Tox and the blue-faced Major believed that Princess's Place only needed good connections and noble blood, just as a small part of society thinks this is enough for many unimportant followers of great people. Go to

5. He could not imagine being ignored or treated as unimportant by anyone. Go to

6. Least of all could he understand being ignored and treated as unimportant by Miss Tox. Go to

unkind /ʌnˈkaɪnd/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cruel; maldoso; sem bondade

Simple English: Not kind; causing hurt to others.

Example: But when a sweet, young, pretty innocent who should never hear an unkind word said to her or about her is criticized, the situation is completely different.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But when a sweet, young, pretty innocent who should never hear an unkind word said to her or about her is criticized, the situation is completely different. Go to

unkindness /ʌnˈkaɪndnəs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: crueldade

Simple English: unkind behavior or words

Example: But she seemed to do it, more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions, than with any deliberate unkindness.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. But she seemed to do it, more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions, than with any deliberate unkindness. Go to

unmarried /ʌnˈmærid/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: solteiro; não casado

Simple English: Not married.

Example: “The other young woman is her unmarried sister.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “The other young woman is her unmarried sister. Go to

Original English Version

1. “The other young woman is her unmarried sister who lives with them, and would take care of her children. Go to

unmoved /ʌnˈmuːvd/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: impassível; indiferente; imperturbável

Simple English: Not feeling pity or emotion about something.

Example: Only Mr Dombey remained unmoved.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Only Mr Dombey remained unmoved. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey alone remained unmoved. Go to

unnatural /ʌnˈnætʃərəl/ (50 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: antinatural; artificial; desumano

Simple English: Not normal, or not the way nature usually works.

Example: At once her manner changed and became unnatural and embarrassed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At once her manner changed and became unnatural and embarrassed. Go to

2. Apart from the unnatural care he took, which perhaps showed an equally great effort, he allowed no emotion to appear. Go to

3. In one place, a confused mass of overturned carts lay at the bottom of a steep, unnatural hill. Go to

Original English Version

1. Otherwise than as his great deliberation seemed unnatural, and perhaps the result of an effort equally great, he allowed no sign of emotion to escape him. Go to

2. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Go to

unnoticed /ʌnˈnoʊtɪst/ (9 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: despercebido; sem ser notado

Simple English: Not seen or noticed by anyone.

Example: They say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” he continued more quietly, “that he dislikes her and leaves her unnoticed among the servants.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. They say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” he continued more quietly, “that he dislikes her and leaves her unnoticed among the servants. Go to

2. They seemed to share the sadness of his figure and his silent request, from head to foot, to be unnoticed and left alone in his humble position. Go to

Original English Version

1. And they do say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” lowering his voice, “that he’s taken a dislike to her, and that she’s left, unnoticed, among the servants, and that his mind’s so set all the while upon having his son in the House, that although he’s only a baby now, he is going to have balances struck oftener than formerly, and the books kept closer than they used to be, and has even been seen (when he thought he wasn’t) walking in the Docks, looking at his ships and property and all that, as if he was exulting like, over what he and his son will possess together. Go to

2. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility. Go to

unopened /ʌnˈoʊpənd/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fechado

Simple English: not opened

Example: In short, the still unfinished and unopened railway was being built.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In short, the still unfinished and unopened railway was being built. Go to

Original English Version

1. In short, the yet unfinished and unopened Railroad was in progress; and, from the very core of all this dire disorder, trailed smoothly away, upon its mighty course of civilisation and improvement. Go to

unpleasantly /ʌnˈplɛzəntli/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desagradavelmente

Simple English: in an unpleasant way

Example: Otherwise, its very low temperature might unpleasantly surprise the baby when she kissed him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Otherwise, its very low temperature might unpleasantly surprise the baby when she kissed him. Go to

unreachable /ʌnˈriːtʃəbəl/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inalcançável; inacessível

Simple English: Impossible to reach, contact, or obtain.

Example: A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A bronze statue of Mr Pitt stood on top without any sign of its heavenly origin and guarded the unreachable treasure like an enchanted Moor. Go to

unreadable /ʌnˈriːdəbəl/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: ilegível; inescrutável; sem expressão decifrável

Simple English: Impossible to read or difficult to understand from someone's expression.

Example: Despite all his stiff, unreadable dignity and calm, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced the room.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Despite all his stiff, unreadable dignity and calm, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced the room. Go to

unspeakable /ʌnˈspiːkəbəl/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: indescritível

Simple English: too extreme to be described in words

Example: Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep. Go to

2. “Very far from it,” said Mrs Chick, with unspeakable expression. Go to

unsuitable /ʌnˈsuːtəbəl/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inadequado; impróprio

Simple English: not right or proper for a person, purpose or occasion

Example: Mr Chick broke the serious silence after this remark by humming the strangely unsuitable tune “There Was a Cobbler.” He stopped in some embarrassment and said that it was certainly our own fault if we did not learn from sad occasions like this one.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Chick broke the serious silence after this remark by humming the strangely unsuitable tune “There Was a Cobbler.” He stopped in some embarrassment and said that it was certainly our own fault if we did not learn from sad occasions like this one. Go to

2. “I am afraid,” said Mr Dombey, interrupting her irritably, “that some of those people upstairs suggest unsuitable subjects to the child. Go to

unsuspecting /ˌʌnsəˈspektɪŋ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desprevenido; que nada suspeita

Simple English: Not knowing that something bad is going to happen.

Example: She raised many clever doubts about Polly’s second idea and supported the original plan with so many clever arguments that, almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s grand back was turned and he began his daily journey to the City, his unsuspecting son was traveling toward Staggs’s Gardens.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She raised many clever doubts about Polly’s second idea and supported the original plan with so many clever arguments that, almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s grand back was turned and he began his daily journey to the City, his unsuspecting son was traveling toward Staggs’s Gardens. Go to

untidy /ʌnˈtaɪdi/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desarrumado; desordenado

Simple English: Not clean and not in good order.

Example: She stretched out one arm to hold his neck gently and hid her face on the other arm, while her damp, untidy hair fell loosely over it.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She stretched out one arm to hold his neck gently and hid her face on the other arm, while her damp, untidy hair fell loosely over it. Go to

2. The confusion paused only when she was completely out of breath, her hair hung around her red face, and her new christening clothes were badly untidy. Go to

untie /ʌnˈtaɪ/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: desatar; desamarrar

Simple English: To open a knot and free something.

Example: “Please untie your bonnet and make yourself comfortable, Miss Nipper,” Jemima begged.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “Please untie your bonnet and make yourself comfortable, Miss Nipper,” Jemima begged. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Do untie your bonnet-strings, and make yourself at home, Miss Nipper, please,” entreated Jemima. Go to

untrustworthy /ʌnˈtrʌstwɜːrði/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pouco confiáveis

Simple English: Not able to be trusted.

Example: Mr Dombey, who had never found her himself, kissed her once on the forehead and warned her not to run away again or wander with untrustworthy attendants.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr Dombey, who had never found her himself, kissed her once on the forehead and warned her not to run away again or wander with untrustworthy attendants. Go to

unwillingly /ʌnˈwɪlɪŋli/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de má vontade; a contragosto

Simple English: Doing something without wanting to.

Example: He motioned his child’s foster-father to the door, who departed by no means unwillingly: and then turning the key, paced up and down the room in solitary wretchedness.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. He motioned his child’s foster-father to the door, who departed by no means unwillingly: and then turning the key, paced up and down the room in solitary wretchedness. Go to

unwise /ʌnˈwaɪz/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: imprudente; pouco sensato

Simple English: Not showing good sense.

Example: “This is a very unwise and feverish action, I am sure.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “This is a very unwise and feverish action, I am sure. Go to

unworthiness /ʌnˈwɜrðinəs/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: indignidade; falta de mérito

Simple English: the feeling that you do not deserve something good

Example: When Polly urged her again, Florence spread her hands before her eyes as if to hide her own unworthiness and said, “Oh no, no!

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. When Polly urged her again, Florence spread her hands before her eyes as if to hide her own unworthiness and said, “Oh no, no! Go to

Original English Version

1. When it was time to withdraw upstairs again, she would have sent Florence into the inner room to say good-night to her father, but the child was timid and drew back; and when she urged her again, said, spreading her hands before her eyes, as if to shut out her own unworthiness, “Oh no, no! Go to

unyielding /ʌnˈjiːldɪŋ/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: inabalável; implacável; que não cede

Simple English: Not giving way, either in opinion or under pressure.

Example: And now, when that nature concentrated its whole force so strongly on a partial scheme of parental interest and ambition, it seemed as if its icy current, instead of being released by this influence, and running clear and free, had thawed for but an instant to admit its burden, and then frozen with it into one unyielding block.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. And now, when that nature concentrated its whole force so strongly on a partial scheme of parental interest and ambition, it seemed as if its icy current, instead of being released by this influence, and running clear and free, had thawed for but an instant to admit its burden, and then frozen with it into one unyielding block. Go to

uphill /ˌʌpˈhɪl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: morro acima

Simple English: Up a slope, toward a higher place.

Example: Wearing only a short, light linen jacket, Paul took a little uphill walk over Richards's dress.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Wearing only a short, light linen jacket, Paul took a little uphill walk over Richards's dress. Go to

Original English Version

1. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Go to

urn /ɜːrn/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: urna (recipiente)

Simple English: A tall container used for holding liquid, such as coffee.

Example: At each high corner, a dusty ancient funeral urn preached loneliness and decay from its own pulpit.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. At each high corner, a dusty ancient funeral urn preached loneliness and decay from its own pulpit. Go to

Original English Version

1. A dusty urn at each high corner, dug up from an ancient tomb, preached desolation and decay, as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass, reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow, seemed fraught with melancholy meditations. Go to

vaults /vɔːlts/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: câmaras subterrâneas

Simple English: underground rooms, often used for storage or burial

Example: Smells like those from vaults and damp places came from the chimneys.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Smells like those from vaults and damp places came from the chimneys. Go to

Original English Version

1. Odours, as from vaults and damp places, came out of the chimneys. Go to

2. Gog and Magog held their state within ten minutes’ walk; the Royal Exchange was close at hand; the Bank of England, with its vaults of gold and silver “down among the dead men” underground, was their magnificent neighbour. Go to

3. Over the fireplace was a ground-plan of the vaults underneath the church; and Mr Chick, skimming the literary portion of it aloud, by way of enlivening the company, read the reference to Mrs Dombey’s tomb in full, before he could stop himself. Go to

veal /vil/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vitela; carne de vitela

Simple English: the meat of a young cow

Example: “I have a cold piece of veal here, Sir,” Mr Chick replied, rubbing his numb hands hard together.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “I have a cold piece of veal here, Sir,” Mr Chick replied, rubbing his numb hands hard together. Go to

2. The veal had come from such a cold, open pantry that its first taste sent a feeling like cold lead into Mr Chick’s arms and legs. Go to

Original English Version

1. “I have got a cold fillet of veal here, Sir,” replied Mr Chick, rubbing his numbed hands hard together. Go to

2. The wine was so bitter cold that it forced a little scream from Miss Tox, which she had great difficulty in turning into a “Hem!” The veal had come from such an airy pantry, that the first taste of it had struck a sensation as of cold lead to Mr Chick’s extremities. Go to

vestry /ˈvɛstri/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sacristia

Simple English: a small room in a church where robes are kept

Example: “There is a wedding taking place, Sir,” said the church officer, “but it will finish very soon, if you will step into the vestry here.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “There is a wedding taking place, Sir,” said the church officer, “but it will finish very soon, if you will step into the vestry here.” Go to

2. In the vestry, the fire smoked. Go to

3. When it ended, he again offered his arm to Miss Tox and led her to the vestry. Go to

Original English Version

1. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Go to

2. When it was all over, he again gave his arm to Miss Tox, and conducted her to the vestry, where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner, but for the unfortunate state of his household affairs. Go to

vigorous /ˈvɪɡərəs/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vigoroso; enérgico; forte

Simple English: strong, healthy and full of energy

Example: “And vigorous,” murmured the family doctor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And vigorous,” murmured the family doctor. Go to

2. “A strong and vigorous effort. Go to

3. He agrees with me that Nature must make a vigorous effort now. Go to

4. “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of someone summarizing what everyone had already agreed, though she was saying it for the first time, “has been somewhat weakened by his last illness and is not in the vigorous health we would wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his body and sometimes seems about to lose, for a moment, the use of his - ” Go to

Original English Version

1. “And vigorous,” murmured the family practitioner. Go to

2. “Quite so,” assented the Doctor - “and vigorous effort. Go to

3. Mr Pilkins who, from his position, is best acquainted with the patient’s constitution in its normal state (an acquaintance very valuable to us in forming our opinions in these occasions), is of opinion, with me, that Nature must be called upon to make a vigorous effort in this instance; and that if our interesting friend the Countess of Dombey - I _beg_ your pardon; Mrs Dombey - should not be - ” Go to

4. “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of one who was summing up what had been previously quite agreed upon, instead of saying it all for the first time, “is a little weakened by that last attack, and is not in quite such vigorous health as we could wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his system, and does occasionally seem about to lose, for the moment, the use of his - ” Go to

vigorously /ˈvɪɡərəsli/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vigorosamente

Simple English: with great energy and force

Example: Miss Pankey, a gentle little piece of a child with blue eyes, who was vigorously rubbed every morning and seemed in danger of being rubbed away completely, was brought from confinement by the ogress herself.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Pankey, a gentle little piece of a child with blue eyes, who was vigorously rubbed every morning and seemed in danger of being rubbed away completely, was brought from confinement by the ogress herself. Go to

violence /ˈvaɪələns/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: violência

Simple English: Intentional harm or intimidation against others.

Example: Violence in movies can desensitize viewers to real-life harm and suffering.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A supply of oranges and halfpennies was pushed without order into the hands of each young Toodle, calming the first violence of their sorrow. Go to

vision (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: visão; vista; plano

Simple English: the ability to see or an idea for the future

Example: The leader explained her vision for the company.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. But he continued sleeping, unaware of Miss Tox's kind intentions, the Major's wonder, his sister's early sorrows, and his father's stern visions. Go to

volume /ˈvɒljuːm/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: volume; Fascículo

Simple English: The level of loudness in audio produced by a device.

Example: He turned up the volume to enjoy the music at its best.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. An old, overworked, badly paid lawyer’s clerk was “making a search,” running his finger down the parchment pages of a huge register filled with burials, one volume in a long series. Go to

2. Avoiding Master Bitherstone, Paul continued night after night to study Mrs Pipchin, the cat, and the fire as if they were a three-volume book of magic. Go to

wagons /ˈwæɡənz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: carroças; carros de carga

Simple English: Large carts pulled by animals to carry goods.

Example: It was two full hours later when Florence escaped the crashing noise of a narrow street filled with carts and wagons.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It was two full hours later when Florence escaped the crashing noise of a narrow street filled with carts and wagons. Go to

waistcoat /ˈwɛskət/ (49 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: colete

Simple English: A short jacket without sleeves worn over a shirt.

Example: Its shoe buckles and wide waistcoat made very little sense, and at its right eye it held a piece of machinery far too large for its body.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Its shoe buckles and wide waistcoat made very little sense, and at its right eye it held a piece of machinery far too large for its body. Go to

Original English Version

1. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Go to

2. “You might keep me in a strait-waistcoat for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got it off I’d only be more aggravated, who ever heard the like of them two Griffins, Mrs Richards?” Go to

waiter's /ˈweɪtərz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: do garçom

Simple English: belonging to the man who serves food in a restaurant

Example: Mrs Wickam was a waiter's wife, a position almost equal to being any other man's widow.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Wickam was a waiter's wife, a position almost equal to being any other man's widow. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Wickam was a waiter’s wife - which would seem equivalent to being any other man’s widow - whose application for an engagement in Mr Dombey’s service had been favourably considered, on account of the apparent impossibility of her having any followers, or anyone to follow; and who, from within a day or two of Paul’s sharp weaning, had been engaged as his nurse. Go to

wally /ˈwɒli/ (47 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Walter

Simple English: an affectionate informal form of Walter

Example: “The Lord Mayor forever, Wally!” said Solomon.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “The Lord Mayor forever, Wally!” said Solomon. Go to

2. “Listen to me, Wally, listen to me. Go to

3. “You will drink the other bottle, Wally,” he said, “when good fortune comes to you - when you are successful, respected, and happy. Go to

4. After a pause, the old man continued, “Well, Wally, we are not like the people on Robinson Crusoe's island, so we cannot live on a man who asks for change and a woman who asks for directions. Go to

5. “That is why, Wally, I want you to enter the busy world early and follow its path. Go to

6. “As for the sea,” he continued, “it is fine in stories, Wally, but not in real life. Go to

Original English Version

1. “The Lord Mayor, Wally,” said Solomon, “for ever! Go to

2. “Listen to me, Wally, listen to me. Go to

3. “You shall drink the other bottle, Wally,” he said, “when you come to good fortune; when you are a thriving, respected, happy man; when the start in life you have made today shall have brought you, as I pray Heaven it may! - to a smooth part of the course you have to run, my child. Go to

4. “Well, Wally,” resumed the old man, after a short pause: “not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe’s Island, we can’t live on a man who asks for change for a sovereign, and a woman who inquires the way to Mile-End Turnpike. Go to

5. “Therefore, Wally - therefore it is that I am anxious you should be early in the busy world, and on the world’s track. Go to

6. “As to the Sea,” he pursued, “that’s well enough in fiction, Wally, but it won’t do in fact: it won’t do at all. Go to

walter's /ˈwɔːltərz/ (143 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Walter

Simple English: belonging to the character named Walter

Example: Only the wonderful Madeira and the special occasion, when Walter's mind should be improved, could have made the Captain give such a long speech.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Only the wonderful Madeira and the special occasion, when Walter's mind should be improved, could have made the Captain give such a long speech. Go to

2. We will finish the bottle with a toast to the House, Ned - Walter's House. Go to

3. Standing near a lamp and listening with surprise to Walter's quick explanation, the man strongly contrasted with the two young figures before him. Go to

4. In answer, Mr Carker only shook Walter's hand. Go to

5. The memory of those events and Walter's part in them may have become even more charming because of old Sol and Captain Cuttle's Sunday dreams. Go to

Original English Version

1. Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration. Go to

2. We’ll finish the bottle, to the House, Ned - Walter’s House. Go to

3. As he stood near a lamp, listening with surprise to Walter’s hurried explanation, he presented a remarkable contrast to the two youthful figures arm-in-arm before him. Go to

4. It was quite out of Walter’s power to be coherent; but he rendered himself as explanatory as he could, in his breathless state, and stated why he had come alone. Go to

5. Miss Nipper, on the other hand, rather looked out for these occasions: her sensitive young heart being secretly propitiated by Walter’s good looks, and inclining to the belief that its sentiments were responded to. Go to

waltz /wɔlts/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: valsa

Simple English: a slow dance for two people who turn in circles

Example: Miss Tox sometimes practised the harpsichord, proudly displaying its painted sweet peas beneath the Copenhagen Waltz and Bird Waltz in a music book copied in her own hand.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Miss Tox sometimes practised the harpsichord, proudly displaying its painted sweet peas beneath the Copenhagen Waltz and Bird Waltz in a music book copied in her own hand. Go to

wandered /ˈwɑːndərd/ (34 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vagou; perambulou

Simple English: Walked around slowly with no clear plan.

Example: I have heard it praised in private circles ever since I was - goodness - this high!” Mrs Chick’s eyes wandered around the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, about ten feet above the floor.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I have heard it praised in private circles ever since I was - goodness - this high!” Mrs Chick’s eyes wandered around the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, about ten feet above the floor. Go to

2. At such times, he even disliked Wickam's company and was glad when she wandered off, as she usually did, to collect shells and meet people. Go to

Original English Version

1. I have heard it commended in private circles ever since I was - dear me - how high!” Mrs Chick’s eye wandered about the bookcase near the bust of Mr Pitt, which was about ten feet from the ground. Go to

wardrobes /ˈwɔrdroʊbz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: guarda-roupas; armários de roupa

Simple English: tall cupboards in which clothes are hung and kept

Example: In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In the same way, Susan Nipper twisted her small turned-up nose at drawers and wardrobes, stored looks of dislike in cupboards, threw mocking glances into stone jugs, and argued and called names in the passage. Go to

Original English Version

1. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Go to

warehouses /ˈwerhaʊzɪz/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: armazéns; depósitos

Simple English: Large buildings where goods are stored.

Example: Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages. Go to

warmed /wɔːrmd/ (8 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aqueceu

Simple English: Made someone or something less cold.

Example: Millions of gallons of boiling water could not have warmed that occasion.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Millions of gallons of boiling water could not have warmed that occasion. Go to

warmly /ˈwɔːrmli/ (43 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: calorosamente; com cordialidade

Simple English: In a friendly, kind way.

Example: His son lay warmly wrapped in a small basket bed on a low sofa, directly in front of the fire.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. His son lay warmly wrapped in a small basket bed on a low sofa, directly in front of the fire. Go to

2. This was especially true because Polly Toodle seemed to have no fault after his sister described her qualifications and warmly praised Miss Tox’s tireless friendship. Go to

3. Despite this command, and despite Susan Nipper pulling hard enough to almost separate the girl’s right shoulder, little Florence broke free and kissed her new friend warmly. Go to

4. From the beginning, she has worked so warmly for the child and seems to understand her position so well - a very rare quality in this world, I am sorry to say - that I would be pleased to recognize her kindness.” Go to

5. Despite the two disappointments, a visit welcomed so warmly could not be called a failure. Go to

Original English Version

1. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child’s behalf from the first, and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world, I am sorry to say), that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her.” Go to

warship /ˈwɔːrʃɪp/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: navio de guerra

Simple English: A ship designed and armed for naval combat.

Example: You are as safe now as if a whole crew of chosen men from a warship guarded you.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. You are as safe now as if a whole crew of chosen men from a warship guarded you. Go to

watchful /ˈwɑːtʃfəl/ (32 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vigilante; atento

Simple English: Careful to notice everything that happens around you.

Example: Under the watchful eyes of Time, another kind of Major, Paul's sleep gradually changed.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Under the watchful eyes of Time, another kind of Major, Paul's sleep gradually changed. Go to

2. She shook her head again and silently suggested to the watchful Berry, "Some of us will be cold enough before long!" Go to

Original English Version

1. “Ah!” sighed Mrs Wickam, and she shook her head again, expressing to the watchful Berry, “we shall be cold enough, some of us, by and by!” Go to

watchfulness /ˈwɑːtʃfəlnəs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: vigilância; atenção constante

Simple English: The habit of watching carefully for danger.

Example: Despite his early promise, all this watchfulness and care could not make little Paul strong.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Despite his early promise, all this watchfulness and care could not make little Paul strong. Go to

watery /ˈwɔːtəri/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: aguado; lacrimejante; ralo

Simple English: Containing too much water, or full of tears.

Example: I cannot say how or when, or whether the dear child knew it, but her mother watched over Betsey Jane, Miss Berry!" With a pale face, watery eyes, and a shaking voice, Mrs Wickam again looked fearfully around the room and toward Paul.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. I cannot say how or when, or whether the dear child knew it, but her mother watched over Betsey Jane, Miss Berry!" With a pale face, watery eyes, and a shaking voice, Mrs Wickam again looked fearfully around the room and toward Paul. Go to

Original English Version

1. I couldn’t say how, nor I couldn’t say when, nor I couldn’t say whether the dear child knew it or not, but Betsey Jane had been watched by her mother, Miss Berry!” and Mrs Wickam, with a very white face, and with watery eyes, and with a tremulous voice, again looked fearfully round the room, and towards Paul in bed. Go to

weakening /ˈwiːkənɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enfraquecendo; perdendo forças

Simple English: Becoming less strong.

Example: During the next week, Mrs Pipchin showed no sign of weakening.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. During the next week, Mrs Pipchin showed no sign of weakening. Go to

weakly /ˈwiːkli/ (38 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: debilmente; sem convicção

Simple English: In a way that shows very little strength.

Example: She weakly repeated, “Of course,” or rather formed the words with her lips, and closed her eyes again.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She weakly repeated, “Of course,” or rather formed the words with her lips, and closed her eyes again. Go to

2. “Did it stimulate her, perhaps?” the family doctor added weakly. Go to

3. “I am certainly very grateful, Sir,” Richards answered weakly, “and it is very kind of you to remember my little children.” At the same time, Richards imagined Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very short legs inside the practical clothes Mrs Chick had described. Go to

4. Bless him!” Polly asked weakly. Go to

wearer /ˈwɛrər/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: portador

Simple English: a person who wears a particular item

Example: At this word of command, the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour, as at the head of a boarding party of five hundred men; and Uncle Sol and his nephew were speedily engaged on a fried sole with a prospect of steak to follow.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. No young street boy could look at it for even a moment without attacking its innocent wearer and hurting him. Go to

Original English Version

1. At this word of command, the Welsh wig and its wearer were borne without resistance into the back parlour, as at the head of a boarding party of five hundred men; and Uncle Sol and his nephew were speedily engaged on a fried sole with a prospect of steak to follow. Go to

2. No young vagabond could be brought to bear its contemplation for a moment, without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer, and doing him a mischief. Go to

weedy /ˈwidi/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cheio de ervas daninhas; magricela, esguio

Simple English: full of weeds, or thin and weak-looking

Example: She was accustomed to wear odd weedy little flowers in her bonnets and caps.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Instead, he chose the boy's grandfather: a thin, crab-faced old man in a worn oilskin suit, made tough and stringy by years in salt water, who smelled like a weedy beach at low tide. Go to

Original English Version

1. She was accustomed to wear odd weedy little flowers in her bonnets and caps. Go to

2. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. Go to

weekdays /ˈwikˌdeɪz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: dias de semana; dias úteis

Simple English: the days from Monday to Friday

Example: It moved him so much that on birthdays and a few other festive weekdays he sang the whole song loudly in the back parlor, stretching the word 'Pe-e-eg' at the end of every verse to honor its heroine.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. It moved him so much that on birthdays and a few other festive weekdays he sang the whole song loudly in the back parlor, stretching the word 'Pe-e-eg' at the end of every verse to honor its heroine. Go to

weeping /ˈwiːpɪŋ/ (26 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chorando

Simple English: Crying, with tears.

Example: “We have all our faults,” said Mrs Chick, weeping and shaking her head.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “We have all our faults,” said Mrs Chick, weeping and shaking her head. Go to

wept /wɛpt/ (23 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chorou; derramou lágrimas

Simple English: Cried, with tears falling.

Example: “I told you, Louisa, that she would certainly be found,” said Mr Dombey, looking slightly over his shoulder at that lady, who wept in company with Miss Tox.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. “I told you, Louisa, that she would certainly be found,” said Mr Dombey, looking slightly over his shoulder at that lady, who wept in company with Miss Tox. Go to

wetting /ˈwɛtɪŋ/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: molhando; umedecendo

Simple English: making something wet with water or another liquid

Example: Her husband only chuckled and grinned, continually drawing his right hand across his mouth and wetting his palm.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Her husband only chuckled and grinned, continually drawing his right hand across his mouth and wetting his palm. Go to

wharf /wɔːrf/ (10 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cais

Simple English: A flat structure by the water where ships load.

Example: She looked into a riverside wharf where many packages, barrels, and boxes lay scattered around.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She looked into a riverside wharf where many packages, barrels, and boxes lay scattered around. Go to

2. Mr Clark stood frozen in amazement, quietly saying that he had never seen such a surprise on that wharf. Go to

3. He was very fond of the wharf where he had met Florence and even of the unattractive streets along which they had walked home. Go to

Original English Version

1. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Go to

2. Mr Clark stood rapt in amazement: observing under his breath, I never saw such a start on this wharf before. Go to

3. He had a great affection for the wharf where he had encountered Florence, and for the streets (albeit not enchanting in themselves) by which they had come home. Go to

wheeled /wiːld/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fez meia-volta

Simple English: Turned round quickly.

Example: A small carriage was obtained so he could lie comfortably with an alphabet book and other elementary reading and be wheeled to the seaside.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. A small carriage was obtained so he could lie comfortably with an alphabet book and other elementary reading and be wheeled to the seaside. Go to

Original English Version

1. But as Paul himself was no stronger at the expiration of that time than he had been on his first arrival, though he looked much healthier in the face, a little carriage was got for him, in which he could lie at his ease, with an alphabet and other elementary works of reference, and be wheeled down to the sea-side. Go to

wheezing /ˈwiːzɪŋ/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: chiando; ofegante

Simple English: breathing with a rough whistling sound

Example: Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively. Go to

whiskers /ˈwɪskərz/ (22 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: bigodes; suíças

Simple English: The hair growing on a man's face, or the long hairs on an animal's face.

Example: He had plenty of hair and whiskers, perhaps darkened by smoke and coal dust, hard, knotted hands, and a square forehead as rough as oak bark.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He had plenty of hair and whiskers, perhaps darkened by smoke and coal dust, hard, knotted hands, and a square forehead as rough as oak bark. Go to

whispered /ˈwɪspərd/ (96 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: sussurraram; cochicharam

Simple English: Spoke very quietly, so that few people could hear.

Example: “She is restless without the little girl,” the Doctor whispered to Mr Dombey.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “She is restless without the little girl,” the Doctor whispered to Mr Dombey. Go to

2. Then the Physician bent down and whispered in the child’s ear. Go to

3. “It might make the milk sour, indeed,” she whispered to Miss Tox, and quickly came to the rescue. Go to

4. No one else bent over Florence and whispered comforting words, or stood close enough to hear her heart beating quickly. Go to

5. “Please bring the child inside quickly, out of this air,” whispered the church official, holding open the inner church door. Go to

6. “That is excellent!” he whispered, hugging Solomon so tightly that a new expression appeared on the old man's face. Go to

Original English Version

1. “Restless without the little girl,” the Doctor whispered Mr Dombey. Go to

2. The two medical attendants exchanged a look across the bed; and the Physician, stooping down, whispered in the child’s ear. Go to

3. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue. Go to

4. No one else leant over her, and whispered soothing words to her, or was near enough to hear the flutter of her beating heart. Go to

5. “Please to bring the child in quick out of the air there,” whispered the beadle, holding open the inner door of the church. Go to

6. “That’s capital!” he whispered, giving Solomon such a hug that it squeezed a new expression into his face. Go to

whistled /ˈwɪsəld/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: assobiou

Simple English: Made a high sound by blowing through the lips.

Example: Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Think how the wood and masts strained and creaked, and how the storm whistled and howled through the ropes and rigging.” Go to

2. At that, he whistled as he filled his glass and seemed to think they were truly celebrating. Go to

3. Once their backs were turned on the house and its master was alone as usual, Mr Chick put his hands in his pockets, leaned back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” for the whole journey. Go to

4. The Major whistled, stared, wondered, and moved secretly around his room, but could understand nothing. Go to

Original English Version

1. Upon that he whistled as he filled his glass, and seemed to think they were making holiday indeed. Go to

2. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him. Go to

3. And the Major whistled, and stared, and wondered, and dodged about his room, and could make nothing of it. Go to

whistling /ˈwɪslɪŋ/ (17 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: assobio; silvo

Simple English: A high sound made by air moving quickly.

Example: Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Outside it, a stout man stood whistling, watching the nearby masts and boats. Go to

2. The Major continued staring and whistling. Go to

Original English Version

1. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:” Go to

2. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Go to

whittington /ˈwɪtɪŋtən/ (19 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Whittington

Simple English: Dick Whittington, a legendary Lord Mayor of London

Example: Sir Richard Whittington married his master's daughter.”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Sir Richard Whittington married his master's daughter.” Go to

2. “‘Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London, and when you are old you will never leave it,’” the Captain interrupted. Go to

3. He felt not merely like Richard Whittington, which was too weak a comparison, but like Saint George of England with the dead dragon before him. Go to

4. Sir Richard Whittington, three times Lord Mayor of London!” Go to

5. Almost every Sunday, one of those good friends made mysterious references to Richard Whittington. Go to

6. When Captain Cuttle and Uncle Sol spoke of Richard Whittington and masters' daughters, Walter knew that he understood his true place at Dombey and Son much better than they did. Go to

Original English Version

1. Sir Richard Whittington married his master’s daughter.” Go to

2. “‘Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London, and when you are old you will never depart from it,’” interposed the Captain. Go to

3. He hung the rabbit-skin over his left arm; gave the right to Florence; and felt, not to say like Richard Whittington - that is a tame comparison - but like Saint George of England, with the dragon lying dead before him. Go to

4. Sir Richard Whittington thrice Lord Mayor of London.” Go to

5. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Go to

6. But these flights of fancy seldom burnished the brass plate of Dombey and Son’s Offices into a tablet of golden hope, or shed a brilliant lustre on their dirty skylights; and when the Captain and Uncle Sol talked about Richard Whittington and masters’ daughters, Walter felt that he understood his true position at Dombey and Son’s, much better than they did. Go to

whooping /ˈhuːpɪŋ/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: gritaria (em past all whooping, além de toda medida)

Simple English: shouting loudly; also used in 'whooping cough', a disease with loud coughing

Example: Each attack of whooping cough knocked him down, and a whole crowd of small illnesses ran over and crushed him one after another, preventing him from rising.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Each attack of whooping cough knocked him down, and a whole crowd of small illnesses ran over and crushed him one after another, preventing him from rising. Go to

wickam /ˈwɪkəm/ (124 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Wickam

Simple English: the surname of Mrs Wickam, Paul's nurse

Example: Mrs Wickam often said she had never seen a dear child treated so badly by life.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Wickam often said she had never seen a dear child treated so badly by life. Go to

2. Mrs Wickam was a waiter's wife, a position almost equal to being any other man's widow. Go to

3. Mrs Wickam was a gentle, fair-skinned woman whose eyebrows were always raised and whose head always hung down. Go to

4. This made Mrs Wickam shake her head meaningfully and draw many long breaths. Go to

5. Sometimes I am so tired,” little Paul said, warming his hands and looking between the bars of the grate as if a ghostly puppet show were taking place there, “and my bones ache so much - Wickam says it is my bones - that I do not know what to do.” Go to

6. “Won’t you come with your poor Nurse Wickam, Master Paul?” the nurse asked with great sadness. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mrs Wickam often said she never see a dear so put upon. Go to

2. Mrs Wickam was a waiter’s wife - which would seem equivalent to being any other man’s widow - whose application for an engagement in Mr Dombey’s service had been favourably considered, on account of the apparent impossibility of her having any followers, or anyone to follow; and who, from within a day or two of Paul’s sharp weaning, had been engaged as his nurse. Go to

3. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent. Go to

4. I am so tired sometimes,” said little Paul, warming his hands, and looking in between the bars of the grate, as if some ghostly puppet-show were performing there, “and my bones ache so (Wickam says it’s my bones), that I don’t know what to do.” Go to

5. “Won’t you come with your poor Nurse Wickam, Master Paul?” inquired that attendant, with great pathos. Go to

6. Invoking a blessing upon his innocence, Mrs Wickam withdrew, and presently Florence appeared in her stead. Go to

wickam's /ˈwɪkəmz/ (11 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: de Wickam

Simple English: belonging to Mrs Wickam

Example: He was a pretty little fellow; though there was something wan and wistful in his small face, that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam’s head, and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam’s breath.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. She spent much time hiding behind doors and jumping out whenever the girl approached Mrs Wickam's room. Go to

2. "What a pretty little fellow he is when he is asleep!" Berry said one night, stopping to look at Paul in bed as she brought up Mrs Wickam's supper. Go to

3. Berry looked as if she wanted to understand the connection between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam's uncle's Betsey Jane. Go to

4. At such times, he even disliked Wickam's company and was glad when she wandered off, as she usually did, to collect shells and meet people. Go to

Original English Version

1. He was a pretty little fellow; though there was something wan and wistful in his small face, that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam’s head, and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam’s breath. Go to

2. Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. Go to

3. It was a part of Mrs Pipchin’s policy to prevent her own “young hussy” - that was Mrs Pipchin’s generic name for female servant - from communicating with Mrs Wickam: to which end she devoted much of her time to concealing herself behind doors, and springing out on that devoted maiden, whenever she made an approach towards Mrs Wickam’s apartment. Go to

4. “What a pretty fellow he is when he’s asleep!” said Berry, stopping to look at Paul in bed, one night when she took up Mrs Wickam’s supper. Go to

5. Berry looked as if she would like to trace the connexion of ideas between Paul Dombey and Mrs Wickam’s Uncle’s Betsey Jane. Go to

widower /ˈwɪdoʊər/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: viúvo

Simple English: a man whose wife has died

Example: He did not say, Poor widower, forced to trust the wife of an ignorant working man who had spent most of his life underground, although Death had never knocked at that man's door and four sons sat daily at his poor table.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He did not say, Poor widower, forced to trust the wife of an ignorant working man who had spent most of his life underground, although Death had never knocked at that man's door and four sons sat daily at his poor table. Go to

Original English Version

1. Not poor widower, confiding by constraint in the wife of an ignorant Hind who has been working “mostly underground” all his life, and yet at whose door Death had never knocked, and at whose poor table four sons daily sit - but poor little fellow! Go to

wiggs /wɪgz/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: Wiggs

Simple English: the surname of a character, Peter Wiggs

Example: “A private West Indies trading ship of 350 tons, captained by John Brown of Deptford and owned by Wiggs and Company,” cried Walter.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “A private West Indies trading ship of 350 tons, captained by John Brown of Deptford and owned by Wiggs and Company,” cried Walter. Go to

Original English Version

1. Owners, Wiggs and Co.,” cried Walter. Go to

wineglass /ˈwaɪnˌɡlæs/ (3 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: taça de vinho

Simple English: a glass with a thin stem used for drinking wine

Example: Mrs Chick took Miss Tox's hand, rested the base of her wineglass on it, held back a tear, and said quietly, “God bless you!”

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mrs Chick took Miss Tox's hand, rested the base of her wineglass on it, held back a tear, and said quietly, “God bless you!” Go to

2. “And I do say, will say, and must say,” his sister continued, pressing the base of the wineglass onto Miss Tox's hand at each phrase, “that Miss Tox has very beautifully matched the message to the occasion. Go to

3. The extra wineglass was clearly for him, and he knew it. Go to

winking /ˈwɪŋkɪŋ/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: cintilantes; que piscam

Simple English: Closing and opening one eye quickly as a sign.

Example: “And you are very glad to leave your dear, good wife in such a comfortable home, aren't you, sir?” said Miss Tox, secretly nodding and winking at him.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. “And you are very glad to leave your dear, good wife in such a comfortable home, aren't you, sir?” said Miss Tox, secretly nodding and winking at him. Go to

Original English Version

1. “And you’re very glad to leave your dear good wife in such a comfortable home, ain’t you, Sir?” said Miss Tox, nodding and winking at him stealthily. Go to

2. Mrs Pipchin had an old black cat, who generally lay coiled upon the centre foot of the fender, purring egotistically, and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. Go to

winks /wɪŋks/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pisca o olho; pestaneja

Simple English: shuts and opens one eye quickly as a sign or from strain

Example: As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Go to

wire /waɪər/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: fio; arame; fios

Simple English: Long, thin piece of metal that conducts electricity.

Example: The electrician used a copper wire to fix the broken circuit.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. The ancient little canary had a new cage with golden wires. Go to

wiser /ˈwaɪzər/ (13 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mais sábio

Simple English: Having more good sense than someone else.

Example: Now sadder and wiser, he thought quietly and said no more.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Now sadder and wiser, he thought quietly and said no more. Go to

Original English Version

1. Becoming a sadder and a wiser man, he mused and held his peace. Go to

withered /ˈwɪðərd/ (20 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: murchou; secou

Simple English: dried up and died from heat or lack of water; past of wither

Example: It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked, and hushed, and, glancing through the dreary windows, pressed the little fellow closer to her breast, the withered leaves came showering down.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked, and hushed, and, glancing through the dreary windows, pressed the little fellow closer to her breast, the withered leaves came showering down. Go to

2. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots. Go to

womanly /ˈwʊmənli/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: feminino; próprio de mulher

Simple English: Having qualities thought to belong to a woman.

Example: And won’t your Pa be angry neither!” cried a quick voice at the door, proceeding from a short, brown, womanly girl of fourteen, with a little snub nose, and black eyes like jet beads.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. And won’t your Pa be angry neither!” cried a quick voice at the door, proceeding from a short, brown, womanly girl of fourteen, with a little snub nose, and black eyes like jet beads. Go to

2. What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! Go to

worldly /ˈwɜːrldli/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: mundanos; do século

Simple English: Belonging to ordinary life and not to religion.

Example: Mr Dombey entertaining complicated worldly schemes and plans; the little image entertaining Heaven knows what wild fancies, half-formed thoughts, and wandering speculations.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Mr Dombey entertaining complicated worldly schemes and plans; the little image entertaining Heaven knows what wild fancies, half-formed thoughts, and wandering speculations. Go to

worshipful /ˈwɜrʃɪpfəl/ (5 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: reverente; cheio de admiração

Simple English: showing deep love and respect, almost like prayer

Example: Having the power of nominating a child on the foundation of an ancient establishment, called (from a worshipful company) the Charitable Grinders; where not only is a wholesome education bestowed upon the scholars, but where a dress and badge is likewise provided for them; I have (first communicating, through Mrs Chick, with your family) nominated your eldest son to an existing vacancy; and he has this day, I am informed, assumed the habit.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Having the power of nominating a child on the foundation of an ancient establishment, called (from a worshipful company) the Charitable Grinders; where not only is a wholesome education bestowed upon the scholars, but where a dress and badge is likewise provided for them; I have (first communicating, through Mrs Chick, with your family) nominated your eldest son to an existing vacancy; and he has this day, I am informed, assumed the habit. Go to

wrappings /ˈræpɪŋz/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: faixas

Simple English: materials wrapped around something for covering or protection

Example: In her picture frame, the dead and buried lady looked frightening beneath pale wrappings.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. In her picture frame, the dead and buried lady looked frightening beneath pale wrappings. Go to

wringing /ˈrɪŋɪŋ/ (7 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: torcendo; espremendo; arrancando à força

Simple English: Twisting something tightly to force liquid out, or forcing something from someone.

Example: Then she stopped, wringing her hands as she remembered the other nurse, and discovered with terrible fear that she was completely alone.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Then she stopped, wringing her hands as she remembered the other nurse, and discovered with terrible fear that she was completely alone. Go to

Original English Version

1. She ran till she was exhausted, urging Susan to do the same; and then, stopping and wringing her hands as she remembered they had left the other nurse behind, found, with a sensation of terror not to be described, that she was quite alone. Go to

wrinkle /ˈrɪŋkəl/ (4 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: ruga

Simple English: a small line or fold in skin or cloth

Example: He sat between her and the fender, his bright little face nearly lost against her black dress, studying every line and wrinkle of her face and staring into her hard gray eye until she sometimes closed it and pretended to doze.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. He sat between her and the fender, his bright little face nearly lost against her black dress, studying every line and wrinkle of her face and staring into her hard gray eye until she sometimes closed it and pretended to doze. Go to

Original English Version

1. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Go to

wrinkled /ˈrɪŋkəld/ (12 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: enrugado

Simple English: Covered with small lines and folds.

Example: If the Major had known how many hopes and risks, plans and guesses rested on that baby's head, and had seen them all flying in mixed confusion around little Paul's wrinkled cap, he would truly have stared.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. If the Major had known how many hopes and risks, plans and guesses rested on that baby's head, and had seen them all flying in mixed confusion around little Paul's wrinkled cap, he would truly have stared. Go to

2. Cramps were as common to her," Mrs Wickam added, "as boils are to you, Miss Berry." Miss Berry wrinkled her nose without meaning to. Go to

Original English Version

1. The cramps was as common to her,” said Mrs Wickam, “as biles is to yourself, Miss Berry.” Miss Berry involuntarily wrinkled her nose. Go to

wristband /ˈrɪstbænd/ (1 occurrence in the simplified text)

Português: punho; faixa no pulso

Simple English: A band or garment cuff fitted around the wrist.

Example: People noticed that the two ends of every collar, frill, wristband, or other light article she wore never met without a struggle.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. People noticed that the two ends of every collar, frill, wristband, or other light article she wore never met without a struggle. Go to

wrists /rɪsts/ (2 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: pulsos

Simple English: The parts of the body between the hands and the arms.

Example: Mr John had already pushed both hands deep into his pockets past the wrists.

Use in this Book:

Simplified (B1) English Version

1. Mr John had already pushed both hands deep into his pockets past the wrists. Go to

Original English Version

1. Mr John, who had already got both his hands in his pockets over the wrists, and was on the very threshold of that same canine chorus which had given Mrs Chick so much offence on a former occasion, protested that he was perfectly comfortable. Go to

wrongs /rɔːŋz/ (6 occurrences in the simplified text)

Português: injustiças; ofensas

Simple English: Bad or unfair things done to people.

Example: Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs.

Use in this Book:

Original English Version

1. Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. Go to

Original Text: Rare Words (1/7)

Compact help for additional rare words found only in the original text. Each entry gives the spelling, pronunciation, common Portuguese meanings and one exact return to the source paragraph.

a'most /əˈmoʊst/ — quase, forma popular de almost. The Steamingine was a’most as good as a godfather to him, and so we called him Biler, don’t you see!” Return to Original English Version

abase /əˈbeɪs/ — humilhar; rebaixar. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility. Return to Original English Version

abbreviations /əˌbriːviˈeɪʃənz/ — abreviações. Common abbreviations took new meanings in his eyes, and had sole reference to them. Return to Original English Version

abrupt /əˈbrʌpt/ — abrupto; brusco. The abrupt question had such immediate reference to the subject of Mr Dombey’s thoughts, that Mr Dombey was quite disconcerted. Return to Original English Version

abstinence /ˈæbstɪnəns/ — abstinência; privação voluntária. “With a little abstinence, you know, my dear, in point of vegetables.” Return to Original English Version

acceptation /ˌæksepˈteɪʃən/ — acepção; sentido. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Return to Original English Version

accosted /əˈkɔːstɪd/ — abordou; dirigiu-se a. From the glimpses she caught of Mr Dombey at these times, sitting in the dark distance, looking out towards the infant from among the dark heavy furniture - the house had been inhabited for years by his father, and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim - she began to entertain ideas of him in his solitary state, as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell, or a strange apparition that was not to be accosted or understood. Return to Original English Version

accumulating /əˈkjuːmjəleɪtɪŋ/ — acumulando; amontoando-se. More and more light broke in upon them; distincter and distincter dreams disturbed them; an accumulating crowd of objects and impressions swarmed about his rest; and so he passed from babyhood to childhood, and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey. Return to Original English Version

accustom /əˈkʌstəm/ — acostumar. “I am sure,” she said, “I hope this heart-rending occurrence will be a warning to all of us, to accustom ourselves to rouse ourselves, and to make efforts in time where they’re required of us. Return to Original English Version

acidity /əˈsɪdəti/ — acidez. Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Return to Original English Version

acknowledgment /əkˈnɑːlɪdʒmənt/ — reconhecimento; agradecimento. Miss Tox, in the midst of her spreading gauzes, went down altogether like an opera-glass shutting-up; she curtseyed so low, in acknowledgment of Mr Dombey’s advancing a step or two to meet her. Return to Original English Version

acquiesced /ˌækwiˈest/ — concordou sem protestar. Mr Dombey, who, besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned, had really faith in her as an experienced and bustling matron, acquiesced; and followed her, at once, to the sick chamber. Return to Original English Version

acutely /əˈkjuːtli/ — agudamente; intensamente. Miss Pankey was generally brought back from an aunt’s at Rottingdean, in deep distress; and Master Bitherstone, whose relatives were all in India, and who was required to sit, between the services, in an erect position with his head against the parlour wall, neither moving hand nor foot, suffered so acutely in his young spirits that he once asked Florence, on a Sunday night, if she could give him any idea of the way back to Bengal. Return to Original English Version

acutest /əˈkjuːtɪst/ — mais intenso. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Return to Original English Version

adhesive /ədˈhiːsɪv/ — adesivo; grudento. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Return to Original English Version

adjective /ˈædʒɪktɪv/ — adjetivo. “And now good-night to my sweet, sweet, sweet, godson,” said Miss Tox, with a soft shower of kisses at each repetition of the adjective; “and Louisa, my dear friend, promise me to take a little something warm before you go to bed, and not to distress yourself!” Return to Original English Version

adjured /əˈdʒʊrd/ — conjurou; suplicou solenemente. In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately. Return to Original English Version

admissible /ədˈmɪsəbəl/ — admissível; aceitável. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Return to Original English Version

admonished /ədˈmɑːnɪʃt/ — admoestou; repreendeu; advertiu. Admonished, however, that he had committed himself, by the indignation expressed in Mrs Chick’s countenance at the idea of a Dombey going there; and thinking to atone for his misconduct by a bright suggestion, he added: Return to Original English Version

ado /əˈduː/ — alarde; rodeios; agitação. “Oh, my dear Paul, no,” said Mrs Chick, who had much ado to keep her teeth from chattering; “not for me.” Return to Original English Version

advantageous /ˌædvənˈteɪdʒəs/ — vantajoso. Being now in an easier frame of mind, he regarded the woman’s station as rather an advantageous circumstance than otherwise, by placing, in itself, a broad distance between her and the child, and rendering their separation easy and natural. Return to Original English Version

afflicted /əˈflɪktɪd/ — afligido; acometido. After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. Return to Original English Version

affliction /əˈflɪkʃən/ — aflição; sofrimento. Sooth to say, poor Paul had better reason for his tears than sons of that age often have, for he had lost his second mother - his first, so far as he knew - by a stroke as sudden as that natural affliction which had darkened the beginning of his life. Return to Original English Version

afresh /əˈfrɛʃ/ — de novo; novamente; do início. “My dear Paul,” that lady broke out afresh, after silently contemplating his features for a few moments, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I look at you, I declare, you do so remind me of that dear baby upstairs.” Return to Original English Version

aggravated /ˈæɡrəveɪtɪd/ — agravado; irritado. “You might keep me in a strait-waistcoat for six weeks,” said Nipper, “and when I got it off I’d only be more aggravated, who ever heard the like of them two Griffins, Mrs Richards?” Return to Original English Version

aggravation /ˌæɡrəˈveɪʃən/ — irritação; agravamento. After looking at him for some moments in silent resignation, Mrs Chick said she trusted he hadn’t said it in aggravation, because that would do very little honour to his heart. Return to Original English Version

aghast /əˈɡæst/ — horrorizado; estarrecido. “A choker!” said Miss Tox, quite aghast. Return to Original English Version

agin /əˈɡɪn/ — contra; de novo (dialetal). “Here’s wishing of her back agin.” Return to Original English Version

agitate /ˈædʒɪteɪt/ — perturbar; deixar ansioso. Don’t agitate yourself, Louisa.” Return to Original English Version

agreeably /əˈɡriːəbli/ — agradavelmente; de modo grato. But Mrs Wickam, agreeably to the usage of some ladies in her condition, pursued her own branch of the subject, without any compunction. Return to Original English Version

airings /ˈerɪŋz/ — passeios ao ar livre. “I begged them to take you out for airings, constantly,” said Mr Dombey. Return to Original English Version

airy /ˈeri/ — arejado; leve; displicente. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Return to Original English Version

alacrity /əˈlækrəti/ — presteza; prontidão. Poor little Florence took them off with equal alacrity, only too glad to have any more means of conciliation about her. Return to Original English Version

allegorical /ˌælɪˈɡɔːrɪkəl/ — alegórico. Notwithstanding which, however, poor Polly embraced them all round in great distress, and coming to her spouse at last, could not make up her mind to part from him, until he gently disengaged himself, at the close of the following allegorical piece of consolation: Return to Original English Version

allowances /əˈlaʊənsɪz/ — concessões; ressalvas; mesadas. “I am afraid it’s a poorer place than you’re used to; but you’ll make allowances, I’m sure.” Return to Original English Version

alluded /əˈluːdɪd/ — aludiu; referiu-se indiretamente. Miss Tox had arrived on the wheels just now alluded to, and came running into the room in a breathless condition. Return to Original English Version

allusion /əˈluːʒən/ — alusão; referência. Within three days after Mrs Chick’s first allusion to her, this excellent old lady had the satisfaction of anticipating a handsome addition to her current receipts, from the pocket of Mr Dombey; and of receiving Florence and her little brother Paul, as inmates of the Castle. Return to Original English Version

almanack /ˈɔːlmənæk/ — almanaque. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.” Return to Original English Version

aloft /əˈlɔːft/ — no alto; ao alto; em cima, no cordame. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns. Return to Original English Version

alphabetical /ˌælfəˈbɛtɪkəl/ — alfabético; em ordem alfabética. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Return to Original English Version

alteration /ˌɔːltəˈreɪʃən/ — alteração; mudança. But competition, competition - new invention, new invention - alteration, alteration - the world’s gone past me. Return to Original English Version

altercation /ˌɔːltərˈkeɪʃən/ — altercação; bate-boca. The little altercation between them had attracted the notice of Mr Dombey, who inquired from the table where he was sitting at his wine, what the matter was. Return to Original English Version

amiable /ˈeɪmiəbəl/ — amável; afável. We must not disguise from you, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps, “that there is a want of power in Her Grace the Duchess - I beg your pardon; I confound names; I should say, in your amiable lady. Return to Original English Version

amounting /əˈmaʊntɪŋ/ — totalizando; equivalendo a. I believe if there are three words in the English language for which she has a respect amounting almost to veneration, those words are, Dombey and Son.” Return to Original English Version

analogous /əˈnæləɡəs/ — análogo; semelhante. Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Return to Original English Version

analysing /ˈænəlaɪzɪŋ/ — analisando. But a frank, free-spirited, open-hearted boy, is not much given to analysing the nature of his own feelings, however strong their hold upon him: and Walter would have found it difficult to decide this point. Return to Original English Version

anecdotes /ˈænɪkdoʊts/ — anedotas; histórias curtas. Instead of proceeding with any more anecdotes, as he had evidently intended but a moment before, he gave a short dry cough, and said, “Well! suppose we change the subject.” Return to Original English Version

anguish /ˈæŋɡwɪʃ/ — angústia; sofrimento intenso. This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber. Return to Original English Version

angularity /ˌæŋɡjəˈlærəti/ — angularidade; rigidez de formas. Miss Tox’s dress, though perfectly genteel and good, had a certain character of angularity and scantiness. Return to Original English Version

animating /ˈænɪmeɪtɪŋ/ — animador; que dá alento. Being liable himself to similar unlooked for checks from Mrs Chick, their little contests usually possessed a character of uncertainty that was very animating. Return to Original English Version

anticipating /ænˈtɪsɪpeɪtɪŋ/ — antecipando; prevendo. His sister, who had been far from anticipating so signal a success, withdrew as soon as she could, to communicate it to her best of friends; and Mr Dombey was left alone in his library. Return to Original English Version

antiquity /ænˈtɪkwəti/ — Antiguidade; tempos antigos. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Return to Original English Version

antlered /ˈæntlərd/ — com galhada. Others, who had a natural taste for the country, held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd, under the familiar denomination of Staggses, had resorted to its shady precincts. Return to Original English Version

anyhows /ˈenihaʊz/ — de qualquer jeito. “I should know her,” said Toodle, gruffly, “anyhows and anywheres.” Return to Original English Version

anywheres /ˈeniwerz/ — em lugar algum (fala popular). “I should know her,” said Toodle, gruffly, “anyhows and anywheres.” Return to Original English Version

apostrophised /əˈpɒstrəfaɪzd/ — dirigiu-se diretamente a. A destiny, little fellow!” As he thus apostrophised the infant he raised one of his hands to his lips, and kissed it; then, seeming to fear that the action involved some compromise of his dignity, went, awkwardly enough, away. Return to Original English Version

apostrophizing /əˈpɒstrəfaɪzɪŋ/ — apostrofando; dirigindo-se diretamente a. “Why, damme, Sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster eyes round and round Princess’s Place, and apostrophizing its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. Return to Original English Version

appalling /əˈpɔːlɪŋ/ — assombroso; aterrador. “I was about to say to you, Richards,” resumed Mr Dombey, with an appalling glance at Mr John, “that I was further assisted in my decision, by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room, on the occasion of your being hired, when he disclosed to me the melancholy fact that your family, himself at the head, were sunk and steeped in ignorance.” Return to Original English Version

apparition /ˌæpəˈrɪʃən/ — aparição; espectro. From the glimpses she caught of Mr Dombey at these times, sitting in the dark distance, looking out towards the infant from among the dark heavy furniture - the house had been inhabited for years by his father, and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim - she began to entertain ideas of him in his solitary state, as if he were a lone prisoner in a cell, or a strange apparition that was not to be accosted or understood. Return to Original English Version

appellation /ˌæpəˈleɪʃən/ — denominação; designação. “And where’s Father, Jemima dear?” - for by that patriarchal appellation, Mr Toodle was generally known in the family. Return to Original English Version

appended /əˈpendɪd/ — anexou; acrescentou ao fim. The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs Dombey’s name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.” Return to Original English Version

apprehension /ˌæprɪˈhenʃən/ — apreensão; receio. His temper gave abundant promise of being imperious in after-life; and he had as hopeful an apprehension of his own importance, and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it, as heart could desire. Return to Original English Version

apprehensions /ˌæprɪˈhenʃənz/ — receios; temores. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue. Return to Original English Version

aquiline /ˈækwɪlaɪn/ — aquilino. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything. Return to Original English Version

ardently /ˈɑːrdəntli/ — ardentemente. Every day, too, he was more and more ardently cherished by Miss Tox, whose devotion was so far appreciated by Mr Dombey that he began to regard her as a woman of great natural good sense, whose feelings did her credit and deserved encouragement. Return to Original English Version

ardour /ˈɑːrdər/ — ardor; fervor. On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation. Return to Original English Version

arter /ˈɑːrtər/ — depois, grafia popular de after. Arter a BILER Sir. Return to Original English Version

artificially /ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃəli/ — artificialmente. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths. Return to Original English Version

ascend /əˈsɛnd/ — subir; ascender. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots. Return to Original English Version

ascendant /əˈsɛndənt/ — ascendente; dominante. He was often in the ascendant himself, and at those times punished Louisa roundly. Return to Original English Version

aspire /əˈspaɪər/ — aspirar a; almejar. Presumptuous as it is to aspire to such a level; still, if the bird of night may - but I’ll not trouble Mr Dombey with the sentiment. Return to Original English Version

assailants /əˈseɪlənts/ — assaltantes; atacantes. They passed the whole of Sunday with him, and generally rode out before dinner; and on these occasions Mr Dombey seemed to grow, like Falstaff’s assailants, and instead of being one man in buckram, to become a dozen. Return to Original English Version

assent /əˈsɛnt/ — assentimento; anuência. Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences. Return to Original English Version

assented /əˈsɛntɪd/ — concordou; assentiu. “Quite so,” assented the Doctor - “and vigorous effort. Return to Original English Version

associating /əˈsoʊsieɪtɪŋ/ — associando; convivendo. It’s natural enough that you should think about it, associating it with all these familiar things; but it won’t do, it won’t do.” Return to Original English Version

assurances /əˈʃʊrənsɪz/ — garantias; asseverações. These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe. Return to Original English Version

atone /əˈtoʊn/ — expiar; reparar. Admonished, however, that he had committed himself, by the indignation expressed in Mrs Chick’s countenance at the idea of a Dombey going there; and thinking to atone for his misconduct by a bright suggestion, he added: Return to Original English Version

attaching /əˈtætʃɪŋ/ — prendendo; anexando; atribuindo. Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences. Return to Original English Version

attainable /əˈteɪnəbəl/ — atingível. The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. Return to Original English Version

attentively /əˈtentɪvli/ — atentamente; com atenção. “Well,” said Mr Dombey, after looking at him attentively, and with no great favour, as he stood gazing round the room (principally round the ceiling) and still drawing his hand across and across his mouth. Return to Original English Version

attenuated /əˈtenjueɪtɪd/ — atenuado; adelgaçado. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. Return to Original English Version

attire /əˈtaɪər/ — traje; vestimenta. As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion. Return to Original English Version

attorney's /əˈtɜːrniz/ — do advogado. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Return to Original English Version

audacity /ɔːˈdæsəti/ — ousadia; atrevimento. Not that she had anything particular to forgive in her sister-in-law, nor indeed anything at all, except her having married her brother - in itself a species of audacity - and her having, in the course of events, given birth to a girl instead of a boy: which, as Mrs Chick had frequently observed, was not quite what she had expected of her, and was not a pleasant return for all the attention and distinction she had met with. Return to Original English Version

audible /ˈɔːdəbəl/ — audível. At length, Mrs Brown, issuing forth, conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys, which emerged, after a long time, upon a stable yard, with a gateway at the end, whence the roar of a great thoroughfare made itself audible. Return to Original English Version

austere /ɔːˈstɪr/ — austero; severo; despojado. Just the same austere, stiff gentleman, as he had appeared to her on that first day. Return to Original English Version

autograph /ˈɔːtəɡrɑːf/ — assinatura. There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior,” said Mr Dombey, making a fictitious autograph on his knee; “but it is merely of a private and personal complexion. Return to Original English Version

autumnal /ɔːˈtʌmnəl/ — outonal; de outono. It happened to be an iron-grey autumnal day, with a shrewd east wind blowing - a day in keeping with the proceedings. Return to Original English Version

aversion /əˈvɜːrʒən/ — aversão; repulsa. He had never conceived an aversion to her: it had not been worth his while or in his humour. Return to Original English Version

awaking /əˈweɪkɪŋ/ — despertando. Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence. Return to Original English Version

aweer /əˈwɪər/ — ciente. “Not once since, and he hadn’t hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months, and I don’t think he’d have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets, or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow, Mrs Richards, as to me,” said Spitfire, with a giggle, “I doubt if he’s aweer of my existence.” Return to Original English Version

babel /ˈbeɪbəl/ — Babel; confusão de vozes. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

babylonian /ˌbæbɪˈloʊniən/ — babilônico; babilônio. Miss Tox’s hand trembled as she slipped it through Mr Dombey’s arm, and felt herself escorted up the steps, preceded by a cocked hat and a Babylonian collar. Return to Original English Version

bade /beɪd/ — ordenou; pediu; despediu-se. It had its part, perhaps, in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown, after hovering about her with the scissors for some moments, like a new kind of butterfly, bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her. Return to Original English Version

baize /beɪz/ — baeta; tecido de lã feltrado. “One hundred and forty-seven,” said Mrs Chick “The dress, Richards, is a nice, warm, blue baize tailed coat and cap, turned up with orange coloured binding; red worsted stockings; and very strong leather small-clothes. Return to Original English Version

balm /bɑːm/ — bálsamo. “It would have occurred to most men,” said Mrs Chick, “that poor dear Fanny being no more, - those words of mine will always be a balm and comfort to me,” here she dried her eyes; “it becomes necessary to provide a Nurse.” Return to Original English Version

bandages /ˈbændɪdʒɪz/ — ataduras; bandagens. The dead and buried lady was awful in a picture-frame of ghastly bandages. Return to Original English Version

banishment /ˈbænɪʃmənt/ — banimento; exílio. On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation. Return to Original English Version

barrenest /ˈbærənɪst/ — mais despojado; mais estéril. She was much given to the carrying about of small bags with snaps to them, that went off like little pistols when they were shut up; and when full-dressed, she wore round her neck the barrenest of lockets, representing a fishy old eye, with no approach to speculation in it. Return to Original English Version

bating /ˈbeɪtɪŋ/ — excetuando-se. Involuntarily holding his breath as he opened this document, and “bating in the stealthy action something of his arrogant demeanour, he sat down, resting his head upon one hand, and read it through. Return to Original English Version

bawling /ˈbɔːlɪŋ/ — berrando; chorando aos gritos. Joe ran up an archway, bawling as he went, and very soon returned with a blithe-looking boy. Return to Original English Version

beaming /ˈbiːmɪŋ/ — radiante. Florence was the most grateful little creature in the world, and it was delightful to see her bright gratitude beaming in her face. Return to Original English Version

bearer's /ˈbɛrərz/ — do portador. “Why, the Sword Bearer’s better than him. Return to Original English Version

beckoned /ˈbekənd/ — acenou; chamou com um gesto. Mrs Chick stopped in her lamentations on the corruption of human nature, even when beckoned to the paths of virtue by a Charitable Grinder; and received her with a welcome something short of the reception due to none but perfect Dombeys. Return to Original English Version

bedstead /ˈbɛdstɛd/ — armação de cama; catre. Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Return to Original English Version

befel /bɪˈfel/ — aconteceu a; sucedeu a. As to the accident which befel Miss Florence this morning, I regard that as, in one great sense, a happy and fortunate circumstance; inasmuch as, but for that occurrence, I never could have known - and from your own lips too - of what you had been guilty. Return to Original English Version

beholden /bɪˈhoʊldən/ — em dívida com; obrigado a. “I’m very much beholden to you, Mrs Richards,” said Susan, who was not by any means discriminating in her wrath, “and really feel it as a honour to receive your commands, being a black slave and a mulotter. Return to Original English Version

behoof /bɪˈhuːf/ — proveito; benefício, arcaico. She delivered it for the behoof of Mr Chick, who was a stout bald gentleman, with a very large face, and his hands continually in his pockets, and who had a tendency in his nature to whistle and hum tunes, which, sensible of the indecorum of such sounds in a house of grief, he was at some pains to repress at present. Return to Original English Version

bellrope /ˈbelroʊp/ — corda da campainha. He had already laid his hand upon the bellrope to convey his usual summons to Richards, when his eye fell upon a writing-desk, belonging to his deceased wife, which had been taken, among other things, from a cabinet in her chamber. Return to Original English Version

benignantly /bɪˈnɪɡnəntli/ — benignamente; com benevolência. “Oh no!” cried Mrs Chick, benignantly. Return to Original English Version

bequeathed /bɪˈkwiːðd/ — legou; deixou em testamento. The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. Return to Original English Version

bereaved /bɪˈriːvd/ — enlutado; que perdeu alguém. “The poor bereaved little baby,” said Mr Chick. Return to Original English Version

bereft /bɪˈreft/ — privado de; desamparado. On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation. Return to Original English Version

beset /bɪˈset/ — assediado; acossado; cercar. Polly was beset by so many misgivings in the morning, that but for the incessant promptings of her black-eyed companion, she would have abandoned all thoughts of the expedition, and formally petitioned for leave to see number one hundred and forty-seven, under the awful shadow of Mr Dombey’s roof. Return to Original English Version

bespattered /bɪˈspætərd/ — salpicado; respingado. He had been overthrown into gutters; bespattered with mud; violently flattened against posts. Return to Original English Version

bestirred /bɪˈstɜːrd/ — pôs-se em ação; mexeu-se. As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms. Return to Original English Version

bestowed /bɪˈstoʊd/ — concedeu; outorgou. Having the power of nominating a child on the foundation of an ancient establishment, called (from a worshipful company) the Charitable Grinders; where not only is a wholesome education bestowed upon the scholars, but where a dress and badge is likewise provided for them; I have (first communicating, through Mrs Chick, with your family) nominated your eldest son to an existing vacancy; and he has this day, I am informed, assumed the habit. Return to Original English Version

betook /bɪˈtʊk/ — dirigiu-se; pôs-se a. Solomon Gills laughingly defied him to find out anything of the kind; and Walter, revolving in his thoughts all sorts of impracticable ways of making fortunes and placing the wooden Midshipman in a position of independence, betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there. Return to Original English Version

betted /ˈbɛtɪd/ — apostou. It would have been, generally speaking, very difficult to have betted on the winner. Return to Original English Version

bewildered /bɪˈwɪldərd/ — desconcertado; confuso. Florence remained there, looking at the bustle in the street, and more and more bewildered by it; and in the meanwhile the clocks appeared to have made up their minds never to strike three any more. Return to Original English Version

bewilderment /bɪˈwɪldərmənt/ — perplexidade; confusão; desconcerto. Solomon Gills was quite as hot, by sympathy, and in excessive bewilderment. Return to Original English Version

bickerings /ˈbɪkərɪŋz/ — desavenças; brigas. In their matrimonial bickerings they were, upon the whole, a well-matched, fairly-balanced, give-and-take couple. Return to Original English Version

biddable /ˈbɪdəbəl/ — dócil; obediente. “Exactly so,” said Mrs Chick; “but she is exceedingly attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous; indeed I never saw a more biddable woman. Return to Original English Version

biles /baɪlz/ — furúnculos. The cramps was as common to her,” said Mrs Wickam, “as biles is to yourself, Miss Berry.” Miss Berry involuntarily wrinkled her nose. Return to Original English Version

blight /blaɪt/ — praga; flagelo; deterioração. “If it was my ungrateful case,” said Mrs Chick, solemnly, “and I had your reflections, Richards, I should feel as if the Charitable Grinders’ dress would blight my child, and the education choke him.” Return to Original English Version

blighted /ˈblaɪtɪd/ — arruinado; marcado pela desgraça. He stood in his library to receive the company, as hard and cold as the weather; and when he looked out through the glass room, at the trees in the little garden, their brown and yellow leaves came fluttering down, as if he blighted them. Return to Original English Version

blighting /ˈblaɪtɪŋ/ — fulminante; devastador. “Bow-wow-wow!” repeated Mrs Chick with an emphasis of blighting contempt on the last syllable. Return to Original English Version

blissfully /ˈblɪsfəli/ — beatificamente; em plena felicidade. The two interlopers, however, blissfully unconscious of the young lady’s sentiments, saw little Paul safe through all the stages of undressing, airy exercise, supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. Return to Original English Version

blister /ˈblɪstər/ — bolha. The fine little boy with the blister on his nose is the eldest. Return to Original English Version

blithe /blaɪð/ — alegre; despreocupado. Joe ran up an archway, bawling as he went, and very soon returned with a blithe-looking boy. Return to Original English Version

blundering /ˈblʌndərɪŋ/ — cometendo erros grosseiros. And so I say, when I see you with anything on your mind, that I feel quite sorry you haven’t got somebody better about you than a blundering young rough-and-tough boy like me, who has got the will to console you, Uncle, but hasn’t got the way - hasn’t got the way,” repeated Walter, reaching over further yet, to shake his Uncle by the hand. Return to Original English Version

blushes /ˈblʌʃɪz/ — rubores; fica avermelhado. Is he not a Cupid, Sir!” and then almost sinking behind the closet door with confusion and blushes. Return to Original English Version

blushingly /ˈblʌʃɪŋli/ — corando; de modo envergonhado. She had been wont, once upon a time, to look out at one of her little dark windows by accident, and blushingly return the Major’s greeting; but now, she never gave the Major a chance, and cared nothing at all whether he looked over the way or not. Return to Original English Version

bobbing /ˈbɑːbɪŋ/ — balançando; saltitando. He was not among the bobbing umbrellas, and he certainly was not the newspaper boy in the oilskin cap who was slowly working his way along the piece of brass outside, writing his name over Mr Gills’s name with his forefinger. Return to Original English Version

bodice /ˈbɒdɪs/ — corpete. His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice, Return to Original English Version

bombazeen /ˌbɑːmbəˈziːn/ — bombazina. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. Return to Original English Version

bosom /ˈbʊzəm/ — peito; seio. “And the child’s heart,” said Polly, drawing her to her breast: “the little daughter’s heart was so full of the truth of this, that even when she heard it from a strange nurse that couldn’t tell it right, but was a poor mother herself and that was all, she found a comfort in it - didn’t feel so lonely - sobbed and cried upon her bosom - took kindly to the baby lying in her lap - and - there, there, there!” said Polly, smoothing the child’s curls and dropping tears upon them. Return to Original English Version

bosoms /ˈbʊzəmz/ — peitos; seios. A beadle less gorgeous but more dreadful; the beadle of private life; the beadle of our business and our bosoms. Return to Original English Version

braced /breɪst/ — firmou; escorou. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths. Return to Original English Version

bran /bræn/ — farelo. A bran-new Tavern, redolent of fresh mortar and size, and fronting nothing at all, had taken for its sign The Railway Arms; but that might be rash enterprise - and then it hoped to sell drink to the workmen. Return to Original English Version

breakwater /ˈbreɪkwɔːtər/ — quebra-mar. Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner. Return to Original English Version

briskly /ˈbrɪskli/ — rapidamente; com energia; a passo firme. “Halloa, my boy!” cried the Instrument-maker, turning briskly round. Return to Original English Version

brittle /ˈbrɪtəl/ — quebradiço; frágil. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Return to Original English Version

broached /broʊtʃt/ — abordou (um assunto). Mr Dombey having recovered from his surprise, not to say his alarm (for it was the very first occasion on which the child had ever broached the subject of his mother to him, though he had had him sitting by his side, in this same manner, evening after evening), expounded to him how that money, though a very potent spirit, never to be disparaged on any account whatever, could not keep people alive whose time was come to die; and how that we must all die, unfortunately, even in the City, though we were never so rich. Return to Original English Version

brows /braʊz/ — sobrancelhas; fronte. “Ay, ay, ay,” said Mr Dombey, bending over the basket bedstead, and slightly bending his brows at the same time. Return to Original English Version

bullion /ˈbʊliən/ — ouro ou prata em barras. He would have liked to give him some explanation involving the terms circulating-medium, currency, depreciation of currency, paper, bullion, rates of exchange, value of precious metals in the market, and so forth; but looking down at the little chair, and seeing what a long way down it was, he answered: “Gold, and silver, and copper. Return to Original English Version

burnished /ˈbɜːrnɪʃt/ — polido; brunido; lustroso. But these flights of fancy seldom burnished the brass plate of Dombey and Son’s Offices into a tablet of golden hope, or shed a brilliant lustre on their dirty skylights; and when the Captain and Uncle Sol talked about Richard Whittington and masters’ daughters, Walter felt that he understood his true position at Dombey and Son’s, much better than they did. Return to Original English Version

burrowing /ˈbɜːroʊɪŋ/ — cavando toca; escavando. There were a hundred thousand shapes and substances of incompleteness, wildly mingled out of their places, upside down, burrowing in the earth, aspiring in the air, mouldering in the water, and unintelligible as any dream. Return to Original English Version

bushy /ˈbʊʃi/ — espesso; cerrado; hirsuto. But an addition to the little party now made its appearance, in the shape of a gentleman in a wide suit of blue, with a hook instead of a hand attached to his right wrist; very bushy black eyebrows; and a thick stick in his left hand, covered all over (like his nose) with knobs. Return to Original English Version

bustle /ˈbʌsəl/ — agitação; azáfama; apressar-se. Florence remained there, looking at the bustle in the street, and more and more bewildered by it; and in the meanwhile the clocks appeared to have made up their minds never to strike three any more. Return to Original English Version

bustling /ˈbʌslɪŋ/ — agitado; movimentado. Mr Dombey, who, besides being generally influenced by his sister for the reason already mentioned, had really faith in her as an experienced and bustling matron, acquiesced; and followed her, at once, to the sick chamber. Return to Original English Version

busying /ˈbɪziɪŋ/ — ocupando-se; mantendo-se ocupado. Glasses of wine were then produced, to sustain the drooping spirits of the family; and Miss Tox, busying herself in dispensing “tastes” to the younger branches, bred them up to their father’s business with such surprising expedition, that she made chokers of four of them in a quarter of a minute. Return to Original English Version

bystanders /ˈbaɪstændərz/ — circunstantes; presentes. She bent her ear to the bed, and listened: at the same time looking round at the bystanders, and holding up her finger. Return to Original English Version

cabriolet /ˌkæbriəˈleɪ/ — cabriolé. The two friends accordingly soon made an end of their tea, and a servant was despatched to fetch a hackney cabriolet for Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

cactus /ˈkæktəs/ — cacto. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Return to Original English Version

cadaverous /kəˈdævərəs/ — cadavérico. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

candidly /ˈkændɪdli/ — francamente. I do not think, I will tell you candidly that Wickam is a person of very cheerful spirit, or what one would call a - ” Return to Original English Version

canine /ˈkeɪnaɪn/ — canino. Mr John, who had already got both his hands in his pockets over the wrists, and was on the very threshold of that same canine chorus which had given Mrs Chick so much offence on a former occasion, protested that he was perfectly comfortable. Return to Original English Version

cankaby /ˈkæŋkəbi/ — Cankaby (sobrenome fictício). It would appear that the system of Lady Cankaby - excuse me: I should say of Mrs Dombey: I confuse the names of cases - ” Return to Original English Version

captious /ˈkæpʃəs/ — crítico; implicante. The funeral of the deceased lady having been “performed” to the entire satisfaction of the undertaker, as well as of the neighbourhood at large, which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point, and is prone to take offence at any omissions or short-comings in the ceremonies, the various members of Mr Dombey’s household subsided into their several places in the domestic system. Return to Original English Version

captivating /ˈkæptɪveɪtɪŋ/ — cativante. The recollection of those incidents, and his own share in them, may have been made the more captivating, perhaps, by the weekly dreamings of old Sol and Captain Cuttle on Sundays. Return to Original English Version

carcases /ˈkɑːrkəsɪz/ — carcaças; cadáveres. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

cask /kæsk/ — barril; tonel; pipa. “Exactly so,” said Solomon: “has gone on, over the old cask that held this wine. Return to Original English Version

casks /kɑːsks/ — barris. Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing ‘Rule Britannia’, when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.” Return to Original English Version

cautioned /ˈkɔːʃənd/ — advertiu. But she cautioned her, with threats of summary and deadly vengeance in case of disobedience, not to talk to strangers, nor to repair to her own home (which may have been too near for Mrs Brown’s convenience), but to her father’s office in the City; also to wait at the street corner where she would be left, until the clock struck three. Return to Original English Version

cautions /ˈkɔːʃənz/ — advertências; precauções. Posts, and rails, and old cautions to trespassers, and backs of mean houses, and patches of wretched vegetation, stared it out of countenance. Return to Original English Version

cavernous /ˈkævərnəs/ — cavernoso; muito amplo e escuro. He could do nothing but whistle, and stare to that extent, that his eyes, compared with what they now became, had been in former times quite cavernous and sunken. Return to Original English Version

ceases /ˈsiːsɪz/ — cessa; para. When those duties cease to be required and rendered, and the stipend ceases to be paid, there is an end of all relations between us. Return to Original English Version

ceremonious /ˌserɪˈmoʊniəs/ — cerimonioso; formal. Susan took the extreme corner of a chair, with a stately and ceremonious aspect. Return to Original English Version

cessation /seˈseɪʃən/ — cessação; interrupção. Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence. Return to Original English Version

cetera /et ˈsetərə/ — etcétera; e assim por diante. “Dear Uncle,” said the boy, affecting to make light of it, while the tears stood in his eyes, “for the honour you have done me, et cetera, et cetera. Return to Original English Version

chafing /ˈtʃeɪfɪŋ/ — irritando-se; roçando. She took an early opportunity of promoting the circulation in the tip of her nose by secretly chafing it with her pocket handkerchief, lest, by its very low temperature, it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it. Return to Original English Version

chandler's /ˈtʃændlərz/ — do fornecedor de navios. But first the young Toodles, victims of a pious fraud, were deluded into repairing in a body to a chandler’s shop in the neighbourhood, for the ostensible purpose of spending a penny; and when the coast was quite clear, Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back, they would be sure to meet little Biler coming from school. Return to Original English Version

chandlers /ˈtʃændlərz/ — fornecedores de navios; comerciantes de suprimentos navais. His acquaintance lying chiefly among ship-chandlers and so forth, he had always plenty of the veritable ships’ biscuit on his table. Return to Original English Version

chaney /ˈtʃeɪni/ — de louça. “It ain’t right of you to ask it, Miss Floy, for you know I can’t refuse you, but Mrs Richards and me will see what can be done, if Mrs Richards likes, I may wish, you see, to take a voyage to Chaney, Mrs Richards, but I mayn’t know how to leave the London Docks.” Return to Original English Version

charmed /tʃɑːrmd/ — enfeitiçou; protegeu com um encanto. Therefore he had little or no anxiety about them, in spite of his love; feeling as if the boy had a charmed life, and must become the man with whom he held such constant communication in his thoughts, and for whom he planned and projected, as for an existing reality, every day. Return to Original English Version

charmingly /ˈtʃɑːrmɪŋli/ — encantadoramente. “Your little child will thrive charmingly with your sister Jemima, Richards,” said Mrs Chick; “and you have only to make an effort - this is a world of effort, you know, Richards - to be very happy indeed. Return to Original English Version

chaser /ˈtʃeɪsər/ — gravador de prata; cinzelador. Miss Berry expected the reverse; “and is married to a silver-chaser. Return to Original English Version

chattering /ˈtʃætərɪŋ/ — tagarelando; guinchando. “Oh, my dear Paul, no,” said Mrs Chick, who had much ado to keep her teeth from chattering; “not for me.” Return to Original English Version

cheerless /ˈtʃɪrləs/ — triste; desolado. Checking his hand in the act of throwing these away, he put them in his pocket, as if unwilling to trust them even to the chances of being re-united and deciphered; and instead of ringing, as usual, for little Paul, he sat solitary, all the evening, in his cheerless room. Return to Original English Version

cheery /ˈtʃɪri/ — animado; alegre. Old Sol endeavoured to assume a cheery look, and smiled across the little table at him as pleasantly as he could. Return to Original English Version

cherished /ˈtʃerɪʃt/ — estimado; acalentado; cuidou com carinho. Every day, too, he was more and more ardently cherished by Miss Tox, whose devotion was so far appreciated by Mr Dombey that he began to regard her as a woman of great natural good sense, whose feelings did her credit and deserved encouragement. Return to Original English Version

chiefly /ˈtʃiːfli/ — principalmente; sobretudo. His acquaintance lying chiefly among ship-chandlers and so forth, he had always plenty of the veritable ships’ biscuit on his table. Return to Original English Version

chinks /tʃɪŋks/ — frestas; rachaduras estreitas. The name of this retirement, where grass grew between the chinks in the stone pavement, was Princess’s Place; and in Princess’s Place was Princess’s Chapel, with a tinkling bell, where sometimes as many as five-and-twenty people attended service on a Sunday. Return to Original English Version

chock /tʃɑːk/ — completamente (em chock-full). “But he’s chock-full of science,” he observed, waving his hook towards the stock-in-trade. Return to Original English Version

chokers /ˈtʃoʊkərz/ — pessoas engasgadas. Glasses of wine were then produced, to sustain the drooping spirits of the family; and Miss Tox, busying herself in dispensing “tastes” to the younger branches, bred them up to their father’s business with such surprising expedition, that she made chokers of four of them in a quarter of a minute. Return to Original English Version

choleric /ˈkɑːlərɪk/ — colérico; irascível. The great street round the corner trailed off into Princess’s Place; and that which of High Holborn would have become a choleric word, spoken of Princess’s Place became flat blasphemy. Return to Original English Version

chris'en /ˈkrɪsən/ — de batismo. Sermuchser that when he was took to church the gen’lm’n said, it wamm’t a chris’en one, and he couldn’t give it. Return to Original English Version

chronicled /ˈkrɑːnɪkəld/ — registrou em crônica; narrado. “Good morning, Ma’am,” said the Major, meeting Miss Tox in Princess’s Place, some weeks after the changes chronicled in the last chapter. Return to Original English Version

chums /tʃʌmz/ — amigos íntimos; companheiros. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Return to Original English Version

civilisation /ˌsɪvələˈzeɪʃən/ — civilização. In short, the yet unfinished and unopened Railroad was in progress; and, from the very core of all this dire disorder, trailed smoothly away, upon its mighty course of civilisation and improvement. Return to Original English Version

clambering /ˈklæmbərɪŋ/ — trepando com dificuldade. “What a clambering aloft of men, vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails, while the ship rolls and pitches, like mad!” cried his nephew. Return to Original English Version

clammy /ˈklæmi/ — úmido e frio; pegajoso. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, or seaweed, or some such clammy substance, and immediately returned it to him with exalted politeness. Return to Original English Version

clangour /ˈklæŋər/ — clangor; retinir metálico. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Return to Original English Version

clasping /ˈklæspɪŋ/ — apertando; segurando; entrelaçando. The lady lay upon her bed as he had left her, clasping her little daughter to her breast. Return to Original English Version

classify /ˈklæsɪfaɪ/ — classificar. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Return to Original English Version

clatter /ˈklætər/ — estrondo; estrépito; barulho de coisas caindo. Often when Mr Chick seemed beaten, he would suddenly make a start, turn the tables, clatter them about the ears of Mrs Chick, and carry all before him. Return to Original English Version

clauses /ˈklɔːzɪz/ — orações; trechos de uma frase. “And I do say, and will say, and must say,” pursued his sister, pressing the foot of the wine-glass on Miss Tox’s hand, at each of the three clauses, “that Miss Tox has very prettily adapted the sentiment to the occasion. Return to Original English Version

clearness /ˈklɪrnəs/ — clareza; nitidez. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the rest a pedigree from Genesis (judiciously selected by Mrs Pipchin), getting over the names with the ease and clearness of a person tumbling up the treadmill. Return to Original English Version

cleaving /ˈkliːvɪŋ/ — fendendo; sulcando; aderindo a. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows. Return to Original English Version

Original Text: Rare Words (2/7)

clinked /klɪŋkt/ — tilintou; fez tinir. His hand shook too, as he clinked his glass against his nephew’s. Return to Original English Version

clipping /ˈklɪpɪŋ/ — picotagem; corte. Possibly her mincing gait encouraged the belief, and suggested that her clipping a step of ordinary compass into two or three, originated in her habit of making the most of everything. Return to Original English Version

coarse /kɔːrs/ — áspero; grosseiro. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Return to Original English Version

cockade /kɑːˈkeɪd/ — cocar; roseta. Miss Tox returned no other reply than by taking the little Paul in her arms, and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses. Return to Original English Version

cocked /kɑːkt/ — empinou; ergueu de lado. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world. Return to Original English Version

coercion /koʊˈɜːrʒən/ — coerção; imposição pela força. With these words, Susan Nipper, in a transport of coercion, made a charge at her young ward, and swept her out of the room. Return to Original English Version

cogent /ˈkoʊdʒənt/ — convincente; convincente e bem fundamentado. Miss Tox looked as if she saw no way out of such a cogent argument as that, at all. Return to Original English Version

cogitating /ˈkɑːdʒəteɪtɪŋ/ — refletindo; meditando. But he repeated the thought aloud, as if it were quite an old one to him, and had troubled him very much; and sat with his chin resting on his hand, still cogitating and looking for an explanation in the fire. Return to Original English Version

cognizant /ˈkɑːɡnɪzənt/ — ciente; consciente de. These directions Mrs Brown enforced with assurances that there would be potent eyes and ears in her employment cognizant of all she did; and these directions Florence promised faithfully and earnestly to observe. Return to Original English Version

coiled /kɔɪld/ — enrolado; enrolou. Mrs Pipchin had an old black cat, who generally lay coiled upon the centre foot of the fender, purring egotistically, and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. Return to Original English Version

collation /kəˈleɪʃən/ — refeição ligeira; cotejo de textos. There they found Mr Pitt turning up his nose at a cold collation, set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver, and looking more like a dead dinner lying in state than a social refreshment. Return to Original English Version

collier /ˈkɒliər/ — navio carvoeiro. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Return to Original English Version

colouring /ˈkʌlərɪŋ/ — a pintura; a coloração. “Wickam,” retorted Mrs Pipchin, colouring, “is a wicked, impudent, bold-faced hussy.” Return to Original English Version

colourless /ˈkʌlərləs/ — incolor; sem cor; sem vida. Not having understood the purport of his whisper, the little creature turned her perfectly colourless face and deep dark eyes towards him; but without loosening her hold in the least. Return to Original English Version

comers /ˈkʌmərz/ — desafiantes; todos os que se apresentassem. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox, who had brought them down on the previous night (which they all passed at an Hotel), had just driven away from the door, on their journey home again; and Mrs Pipchin, with her back to the fire, stood, reviewing the new-comers, like an old soldier. Return to Original English Version

comings /ˈkʌmɪŋz/ — vindas; idas e vindas. The funeral of the deceased lady having been “performed” to the entire satisfaction of the undertaker, as well as of the neighbourhood at large, which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point, and is prone to take offence at any omissions or short-comings in the ceremonies, the various members of Mr Dombey’s household subsided into their several places in the domestic system. Return to Original English Version

commendations /ˌkɒmənˈdeɪʃənz/ — elogios; louvores. The less so, as there seemed to be no flaw in the title of Polly Toodle after his sister had set it forth, with many commendations on the indefatigable friendship of Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

commended /kəˈmendɪd/ — elogiou; recomendou. That hope deferred, which, (as the Scripture very correctly tells us, Mr Dombey would have added in a patronising way; for his highest distinct idea even of Scripture, if examined, would have been found to be; that as forming part of a general whole, of which Dombey and Son formed another part, it was therefore to be commended and upheld) maketh the heart sick. Return to Original English Version

commiseration /kəˌmɪzəˈreɪʃən/ — comiseração; compaixão. Miss Tox elevated her eyebrows, and was again full of commiseration. Return to Original English Version

commodious /kəˈmoʊdiəs/ — amplo e cômodo. This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Return to Original English Version

complacency /kəmˈpleɪsənsi/ — complacência; satisfação consigo. Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment, as he talked of the sea, though; and looked on the seafaring objects about him with inexpressible complacency. Return to Original English Version

complied /kəmˈplaɪd/ — obedeceu; acatou; cumpriu. The apple-faced man having sheepishly complied with this request, stood chuckling and grinning in a front row. Return to Original English Version

complimentary /ˌkɑːmplɪˈmentəri/ — elogioso; lisonjeiro; de cortesia. As Miss Tox, with her most fascinating step and carriage, disappeared from Princess’s Place, the Major stood looking after her with a bluer face than ever: muttering and growling some not at all complimentary remarks. Return to Original English Version

composing /kəmˈpoʊzɪŋ/ — compondo; serenando. “No, I won’t,” replied Paul, composing himself in his arm-chair again, like the master of the house. Return to Original English Version

composure /kəmˈpoʊʒər/ — compostura; calma. For all his starched, impenetrable dignity and composure, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced up and down his room; and often said, with an emotion of which he would not, for the world, have had a witness, “Poor little fellow!” Return to Original English Version

compunction /kəmˈpʌŋkʃən/ — escrúpulo; remorso. But Mrs Wickam, agreeably to the usage of some ladies in her condition, pursued her own branch of the subject, without any compunction. Return to Original English Version

concealing /kənˈsiːlɪŋ/ — escondendo; ocultando. It was a part of Mrs Pipchin’s policy to prevent her own “young hussy” - that was Mrs Pipchin’s generic name for female servant - from communicating with Mrs Wickam: to which end she devoted much of her time to concealing herself behind doors, and springing out on that devoted maiden, whenever she made an approach towards Mrs Wickam’s apartment. Return to Original English Version

conciliation /kənˌsɪliˈeɪʃən/ — conciliação. Poor little Florence took them off with equal alacrity, only too glad to have any more means of conciliation about her. Return to Original English Version

condenses /kənˈdensɪz/ — condensa. This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Return to Original English Version

confiding /kənˈfaɪdɪŋ/ — confiando. Not poor widower, confiding by constraint in the wife of an ignorant Hind who has been working “mostly underground” all his life, and yet at whose door Death had never knocked, and at whose poor table four sons daily sit - but poor little fellow! Return to Original English Version

confounded /kənˈfaʊndɪd/ — confuso; perplexo; maldito. There he would sit, looking at her, and warming his hands, and looking at her, until he sometimes quite confounded Mrs Pipchin, Ogress as she was. Return to Original English Version

confronting /kənˈfrʌntɪŋ/ — enfrentando; encarando. Susan looking out of window, without intermission, as a relief from the embarrassment of confronting the large face of that gentleman, and thinking whenever anything rattled that he was putting up in paper an appropriate pecuniary compliment for herself. Return to Original English Version

congealed /kənˈdʒiːld/ — coagulado; solidificado. The party seemed to get colder and colder, and to be gradually resolving itself into a congealed and solid state, like the collation round which it was assembled. Return to Original English Version

congenial /kənˈdʒiːniəl/ — aprazível; afim; propício. “But do me the justice to remember, my dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox in a tone of low and earnest entreaty, “that nothing but the - I have some difficulty in expressing myself - the dubiousness of the result would have induced me to take so great a liberty: ‘Welcome, Master Dombey,’ would have been much more congenial to my feelings, as I am sure you know. Return to Original English Version

congregated /ˈkɑːŋɡrɪɡeɪtɪd/ — reuniu-se; congregou-se. Arriving at his journey’s end, he leaped out, and breathlessly announcing his errand to the servant, followed him straight into the library, we there was a great confusion of tongues, and where Mr Dombey, his sister, and Miss Tox, Richards, and Nipper, were all congregated together. Return to Original English Version

connexion /kəˈnekʃən/ — conexão, grafia antiga; relação. “Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.” Return to Original English Version

conscientious /ˌkɑːnʃiˈenʃəs/ — consciencioso; cuidadoso. Here Miss Nipper made a horrible lowing, supposed to issue from a conscientious goblin of the bull species, impatient to discharge the severe duty of his position. Return to Original English Version

consolatory /kənˈsɑːlətɔːri/ — consolador; que conforta. This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber. Return to Original English Version

constancy /ˈkɑːnstənsi/ — constância; fidelidade. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death. Return to Original English Version

consternation /ˌkɑːnstərˈneɪʃən/ — consternação; espanto. Besides, Mr Dombey was in a state almost amounting to consternation at the idea of Paul remaining where he was one hour after his removal had been recommended by the medical practitioner. Return to Original English Version

constraint /kənˈstreɪnt/ — constrangimento; coação; limitação. Not poor widower, confiding by constraint in the wife of an ignorant Hind who has been working “mostly underground” all his life, and yet at whose door Death had never knocked, and at whose poor table four sons daily sit - but poor little fellow! Return to Original English Version

contemplation /ˌkɑːntəmˈpleɪʃən/ — contemplação; meditação. Thence he passed to the contemplation of the future glories of Dombey and Son, and dismissed the memory of his wife, for the time being, with a tributary sigh or two. Return to Original English Version

contemplative /kənˈtemplətɪv/ — contemplativo; meditativo. Once he advanced his other hand, and turned the contemplative face towards his own for a moment. Return to Original English Version

contended /kənˈtendɪd/ — sustentou; alegou; disputou. The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. Return to Original English Version

contented /kənˈtɛntɪd/ — satisfeito; contente. Mrs Chick contented herself with a glance of reproof, and then proceeded with the thread of her discourse. Return to Original English Version

continual /kənˈtɪnjuəl/ — contínuo; frequente. There was such a continual reverberation of wind in it, that it sounded like a great shell, which the inhabitants were obliged to hold to their ears night and day, whether they liked it or no. Return to Original English Version

contortions /kənˈtɔːrʃənz/ — contorções. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events, for she had lost her breath; and this made her uglier still, as she stood trying to regain it: working her shrivelled yellow face and throat into all sorts of contortions. Return to Original English Version

contradict /ˌkɒntrəˈdɪkt/ — contradizer. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Return to Original English Version

contrairy /kənˈtrɛəri/ — contrário/teimoso. “No, Mrs Richards, quite contrairy,” returned Susan, “and them two inspectors Tox and Chick, not intending to be on duty tomorrow, as I heard ’em say, me and Miss Floy will go along with you tomorrow morning, and welcome, Mrs Richards, if you like, for we may as well walk there as up and down a street, and better too.” Return to Original English Version

contrived /kənˈtraɪvd/ — deu um jeito de; forjado; artificioso. Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Return to Original English Version

converse /kənˈvɜːrs/ — conversar; falar. But Berry was free to hold what converse she could in that quarter, consistently with the discharge of the multifarious duties at which she toiled incessantly from morning to night; and to Berry Mrs Wickam unburdened her mind. Return to Original English Version

conveyance /kənˈveɪəns/ — veículo; transporte; escritura de transmissão. Mr Toodle himself preferred to ride behind among the spikes, as being the mode of conveyance to which he was best accustomed. Return to Original English Version

conveyed /kənˈveɪd/ — transmitiu; deu a entender. Those three words conveyed the one idea of Mr Dombey’s life. Return to Original English Version

conveying /kənˈveɪɪŋ/ — transportando; transmitindo. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him. Return to Original English Version

convoked /kənˈvoʊkt/ — convocado. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed, Mr Dombey opened the proceedings by requiring to be informed, without any gloss or reservation, whether there was anything the matter with Paul, and what Mr Pilkins said about him. Return to Original English Version

convulsively /kənˈvʌlsɪvli/ — convulsivamente; espasmodicamente. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively. Return to Original English Version

correctional /kəˈrekʃənəl/ — disciplinar. Miss Pankey, the only other little boarder at present, had that moment been walked off to the Castle Dungeon (an empty apartment at the back, devoted to correctional purposes), for having sniffed thrice, in the presence of visitors. Return to Original English Version

corroborated /kəˈrɑːbəreɪtɪd/ — corroborou; confirmado. The moment I heard this, and had it corroborated by the matron - excellent references and unimpeachable character - I got the address, my dear, and posted off again.” Return to Original English Version

corroboration /kəˌrɑːbəˈreɪʃən/ — corroboração; confirmação. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Return to Original English Version

cosy /ˈkoʊzi/ — aconchegante. “What I mean, Uncle Sol,” pursued Walter, bending over a little more to pat him on the shoulder, “is, that then I feel you ought to have, sitting here and pouring out the tea instead of me, a nice little dumpling of a wife, you know, - a comfortable, capital, cosy old lady, who was just a match for you, and knew how to manage you, and keep you in good heart. Return to Original English Version

countenance /ˈkaʊntənəns/ — semblante; rosto; compostura. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Return to Original English Version

courted /ˈkɔːrtɪd/ — cortejou; buscou o favor de. But how that money caused us to be honoured, feared, respected, courted, and admired, and made us powerful and glorious in the eyes of all men; and how that it could, very often, even keep off death, for a long time together. Return to Original English Version

coveted /ˈkʌvətɪd/ — cobiçado. Florence was so relieved to find that it was only her hair and not her head which Mrs Brown coveted, that she offered no resistance or entreaty, and merely raised her mild eyes towards the face of that good soul. Return to Original English Version

creases /ˈkriːsɪz/ — vincos. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Return to Original English Version

creditable /ˈkredɪtəbəl/ — digno de crédito; honroso. It was generally said, too, that it was highly creditable of Mrs Pipchin to have devoted herself to this way of life, and to have made such a sacrifice of her feelings, and such a resolute stand against her troubles, when Mr Pipchin broke his heart in the Peruvian mines. Return to Original English Version

creeter /ˈkriːtər/ — criatura, coitado. “Lord bless the little creeter!” cried Richards, “what a sad question! Return to Original English Version

crevices /ˈkrevɪsɪz/ — fendas; frestas. She stopped before a shabby little house, as closely shut up as a house that was full of cracks and crevices could be. Return to Original English Version

crockery /ˈkrɑːkəri/ — louça; utensílios de barro. Little tumuli of oyster shells in the oyster season, and of lobster shells in the lobster season, and of broken crockery and faded cabbage leaves in all seasons, encroached upon its high places. Return to Original English Version

crookedest /ˈkrʊkɪdɪst/ — o mais torto. Perhaps, taken altogether, from top to bottom, it was the most inconvenient little house in England, and the crookedest; but then, Miss Tox said, what a situation! Return to Original English Version

crooning /ˈkruːnɪŋ/ — cantarolando; murmurando. So they went, toiling up; she singing all the way, and Paul sometimes crooning out a feeble accompaniment. Return to Original English Version

crowed /kroʊd/ — gritou de alegria; guinchou de contente. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Return to Original English Version

crustiness /ˈkrʌstinəs/ — rispidez. But it is ashes, Mum, not crustiness.” Return to Original English Version

culprit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ — culpado. Richards, the culprit Richards, alone poured out her heart in broken words of welcome, and bowed herself over the little wandering head as if she really loved it. Return to Original English Version

curiosities /ˌkjʊriˈɑːsətiz/ — curiosidades; raridades. Little Florence herself was not behind-hand in improving the occasion; for, being conducted forth by the young Toodles to inspect some toad-stools and other curiosities of the Gardens, she entered with them, heart and soul, on the formation of a temporary breakwater across a small green pool that had collected in a corner. Return to Original English Version

curtseyed /ˈkɜːrtsid/ — fez uma reverência. Miss Tox, in the midst of her spreading gauzes, went down altogether like an opera-glass shutting-up; she curtseyed so low, in acknowledgment of Mr Dombey’s advancing a step or two to meet her. Return to Original English Version

curtseying /ˈkɜːrtsiɪŋ/ — fazendo uma reverência. Mr Dombey, in the meanwhile, had issued orders for the attendance of Richards, who now entered curtseying, but without the baby; Paul being asleep after the fatigues of the morning. Return to Original English Version

dabs /dæbz/ — toques leves; pequenas porções; solhas. Having further composed her young charge by covering her head with the bedclothes, and making three or four angry dabs at the pillow, she folded her arms, and screwed up her mouth, and sat looking at the fire for the rest of the evening. Return to Original English Version

dainty /ˈdeɪnti/ — delicado. In this dainty raiment, she instructed Florence to dress herself; and as such preparation seemed a prelude to her release, the child complied with increased readiness, if possible. Return to Original English Version

dalliance /ˈdæliəns/ — namoro passageiro. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Return to Original English Version

damme /ˈdæmi/ — droga!; maldição!. “Why, damme, Sir,” said the Major, rolling his lobster eyes round and round Princess’s Place, and apostrophizing its fragrant air, “six months ago, the woman loved the ground Josh Bagstock walked on. Return to Original English Version

damsel /ˈdæmzəl/ — donzela; jovem mulher. The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds. Return to Original English Version

dandling /ˈdændlɪŋ/ — embalando; balançando. She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame. Return to Original English Version

daresay /ˌderˈseɪ/ — atrevo-me a dizer; suponho. So he said, “Florence, you may go and look at your pretty brother, if you like, I daresay. Return to Original English Version

darted /ˈdɑːrtɪd/ — disparou; arremessou-se; lançou um olhar. He patted Florence’s head, pressed her to eat, pressed her to drink, rubbed the soles of her feet with his pocket-handkerchief heated at the fire, followed his locomotive nephew with his eyes, and ears, and had no clear perception of anything except that he was being constantly knocked against and tumbled over by that excited young gentleman, as he darted about the room attempting to accomplish twenty things at once, and doing nothing at all. Return to Original English Version

dashed /dæʃt/ — correu; lançou-se; chocou-se. That they did, if one might judge from the noise they made, and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner, where her own honest apple face became immediately the centre of a bunch of smaller pippins, all laying their rosy cheeks close to it, and all evidently the growth of the same tree. Return to Original English Version

dawning /ˈdɔːnɪŋ/ — nascente; que desponta. And, perhaps, unlearned as she was, she could have brought a dawning knowledge home to Mr Dombey at that early day, which would not then have struck him in the end like lightning. Return to Original English Version

deceitful /dɪˈsiːtfəl/ — enganoso; falso. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Return to Original English Version

decidedly /dɪˈsaɪdɪdli/ — decididamente. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more entirely selfish person at heart; or at stomach is perhaps a better expression, seeing that he was more decidedly endowed with that latter organ than with the former. Return to Original English Version

deciphered /dɪˈsaɪfərd/ — decifrou; decifrado. Checking his hand in the act of throwing these away, he put them in his pocket, as if unwilling to trust them even to the chances of being re-united and deciphered; and instead of ringing, as usual, for little Paul, he sat solitary, all the evening, in his cheerless room. Return to Original English Version

declaratory /dɪˈklærətɔːri/ — declaratório. Miss Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child; and an observer of Miss Tox’s proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation. Return to Original English Version

deduced /dɪˈduːst/ — deduziu. Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. Return to Original English Version

defenceless /dɪˈfensləs/ — indefeso. Florence was defenceless and weak, and it was a proud thought that he had been able to render her any protection and assistance. Return to Original English Version

deference /ˈdefərəns/ — deferência. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. Return to Original English Version

deferential /ˌdɛfəˈrɛnʃəl/ — deferente; respeitoso. The black-eyed was so softened by this deferential behaviour, that she caught up little Miss Toodle who was running past, and took her to Banbury Cross immediately. Return to Original English Version

defied /dɪˈfaɪd/ — desafiava. Solomon Gills laughingly defied him to find out anything of the kind; and Walter, revolving in his thoughts all sorts of impracticable ways of making fortunes and placing the wooden Midshipman in a position of independence, betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there. Return to Original English Version

degenerate /dɪˈdʒenərət/ — degenerado. She was still busily engaged in that labour, when sought and found by Susan; who, such was her sense of duty, even under the humanizing influence of shrimps, delivered a moral address to her (punctuated with thumps) on her degenerate nature, while washing her face and hands; and predicted that she would bring the grey hairs of her family in general, with sorrow to the grave. Return to Original English Version

dejected /dɪˈdʒektɪd/ — abatido; desanimado. That done, Miss Pankey was borne away to be shampoo’d; and Master Bitherstone to have something else done to him with salt water, from which he always returned very blue and dejected. Return to Original English Version

delectation /ˌdiːlekˈteɪʃən/ — deleite. Some were of opinion that Staggs’s Gardens derived its name from a deceased capitalist, one Mr Staggs, who had built it for his delectation. Return to Original English Version

deliberating /dɪˈlɪbəreɪtɪŋ/ — deliberando; ponderando. As they stood deliberating in the street, a man passed them, who glanced quickly at Walter as he went by, as if he recognised him; but seeming to correct that first impression, he passed on without stopping. Return to Original English Version

deliberation /dɪˌlɪbəˈreɪʃən/ — deliberação. Otherwise than as his great deliberation seemed unnatural, and perhaps the result of an effort equally great, he allowed no sign of emotion to escape him. Return to Original English Version

deluded /dɪˈluːdɪd/ — iludido. But first the young Toodles, victims of a pious fraud, were deluded into repairing in a body to a chandler’s shop in the neighbourhood, for the ostensible purpose of spending a penny; and when the coast was quite clear, Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back, they would be sure to meet little Biler coming from school. Return to Original English Version

demeanour /dɪˈmiːnər/ — comportamento; porte. Involuntarily holding his breath as he opened this document, and “bating in the stealthy action something of his arrogant demeanour, he sat down, resting his head upon one hand, and read it through. Return to Original English Version

demoniacal /ˌdiːməˈnaɪəkəl/ — demoníaco. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Return to Original English Version

denomination /dɪˌnɑːmɪˈneɪʃən/ — confissão religiosa; denominação. Others, who had a natural taste for the country, held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd, under the familiar denomination of Staggses, had resorted to its shady precincts. Return to Original English Version

dependants /dɪˈpendənts/ — dependentes; pessoas subordinadas. If you have any doubt as to the amount of care, and caution, and affection, and self-sacrifice, that has been bestowed upon little Paul, I should wish to refer the question to your medical attendant, or to any of your dependants in this house. Return to Original English Version

deplore /dɪˈplɔːr/ — deplorar; lamentar. “Then,” added Doctor Parker Peps, alone and very gravely, “a crisis might arise, which we should both sincerely deplore.” Return to Original English Version

deploying /dɪˈplɔɪɪŋ/ — posicionando-se; mobilizando. This so distracted the attention of the two ladies, that Mrs Chick was constantly deploying into the centre aisle, to send out messages by the pew-opener, while Miss Tox kept her Prayer-book open at the Gunpowder Plot, and occasionally read responses from that service. Return to Original English Version

deportment /dɪˈpɔːrtmənt/ — porte; compostura. “But his deportment, my dear Louisa!” said Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

depreciation /dɪˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃən/ — depreciação; desvalorização. He would have liked to give him some explanation involving the terms circulating-medium, currency, depreciation of currency, paper, bullion, rates of exchange, value of precious metals in the market, and so forth; but looking down at the little chair, and seeing what a long way down it was, he answered: “Gold, and silver, and copper. Return to Original English Version

derisive /dɪˈraɪsɪv/ — escarninho; de escárnio. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Return to Original English Version

deriving /dɪˈraɪvɪŋ/ — obtendo; extraindo. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent. Return to Original English Version

descried /dɪˈskraɪd/ — avistou; divisado ao longe. In this stirring legend, Captain Cuttle descried a profound metaphysical bearing on the case of Walter and Florence; and it excited him so much, that on very festive occasions, as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays, he would roar through the whole song in the little back parlour; making an amazing shake on the word Pe-e-eg, with which every verse concluded, in compliment to the heroine of the piece. Return to Original English Version

designate /ˈdezɪɡneɪt/ — designar; chamar de. “That’s what _I_ should designate him.” Return to Original English Version

desiring /dɪˈzaɪərɪŋ/ — desejando; querendo apenas. Desiring to connect some little service to you with this occasion, I considered how I could best effect that object, and I also advised with my sister, Mrs - ” Return to Original English Version

desolation /ˌdesəˈleɪʃən/ — desolação; devastação; solidão. A dusty urn at each high corner, dug up from an ancient tomb, preached desolation and decay, as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass, reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow, seemed fraught with melancholy meditations. Return to Original English Version

despatched /dɪˈspætʃt/ — despachou; mandou embora. The two friends accordingly soon made an end of their tea, and a servant was despatched to fetch a hackney cabriolet for Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

despondent /dɪˈspɑːndənt/ — desalentado. With this notable attendant to pull him along, and Florence always walking by his side, and the despondent Wickam bringing up the rear, he went down to the margin of the ocean every day; and there he would sit or lie in his carriage for hours together: never so distressed as by the company of children - Florence alone excepted, always. Return to Original English Version

detain /dɪˈteɪn/ — deter; reter; prender. “I won’t detain you any longer then,” returned Mr Dombey, disappointed. Return to Original English Version

deter /dɪˈtɜːr/ — dissuadir; deter pelo receio. The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it. Return to Original English Version

deterred /dɪˈtɜːrd/ — dissuadido; detido pelo receio. She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame. Return to Original English Version

detraction /dɪˈtrækʃən/ — difamação. Let it be no detraction from the merits of Miss Tox, to hint that in Mr Dombey’s eyes, as in some others that occasionally see the light, they only achieved that mighty piece of knowledge, the understanding of their own position, who showed a fitting reverence for his. Return to Original English Version

devising /dɪˈvaɪzɪŋ/ — idealizando; arquitetando. Polly only thought, at that time, of improving on her successful propitiation of Miss Nipper, and devising some means of having little Florence aide her, lawfully, and without rebellion. Return to Original English Version

devolved /dɪˈvɑːlvd/ — coube a; recaiu sobre; transferido. Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved. Return to Original English Version

dexterously /ˈdekstərəsli/ — destramente; com habilidade. By way of bringing her out dexterously, Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn’t seen for a fortnight or so. Return to Original English Version

dilapidated /dɪˈlæpɪdeɪtɪd/ — dilapidado; em ruínas. Boiling water hissed and heaved within dilapidated walls; whence, also, the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way, and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood. Return to Original English Version

diligent /ˈdɪlɪdʒənt/ — diligente; aplicado. Be diligent, try to like it, my dear boy, work for a steady independence, and be happy!” Return to Original English Version

dingy /ˈdɪndʒi/ — encardido; sujo e desbotado. The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. Return to Original English Version

dint /dɪnt/ — força, em by dint of, à força de. But by dint of asking her way to the City after a while, and dropping the rest of her inquiry for the present, she really did advance, by slow degrees, towards the heart of that great region which is governed by the terrible Lord Mayor. Return to Original English Version

disagreeable /ˌdɪsəˈɡriːəbəl/ — desagradável; incômodo. She had never been a positively disagreeable object to him. Return to Original English Version

disagreeably /ˌdɪsəˈɡriːəbli/ — desagradavelmente. She took an early opportunity of promoting the circulation in the tip of her nose by secretly chafing it with her pocket handkerchief, lest, by its very low temperature, it should disagreeably astonish the baby when she came to kiss it. Return to Original English Version

disciple /dɪˈsaɪpəl/ — discípulo. Spitfire seemed to be in the main a good-natured little body, although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood, like money, must be shaken and rattled and jostled about a good deal to keep it bright. Return to Original English Version

disclosures /dɪsˈkloʊʒərz/ — revelações; confidências. Having relieved her mind of these disclosures, she partook of shrimps and porter, and evinced a disposition to swear eternal friendship. Return to Original English Version

discomfited /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtɪd/ — desconcertado. Mr Dombey was quite discomfited by the question. Return to Original English Version

disconcerted /ˌdɪskənˈsɜːrtɪd/ — desconcertado; sem jeito. The abrupt question had such immediate reference to the subject of Mr Dombey’s thoughts, that Mr Dombey was quite disconcerted. Return to Original English Version

discriminating /dɪˈskrɪmɪneɪtɪŋ/ — de gosto apurado; que sabe distinguir. “I’m very much beholden to you, Mrs Richards,” said Susan, who was not by any means discriminating in her wrath, “and really feel it as a honour to receive your commands, being a black slave and a mulotter. Return to Original English Version

disengaged /ˌdɪsɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/ — desprendeu; soltou; desocupado. Notwithstanding which, however, poor Polly embraced them all round in great distress, and coming to her spouse at last, could not make up her mind to part from him, until he gently disengaged himself, at the close of the following allegorical piece of consolation: Return to Original English Version

disentangle /ˌdɪsɪnˈtæŋɡəl/ — desembaraçar; desvendar. In hurriedly putting on the bonnet, if that may be called a bonnet which was more like a pad to carry loads on, she caught it in her hair which grew luxuriantly, and could not immediately disentangle it. Return to Original English Version

disfavour /dɪsˈfeɪvər/ — desfavor; desaprovação. Mr Dombey’s glance followed Walter Gay with sharp disfavour, as he left the room under the pilotage of Mrs Chick; and it may be that his mind’s eye followed him with no greater relish, as he rode back to his Uncle’s with Miss Susan Nipper. Return to Original English Version

dishevelled /dɪˈʃevəld/ — desgrenhado. As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion. Return to Original English Version

dislocation /ˌdɪsləˈkeɪʃən/ — deslocamento; luxação. In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately. Return to Original English Version

dismal /ˈdɪzməl/ — sombrio; desolador. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. Return to Original English Version

dismay /dɪsˈmeɪ/ — consternação; espanto. She had been rung down into the glass room as usual, and had walked about and about it a long time, with the baby in her arms, when, to her great surprise and dismay, Mr Dombey - whom she had seen at first leaning on his elbow at the table, and afterwards walking up and down the middle room, drawing, each time, a little nearer, she thought, to the open folding doors - came out, suddenly, and stopped before her. Return to Original English Version

dismayed /dɪsˈmeɪd/ — consternado; desalentado. “Really I was quite dismayed and shocked last night. Return to Original English Version

dismounting /dɪsˈmaʊntɪŋ/ — desmontando do cavalo. Mr Dombey dismounting first to help the ladies out, and standing near him at the church door, looked like another beadle. Return to Original English Version

disown /ˌdɪsˈoʊn/ — renegar; não reconhecer. It was a dagger in the haughty father’s heart, an arrow in his brain, to see how the flesh and blood he could not disown clung to this obscure stranger, and he sitting by. Return to Original English Version

disparaged /dɪˈspærɪdʒd/ — denegrido. Mr Dombey having recovered from his surprise, not to say his alarm (for it was the very first occasion on which the child had ever broached the subject of his mother to him, though he had had him sitting by his side, in this same manner, evening after evening), expounded to him how that money, though a very potent spirit, never to be disparaged on any account whatever, could not keep people alive whose time was come to die; and how that we must all die, unfortunately, even in the City, though we were never so rich. Return to Original English Version

disparagement /dɪˈspærɪdʒmənt/ — depreciação; menosprezo. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Return to Original English Version

dispensing /dɪˈspɛnsɪŋ/ — distribuindo; dispensando. Glasses of wine were then produced, to sustain the drooping spirits of the family; and Miss Tox, busying herself in dispensing “tastes” to the younger branches, bred them up to their father’s business with such surprising expedition, that she made chokers of four of them in a quarter of a minute. Return to Original English Version

disposition /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃən/ — temperamento; índole. As in any case, he couldn’t, however sanguine his disposition, hope to offer a remark that would be a greater outrage on human nature in general, we would beg to leave the discussion at that point. Return to Original English Version

dispositions /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃənz/ — índoles; disposições. She was generally spoken of as “a great manager” of children; and the secret of her management was, to give them everything that they didn’t like, and nothing that they did - which was found to sweeten their dispositions very much. Return to Original English Version

disproportionate /ˌdɪsprəˈpɔːrʃənət/ — desproporcional. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

disqualifications /dɪsˌkwɒlɪfɪˈkeɪʃənz/ — desvantagens. Then converting the parlour, for the nonce, into a private tiring room, she dressed her, with great care, in proper clothes; and presently led her forth, as like a Dombey as her natural disqualifications admitted of her being made. Return to Original English Version

disrespectfully /ˌdɪsrɪˈspɛktfəli/ — de modo desrespeitoso. The good old lady might have been - not to record it disrespectfully - a witch, and Paul and the cat her two familiars, as they all sat by the fire together. Return to Original English Version

distincter /dɪˈstɪŋktər/ — mais distinto; mais nítido. More and more light broke in upon them; distincter and distincter dreams disturbed them; an accumulating crowd of objects and impressions swarmed about his rest; and so he passed from babyhood to childhood, and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey. Return to Original English Version

disused /dɪsˈjuːzd/ — em desuso; abandonado. There was another private house besides Miss Tox’s in Princess’s Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates, with an immense pair of lion-headed knockers on them, which were never opened by any chance, and were supposed to constitute a disused entrance to somebody’s stables. Return to Original English Version

diversified /daɪˈvɜːrsɪfaɪd/ — diversificado. At about half-past nine o’clock the odour of a warm sweet-bread (Mrs Pipchin’s constitution wouldn’t go to sleep without sweet-bread) diversified the prevailing fragrance of the house, which Mrs Wickam said was “a smell of building;” and slumber fell upon the Castle shortly after. Return to Original English Version

diverted /daɪˈvɜːrtɪd/ — desviada; afastada. There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. Return to Original English Version

divested /daɪˈvestɪd/ — despojado de. When she had divested herself of all the articles of apparel mentioned by that lady, Mrs B. examined them at leisure, and seemed tolerably well satisfied with their quality and value. Return to Original English Version

divesting /daɪˈvɛstɪŋ/ — despindo; retirando. Mrs Pipchin’s middle-aged niece, her good-natured and devoted slave, but possessing a gaunt and iron-bound aspect, and much afflicted with boils on her nose, was divesting Master Bitherstone of the clean collar he had worn on parade. Return to Original English Version

divining /dɪˈvaɪnɪŋ/ — adivinhando; de adivinhação. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Return to Original English Version

dodged /dɑːdʒd/ — esquivou-se; desviou-se. And the Major whistled, and stared, and wondered, and dodged about his room, and could make nothing of it. Return to Original English Version

dominical /dəˈmɪnɪkəl/ — dominical. In this stirring legend, Captain Cuttle descried a profound metaphysical bearing on the case of Walter and Florence; and it excited him so much, that on very festive occasions, as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays, he would roar through the whole song in the little back parlour; making an amazing shake on the word Pe-e-eg, with which every verse concluded, in compliment to the heroine of the piece. Return to Original English Version

donjon /ˈdʌndʒən/ — torre de menagem. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name. Return to Original English Version

downwards /ˈdaʊnwərdz/ — para baixo. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything. Return to Original English Version

dozing /ˈdoʊzɪŋ/ — cochilando; dormitando. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Return to Original English Version

drapers /ˈdreɪpərz/ — comerciantes de tecidos. The lady thus specially presented, was a long lean figure, wearing such a faded air that she seemed not to have been made in what linen-drapers call “fast colours” originally, and to have, by little and little, washed out. Return to Original English Version

drapery /ˈdreɪpəri/ — panejamento; tecido drapeado. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Return to Original English Version

drawback /ˈdrɔːbæk/ — desvantagem; ressalva. Or, at all events, with one drawback. Return to Original English Version

dreadfully /ˈdrɛdfəli/ — terrivelmente; extremamente. Mr Dombey’s house was a large one, on the shady side of a tall, dark, dreadfully genteel street in the region between Portland Place and Bryanstone Square. Return to Original English Version

dreamings /ˈdriːmɪŋz/ — sonhos; devaneios. The recollection of those incidents, and his own share in them, may have been made the more captivating, perhaps, by the weekly dreamings of old Sol and Captain Cuttle on Sundays. Return to Original English Version

dreary /ˈdrɪəri/ — sombrio; monótono; deprimente. Little Paul Dombey’s foster-mother had led this life herself, and had carried little Paul through it for some weeks; and had returned upstairs one day from a melancholy saunter through the dreary rooms of state (she never went out without Mrs Chick, who called on fine mornings, usually accompanied by Miss Tox, to take her and Baby for an airing - or in other words, to march them gravely up and down the pavement, like a walking funeral); when, as she was sitting in her own room, the door was slowly and quietly opened, and a dark-eyed little girl looked in. Return to Original English Version

drooping /ˈdruːpɪŋ/ — pendente; caído; murcho. Glasses of wine were then produced, to sustain the drooping spirits of the family; and Miss Tox, busying herself in dispensing “tastes” to the younger branches, bred them up to their father’s business with such surprising expedition, that she made chokers of four of them in a quarter of a minute. Return to Original English Version

drudging /ˈdrʌdʒɪŋ/ — labutando; trabalhando penosamente. She had been good-humouredly working and drudging for her life all her life, and was a sober steady-going person, with matter-of-fact ideas about the butcher and baker, and the division of pence into farthings. Return to Original English Version

dubiousness /ˈdjuːbiəsnəs/ — incerteza; caráter duvidoso. “But do me the justice to remember, my dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox in a tone of low and earnest entreaty, “that nothing but the - I have some difficulty in expressing myself - the dubiousness of the result would have induced me to take so great a liberty: ‘Welcome, Master Dombey,’ would have been much more congenial to my feelings, as I am sure you know. Return to Original English Version

dues /duːz/ — emolumentos; o que lhes é devido. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

dulness /ˈdʌlnəs/ — monotonia. Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. Return to Original English Version

dumpling /ˈdʌmplɪŋ/ — bolinho de massa. “What I mean, Uncle Sol,” pursued Walter, bending over a little more to pat him on the shoulder, “is, that then I feel you ought to have, sitting here and pouring out the tea instead of me, a nice little dumpling of a wife, you know, - a comfortable, capital, cosy old lady, who was just a match for you, and knew how to manage you, and keep you in good heart. Return to Original English Version

dunghill /ˈdʌŋhɪl/ — monturo; monte de esterco. The old woman then produced some wretched substitutes from the bottom of the heap of rags, which she turned up for that purpose; together with a girl’s cloak, quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. Return to Original English Version

dunghills /ˈdʌŋhɪlz/ — montes de esterco. There were frowzy fields, and cow-houses, and dunghills, and dustheaps, and ditches, and gardens, and summer-houses, and carpet-beating grounds, at the very door of the Railway. Return to Original English Version

dustheaps /ˈdʌsthiːps/ — montes de lixo. There were frowzy fields, and cow-houses, and dunghills, and dustheaps, and ditches, and gardens, and summer-houses, and carpet-beating grounds, at the very door of the Railway. Return to Original English Version

earnestness /ˈɜːnɪstnəs/ — seriedade; sinceridade. The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy, who had risen from his seat in the earnestness of what he said and felt, seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten, or that his encircling mist had hitherto shut out. Return to Original English Version

ebb /eb/ — ponto mais baixo; declínio. The little voice, familiar and dearly loved, awakened some show of consciousness, even at that ebb. Return to Original English Version

eccentricities /ˌɛksɛnˈtrɪsətiz/ — excentricidades; esquisitices. Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. Return to Original English Version

ecstasy /ˈɛkstəsi/ — êxtase. Susan!” cried Florence, clapping her hands in the very ecstasy of her alarm. Return to Original English Version

eddying /ˈediɪŋ/ — redemoinhante; que gira em turbilhão. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows. Return to Original English Version

effected /ɪˈfektɪd/ — realizou; efetuou; causou. After some delay, occasioned by a pretty long confidential interview above stairs on pecuniary subjects, between Polly and Jemima, an interchange of babies was again effected - for Polly had all this time retained her own child, and Jemima little Paul - and the visitors took leave. Return to Original English Version

effectually /ɪˈfektʃuəli/ — eficazmente; de fato. If he had meant to bring the subject prematurely to a close, he could not have done it more effectually. Return to Original English Version

effervescent /ˌefərˈvesənt/ — efervescente; vivaz. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls. Return to Original English Version

effigies /ˈefɪdʒiz/ — efígies. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

egotistically /ˌiːɡəˈtɪstɪkli/ — de modo egocêntrico. Mrs Pipchin had an old black cat, who generally lay coiled upon the centre foot of the fender, purring egotistically, and winking at the fire until the contracted pupils of his eyes were like two notes of admiration. Return to Original English Version

eke /iːk/ — também, arcaico; em eke out, fazer render. Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Return to Original English Version

elapsed /ɪˈlæpst/ — transcorreu. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. Return to Original English Version

elasticity /ˌiːlæˈstɪsəti/ — elasticidade; vigor. That there is a certain degree of languor, and a general absence of elasticity, which we would rather - not - ” Return to Original English Version

electrify /ɪˈlektrɪfaɪ/ — eletrizar. He gave Mr Dombey his hand, as if he feared it might electrify him. Return to Original English Version

elephantine /ˌeləˈfæntiːn/ — elefantino; pesadão. Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. Return to Original English Version

embodied /ɪmˈbɒdid/ — personificava; dava forma concreta a. The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered. Return to Original English Version

embowerment /ɪmˈbaʊərmənt/ — envolvimento por folhagem. However choice examples of their kind, too, these plants were of a kind peculiarly adapted to the embowerment of Mrs Pipchin. Return to Original English Version

emphatic /ɪmˈfætɪk/ — enfático; categórico. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Return to Original English Version

emphatically /ɪmˈfætɪkli/ — enfaticamente; categoricamente. You leave this house, Richards, for taking my son - my son,” said Mr Dombey, emphatically repeating these two words, “into haunts and into society which are not to be thought of without a shudder. Return to Original English Version

encased /ɪnˈkeɪst/ — encerrado; revestido. “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water. Return to Original English Version

Original Text: Rare Words (3/7)

enchanting /ɪnˈtʃɑːntɪŋ/ — encantador; fascinante. He had a great affection for the wharf where he had encountered Florence, and for the streets (albeit not enchanting in themselves) by which they had come home. Return to Original English Version

encircling /ɪnˈsɜːrklɪŋ/ — circundando; envolvendo. The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy, who had risen from his seat in the earnestness of what he said and felt, seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten, or that his encircling mist had hitherto shut out. Return to Original English Version

enclosures /ɪnˈkləʊʒərz/ — cercados; recintos. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

encomium /enˈkəʊmiəm/ — elogio; panegírico. “Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,” observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, “having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Return to Original English Version

encountering /ɪnˈkaʊntərɪŋ/ — encontrando; deparando com; enfrentando. Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. Return to Original English Version

encroached /ɪnˈkrəʊtʃt/ — invadiu; avançou sobre. Little tumuli of oyster shells in the oyster season, and of lobster shells in the lobster season, and of broken crockery and faded cabbage leaves in all seasons, encroached upon its high places. Return to Original English Version

endearing /ɪnˈdɪərɪŋ/ — cativante; carinhoso. For, being thus appealed to with some endearing gestures and caresses, she folded her small arms and shook her head, and conveyed a relenting expression into her very-wide-open black eyes. Return to Original English Version

endearment /ɪnˈdɪərmənt/ — carinho; termo carinhoso. The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs Dombey’s name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, “Mrs Dombey, my - my dear.” Return to Original English Version

endeavoured /ɪnˈdevərd/ — esforçou-se; procurou. Old Sol endeavoured to assume a cheery look, and smiled across the little table at him as pleasantly as he could. Return to Original English Version

endeavours /ɪnˈdevərz/ — esforços; tentativas. But presently summoning courage, and what she called presence of mind, she sat down by the bedside, and said in the low precise tone of one who endeavours to awaken a sleeper: Return to Original English Version

endow /ɪnˈdaʊ/ — dotar; legar. Whether a man so situated would be able to pluck away the result of so many years of usage, confidence, and belief, from the impostor, and endow a stranger with it? Return to Original English Version

endowed /ɪnˈdaʊd/ — dotou; presenteou. It may be doubted whether there ever was a more entirely selfish person at heart; or at stomach is perhaps a better expression, seeing that he was more decidedly endowed with that latter organ than with the former. Return to Original English Version

endurable /ɪnˈdʊrəbəl/ — tolerável. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

engraving /ɪnˈɡreɪvɪŋ/ — gravura. Mr Dombey, having delivered a glass of wine to this vassal, addressed her in the following words: Miss Tox previously settling her head on one side, and making other little arrangements for engraving them on her heart. Return to Original English Version

enlivened /ɪnˈlaɪvənd/ — animou; tornou mais alegre. Enlivened by company, however, this was the best place after all; for Berry played with them there, and seemed to enjoy a game at romps as much as they did; until Mrs Pipchin knocking angrily at the wall, like the Cock Lane Ghost revived, they left off, and Berry told them stories in a whisper until twilight. Return to Original English Version

enlivening /ɪnˈlaɪvənɪŋ/ — animador; revigorante. Over the fireplace was a ground-plan of the vaults underneath the church; and Mr Chick, skimming the literary portion of it aloud, by way of enlivening the company, read the reference to Mrs Dombey’s tomb in full, before he could stop himself. Return to Original English Version

enslaver /ɪnˈsleɪvər/ — escravizador; opressor. And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony. Return to Original English Version

ensued /ɪnˈsuːd/ — seguiu-se; sobreveio. Mr Chick invaded the grave silence which ensued on this remark with the singularly inappropriate air of “A cobbler there was;” and checking himself, in some confusion, observed, that it was undoubtedly our own faults if we didn’t improve such melancholy occasions as the present. Return to Original English Version

entertainments /ˌentərˈteɪnmənts/ — espetáculos; diversões. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. Return to Original English Version

entreated /ɪnˈtriːtɪd/ — suplicou; implorou. “Do untie your bonnet-strings, and make yourself at home, Miss Nipper, please,” entreated Jemima. Return to Original English Version

entreaty /ɪnˈtriːti/ — súplica; rogo. “But do me the justice to remember, my dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox in a tone of low and earnest entreaty, “that nothing but the - I have some difficulty in expressing myself - the dubiousness of the result would have induced me to take so great a liberty: ‘Welcome, Master Dombey,’ would have been much more congenial to my feelings, as I am sure you know. Return to Original English Version

entrenched /ɪnˈtrentʃt/ — entrincheirado; firmemente estabelecido. However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Return to Original English Version

entrusted /ɪnˈtrʌstɪd/ — incumbido; confiado a. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Return to Original English Version

equable /ˈɛkwəbəl/ — equilibrado. Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Return to Original English Version

equanimity /ˌekwəˈnɪməti/ — equanimidade; serenidade. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him. Return to Original English Version

errants /ˈɛrənts/ — cavaleiros errantes. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Return to Original English Version

eschewing /ɪsˈtʃuːɪŋ/ — evitando. The cat, and Paul, and Mrs Pipchin, were constantly to be found in their usual places after dark; and Paul, eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone, went on studying Mrs Pipchin, and the cat, and the fire, night after night, as if they were a book of necromancy, in three volumes. Return to Original English Version

eternally /ɪˈtɜːrnəli/ — eternamente; sem parar. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages. Return to Original English Version

etymology /ˌetɪˈmɒlədʒi/ — etimologia. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Return to Original English Version

euphonious /juːˈfoʊniəs/ — eufônico. This euphonious locality was situated in a suburb, known by the inhabitants of Staggs’s Gardens by the name of Camberling Town; a designation which the Strangers’ Map of London, as printed (with a view to pleasant and commodious reference) on pocket handkerchiefs, condenses, with some show of reason, into Camden Town. Return to Original English Version

evinced /ɪˈvɪnst/ — evidenciou; manifestado. Having relieved her mind of these disclosures, she partook of shrimps and porter, and evinced a disposition to swear eternal friendship. Return to Original English Version

exalted /ɪɡˈzɔːltɪd/ — exaltado; erguido bem alto. Mr Dombey took it as if it were a fish, or seaweed, or some such clammy substance, and immediately returned it to him with exalted politeness. Return to Original English Version

exceedingly /ɪkˈsiːdɪŋli/ — extremamente; sobremaneira. “Exactly so,” said Mrs Chick; “but she is exceedingly attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous; indeed I never saw a more biddable woman. Return to Original English Version

excepted /ɪkˈseptɪd/ — excetuado; à exceção de. “Oh! there’s a Tartar within a hundred miles of where we’re now in conversation, I can tell you, Mrs Richards, present company always excepted too,” said Susan Nipper; “wish you good morning, Mrs Richards, now Miss Floy, you come along with me, and don’t go hanging back like a naughty wicked child that judgments is no example to, don’t!” Return to Original English Version

excessively /ɪkˈsesɪvli/ — excessivamente; em demasia. But she seemed to do it, more in the excessively sharp exercise of her official functions, than with any deliberate unkindness. Return to Original English Version

exclaiming /ɪkˈskleɪmɪŋ/ — exclamando. He would frequently be stricken with this precocious mood upstairs in the nursery; and would sometimes lapse into it suddenly, exclaiming that he was tired: even while playing with Florence, or driving Miss Tox in single harness. Return to Original English Version

excursion /ɪkˈskɜːrʒən/ — excursão; passeio. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Return to Original English Version

exemplary /ɪɡˈzempləri/ — exemplar; modelar. At this exemplary old lady, Paul would sit staring in his little arm-chair by the fire, for any length of time. Return to Original English Version

exert /ɪɡˈzɜːrt/ — exercer; empregar força. “Don’t you over-exert yourself, Loo,” said Mr Chick, “or you’ll be laid up with spasms, I see. Return to Original English Version

exerted /ɪɡˈzɜːrtɪd/ — exerceu; empregou esforço. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child’s behalf from the first, and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world, I am sorry to say), that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her.” Return to Original English Version

exhortation /ˌeɡzɔːrˈteɪʃən/ — exortação. The only time that he unbent his visage in the least, was when the clergyman, in delivering (very unaffectedly and simply) the closing exhortation, relative to the future examination of the child by the sponsors, happened to rest his eye on Mr Chick; and then Mr Dombey might have been seen to express by a majestic look, that he would like to catch him at it. Return to Original English Version

expatiate /ɪkˈspeɪʃieɪt/ — discorrer longamente. I quite agree with you, Paul, that perhaps topics may be incautiously mentioned upstairs before him, which it would be as well for his little mind not to expatiate upon; but I really don’t see how that is to be helped, in the case of a child of his quickness. Return to Original English Version

expiration /ˌekspəˈreɪʃən/ — expiração; término. But as Paul himself was no stronger at the expiration of that time than he had been on his first arrival, though he looked much healthier in the face, a little carriage was got for him, in which he could lie at his ease, with an alphabet and other elementary works of reference, and be wheeled down to the sea-side. Return to Original English Version

explanatory /ɪkˈsplænətɔːri/ — explicativo; esclarecedor. It was quite out of Walter’s power to be coherent; but he rendered himself as explanatory as he could, in his breathless state, and stated why he had come alone. Return to Original English Version

expounded /ɪkˈspaʊndɪd/ — expôs; explanou. Mr Dombey having recovered from his surprise, not to say his alarm (for it was the very first occasion on which the child had ever broached the subject of his mother to him, though he had had him sitting by his side, in this same manner, evening after evening), expounded to him how that money, though a very potent spirit, never to be disparaged on any account whatever, could not keep people alive whose time was come to die; and how that we must all die, unfortunately, even in the City, though we were never so rich. Return to Original English Version

expressly /ɪkˈspresli/ — expressamente; explicitamente. It would seem as if there never was a book written, or a story told, expressly with the object of keeping boys on shore, which did not lure and charm them to the ocean, as a matter of course. Return to Original English Version

extinguished /ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/ — apagou; extinto; sufocado. And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. Return to Original English Version

extremities /ɪkˈstremətiz/ — extremidades; pontas; situações extremas. The wine was so bitter cold that it forced a little scream from Miss Tox, which she had great difficulty in turning into a “Hem!” The veal had come from such an airy pantry, that the first taste of it had struck a sensation as of cold lead to Mr Chick’s extremities. Return to Original English Version

exulting /ɪɡˈzʌltɪŋ/ — exultante; jubiloso. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Return to Original English Version

fain /feɪn/ — de bom grado. Her heart swelled so as she stood before the woman, looking into her eyes, that she was fain to press her little hand upon her breast and hold it there. Return to Original English Version

fainter /ˈfeɪntər/ — mais fraco. Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. Return to Original English Version

faltered /ˈfɔːltərd/ — hesitou. “I beg your pardon, Sir,” faltered Polly, “but we go out quite plenty Sir, thank you.” Return to Original English Version

faltering /ˈfɔːltərɪŋ/ — vacilante; hesitante; trôpego. Yet there was a purpose in the child that prevented both her slender figure and her searching gaze from faltering. Return to Original English Version

familiarities /fəˌmɪliˈærətiz/ — intimidades. The bookcase, glazed and locked, repudiated all familiarities. Return to Original English Version

familiars /fəˈmɪliərz/ — espíritos familiares; assombrações íntimas. The good old lady might have been - not to record it disrespectfully - a witch, and Paul and the cat her two familiars, as they all sat by the fire together. Return to Original English Version

famished /ˈfæmɪʃt/ — esfomeado. Famished, of course. Return to Original English Version

fancied /ˈfænsid/ — imaginou. It was growing dark and foggy, and beginning to rain too; but they cared nothing for this: being both wholly absorbed in the late adventures of Florence, which she related with the innocent good faith and confidence of her years, while Walter listened as if, far from the mud and grease of Thames Street, they were rambling alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of some desert island in the tropics - as he very likely fancied, for the time, they were. Return to Original English Version

fantastically /fænˈtæstɪkli/ — de modo fantasioso; com traços bizarros. He was childish and sportive enough at times, and not of a sullen disposition; but he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful way, at other times, of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair, when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales, who, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age, fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted. Return to Original English Version

farinaceous /ˌfærɪˈneɪʃəs/ — farináceo; rico em amido. At one o’clock there was a dinner, chiefly of the farinaceous and vegetable kind, when Miss Pankey (a mild little blue-eyed morsel of a child, who was shampoo’d every morning, and seemed in danger of being rubbed away, altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself, and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. Return to Original English Version

fates /feɪts/ — destinos; sortes. Whether Miss Tox conceived that having been selected by the Fates to welcome the little Dombey before he was born, in Kirby, Beard and Kirby’s Best Mixed Pins, it therefore naturally devolved upon her to greet him with all other forms of welcome in all other early stages of his existence - or whether her overflowing goodness induced her to volunteer into the domestic militia as a substitute in some sort for his deceased Mama - or whether she was conscious of any other motives - are questions which in this stage of the Firm’s history herself only could have solved. Return to Original English Version

fatigues /fəˈtiːɡz/ — fadigas; canseiras. Mr Dombey, in the meanwhile, had issued orders for the attendance of Richards, who now entered curtseying, but without the baby; Paul being asleep after the fatigues of the morning. Return to Original English Version

favourably /ˈfeɪvərəbli/ — favoravelmente; com aprovação. Mrs Wickam was a waiter’s wife - which would seem equivalent to being any other man’s widow - whose application for an engagement in Mr Dombey’s service had been favourably considered, on account of the apparent impossibility of her having any followers, or anyone to follow; and who, from within a day or two of Paul’s sharp weaning, had been engaged as his nurse. Return to Original English Version

fawn /fɔːn/ — cervo novo; bege claro. “Startled fawn?” suggested Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

feeble /ˈfiːbəl/ — fraco; débil. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Return to Original English Version

feebly /ˈfiːbli/ — debilmente; fracamente. She feebly echoed, “Of course,” or rather expressed it by the motion of her lips, and closed her eyes again. Return to Original English Version

feigned /feɪnd/ — finge; fez de conta. She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame. Return to Original English Version

fenders /ˈfendərz/ — defensas; para-lamas. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Return to Original English Version

ferocious /fəˈroʊʃəs/ — feroz; brutal. Being compelled to emerge into the main road, his ill fortune brought him at last where a small party of boys, headed by a ferocious young butcher, were lying in wait for any means of pleasurable excitement that might happen. Return to Original English Version

fictitious /fɪkˈtɪʃəs/ — fictício; inventado. There is some inconvenience in the necessity of writing Junior,” said Mr Dombey, making a fictitious autograph on his knee; “but it is merely of a private and personal complexion. Return to Original English Version

fidgetty /ˈfɪdʒɪti/ — inquieto. “If I didn’t know he was too fond of me to make a run of it, and go and enter himself aboard ship against my wishes, I should begin to be fidgetty,” said Mr Gills, tapping two or three weather-glasses with his knuckles. Return to Original English Version

fillet /ˈfɪlɪt/ — filé. “I have got a cold fillet of veal here, Sir,” replied Mr Chick, rubbing his numbed hands hard together. Return to Original English Version

filliped /ˈfɪlɪpt/ — deu um peteleco. And whenever Mrs Pipchin caught herself falling forward into the fire, and woke up, she filliped Master Bitherstone on the nose for nodding too. Return to Original English Version

fishy /ˈfɪʃi/ — com cheiro de peixe. She was much given to the carrying about of small bags with snaps to them, that went off like little pistols when they were shut up; and when full-dressed, she wore round her neck the barrenest of lockets, representing a fishy old eye, with no approach to speculation in it. Return to Original English Version

flapped /flæpt/ — bateu as asas; agitou-se; adejou. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

flattened /ˈflætənd/ — achatado; amassado. He had been overthrown into gutters; bespattered with mud; violently flattened against posts. Return to Original English Version

flinty /ˈflɪnti/ — pedregoso; duro como sílex. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Return to Original English Version

flues /fluːz/ — dutos de chaminé. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots. Return to Original English Version

flung /flʌŋ/ — arremessou; lançou. His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice, Return to Original English Version

flurried /ˈflɜːrid/ — agitado; atrapalhado. “So; let me see,” said Polly, not a little flurried between this earnest scrutiny, her desire to comfort the child, her sudden success, and her very slight confidence in her own powers. Return to Original English Version

flurry /ˈflɜːri/ — estertor; convulsão final da baleia. “Don’t flurry me, my dear Paul,” said his sister; “for that destroys me. Return to Original English Version

flutter /ˈflʌtər/ — tremular; adejar; palpitar. No one else leant over her, and whispered soothing words to her, or was near enough to hear the flutter of her beating heart. Return to Original English Version

fob /fɑːb/ — bolso do relógio. He wore a very precise shirt-frill, and carried a pair of first-rate spectacles on his forehead, and a tremendous chronometer in his fob, rather than doubt which precious possession, he would have believed in a conspiracy against it on part of all the clocks and watches in the City, and even of the very Sun itself. Return to Original English Version

folly /ˈfɑːli/ — tolice; insensatez. What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! Return to Original English Version

fondle /ˈfɑːndəl/ — acariciar. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Return to Original English Version

foreboding /fɔːrˈboʊdɪŋ/ — pressentimento sombrio; agourento. The matter being settled thus, little Paul began to cry most piteously, as if he had a foreboding that no good would come of it. Return to Original English Version

foregoing /fɔːrˈɡoʊɪŋ/ — precedente; acima mencionado. Even the sort of recognition of Dombey and Son, conveyed in the foregoing conversation, was so palatable to him, that his sister, Mrs Chick - though he affected to consider her a weak good-natured person - had perhaps more influence over him than anybody else. Return to Original English Version

forlorn /fərˈlɔːrn/ — desolado. Mrs Wickam was a meek woman, of a fair complexion, with her eyebrows always elevated, and her head always drooping; who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else; and who had a surprising natural gift of viewing all subjects in an utterly forlorn and pitiable light, and bringing dreadful precedents to bear upon them, and deriving the greatest consolation from the exercise of that talent. Return to Original English Version

forsaken /fərˈseɪkən/ — abandonado; desamparado. On the downfall and banishment of Richards, the nursery may be said to have been put into commission: as a Public Department is sometimes, when no individual Atlas can be found to support it The Commissioners were, of course, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox: who devoted themselves to their duties with such astonishing ardour that Major Bagstock had every day some new reminder of his being forsaken, while Mr Chick, bereft of domestic supervision, cast himself upon the gay world, dined at clubs and coffee-houses, smelt of smoke on three different occasions, went to the play by himself, and in short, loosened (as Mrs Chick once told him) every social bond, and moral obligation. Return to Original English Version

fortified /ˈfɔːrtɪfaɪd/ — fortificado. Fortified by this golden secret, Polly finally ran away to avoid any more particular leave-taking between herself and the children. Return to Original English Version

fortitude /ˈfɔːrtɪtuːd/ — fortaleza de ânimo; coragem serena. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Return to Original English Version

fortnight /ˈfɔːrtnaɪt/ — quinzena; duas semanas. By way of bringing her out dexterously, Miss Tox had made the inquiry as in condescension to an old acquaintance whom she hadn’t seen for a fortnight or so. Return to Original English Version

fourteenth /ˈfɔːrtiːnθ/ — décimo quarto. “In the Baltic Sea, in the dead of night; five-and-twenty minutes past twelve when the captain’s watch stopped in his pocket; he lying dead against the main-mast - on the fourteenth of February, seventeen forty-nine!” cried Walter, with great animation. Return to Original English Version

fowls /faʊlz/ — aves; aves domésticas. I see cold fowls - ham - patties - salad - lobster. Return to Original English Version

fractious /ˈfrækʃəs/ — irritadiço; indisciplinado. Although the niece of Mrs Pipchin did not expect to find that exemplary dragon prostrate on the hearth-rug when she went downstairs, she was relieved to find her unusually fractious and severe, and with every present appearance of intending to live a long time to be a comfort to all who knew her. Return to Original English Version

fragmentary /ˈfræɡmənteri/ — fragmentário. Bell-handles, window-blinds, and looking-glasses, being papered up in journals, daily and weekly, obtruded fragmentary accounts of deaths and dreadful murders. Return to Original English Version

fraught /frɔːt/ — carregado de; repleto de. Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Return to Original English Version

fret /frɛt/ — afligir-se; impacientar-se. “I quite fret and worry myself about her,” said Mrs Chick, with a sigh of modest merit. Return to Original English Version

frigidly /ˈfrɪdʒɪdli/ — friamente. The atmosphere became or might have become colder and colder, when Mr Dombey stood frigidly watching his little daughter, who, clapping her hands, and standing on tip-toe before the throne of his son and heir, lured him to bend down from his high estate, and look at her. Return to Original English Version

fro /froʊ/ — para trás; de um lado para outro. In the morning, when Mr Dombey was at his breakfast in one or other of the two first-mentioned of them, as well as in the afternoon when he came home to dinner, a bell was rung for Richards to repair to this glass chamber, and there walk to and fro with her young charge. Return to Original English Version

frock /frɑːk/ — casaca; parte do termo que designa uma casaca formal. “My darling,” said Richards, “you wear that pretty black frock in remembrance of your Mama.” Return to Original English Version

fronting /ˈfrʌntɪŋ/ — defrontando; voltado para. A bran-new Tavern, redolent of fresh mortar and size, and fronting nothing at all, had taken for its sign The Railway Arms; but that might be rash enterprise - and then it hoped to sell drink to the workmen. Return to Original English Version

frosty /ˈfrɔːsti/ — gelado; com geada. And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony. Return to Original English Version

frowzy /ˈfraʊzi/ — sujo; desleixado; desgrenhado. There were frowzy fields, and cow-houses, and dunghills, and dustheaps, and ditches, and gardens, and summer-houses, and carpet-beating grounds, at the very door of the Railway. Return to Original English Version

frugal /ˈfruːɡəl/ — econômico; simples. Berry took the frugal supper-tray, with which Mrs Wickam had by this time done, and bade her good-night. Return to Original English Version

fulfilment /fʊlˈfɪlmənt/ — realização. Thereby, as it happened, preventing Mr Chick from the awkward fulfilment of a very honest purpose he had; which was, to make much of Florence. Return to Original English Version

furl /fɜːrl/ — recolher. “What a clambering aloft of men, vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails, while the ship rolls and pitches, like mad!” cried his nephew. Return to Original English Version

furtively /ˈfɜːrtɪvli/ — furtivamente; de esguelha. Sensible that she was plainly to be seen by him, however, she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time. Return to Original English Version

gaily /ˈɡeɪli/ — alegremente; com bom humor. And when the coach at length moved off, Walter on the door-step gaily returned the waving of her handkerchief, while the wooden Midshipman behind him seemed, like himself, intent upon that coach alone, excluding all the other passing coaches from his observation. Return to Original English Version

gainsay /ˌɡeɪnˈseɪ/ — contestar; negar. She feigned to be dandling the child as the servant retired on this errand, but she thought that she saw Mr Dombey’s colour changed; that the expression of his face quite altered; that he turned, hurriedly, as if to gainsay what he had said, or she had said, or both, and was only deterred by very shame. Return to Original English Version

gait /ɡeɪt/ — andar; modo de caminhar. Possibly her mincing gait encouraged the belief, and suggested that her clipping a step of ordinary compass into two or three, originated in her habit of making the most of everything. Return to Original English Version

garb /ɡɑːrb/ — traje; vestimenta. But few people noticed her at those times, in the garb she wore: or if they did, believed that she was tutored to excite compassion, and passed on. Return to Original English Version

garland /ˈɡɑːrlənd/ — guirlanda; grinalda. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. Return to Original English Version

garret /ˈɡærət/ — sótão; quarto no sótão. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns. Return to Original English Version

gashliness /ˈɡæʃlinəs/ — horror sombrio. Mrs Wickam put her own construction on Paul’s eccentricities; and being confirmed in her low spirits by a perplexed view of chimneys from the room where she was accustomed to sit, and by the noise of the wind, and by the general dulness (gashliness was Mrs Wickam’s strong expression) of her present life, deduced the most dismal reflections from the foregoing premises. Return to Original English Version

gaunt /ɡɔːnt/ — magro e abatido. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. Return to Original English Version

gauzes /ɡɔːzɪz/ — gazes; tecidos leves. Miss Tox, in the midst of her spreading gauzes, went down altogether like an opera-glass shutting-up; she curtseyed so low, in acknowledgment of Mr Dombey’s advancing a step or two to meet her. Return to Original English Version

gazing /ˈɡeɪzɪŋ/ — contemplando; olhando fixamente. “Well,” said Mr Dombey, after looking at him attentively, and with no great favour, as he stood gazing round the room (principally round the ceiling) and still drawing his hand across and across his mouth. Return to Original English Version

gen'lm'n /ˈdʒɛnlmən/ — cavalheiro. Sermuchser that when he was took to church the gen’lm’n said, it wamm’t a chris’en one, and he couldn’t give it. Return to Original English Version

genteel /dʒenˈtiːl/ — fino; de boa sociedade; afetadamente educado. That Mrs Dombey had entered on that social contract of matrimony: almost necessarily part of a genteel and wealthy station, even without reference to the perpetuation of family Firms: with her eyes fully open to these advantages. Return to Original English Version

gentility /dʒenˈtɪləti/ — distinção social; refinamento. “Blockitt, Sir?” suggested the nurse, a simpering piece of faded gentility, who did not presume to state her name as a fact, but merely offered it as a mild suggestion. Return to Original English Version

ghastly /ˈɡæstli/ — cadavérico. The dead and buried lady was awful in a picture-frame of ghastly bandages. Return to Original English Version

gladness /ˈɡlædnəs/ — contentamento; júbilo. She was such a bitter old lady, that one was tempted to believe there had been some mistake in the application of the Peruvian machinery, and that all her waters of gladness and milk of human kindness, had been pumped out dry, instead of the mines. Return to Original English Version

glare /ɡlɛr/ — brilho ofuscante; clarão. Boiling water hissed and heaved within dilapidated walls; whence, also, the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way, and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood. Return to Original English Version

glide /ɡlaɪd/ — deslizar; planar. She’ll never glide and nestle into the bosom of her Papa’s affections like - the - ” Return to Original English Version

gliding /ˈɡlaɪdɪŋ/ — deslizando; planando. Naturally delicate, perhaps, he pined and wasted after the dismissal of his nurse, and, for a long time, seemed but to wait his opportunity of gliding through their hands, and seeking his lost mother. Return to Original English Version

glimmering /ˈɡlɪmərɪŋ/ — brilhando fracamente. Mr Dombey looked after them until they reached the top of the staircase - not without halting to rest by the way - and passed out of his sight; and then he still stood gazing upwards, until the dull rays of the moon, glimmering in a melancholy manner through the dim skylight, sent him back to his room. Return to Original English Version

glistening /ˈɡlɪsənɪŋ/ — cintilando; reluzindo. But no one saw them glistening save Polly. Return to Original English Version

gloried /ˈɡlɔːrid/ — gloriou-se; regozijou-se. So said the blue-faced Major, whose eyes were starting out of his head: who gloried in Princess’s Place: and who delighted to turn the conversation at his club, whenever he could, to something connected with some of the great people in the great street round the corner, that he might have the satisfaction of saying they were his neighbours. Return to Original English Version

glories /ˈɡlɔːriz/ — glórias; esplendores. Thence he passed to the contemplation of the future glories of Dombey and Son, and dismissed the memory of his wife, for the time being, with a tributary sigh or two. Return to Original English Version

gloss /ɡlɔːs/ — lustro; brilho; glosa explicativa. Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were convoked in council at dinner next day; and when the cloth was removed, Mr Dombey opened the proceedings by requiring to be informed, without any gloss or reservation, whether there was anything the matter with Paul, and what Mr Pilkins said about him. Return to Original English Version

glossy /ˈɡlɑːsi/ — lustroso; acetinado; brilhante. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths. Return to Original English Version

godmothership /ˈɡɒdmʌðərʃɪp/ — condição de madrinha. Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul, in virtue of her insignificance, Miss Tox was from that hour chosen and appointed to office; and Mr Dombey further signified his pleasure that the ceremony, already long delayed, should take place without further postponement. Return to Original English Version

goodly /ˈɡʊdli/ — considerável; vistoso; de bom tamanho. Mr Dombey’s young child was, from the beginning, so distinctly important to him as a part of his own greatness, or (which is the same thing) of the greatness of Dombey and Son, that there is no doubt his parental affection might have been easily traced, like many a goodly superstructure of fair fame, to a very low foundation. Return to Original English Version

gorged /ɡɔːrdʒd/ — empanturraram-se; fartaram-se. In the vestry the fire was smoking; and an over-aged and over-worked and under-paid attorney’s clerk, “making a search,” was running his forefinger down the parchment pages of an immense register (one of a long series of similar volumes) gorged with burials. Return to Original English Version

gossamer /ˈɡɑːsəmər/ — diáfano; leve como teia. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. Return to Original English Version

grampus /ˈɡræmpəs/ — grande cetáceo; boto. Here they waited some little time while the marriage party enrolled themselves; and meanwhile the wheezy little pew-opener - partly in consequence of her infirmity, and partly that the marriage party might not forget her - went about the building coughing like a grampus. Return to Original English Version

gratified /ˈɡrætɪfaɪd/ — satisfeito; contente. The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship. Return to Original English Version

gratifying /ˈɡrætɪfaɪɪŋ/ — gratificante. Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself _must_, in the nature of things, be gratifying and honourable to any woman of common sense. Return to Original English Version

gratings /ˈɡreɪtɪŋz/ — grades; grelhas. It would be harsh, and perhaps not altogether true, to say of him that he felt these rubs and gratings against his pride more keenly than he had felt his wife’s death: but certainly they impressed that event upon him with new force, and communicated to it added weight and bitterness. Return to Original English Version

gravelled /ˈɡrævəld/ — coberto de cascalho. It was a house of dismal state, with a circular back to it, containing a whole suite of drawing-rooms looking upon a gravelled yard, where two gaunt trees, with blackened trunks and branches, rattled rather than rustled, their leaves were so smoked-dried. Return to Original English Version

graver /ˈɡreɪvər/ — mais grave; mais sério. Solomon looked a little graver as he finished his dinner, and glanced from time to time at the boy’s bright face. Return to Original English Version

grievously /ˈɡriːvəsli/ — gravemente; penosamente. This dangerous ground in his steeple-chase towards manhood passed, he still found it very rough riding, and was grievously beset by all the obstacles in his course. Return to Original English Version

grisly /ˈɡrɪzli/ — horrível; macabro. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

groping /ˈɡroʊpɪŋ/ — tateando; procurando às cegas. After a moment’s groping here and there, he presently returned with a very ancient-looking bottle, covered with dust and dirt. Return to Original English Version

grotesque /ɡroʊˈtɛsk/ — grotesco. He was not fond of her; he was not afraid of her; but in those old, old moods of his, she seemed to have a grotesque attraction for him. Return to Original English Version

gruff /ɡrʌf/ — rude; áspero; de voz rouca. The ashes sometimes gets in here;” touching his chest: “and makes a man speak gruff, as at the present time. Return to Original English Version

gruffly /ˈɡrʌfli/ — asperamente; com voz rude. “I should know her,” said Toodle, gruffly, “anyhows and anywheres.” Return to Original English Version

guardianship /ˈɡɑːrdiənʃɪp/ — tutela; guarda. The children, under the guardianship of Jemima, blocked up the window, and dropped out oranges and halfpence all the way along. Return to Original English Version

gust /ɡʌst/ — rajada de vento; ímpeto. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows. Return to Original English Version

habitually /həˈbɪtʃuəli/ — habitualmente; por hábito. Mrs Wickam shook her left fore-finger stealthily towards the bed where Florence lay; then turned it upside down, and made several emphatic points at the floor; immediately below which was the parlour in which Mrs Pipchin habitually consumed the toast. Return to Original English Version

hackney /ˈhækni/ — cavalo ou coche de aluguel. Running downstairs again as fast as she had run up, Miss Tox got the party out of the hackney-coach, and soon returned with it under convoy. Return to Original English Version

haggard /ˈhæɡərd/ — abatido; exausto. It was not exactly in a court, and it was not exactly in a yard; but it was in the dullest of No-Thoroughfares, rendered anxious and haggard by distant double knocks. Return to Original English Version

halfpence /ˈheɪpəns/ — meios pence; moedas de meio penny. A quantity of oranges and halfpence thrust indiscriminately on each young Toodle, checked the first violence of their regret, and the family were speedily transported to their own home, by means of the hackney-coach kept in waiting for that purpose. Return to Original English Version

halloa /həˈloʊ/ — olá!; ei!. “Halloa, Uncle Sol!” Return to Original English Version

halting /ˈhɔːltɪŋ/ — hesitante; entrecortado. Mr Dombey looked after them until they reached the top of the staircase - not without halting to rest by the way - and passed out of his sight; and then he still stood gazing upwards, until the dull rays of the moon, glimmering in a melancholy manner through the dim skylight, sent him back to his room. Return to Original English Version

hanger /ˈhæŋər/ — agregado; parasita (em hanger-on). In short, with Miss Tox and the blue-faced Major, it was enough for Princess’s Place - as with a very small fragment of society, it is enough for many a little hanger-on of another sort - to be well connected, and to have genteel blood in its veins. Return to Original English Version

hastened /ˈheɪsənd/ — apressou-se; acelerou. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue. Return to Original English Version

hastening /ˈheɪsənɪŋ/ — apressando-se; indo depressa. “Certainly not,” cried Mrs Chick, hastening to anticipate a refusal, “I never thought it was.” Return to Original English Version

haughty /ˈhɔːti/ — altivo; arrogante; soberbo. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. Return to Original English Version

hauling /ˈhɔːlɪŋ/ — puxando; arrastando. In spite of being thus adjured, and in spite also of some hauling on the part of Susan Nipper, tending towards the dislocation of her right shoulder, little Florence broke away, and kissed her new friend, affectionately. Return to Original English Version

hazarded /ˈhæzərdɪd/ — arriscou; aventurou (um palpite). Mrs Chick was afraid to say limbs, after Mr Dombey’s recent objection to bones, and therefore waited for a suggestion from Miss Tox, who, true to her office, hazarded “members.” Return to Original English Version

heaped /hiːpt/ — amontoado; imposto em grande quantidade. Accordingly, mysterious shapes were made of tables and chairs, heaped together in the middle of rooms, and covered over with great winding-sheets. Return to Original English Version

hearth /hɑːrθ/ — lareira; lar. Although the niece of Mrs Pipchin did not expect to find that exemplary dragon prostrate on the hearth-rug when she went downstairs, she was relieved to find her unusually fractious and severe, and with every present appearance of intending to live a long time to be a comfort to all who knew her. Return to Original English Version

heartily /ˈhɑːrtɪli/ — cordialmente; vigorosamente; de coração. “So, when this lady died, wherever they took her, or wherever they put her, she went to GOD! and she prayed to Him, this lady did,” said Polly, affecting herself beyond measure; being heartily in earnest, “to teach her little daughter to be sure of that in her heart: and to know that she was happy there and loved her still: and to hope and try - Oh, all her life - to meet her there one day, never, never, never to part any more.” Return to Original English Version

heaved /hiːvd/ — arfou; ergueu-se. Boiling water hissed and heaved within dilapidated walls; whence, also, the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way, and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood. Return to Original English Version

heed /hiːd/ — prestar atenção; levar em conta. But still, when that day and many other days were gone and past, it seemed that Miss Tox took no heed whatever of the Major, and thought nothing at all about him. Return to Original English Version

heerd /hɜːrd/ — ouviu; ouvido. “Polly heerd it,” said Toodle, jerking his hat over his shoulder in the direction of the door, with an air of perfect confidence in his better half. Return to Original English Version

heightened /ˈhaɪtənd/ — intensificado; realçado. The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy, who had risen from his seat in the earnestness of what he said and felt, seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten, or that his encircling mist had hitherto shut out. Return to Original English Version

helpmate /ˈhelpmeɪt/ — companheiro de vida. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Return to Original English Version

hem /hɛm/ — bainha. The wine was so bitter cold that it forced a little scream from Miss Tox, which she had great difficulty in turning into a “Hem!” The veal had come from such an airy pantry, that the first taste of it had struck a sensation as of cold lead to Mr Chick’s extremities. Return to Original English Version

heterogeneous /ˌhetərəˈdʒiːniəs/ — heterogêneo. If the Major could have known how many hopes and ventures, what a multitude of plans and speculations, rested on that baby head; and could have seen them hovering, in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder, round the puckered cap of the unconscious little Paul; he might have stared indeed. Return to Original English Version

hims /hɪmz/ — eles. Four hims and a her. Return to Original English Version

hither /ˈhɪðər/ — para cá; até aqui. Hither the two nurses bent their steps, accompanied by their charges; Richards carrying Paul, of course, and Susan leading little Florence by the hand, and giving her such jerks and pokes from time to time, as she considered it wholesome to administer. Return to Original English Version

hitherto /ˌhɪðərˈtuː/ — até agora; até então. The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy, who had risen from his seat in the earnestness of what he said and felt, seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten, or that his encircling mist had hitherto shut out. Return to Original English Version

hoarded /ˈhɔːrdɪd/ — entesourado; acumulado em segredo. “And as to anything in the shape of a token, my dear Paul,” pursued his sister, “all I can say is that anything you give Miss Tox will be hoarded and prized, I am sure, like a relic. Return to Original English Version

hoarding /ˈhɔːrdɪŋ/ — tapume; acúmulo; guardando. They clinked their glasses again; and Walter, who was hoarding his wine, took a sip of it, and held the glass up to his eye with as critical an air as he could possibly assume. Return to Original English Version

hobbling /ˈhɑːblɪŋ/ — coxeando. “Where are they?” said an old woman, coming hobbling across as fast as she could from the opposite side of the way. Return to Original English Version

hobgoblins /ˈhɒbɡɒblɪnz/ — duendes; bichos-papões. My goodness gracious me, Miss Floy, you naughty, sinful child, if you don’t shut your eyes this minute, I’ll call in them hobgoblins that lives in the cock-loft to come and eat you up alive!” Return to Original English Version

holloa /həˈloʊ/ — olá!; ei!. “Holloa, Uncle Sol!” cried Walter, bursting into the shop, and speaking incoherently and out of breath, from that time forth, for the rest of the evening. Return to Original English Version

hooping /ˈhuːpɪŋ/ — coqueluche (na expressão 'hooping-cough'). He was down in every fit of the hooping-cough, and rolled upon and crushed by a whole field of small diseases, that came trooping on each other’s heels to prevent his getting up again. Return to Original English Version

hopefulness /ˈhoʊpfəlnəs/ — esperançosidade; confiança no futuro. And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. Return to Original English Version

hospitable /hɒˈspɪtəbəl/ — hospitaleiro; acolhedor. Certainly the wild ones went home tame enough, after sojourning for a few months beneath her hospitable roof. Return to Original English Version

hostlers /ˈhɒslərz/ — cavalariços. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls. Return to Original English Version

hour's /ˈaʊərz/ — de uma hora. But it so fell out likewise, that, at the same time, Polly, looking hopelessly along the road before her, after a good hour’s walk, had said it was no use going any further, when suddenly she saw this sight. Return to Original English Version

hovering /ˈhʌvərɪŋ/ — pairando; rondando. It had its part, perhaps, in saving her curls; for Mrs Brown, after hovering about her with the scissors for some moments, like a new kind of butterfly, bade her hide them under the bonnet and let no trace of them escape to tempt her. Return to Original English Version

howling /ˈhaʊlɪŋ/ — uivos; berreiro. Such as he was, such he had been in the shop and parlour behind the little Midshipman, for years upon years; going regularly aloft to bed every night in a howling garret remote from the lodgers, where, when gentlemen of England who lived below at ease had little or no idea of the state of the weather, it often blew great guns. Return to Original English Version

humanizing /ˈhjuːmənaɪzɪŋ/ — humanizador; tornando mais humano. She was still busily engaged in that labour, when sought and found by Susan; who, such was her sense of duty, even under the humanizing influence of shrimps, delivered a moral address to her (punctuated with thumps) on her degenerate nature, while washing her face and hands; and predicted that she would bring the grey hairs of her family in general, with sorrow to the grave. Return to Original English Version

humouredly /ˈhjuːmərdli/ — de bom humor (em good-humouredly). She had been good-humouredly working and drudging for her life all her life, and was a sober steady-going person, with matter-of-fact ideas about the butcher and baker, and the division of pence into farthings. Return to Original English Version

humouring /ˈhjuːmərɪŋ/ — fazendo-lhe a vontade; dando corda. “The son’s a little in our way at present, I’m afraid, Ned,” said the old man, humouring the joke. Return to Original English Version

humph /hʌmf/ — Hum!; Hunf!. “Humph!” she said, running her eyes over the child’s slight figure, “I don’t see anything else - except the shoes. Return to Original English Version

hushed /hʌʃt/ — baixo; silencioso. Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. Return to Original English Version

hushing /ˈhʌʃɪŋ/ — fazendo calar. As she walked up and down the glass room, or sat hushing the baby there - which she very often did for hours together, when the dusk was closing in, too - she would sometimes try to pierce the gloom beyond, and make out how he was looking and what he was doing. Return to Original English Version

huskily /ˈhʌskɪli/ — com voz rouca. Some of the fog that hung about old Sol seemed to have got into his throat; for he spoke huskily. Return to Original English Version

husky /ˈhʌski/ — husky; rouco; robusto. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Return to Original English Version

hydrophobia /ˌhaɪdrəˈfoʊbiə/ — hidrofobia; raiva. “More like a professional singer with the hydrophobia, than a man in your station of life!” Return to Original English Version

ickle /ˈɪkəl/ — pequenino (fala infantil). I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny, and that tiddy ickle sing.” These last words originated in a sudden vivid reminiscence of the baby. Return to Original English Version

idiotic /ˌɪdiˈɑːtɪk/ — idiota; estúpido. Grief has not made me idiotic, Louisa. Return to Original English Version

illumination /ɪˌluːməˈneɪʃən/ — iluminação; clareza súbita. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Return to Original English Version

imitative /ˈɪmɪteɪtɪv/ — imitativo. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Return to Original English Version

imparted /ɪmˈpɑːrtɪd/ — transmitiu; comunicou; conferiu. It was not, naturally, a fresh-smelling house; and in the window of the front parlour, which was never opened, Mrs Pipchin kept a collection of plants in pots, which imparted an earthy flavour of their own to the establishment. Return to Original English Version

Original Text: Rare Words (4/7)

impassable /ɪmˈpæsəbəl/ — intransitável. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

impassive /ɪmˈpæsɪv/ — impassível; sem alterar o rosto. There was such a solemn stillness round the bed; and the two medical attendants seemed to look on the impassive form with so much compassion and so little hope, that Mrs Chick was for the moment diverted from her purpose. Return to Original English Version

impenetrable /ɪmˈpenətrəbəl/ — impenetrável. For all his starched, impenetrable dignity and composure, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced up and down his room; and often said, with an emotion of which he would not, for the world, have had a witness, “Poor little fellow!” Return to Original English Version

imperious /ɪmˈpɪriəs/ — imperiosa; autoritária. His temper gave abundant promise of being imperious in after-life; and he had as hopeful an apprehension of his own importance, and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it, as heart could desire. Return to Original English Version

impertinence /ɪmˈpɜːrtɪnəns/ — impertinência; insolência. “Mention to the man, then, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “that the lady’s uncle is a magistrate, and that if he gives her any of his impertinence he will be punished terribly. Return to Original English Version

impertinent /ɪmˈpɜːrtɪnənt/ — impertinente; insolente. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Return to Original English Version

impetuously /ɪmˈpetʃuəsli/ — impetuosamente; arrebatadamente. “No, no, no,” said Florence, checking him in the act of impetuously pulling off his own. Return to Original English Version

importing /ɪmˈpɔːrtɪŋ/ — importando; significando. Before he turned again to lead the way, he gave Mr Dombey a bow and a half smile of recognition, importing that he (the beadle) remembered to have had the pleasure of attending on him when he buried his wife, and hoped he had enjoyed himself since. Return to Original English Version

impossibility /ɪmˌpɑːsəˈbɪləti/ — impossibilidade. Mrs Wickam was a waiter’s wife - which would seem equivalent to being any other man’s widow - whose application for an engagement in Mr Dombey’s service had been favourably considered, on account of the apparent impossibility of her having any followers, or anyone to follow; and who, from within a day or two of Paul’s sharp weaning, had been engaged as his nurse. Return to Original English Version

imposture /ɪmˈpɑːstʃər/ — impostura. Though he was soon satisfied that he had dismissed the idea as romantic and unlikely - though possible, there was no denying - he could not help pursuing it so far as to entertain within himself a picture of what his condition would be, if he should discover such an imposture when he was grown old. Return to Original English Version

impracticable /ɪmˈpræktɪkəbəl/ — impraticável. Solomon Gills laughingly defied him to find out anything of the kind; and Walter, revolving in his thoughts all sorts of impracticable ways of making fortunes and placing the wooden Midshipman in a position of independence, betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there. Return to Original English Version

impressing /ɪmˈprɛsɪŋ/ — impressionando; incutindo. “As you appear to leave everything to her,” said Mr Dombey, frustrated in his intention of impressing his views still more distinctly on the husband, as the stronger character, “I suppose it is of no use my saying anything to you.” Return to Original English Version

impudent /ˈɪmpjədənt/ — atrevido; insolente. “Wickam,” retorted Mrs Pipchin, colouring, “is a wicked, impudent, bold-faced hussy.” Return to Original English Version

impulses /ˈɪmpʌlsɪz/ — impulsos. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection. Return to Original English Version

inasmuch /ˌɪnəzˈmʌtʃ/ — visto que; na medida em que. As to the accident which befel Miss Florence this morning, I regard that as, in one great sense, a happy and fortunate circumstance; inasmuch as, but for that occurrence, I never could have known - and from your own lips too - of what you had been guilty. Return to Original English Version

inaudibly /ɪnˈɔːdəbli/ — de modo inaudível. What are you looking in at the door for? - ” continued Walter, apostrophizing an old gentleman with a powdered head (inaudibly to him of course), who was staring at a ship’s telescope with all his might and main. Return to Original English Version

incautiously /ɪnˈkɔːʃəsli/ — imprudentemente; sem cuidado. I quite agree with you, Paul, that perhaps topics may be incautiously mentioned upstairs before him, which it would be as well for his little mind not to expatiate upon; but I really don’t see how that is to be helped, in the case of a child of his quickness. Return to Original English Version

incessant /ɪnˈsɛsənt/ — incessante; sem trégua. Polly was beset by so many misgivings in the morning, that but for the incessant promptings of her black-eyed companion, she would have abandoned all thoughts of the expedition, and formally petitioned for leave to see number one hundred and forty-seven, under the awful shadow of Mr Dombey’s roof. Return to Original English Version

incessantly /ɪnˈsesəntli/ — incessantemente. “My dear boy,” said Solomon, who, with his spectacles on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, was incessantly oscillating between Florence on the sofa, and his nephew in all parts of the parlour, “it’s the most extraordinary - ” Return to Original English Version

inclination /ˌɪnklɪˈneɪʃən/ — inclinação; vontade. “See,” interposed the family practitioner with another inclination of the head. Return to Original English Version

inclining /ɪnˈklaɪnɪŋ/ — inclinando-se; propendendo. Miss Nipper, on the other hand, rather looked out for these occasions: her sensitive young heart being secretly propitiated by Walter’s good looks, and inclining to the belief that its sentiments were responded to. Return to Original English Version

incoherently /ˌɪnkoʊˈhɪrəntli/ — incoerentemente. “Holloa, Uncle Sol!” cried Walter, bursting into the shop, and speaking incoherently and out of breath, from that time forth, for the rest of the evening. Return to Original English Version

incompleteness /ˌɪnkəmˈpliːtnəs/ — incompletude; caráter inacabado. There were a hundred thousand shapes and substances of incompleteness, wildly mingled out of their places, upside down, burrowing in the earth, aspiring in the air, mouldering in the water, and unintelligible as any dream. Return to Original English Version

inconsiderately /ˌɪnkənˈsɪdərətli/ — sem consideração. Remember of what importance you are to society, and do not allow yourself to be worried by what is so very inconsiderately told you by people who ought to know better. Return to Original English Version

incredulity /ˌɪnkrəˈduːləti/ — incredulidade. Such idle talk was little likely to reach the ears of Mr Dombey, whom it nearly concerned; and probably no one in the world would have received it with such utter incredulity as he, if it had reached him. Return to Original English Version

incredulous /ɪnˈkrɛdʒələs/ — incrédulo; sem acreditar. Staggs’s Gardens was uncommonly incredulous. Return to Original English Version

indebted /ɪnˈdetɪd/ — em dívida; grato. Many ladies and gentleman, now grown up to be interesting members of society, have been indebted to her care. Return to Original English Version

indecorum /ˌɪndɪˈkɔːrəm/ — falta de decoro; comportamento impróprio. She delivered it for the behoof of Mr Chick, who was a stout bald gentleman, with a very large face, and his hands continually in his pockets, and who had a tendency in his nature to whistle and hum tunes, which, sensible of the indecorum of such sounds in a house of grief, he was at some pains to repress at present. Return to Original English Version

indefatigable /ˌɪndɪˈfætɪɡəbəl/ — infatigável; incansável. The less so, as there seemed to be no flaw in the title of Polly Toodle after his sister had set it forth, with many commendations on the indefatigable friendship of Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

indescribably /ˌɪndɪˈskraɪbəbli/ — indescritivelmente. And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony. Return to Original English Version

indignation /ˌɪndɪɡˈneɪʃən/ — indignação. Admonished, however, that he had committed himself, by the indignation expressed in Mrs Chick’s countenance at the idea of a Dombey going there; and thinking to atone for his misconduct by a bright suggestion, he added: Return to Original English Version

indiscriminately /ˌɪndɪˈskrɪmɪnətli/ — indiscriminadamente. A quantity of oranges and halfpence thrust indiscriminately on each young Toodle, checked the first violence of their regret, and the family were speedily transported to their own home, by means of the hackney-coach kept in waiting for that purpose. Return to Original English Version

indispensable /ˌɪndɪˈspensəbəl/ — indispensável. Her feelings were so much excited on the occasion, that she found it indispensable to afford them this relief, even without having the comfort of any audience or sympathy whatever. Return to Original English Version

indistinct /ˌɪndɪˈstɪŋkt/ — indistinto. So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Return to Original English Version

indulged /ɪnˈdʌldʒd/ — satisfez; entregou-se a. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Return to Original English Version

indulgence /ɪnˈdʌldʒəns/ — indulgência; concessão. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue. Return to Original English Version

industrious /ɪnˈdʌstriəs/ — trabalhador; diligente. The child shed tears of delight on hearing this, and accompanied the old woman willingly; though she could not help glancing at her face as they went along - particularly at that industrious mouth - and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown, if there were such a person, was at all like her. Return to Original English Version

ineffable /ɪnˈefəbəl/ — inefável; indizível. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir, with ineffable satisfaction, almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. Return to Original English Version

inexplicable /ˌɪnɪkˈsplɪkəbəl/ — inexplicável. And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. Return to Original English Version

inexpressible /ˌɪnɪkˈspresəbəl/ — inexprimível; indizível. Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment, as he talked of the sea, though; and looked on the seafaring objects about him with inexpressible complacency. Return to Original English Version

inexpressibles /ˌɪnɪkˈsprɛsɪbl̩z/ — calças (eufemismo antigo para 'calças'). The only change ever known in his outward man, was from a complete suit of coffee-colour cut very square, and ornamented with glaring buttons, to the same suit of coffee-colour minus the inexpressibles, which were then of a pale nankeen. Return to Original English Version

infallible /ɪnˈfæləbəl/ — infalível. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. Return to Original English Version

infantine /ˈɪnfənˌtaɪn/ — infantil; semelhante a uma criança. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Return to Original English Version

infatuation /ɪnˌfætʃuˈeɪʃən/ — paixão cega; fascinação. “It’s quite an infatuation with him. Return to Original English Version

inferred /ɪnˈfɜːrd/ — deduzida; subentendida. Miss Tox was often in the habit of assuring Mrs Chick, that nothing could exceed her interest in all connected with the development of that sweet child; and an observer of Miss Tox’s proceedings might have inferred so much without declaratory confirmation. Return to Original English Version

infidel /ˈɪnfɪdəl/ — infiel; pessoa considerada sem a fé aceita. “Not if it should happen to have been a tame bull, you little Infidel?” said Mrs Pipchin. Return to Original English Version

infirmity /ɪnˈfɜːrməti/ — fraqueza; enfermidade. Here they waited some little time while the marriage party enrolled themselves; and meanwhile the wheezy little pew-opener - partly in consequence of her infirmity, and partly that the marriage party might not forget her - went about the building coughing like a grampus. Return to Original English Version

informant /ɪnˈfɔːrmənt/ — informante. This was so very unexpected and awful to Mrs Pipchin’s niece, that she sat upright on the hard edge of the bedstead, breathing short, and surveying her informant with looks of undisguised alarm. Return to Original English Version

infusion /ɪnˈfjuːʒən/ — infusão; introdução. That spice of romance and love of the marvellous, of which there was a pretty strong infusion in the nature of young Walter Gay, and which the guardianship of his Uncle, old Solomon Gills, had not very much weakened by the waters of stern practical experience, was the occasion of his attaching an uncommon and delightful interest to the adventure of Florence with Good Mrs Brown. Return to Original English Version

ingenious /ɪnˈdʒiːniəs/ — engenhoso; inventivo. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Return to Original English Version

ingenuity /ˌɪndʒəˈnjuːəti/ — engenhosidade. Miss Tox is ingenuity itself.” Return to Original English Version

ingenuous /ɪnˈdʒɛnjuəs/ — ingênuo; franco. “Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,” observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, “having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Return to Original English Version

ingine /ˈɪndʒɪn/ — máquina a vapor. “Steam ingine.” Return to Original English Version

inhabiting /ɪnˈhæbɪtɪŋ/ — habitando. The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. Return to Original English Version

inhaling /ɪnˈheɪlɪŋ/ — inalando; inspirando. “The House will once again, Mrs Dombey,” said Mr Dombey, “be not only in name but in fact Dombey and Son;” and he added, in a tone of luxurious satisfaction, with his eyes half-closed as if he were reading the name in a device of flowers, and inhaling their fragrance at the same time; “Dom-bey and Son!” Return to Original English Version

injunctions /ɪnˈdʒʌŋkʃənz/ — ordens; determinações; liminares. When she reached it, she looked back and saw the head of Good Mrs Brown peeping out of the low wooden passage, where she had issued her parting injunctions; likewise the fist of Good Mrs Brown shaking towards her. Return to Original English Version

inkbottle /ˈɪŋkbɒtəl/ — tinteiro. “It’s a precious dark set of offices, and in the room where I sit, there’s a high fender, and an iron safe, and some cards about ships that are going to sail, and an almanack, and some desks and stools, and an inkbottle, and some books, and some boxes, and a lot of cobwebs, and in one of ’em, just over my head, a shrivelled-up blue-bottle that looks as if it had hung there ever so long.” Return to Original English Version

innate /ɪˈneɪt/ — inato. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it. Return to Original English Version

inquire /ɪnˈkwaɪər/ — perguntar; indagar. When the pipe was smoked out, she gave the child a rabbit-skin to carry, that she might appear the more like her ordinary companion, and told her that she was now going to lead her to a public street whence she could inquire her way to her friends. Return to Original English Version

inquired /ɪnˈkwaɪərd/ — perguntou; indagou. “Is that the device?” inquired her brother. Return to Original English Version

inquires /ɪnˈkwaɪərz/ — pergunta por. “Well, Wally,” resumed the old man, after a short pause: “not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe’s Island, we can’t live on a man who asks for change for a sovereign, and a woman who inquires the way to Mile-End Turnpike. Return to Original English Version

inquiring /ɪnˈkwaɪərɪŋ/ — indagando; inquiridor. “I never saw such a melting thing in all my life!” said Richards, who naturally substituted for this child one of her own, inquiring for herself in like circumstances. Return to Original English Version

inquiringly /ɪnˈkwaɪərɪŋli/ — com ar interrogativo. She suddenly appended such an obvious hesitation to this reply, however, that Mr Dombey, who had turned away; stopped, and turned round again, inquiringly. Return to Original English Version

insensibility /ɪnˌsensəˈbɪləti/ — insensibilidade; inconsciência. “Her insensibility is as proof against a brother as against every thing else,” said Mr Dombey to himself He seemed so confirmed in a previous opinion by the discovery, as to be quite glad of it.” Return to Original English Version

insensible /ɪnˈsɛnsəbəl/ — inconsciente; sem sentidos. For this gentleman, insensible to the superior claims of a perfect Dombey (perhaps on account of having the honour to be united to a Dombey himself, and being familiar with excellence), really liked her, and showed that he liked her, and was about to show it in his own way now, when Paul cried, and his helpmate stopped him short - Return to Original English Version

insignificance /ˌɪnsɪɡˈnɪfɪkəns/ — insignificância. Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul, in virtue of her insignificance, Miss Tox was from that hour chosen and appointed to office; and Mr Dombey further signified his pleasure that the ceremony, already long delayed, should take place without further postponement. Return to Original English Version

instilled /ɪnˈstɪld/ — incutiu; infundiu. This, with more to the same purpose, Mr Dombey instilled into the mind of his son, who listened attentively, and seemed to understand the greater part of what was said to him. Return to Original English Version

instinctive /ɪnˈstɪŋktɪv/ — instintivo; espontâneo. “What do you mean, Sir,” interrupted Mr Dombey, regarding the boy’s evident pride and pleasure in his share of the transaction with an instinctive dislike, “by not having exactly found my daughter, and by being a fortunate instrument? Return to Original English Version

insupportable /ˌɪnsəˈpɔːrtəbəl/ — insuportável; intolerável. Sometimes he thought (and then he walked very fast) what a grand thing it would have been for him to have been going to sea on the day after that first meeting, and to have gone, and to have done wonders there, and to have stopped away a long time, and to have come back an Admiral of all the colours of the dolphin, or at least a Post-Captain with epaulettes of insupportable brightness, and have married Florence (then a beautiful young woman) in spite of Mr Dombey’s teeth, cravat, and watch-chain, and borne her away to the blue shores of somewhere or other, triumphantly. Return to Original English Version

intensifying /ɪnˈtensɪfaɪɪŋ/ — intensificando; que intensifica. For the feeling uppermost in his mind, now and constantly intensifying, and increasing in it as Paul grew older, was impatience. Return to Original English Version

intentioned /ɪnˈtɛnʃənd/ — intencionado; bem-intencionado. However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Return to Original English Version

intently /ɪnˈtɛntli/ — atentamente; fixamente. The child, who had dropped her head, raised it again, and sat looking at her intently. Return to Original English Version

intents /ɪnˈtents/ — intenções; propósitos. To all other intents and purposes he was alone in Princess’s Place. Return to Original English Version

interchange /ˈɪntərtʃeɪndʒ/ — intercâmbio; troca mútua. After some delay, occasioned by a pretty long confidential interview above stairs on pecuniary subjects, between Polly and Jemima, an interchange of babies was again effected - for Polly had all this time retained her own child, and Jemima little Paul - and the visitors took leave. Return to Original English Version

interlopers /ˈɪntərˌloʊpərz/ — intrusos. The two interlopers, however, blissfully unconscious of the young lady’s sentiments, saw little Paul safe through all the stages of undressing, airy exercise, supper and bed; and then sat down to tea before the fire. Return to Original English Version

intermission /ˌɪntərˈmɪʃən/ — intervalo; pausa. Susan looking out of window, without intermission, as a relief from the embarrassment of confronting the large face of that gentleman, and thinking whenever anything rattled that he was putting up in paper an appropriate pecuniary compliment for herself. Return to Original English Version

interposed /ˌɪntərˈpoʊzd/ — interveio; interrompeu. “See,” interposed the family practitioner with another inclination of the head. Return to Original English Version

intervening /ˌɪntərˈviːnɪŋ/ — intermediário; que se interpõe. Therefore he was impatient to advance into the future, and to hurry over the intervening passages of his history. Return to Original English Version

intrinsically /ɪnˈtrɪnzɪkli/ — intrinsecamente; por natureza. It was a slow, prospective kind of consolation; but the cheerfulness and good nature with which it was administered, gave it a value it did not intrinsically possess. Return to Original English Version

invariable /ɪnˈveriəbəl/ — invariável. This is invariable. Return to Original English Version

invariably /ɪnˈveriəbli/ — invariavelmente; sempre. Mrs Wickam (who, with a characteristic alteration of his name, invariably spoke of him as “Young Graves”) was so well used to this, knowing the story of their acquaintance, that she took no heed of it at all. Return to Original English Version

invincible /ɪnˈvɪnsəbəl/ — invencível. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything. Return to Original English Version

inviolate /ɪnˈvaɪələt/ — inviolado; intacto. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre. Return to Original English Version

invoking /ɪnˈvoʊkɪŋ/ — invocando; suplicando. Invoking a blessing upon his innocence, Mrs Wickam withdrew, and presently Florence appeared in her stead. Return to Original English Version

involuntarily /ɪnˈvɑːləntərəli/ — involuntariamente; sem querer. Such a hard-looking gentleman, that she involuntarily dropped her eyes and her curtsey at the same time. Return to Original English Version

involuntary /ɪnˈvɑlənˌtɛri/ — involuntário. Her hands had contracted a spasmodic habit of raising themselves of their own accord as in involuntary admiration. Return to Original English Version

irate /aɪˈreɪt/ — irado; furioso. The breakfast next morning was like the tea over night, except that Mrs Pipchin took her roll instead of toast, and seemed a little more irate when it was over. Return to Original English Version

irons /ˈaɪərnz/ — ferros; grilhões. The stiff and stark fire-irons appeared to claim a nearer relationship than anything else there to Mr Dombey, with his buttoned coat, his white cravat, his heavy gold watch-chain, and his creaking boots. Return to Original English Version

irrepressible /ˌɪrɪˈprɛsəbəl/ — irreprimível; incontido. Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. Return to Original English Version

irresolutely /ɪˈrezəluːtli/ — indecisamente. He saw her pause irresolutely at the door and look towards him; and he saw no more. Return to Original English Version

j'mima /dʒəˈmaɪmə/ — Jemima. Me and J’mima will do your duty by you; and with relating to your’n, hold up your head and fight low, Polly, and you can’t go wrong!” Return to Original English Version

jammed /dʒæmd/ — entalado; espremido. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Return to Original English Version

jarring /ˈdʒɑːrɪŋ/ — discordante; que choca. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it. Return to Original English Version

jerking /ˈdʒɜːrkɪŋ/ — sacudindo; aos trancos. “Polly heerd it,” said Toodle, jerking his hat over his shoulder in the direction of the door, with an air of perfect confidence in his better half. Return to Original English Version

jerks /dʒɜːrks/ — solavancos; espasmos. Hither the two nurses bent their steps, accompanied by their charges; Richards carrying Paul, of course, and Susan leading little Florence by the hand, and giving her such jerks and pokes from time to time, as she considered it wholesome to administer. Return to Original English Version

jingled /ˈdʒɪŋɡəld/ — tilintou. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Return to Original English Version

jingling /ˈdʒɪŋɡəlɪŋ/ — tilintando; fazendo tinir. They had been married ten years, and until this present day on which Mr Dombey sat jingling and jingling his heavy gold watch-chain in the great arm-chair by the side of the bed, had had no issue. Return to Original English Version

jocularities /ˌdʒɒkjəˈlærətiz/ — brincadeiras. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name. Return to Original English Version

jostle /ˈdʒɒsəl/ — esbarrar; empurrar. The watches seemed to jostle, and to trip each other up. Return to Original English Version

jostled /ˈdʒɑːsəld/ — empurrada; acotovelada. Spitfire seemed to be in the main a good-natured little body, although a disciple of that school of trainers of the young idea which holds that childhood, like money, must be shaken and rattled and jostled about a good deal to keep it bright. Return to Original English Version

judicious /dʒuːˈdɪʃəs/ — judicioso; sensato. I must say I think, with Miss Tox, that a short absence from this house, the air of Brighton, and the bodily and mental training of so judicious a person as Mrs Pipchin for instance - ” Return to Original English Version

judiciously /dʒuːˈdɪʃəsli/ — judiciosamente. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the rest a pedigree from Genesis (judiciously selected by Mrs Pipchin), getting over the names with the ease and clearness of a person tumbling up the treadmill. Return to Original English Version

jumbled /ˈdʒʌmbəld/ — embaralhado; misturado sem ordem. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Return to Original English Version

keenly /ˈkiːnli/ — vivamente; intensamente; atentamente. The child glanced keenly at the blue coat and stiff white cravat, which, with a pair of creaking boots and a very loud ticking watch, embodied her idea of a father; but her eyes returned to her mother’s face immediately, and she neither moved nor answered. Return to Original English Version

keepers /ˈkiːpərz/ — guardiães; curadores. Lodging-house keepers were favourable in like manner; and for the like reasons were not to be trusted. Return to Original English Version

kindling /ˈkɪndlɪŋ/ — gravetos; acendendo; despertando. The kindling eye and heightened colour of the boy, who had risen from his seat in the earnestness of what he said and felt, seemed to remind old Sol of something he had forgotten, or that his encircling mist had hitherto shut out. Return to Original English Version

kitch /kætʃ/ — pegue. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Return to Original English Version

knob /nɑːb/ — maçaneta; puxador. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything. Return to Original English Version

knobs /nɑːbz/ — puxadores; botões; saliências redondas. But an addition to the little party now made its appearance, in the shape of a gentleman in a wide suit of blue, with a hook instead of a hand attached to his right wrist; very bushy black eyebrows; and a thick stick in his left hand, covered all over (like his nose) with knobs. Return to Original English Version

knotty /ˈnɑːti/ — nodoso; complicado. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Return to Original English Version

labourer /ˈleɪbərər/ — trabalhador braçal. “Joe!” he called to another man - a labourer - as he picked it up and put it on again. Return to Original English Version

labyrinth /ˈlæbərɪnθ/ — labirinto. At length, Mrs Brown, issuing forth, conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys, which emerged, after a long time, upon a stable yard, with a gateway at the end, whence the roar of a great thoroughfare made itself audible. Return to Original English Version

laconic /ləˈkɑːnɪk/ — lacônico. His face, remarkable for a brown solidity, brightened as he shook hands with Uncle and nephew; but he seemed to be of a laconic disposition, and merely said: Return to Original English Version

lamentations /ˌlæmenˈteɪʃənz/ — lamentações; prantos. Mrs Chick stopped in her lamentations on the corruption of human nature, even when beckoned to the paths of virtue by a Charitable Grinder; and received her with a welcome something short of the reception due to none but perfect Dombeys. Return to Original English Version

languid /ˈlæŋɡwɪd/ — lânguido; sem energia. The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room, but had no fragrance in the dull and languid air the lady breathed. Return to Original English Version

languishing /ˈlæŋɡwɪʃɪŋ/ — lânguido; definhando. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. Return to Original English Version

languor /ˈlæŋɡər/ — langor; moleza. That there is a certain degree of languor, and a general absence of elasticity, which we would rather - not - ” Return to Original English Version

lapse /læps/ — intervalo; decurso (de tempo); deslize. He would frequently be stricken with this precocious mood upstairs in the nursery; and would sometimes lapse into it suddenly, exclaiming that he was tired: even while playing with Florence, or driving Miss Tox in single harness. Return to Original English Version

lashes /ˈlæʃɪz/ — cílios; chicotadas; açoita. She had risen, as the nurse said, and the lashes of her eyes were wet with tears. Return to Original English Version

lath /læθ/ — ripa. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Return to Original English Version

laudation /lɔːˈdeɪʃən/ — louvor; elogio. Notwithstanding his very liberal laudation of himself, however, the Major was selfish. Return to Original English Version

lavish /ˈlævɪʃ/ — pródigo; suntuoso; esbanjar. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Return to Original English Version

lawfully /ˈlɔːfəli/ — legalmente. Polly only thought, at that time, of improving on her successful propitiation of Miss Nipper, and devising some means of having little Florence aide her, lawfully, and without rebellion. Return to Original English Version

leaky /ˈliːki/ — que goteja; furada. Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing ‘Rule Britannia’, when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.” Return to Original English Version

leant /lent/ — apoiou-se; inclinou-se. No one else leant over her, and whispered soothing words to her, or was near enough to hear the flutter of her beating heart. Return to Original English Version

leastways /ˈliːstweɪz/ — ao menos (fala popular). But it’s half-holiday, Polly: if you could only stop till he comes home - you and Miss Nipper, leastways,” said Jemima, mindful in good time of the dignity of the black-eyed. Return to Original English Version

leered /lɪrd/ — lançou um olhar malicioso; sorriu de modo insinuante. It was a corner house, with great wide areas containing cellars frowned upon by barred windows, and leered at by crooked-eyed doors leading to dustbins. Return to Original English Version

legibly /ˈlɛdʒəbli/ — de modo legível. “Have the goodness, if you please, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, “first of all, to carry out a pen and ink and take his number legibly.” Return to Original English Version

levelling /ˈlevəlɪŋ/ — nivelando; aplainando; apontando. “I am far from being friendly,” pursued Mr Dombey, “to what is called by persons of levelling sentiments, general education. Return to Original English Version

lids /lɪdz/ — tampas; pálpebras. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen. Return to Original English Version

lilting /ˈlɪltɪŋ/ — cadenciado; de ritmo suave. “Have we far to go?” asked Florence at last, lilting up her eyes to her companion’s face. Return to Original English Version

limp /lɪmp/ — manqueira; passo coxo. Miss Tox returned no other reply than by taking the little Paul in her arms, and making his cockade perfectly flat and limp with her caresses. Return to Original English Version

lingering /ˈlɪŋərɪŋ/ — demorar-se; permanecer. His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still, or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her. Return to Original English Version

lockets /ˈlɒkɪts/ — medalhões. She was much given to the carrying about of small bags with snaps to them, that went off like little pistols when they were shut up; and when full-dressed, she wore round her neck the barrenest of lockets, representing a fishy old eye, with no approach to speculation in it. Return to Original English Version

lofty /ˈlɒfti/ — elevado. Walter was not very long in mounting to his lofty garret and descending from it, but in the meantime Florence, overcome by fatigue, had sunk into a doze before the fire. Return to Original English Version

look'ye /lʊk jiː/ — olhe aqui. “Look’ye here! Return to Original English Version

lor /lɔː/ — nossa!; meu Deus!. “Lor, you’ll be so smart,” said Miss Tox, “that your husband won’t know you; will you, Sir?” Return to Original English Version

lork /lɔːrd/ — meu Deus. “Lork, Mrs Richards!” cried Miss Nipper, taking up her words with a jerk. Return to Original English Version

loungers /ˈlaʊndʒərz/ — ociosos; pessoas descansando. His favourite spot was quite a lonely one, far away from most loungers; and with Florence sitting by his side at work, or reading to him, or talking to him, and the wind blowing on his face, and the water coming up among the wheels of his bed, he wanted nothing more. Return to Original English Version

lowing /ˈloʊɪŋ/ — mugido. Here Miss Nipper made a horrible lowing, supposed to issue from a conscientious goblin of the bull species, impatient to discharge the severe duty of his position. Return to Original English Version

lubricate /ˈluːbrɪkeɪt/ — lubrificar. Though Mrs Pipchin got very greasy, outside, over this dish, it didn’t seem to lubricate her internally, at all; for she was as fierce as ever, and the hard grey eye knew no softening. Return to Original English Version

luminary /ˈluːməneri/ — luminar; astro. “Joe’s luminary has been out of town, Ma’am, perhaps,” inquired the Major. Return to Original English Version

lunacy /ˈluːnəsi/ — loucura. As Paul had not considered the subject in that light, and had founded his conclusions on the alleged lunacy of the bull, he allowed himself to be put down for the present. Return to Original English Version

lustily /ˈlʌstɪli/ — vigorosamente; com força. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Return to Original English Version

lustre /ˈlʌstər/ — lustro; brilho. Every chandelier or lustre, muffled in holland, looked like a monstrous tear depending from the ceiling’s eye. Return to Original English Version

lustreless /ˈlʌstərləs/ — sem brilho. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. Return to Original English Version

luxuriantly /lʌɡˈʒʊriəntli/ — luxuriantemente; com viço. In hurriedly putting on the bonnet, if that may be called a bonnet which was more like a pad to carry loads on, she caught it in her hair which grew luxuriantly, and could not immediately disentangle it. Return to Original English Version

luxuries /ˈlʌkʃəriz/ — luxos. This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber. Return to Original English Version

magnificence /mæɡˈnɪfɪsəns/ — magnificência; esplendor. Richards quailed under the magnificence of the reproof. Return to Original English Version

magnified /ˈmæɡnɪfaɪd/ — ampliado; exagerado. It’s so comfortable to sit here and feel that you might be weighed, measured, magnified, electrified, polarized, played the very devil with: and never know how.” Return to Original English Version

majestically /məˈdʒestɪkli/ — majestosamente; com imponência. Mrs Chick then walked majestically to the window and peeped through the blind, attracted by the sound of wheels. Return to Original English Version

maketh /ˈmeɪkɪθ/ — faz (forma arcaica). That hope deferred, which, (as the Scripture very correctly tells us, Mr Dombey would have added in a patronising way; for his highest distinct idea even of Scripture, if examined, would have been found to be; that as forming part of a general whole, of which Dombey and Son formed another part, it was therefore to be commended and upheld) maketh the heart sick. Return to Original English Version

maladies /ˈmælədiːz/ — doenças. He had settled, within himself, that the child must necessarily pass through a certain routine of minor maladies, and that the sooner he did so the better. Return to Original English Version

malady /ˈmælədi/ — enfermidade; mal. Some bird of prey got into his throat instead of the thrush; and the very chickens turning ferocious - if they have anything to do with that infant malady to which they lend their name - worried him like tiger-cats. Return to Original English Version

mantel /ˈmæntəl/ — console da lareira. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Return to Original English Version

mantelshelf /ˈmæntəl ʃelf/ — prateleira da lareira. Look on the mantelshelf.” Return to Original English Version

mantraps /ˈmæntræps/ — armadilhas. The Major decided, after some consideration, that it meant mantraps; that it meant plotting and snaring; that Miss Tox was digging pitfalls. Return to Original English Version

mantua /ˈmæntʃuə/ — mântua; vestido feminino amplo dos séculos XVII e XVIII. Mrs Chick made this impressive observation in the drawing-room, after having descended thither from the inspection of the mantua-makers upstairs, who were busy on the family mourning. Return to Original English Version

marvellous /ˈmɑːrvələs/ — maravilhoso; assombroso. The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it. Return to Original English Version

matrimonial /ˌmætrɪˈmoʊniəl/ — matrimonial; conjugal. Mr Dombey would have reasoned: That a matrimonial alliance with himself _must_, in the nature of things, be gratifying and honourable to any woman of common sense. Return to Original English Version

matrimony /ˈmætrɪməni/ — matrimônio; casamento. That Mrs Dombey had entered on that social contract of matrimony: almost necessarily part of a genteel and wealthy station, even without reference to the perpetuation of family Firms: with her eyes fully open to these advantages. Return to Original English Version

matronly /ˈmeɪtrənli/ — matronal. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue. Return to Original English Version

matting /ˈmætɪŋ/ — esteira. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

mayn't /ˈmeɪənt/ — não pode; talvez não. “It ain’t right of you to ask it, Miss Floy, for you know I can’t refuse you, but Mrs Richards and me will see what can be done, if Mrs Richards likes, I may wish, you see, to take a voyage to Chaney, Mrs Richards, but I mayn’t know how to leave the London Docks.” Return to Original English Version

mayor's /ˈmeɪərz/ — do prefeito; da prefeita. The Lord Mayor’s your admiral.” Return to Original English Version

meditating /ˈmɛdɪteɪtɪŋ/ — meditando. But, Uncle - I say, Uncle Sol” - for the old man was meditating and had not responded to his first appeal. Return to Original English Version

meditations /ˌmedɪˈteɪʃənz/ — reflexões; meditações. His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice, Return to Original English Version

melodious /məˈloʊdiəs/ — melodioso; harmonioso. Mrs Brown’s was not a melodious cry, but, accompanied with a wild tossing up of her lean arms, it was full of passionate grief, and thrilled to the heart of Florence, whom it frightened more than ever. Return to Original English Version

mender /ˈmɛndər/ — consertador; remendador. The summer sun was never on the street, but in the morning about breakfast-time, when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men, and the people with geraniums, and the umbrella-mender, and the man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. Return to Original English Version

mense /mens/ — parte final de imenso. “Im-mense!” Return to Original English Version

meridian /məˈrɪdiən/ — meridiano. Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. Return to Original English Version

merited /ˈmerɪtɪd/ — merecido; mereceu. “Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,” observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, “having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Return to Original English Version

merrily /ˈmɛrɪli/ — alegremente. “Oh, very well, Uncle,” said the boy, merrily. Return to Original English Version

metaphysical /ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪkəl/ — metafísico. In this stirring legend, Captain Cuttle descried a profound metaphysical bearing on the case of Walter and Florence; and it excited him so much, that on very festive occasions, as birthdays and a few other non-Dominical holidays, he would roar through the whole song in the little back parlour; making an amazing shake on the word Pe-e-eg, with which every verse concluded, in compliment to the heroine of the piece. Return to Original English Version

mews /mjuːz/ — miados. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows. Return to Original English Version

mightily /ˈmaɪtɪli/ — poderosamente; muito. Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. Return to Original English Version

mildewed /ˈmɪlduːd/ — com mofo. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows. Return to Original English Version

mildly /ˈmaɪldli/ — levemente; brandamente. “No,” returned the child, mildly, “I don’t often hear Papa speak.” Return to Original English Version

mincing /ˈmɪnsɪŋ/ — afetado ou exageradamente delicado nos gestos ou na fala. Possibly her mincing gait encouraged the belief, and suggested that her clipping a step of ordinary compass into two or three, originated in her habit of making the most of everything. Return to Original English Version

mind's /maɪndz/ — da mente. And they do say, Uncle and Captain Cuttle,” lowering his voice, “that he’s taken a dislike to her, and that she’s left, unnoticed, among the servants, and that his mind’s so set all the while upon having his son in the House, that although he’s only a baby now, he is going to have balances struck oftener than formerly, and the books kept closer than they used to be, and has even been seen (when he thought he wasn’t) walking in the Docks, looking at his ships and property and all that, as if he was exulting like, over what he and his son will possess together. Return to Original English Version

mindful /ˈmaɪndfəl/ — atento e cuidadoso em relação a algo. But it’s half-holiday, Polly: if you could only stop till he comes home - you and Miss Nipper, leastways,” said Jemima, mindful in good time of the dignity of the black-eyed. Return to Original English Version

mingled /ˈmɪŋɡəld/ — misturou-se; misturava-se. There were a hundred thousand shapes and substances of incompleteness, wildly mingled out of their places, upside down, burrowing in the earth, aspiring in the air, mouldering in the water, and unintelligible as any dream. Return to Original English Version

minute's /ˈmɪnɪts/ — de um minuto. It was a dull, grey, autumn day indeed, and in a minute’s pause and silence that took place, the leaves fell sorrowfully. Return to Original English Version

misfortunes /mɪsˈfɔːrtʃuːnz/ — infortúnios. Surprises, like misfortunes, rarely come alone. Return to Original English Version

misgiving /mɪsˈɡɪvɪŋ/ — receio; pressentimento ruim. An indescribable distrust of anybody stepping in between himself and his son; a haughty dread of having any rival or partner in the boy’s respect and deference; a sharp misgiving, recently acquired, that he was not infallible in his power of bending and binding human wills; as sharp a jealousy of any second check or cross; these were, at that time the master keys of his soul. Return to Original English Version

misgivings /mɪsˈɡɪvɪŋz/ — receios; dúvidas apreensivas. As his unusual emotion subsided, these misgivings gradually melted away, though so much of their shadow remained behind, that he was constant in his resolution to look closely after Richards himself, without appearing to do so. Return to Original English Version

moistening /ˈmɔɪsənɪŋ/ — umedecendo. As the husband did nothing but chuckle and grin, and continually draw his right hand across his mouth, moistening the palm, Mrs Toodle, after nudging him twice or thrice in vain, dropped a curtsey and replied “that perhaps if she was to be called out of her name, it would be considered in the wages.” Return to Original English Version

molest /məˈlest/ — importunar; atacar. Mr Dombey receiving this announcement with perfect equanimity, they took leave of that gentleman, and presently departed under the protection of Mr Chick; who, when they had turned their backs upon the house and left its master in his usual solitary state, put his hands in his pockets, threw himself back in the carriage, and whistled “With a hey ho chevy!” all through; conveying into his face as he did so, an expression of such gloomy and terrible defiance, that Mrs Chick dared not protest, or in any way molest him. Return to Original English Version

mollified /ˈmɑːlɪfaɪd/ — apaziguado; abrandado. “It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed. Return to Original English Version

moneyed /ˈmʌnid/ — rico. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths. Return to Original English Version

monotony /məˈnɑːtəni/ — monotonia. Miss Berry’s emotion might have led to her patting Paul too hard on the back, or might have produced a cessation of that soothing monotony, but he turned in his bed just now, and, presently awaking, sat up in it with his hair hot and wet from the effects of some childish dream, and asked for Florence. Return to Original English Version

monstrously /ˈmɒnstrəsli/ — monstruosamente. The two so very much alike, and yet so monstrously contrasted. Return to Original English Version

morrow /ˈmɒrəʊ/ — amanhã. “Not once since, and he hadn’t hardly set his eyes upon her before that for months and months, and I don’t think he’d have known her for his own child if he had met her in the streets, or would know her for his own child if he was to meet her in the streets to-morrow, Mrs Richards, as to me,” said Spitfire, with a giggle, “I doubt if he’s aweer of my existence.” Return to Original English Version

morrow's /ˈmɑːroʊz/ — do dia seguinte; de amanhã. “Supposing we should decide, on to-morrow’s inquiries, to send Paul down to Brighton to this lady, who would go with him?” inquired Mr Dombey, after some reflection. Return to Original English Version

morsel /ˈmɔːrsəl/ — bocado; pedacinho. My dear Paul, it’s very weak and silly of me, I know, to be so trembly and shaky from head to foot; but I am so very queer that I must ask you for a glass of wine and a morsel of that cake.” Return to Original English Version

mosses /ˈmɔːsɪz/ — musgos. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Return to Original English Version

motes /moʊts/ — partículas minúsculas. Then would he have recognised, among the crowd, some few ambitious motes and beams belonging to Miss Tox; then would he perhaps have understood the nature of that lady’s faltering investment in the Dombey Firm. Return to Original English Version

motioned /ˈmoʊʃənd/ — fez sinal; acenou; indicou com um gesto. He motioned his child’s foster-father to the door, who departed by no means unwillingly: and then turning the key, paced up and down the room in solitary wretchedness. Return to Original English Version

mottled /ˈmɑːtəld/ — malhado; sarapintado. This celebrated Mrs Pipchin was a marvellous ill-favoured, ill-conditioned old lady, of a stooping figure, with a mottled face, like bad marble, a hook nose, and a hard grey eye, that looked as if it might have been hammered at on an anvil without sustaining any injury. Return to Original English Version

moulded /ˈmoʊldɪd/ — moldado. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility. Return to Original English Version

Original Text: Rare Words (5/7)

mouldering /ˈmoʊldərɪŋ/ — em decomposição; esboroando-se. There were a hundred thousand shapes and substances of incompleteness, wildly mingled out of their places, upside down, burrowing in the earth, aspiring in the air, mouldering in the water, and unintelligible as any dream. Return to Original English Version

mounds /maʊndz/ — montes. Boiling water hissed and heaved within dilapidated walls; whence, also, the glare and roar of flames came issuing forth; and mounds of ashes blocked up rights of way, and wholly changed the law and custom of the neighbourhood. Return to Original English Version

mournfully /ˈmɔːrnfəli/ — tristemente; com pesar. When Walter, in conclusion, put to him the question he had put to Florence, he still stood glancing at him with the same expression, as if he had read some fate upon his face, mournfully at variance with its present brightness. Return to Original English Version

mowing /ˈmoʊɪŋ/ — cortando; corte. Having accomplished this victory over herself, Mrs Brown resumed her seat on the bones, and smoked a very short black pipe, mowing and mumbling all the time, as if she were eating the stem. Return to Original English Version

muffled /ˈmʌfəld/ — abafada; surda. “Well, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a round, deep, sonorous voice, muffled for the occasion, like the knocker; “do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?” Return to Original English Version

mulotter /mjuːˈlætər/ — mestiço. “I’m very much beholden to you, Mrs Richards,” said Susan, who was not by any means discriminating in her wrath, “and really feel it as a honour to receive your commands, being a black slave and a mulotter. Return to Original English Version

multifarious /ˌmʌltɪˈfɛəriəs/ — variado. But Berry was free to hold what converse she could in that quarter, consistently with the discharge of the multifarious duties at which she toiled incessantly from morning to night; and to Berry Mrs Wickam unburdened her mind. Return to Original English Version

mused /mjuːzd/ — meditou; disse pensativo. Becoming a sadder and a wiser man, he mused and held his peace. Return to Original English Version

musn't /ˈmʌsənt/ — não deve; não pode. You musn’t really, you know!” urged Walter. Return to Original English Version

mustiness /ˈmʌstinəs/ — cheiro de mofo. In any part of the house, visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine. Return to Original English Version

mustn't /ˈmʌsənt/ — não deve (contração de must not). “You mustn’t say such things as that, young gentleman,” returned the dame. Return to Original English Version

mutes /mjuːts/ — acompanhantes funerários silenciosos. We are not undertakers, or mutes, or grave-diggers, I believe.” Return to Original English Version

name's /neɪmz/ — do nome; o nome é. Her name’s Jemima. Return to Original English Version

nankeen /næŋˈkiːn/ — nanquim. The only change ever known in his outward man, was from a complete suit of coffee-colour cut very square, and ornamented with glaring buttons, to the same suit of coffee-colour minus the inexpressibles, which were then of a pale nankeen. Return to Original English Version

narrowest /ˈnæroʊɪst/ — mais estreito. Everything was jammed into the tightest cases, fitted into the narrowest corners, fenced up behind the most impertinent cushions, and screwed into the acutest angles, to prevent its philosophical composure from being disturbed by the rolling of the sea. Return to Original English Version

naturedly /ˈneɪtʃərdli/ — em compostos: good-naturedly, bonachonamente. “As to getting on,” said Solomon good-naturedly, “it would be odd if I couldn’t get on without a young dog like you a great deal better than with you. Return to Original English Version

necromancy /ˈnɛkrəmænsi/ — necromancia. The cat, and Paul, and Mrs Pipchin, were constantly to be found in their usual places after dark; and Paul, eschewing the companionship of Master Bitherstone, went on studying Mrs Pipchin, and the cat, and the fire, night after night, as if they were a book of necromancy, in three volumes. Return to Original English Version

needn't /ˈniːdənt/ — não preciso; não é preciso. I needn’t beg you,” he added, pausing for a moment at the settee before the fire, “to take particular care of this young gentleman, Mrs - - ” Return to Original English Version

negligently /ˈneɡlɪdʒəntli/ — negligentemente; com desleixo. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Return to Original English Version

nestle /ˈnɛsəl/ — aninhar-se; aconchegar-se. She’ll never glide and nestle into the bosom of her Papa’s affections like - the - ” Return to Original English Version

nests /nɛsts/ — ninhos. Objects in brass and glass were in his drawers and on his shelves, which none but the initiated could have found the top of, or guessed the use of, or having once examined, could have ever got back again into their mahogany nests without assistance. Return to Original English Version

nether /ˈneðər/ — inferior; de baixo. Richards deferred to these compliments by curtseying and murmuring her thanks; but finding it quite impossible to recover her spirits from the disorder into which they had been thrown by the image of her son in his precocious nether garments, she gradually approached the door and was heartily relieved to escape by it. Return to Original English Version

nominating /ˈnɒmɪneɪtɪŋ/ — indicando. Having the power of nominating a child on the foundation of an ancient establishment, called (from a worshipful company) the Charitable Grinders; where not only is a wholesome education bestowed upon the scholars, but where a dress and badge is likewise provided for them; I have (first communicating, through Mrs Chick, with your family) nominated your eldest son to an existing vacancy; and he has this day, I am informed, assumed the habit. Return to Original English Version

nominative /ˈnɒmɪnətɪv/ — nominativo. Oh yes, Miss, SHE is alive,” said Mrs Wickam, laying strong stress on her nominative case. Return to Original English Version

nonce /nɑːns/ — momento presente, em for the nonce, por ora. Then converting the parlour, for the nonce, into a private tiring room, she dressed her, with great care, in proper clothes; and presently led her forth, as like a Dombey as her natural disqualifications admitted of her being made. Return to Original English Version

nook /nʊk/ — canto. She would make him move his chair to her side of the fire, instead of sitting opposite; and there he would remain in a nook between Mrs Pipchin and the fender, with all the light of his little face absorbed into the black bombazeen drapery, studying every line and wrinkle of her countenance, and peering at the hard grey eye, until Mrs Pipchin was sometimes fain to shut it, on pretence of dozing. Return to Original English Version

norval's /ˈnɔːrvəlz/ — de Norval. The reflection perhaps reminded him that he had better, like young Norval’s father, ‘increase his store.’ At any rate he became silent, and remained so, until old Sol went out into the shop to light it up, when he turned to Walter, and said, without any introductory remark: - Return to Original English Version

notching /ˈnɒtʃɪŋ/ — fazendo entalhes. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Return to Original English Version

notoriety /ˌnoʊtəˈraɪəti/ — notoriedade; má fama. It appeared so probable that such a habit might be attended with some degree of notoriety, that Mr Chick didn’t venture to dispute the position. Return to Original English Version

notwithstanding /ˌnɑːtwɪθˈstændɪŋ/ — não obstante; apesar de. Notwithstanding which, however, poor Polly embraced them all round in great distress, and coming to her spouse at last, could not make up her mind to part from him, until he gently disengaged himself, at the close of the following allegorical piece of consolation: Return to Original English Version

nourishment /ˈnɜːrɪʃmənt/ — alimento; nutrição; sustento. “It would have been much more satisfactory to those who wish to think well of their fellow creatures, and much more becoming in you, if you had shown some proper feeling, in time, for the little child that is now going to be prematurely deprived of its natural nourishment. Return to Original English Version

nudging /ˈnʌdʒɪŋ/ — cutucando. As the husband did nothing but chuckle and grin, and continually draw his right hand across his mouth, moistening the palm, Mrs Toodle, after nudging him twice or thrice in vain, dropped a curtsey and replied “that perhaps if she was to be called out of her name, it would be considered in the wages.” Return to Original English Version

numbed /nʌmd/ — dormente. “I have got a cold fillet of veal here, Sir,” replied Mr Chick, rubbing his numbed hands hard together. Return to Original English Version

nuptials /ˈnʌpʃəlz/ — núpcias. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Return to Original English Version

obliging /əˈblaɪdʒɪŋ/ — prestativo; solícito. I would much rather show my sense of the obliging conduct of a deserving person like your friend. Return to Original English Version

obsequious /əbˈsiːkwiəs/ — obsequioso; servil. Then, on the motion - made in dumb show - of Doctor Parker Peps, they went upstairs; the family practitioner opening the room door for that distinguished professional, and following him out, with most obsequious politeness. Return to Original English Version

obtruded /əbˈtruːdɪd/ — impuseram-se; intrometeram-se. Bell-handles, window-blinds, and looking-glasses, being papered up in journals, daily and weekly, obtruded fragmentary accounts of deaths and dreadful murders. Return to Original English Version

occasioned /əˈkeɪʒənd/ — ocasionou; provocado por. After some delay, occasioned by a pretty long confidential interview above stairs on pecuniary subjects, between Polly and Jemima, an interchange of babies was again effected - for Polly had all this time retained her own child, and Jemima little Paul - and the visitors took leave. Return to Original English Version

odour /ˈoʊdər/ — odor; cheiro. At about half-past nine o’clock the odour of a warm sweet-bread (Mrs Pipchin’s constitution wouldn’t go to sleep without sweet-bread) diversified the prevailing fragrance of the house, which Mrs Wickam said was “a smell of building;” and slumber fell upon the Castle shortly after. Return to Original English Version

odours /ˈoʊdərz/ — odores (grafia britânica). Odours, as from vaults and damp places, came out of the chimneys. Return to Original English Version

offensively /əˈfɛnsɪvli/ — de modo ofensivo. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

officiated /əˈfɪʃieɪtɪd/ — atuou como anfitrião; serviu. Mr Dombey of course officiated, and also refilled his sister’s glass, which she (looking another way, and unconscious of his intention) held straight and steady the while, and then regarded with great astonishment, saying, “My dear Paul, what have you been doing!” Return to Original English Version

oftener /ˈɔːfənər/ — mais amiúde; com mais frequência. You shall go out oftener. Return to Original English Version

oho /oʊˈhoʊ/ — Oh-oh!; Ora vejam!. Oho! Return to Original English Version

ominously /ˈɑːmɪnəsli/ — de modo agourento. Again, too, the coach was ordered to wait - “for Mrs Richards,” one of Susan’s fellow-servants ominously whispered, as she passed with Florence. Return to Original English Version

omissions /oʊˈmɪʃənz/ — omissões. The funeral of the deceased lady having been “performed” to the entire satisfaction of the undertaker, as well as of the neighbourhood at large, which is generally disposed to be captious on such a point, and is prone to take offence at any omissions or short-comings in the ceremonies, the various members of Mr Dombey’s household subsided into their several places in the domestic system. Return to Original English Version

onerous /ˈoʊnərəs/ — penoso. He will prove, in time to come, I trust, equal to any responsibility that the obliging disposition of his relations and friends, in private, or the onerous nature of our position, in public, may impose upon him.” Return to Original English Version

ooman /ˈʊmən/ — mulher. “Polly, old “ooman, whatever you do, my darling, hold up your head and fight low. Return to Original English Version

opportunely /ˌɑːpərˈtuːnli/ — oportunamente. As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle’s in his arms. Return to Original English Version

oration /ɔːˈreɪʃən/ — oração; discurso solene. Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration. Return to Original English Version

orbits /ˈɔːbɪts/ — órbitas. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits, to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre. Return to Original English Version

ordeal /ɔːrˈdiːl/ — provação; suplício. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Return to Original English Version

ornamented /ˈɔːrnəmɛntɪd/ — ornamentado; enfeitado. The only change ever known in his outward man, was from a complete suit of coffee-colour cut very square, and ornamented with glaring buttons, to the same suit of coffee-colour minus the inexpressibles, which were then of a pale nankeen. Return to Original English Version

oscillating /ˈɒsəleɪtɪŋ/ — oscilando; balancando. “My dear boy,” said Solomon, who, with his spectacles on his forehead and the great chronometer in his pocket, was incessantly oscillating between Florence on the sofa, and his nephew in all parts of the parlour, “it’s the most extraordinary - ” Return to Original English Version

ostensible /ɑːˈstɛnsəbəl/ — aparente; alegado. But first the young Toodles, victims of a pious fraud, were deluded into repairing in a body to a chandler’s shop in the neighbourhood, for the ostensible purpose of spending a penny; and when the coast was quite clear, Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back, they would be sure to meet little Biler coming from school. Return to Original English Version

ostentatiously /ˌɑːstenˈteɪʃəsli/ — com ostentação. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Return to Original English Version

outfitting /ˈaʊtfɪtɪŋ/ — equipamento. Anywhere in the immediate vicinity there might be seen pictures of ships speeding away full sail to all parts of the world; outfitting warehouses ready to pack off anybody anywhere, fully equipped in half an hour; and little timber midshipmen in obsolete naval uniforms, eternally employed outside the shop doors of nautical Instrument-makers in taking observations of the hackney carriages. Return to Original English Version

outlandish /aʊtˈlændɪʃ/ — estranho; exótico; extravagante. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Return to Original English Version

outliving /ˌaʊtˈlɪvɪŋ/ — sobrevivendo a. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots. Return to Original English Version

outset /ˈaʊtset/ — início; princípio. That the life and progress on which he built such hopes, should be endangered in the outset by so mean a want; that Dombey and Son should be tottering for a nurse, was a sore humiliation. Return to Original English Version

overcharged /ˌɑʊvərtʃærgɛd/ — fazer charge em excesso. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection. Return to Original English Version

overpowered /ˌoʊvərˈpaʊərd/ — dominou; subjugado; sobrepujado. This consolatory farewell, Mrs Wickam accompanied with a look of heartfelt anguish; and being left alone with the two children again, and becoming conscious that the wind was blowing mournfully, she indulged in melancholy - that cheapest and most accessible of luxuries - until she was overpowered by slumber. Return to Original English Version

overpowering /ˌəʊvəˈpaʊərɪŋ/ — avassalador; irresistível. “It’s so extraordinary,” said Louisa; smiling through her tears, which indeed were not overpowering, “as to be perfectly ridiculous. Return to Original English Version

overspread /ˌoʊvərˈspred/ — recobriu; espalhou-se por. A transient flush of faint surprise overspread the sick lady’s face as she raised her eyes towards him. Return to Original English Version

overthrown /ˌoʊvərˈθroʊn/ — derrubado; deposto. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Return to Original English Version

pa's /pɑːz/ — do papai. “Lork, Mrs Richards, no, her Pa’s a deal too wrapped up in somebody else, and before there was a somebody else to be wrapped up in she never was a favourite, girls are thrown away in this house, Mrs Richards, I assure you.” Return to Original English Version

pacing /ˈpeɪsɪŋ/ — que caminha; em marcha lenta. When little Florence timidly presented herself, Mr Dombey stopped in his pacing up and down and looked towards her. Return to Original English Version

palatable /ˈpælətəbəl/ — saboroso; aceitável. Even the sort of recognition of Dombey and Son, conveyed in the foregoing conversation, was so palatable to him, that his sister, Mrs Chick - though he affected to consider her a weak good-natured person - had perhaps more influence over him than anybody else. Return to Original English Version

pampered /ˈpæmpərd/ — mimado; regalado. He pampered and cherished it in his memory, especially that part of it with which he had been associated: until it became the spoiled child of his fancy, and took its own way, and did what it liked with it. Return to Original English Version

papered /ˈpeɪpərd/ — empapelado. Bell-handles, window-blinds, and looking-glasses, being papered up in journals, daily and weekly, obtruded fragmentary accounts of deaths and dreadful murders. Return to Original English Version

partaking /pɑːrˈteɪkɪŋ/ — partilhando; participando de. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world. Return to Original English Version

partickk'ller /pərˈtɪkjələr/ — específico. “Why, not partickk’ller, Sir.” Return to Original English Version

particularity /pərˌtɪkjəˈlærəti/ — detal específico. He read it slowly and attentively, and with a nice particularity to every syllable. Return to Original English Version

partook /pɑːrˈtʊk/ — participou de; tinha algo de. Having relieved her mind of these disclosures, she partook of shrimps and porter, and evinced a disposition to swear eternal friendship. Return to Original English Version

pathos /ˈpeɪθɑːs/ — patético; comoção. “Won’t you come with your poor Nurse Wickam, Master Paul?” inquired that attendant, with great pathos. Return to Original English Version

patientest /ˈpeɪʃəntɪst/ — o mais paciente. But he’s always talking of you, Polly, and telling the children about you; and is the peaceablest, patientest, best-temperedest soul in the world, as he always was and will be!” Return to Original English Version

patriarchal /ˌpeɪtriˈɑːrkəl/ — patriarcal. “And where’s Father, Jemima dear?” - for by that patriarchal appellation, Mr Toodle was generally known in the family. Return to Original English Version

patronage /ˈpeɪtrənɪdʒ/ — condescendência. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death. Return to Original English Version

patronise /ˈpeɪtrənaɪz/ — tratar com condescendência. What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! Return to Original English Version

patronising /ˈpætrənaɪzɪŋ/ — condescendente; paternalista. That hope deferred, which, (as the Scripture very correctly tells us, Mr Dombey would have added in a patronising way; for his highest distinct idea even of Scripture, if examined, would have been found to be; that as forming part of a general whole, of which Dombey and Son formed another part, it was therefore to be commended and upheld) maketh the heart sick. Return to Original English Version

patties /ˈpætiz/ — pastéis. I see cold fowls - ham - patties - salad - lobster. Return to Original English Version

peaceablest /ˈpiːsəbəlɪst/ — o mais pacífico. But he’s always talking of you, Polly, and telling the children about you; and is the peaceablest, patientest, best-temperedest soul in the world, as he always was and will be!” Return to Original English Version

peculiarly /pɪˈkjuːljərli/ — particularmente; de modo especial. However choice examples of their kind, too, these plants were of a kind peculiarly adapted to the embowerment of Mrs Pipchin. Return to Original English Version

pecuniary /pɪˈkjuːnieri/ — pecuniário; de dinheiro. A pecuniary Duke of York, my love, and nothing short of it!” said Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

pedestal /ˈpedɪstəl/ — pedestal; base. After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. Return to Original English Version

pedigree /ˈpɛdɪɡriː/ — pedigree; genealogia. Master Bitherstone read aloud to the rest a pedigree from Genesis (judiciously selected by Mrs Pipchin), getting over the names with the ease and clearness of a person tumbling up the treadmill. Return to Original English Version

peering /ˈpɪrɪŋ/ — perscrutando; espiando com atenção. Mr Dombey so erect and solemn, gazing at the glare; his little image, with an old, old face, peering into the red perspective with the fixed and rapt attention of a sage. Return to Original English Version

pennywinkles /ˈperɪwɪŋkəlz/ — bígaros. “I may be very fond of pennywinkles, Mrs Richards, but it don’t follow that I’m to have ’em for tea.” Return to Original English Version

pensively /ˈpensɪvli/ — de modo pensativo. “And - I’m sorry to give you so much trouble, Towlinson,” said Miss Tox, looking at him pensively. Return to Original English Version

permanencies /ˈpɜːrmənənsiz/ — empregos permanentes. “Oh! bless your heart, Mrs Richards,” cried Susan, “temporaries always orders permanencies here, didn’t you know that, why wherever was you born, Mrs Richards? Return to Original English Version

permanency /ˈpɜːrmənənsi/ — permanência. “Not at all, I don’t wish it, we needn’t stand upon that footing, Miss Floy being a permanency, Master Paul a temporary.” Spitfire made use of none but comma pauses; shooting out whatever she had to say in one sentence, and in one breath, if possible. Return to Original English Version

perpetuation /pəˌpetʃuˈeɪʃən/ — perpetuação; continuidade. That Mrs Dombey had entered on that social contract of matrimony: almost necessarily part of a genteel and wealthy station, even without reference to the perpetuation of family Firms: with her eyes fully open to these advantages. Return to Original English Version

perplexed /pərˈplɛkst/ — perplexo; desconcertado. Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. Return to Original English Version

perseverance /ˌpɜːrsəˈvɪrəns/ — perseverança; persistência. The perseverance with which she walked out of Princess’s Place to fetch this baby and its nurse, and walked back with them, and walked home with them again, and continually mounted guard over them; and the perseverance with which she nursed it herself, and fed it, and played with it, and froze its young blood with airs upon the harpsichord, was extraordinary. Return to Original English Version

persevered /ˌpɜːrsəˈvɪrd/ — perseverou. Still, Polly persevered with all the better heart for seeing this; and, judging of Mr Dombey by herself, had great confidence in the mute appeal of poor little Florence’s mourning dress. Return to Original English Version

persisted /pərˈsɪstɪd/ — persistiu; insistiu. Solomon Gills persisted that there was nothing the matter; and maintained it so resolutely, that his nephew had no resource but to make a very indifferent imitation of believing him. Return to Original English Version

petitioned /pəˈtɪʃənd/ — solicitou formalmente. Polly was beset by so many misgivings in the morning, that but for the incessant promptings of her black-eyed companion, she would have abandoned all thoughts of the expedition, and formally petitioned for leave to see number one hundred and forty-seven, under the awful shadow of Mr Dombey’s roof. Return to Original English Version

petticoat /ˈpɛtɪkoʊt/ — anáguas. “I want that pretty frock, Miss Dombey,” said Good Mrs Brown, “and that little bonnet, and a petticoat or two, and anything else you can spare. Return to Original English Version

phosphorescently /ˌfɒsfəˈresəntli/ — fosforescentemente; com brilho tênue. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Return to Original English Version

physic /ˈfɪzɪk/ — medicina; arte de curar (arcaico). The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Return to Original English Version

pickling /ˈpɪklɪŋ/ — conserva. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. Return to Original English Version

pilotage /ˈpɪlɒtæɡɛ/ — condução. Mr Dombey’s glance followed Walter Gay with sharp disfavour, as he left the room under the pilotage of Mrs Chick; and it may be that his mind’s eye followed him with no greater relish, as he rode back to his Uncle’s with Miss Susan Nipper. Return to Original English Version

pimple /ˈpɪmpəl/ — espinha. Every tooth was a break-neck fence, and every pimple in the measles a stone wall to him. Return to Original English Version

pined /ˈpaɪnɛd/ — Pined (nome de brigada no texto). Naturally delicate, perhaps, he pined and wasted after the dismissal of his nurse, and, for a long time, seemed but to wait his opportunity of gliding through their hands, and seeking his lost mother. Return to Original English Version

pious /ˈpaɪəs/ — piedoso; devoto. But first the young Toodles, victims of a pious fraud, were deluded into repairing in a body to a chandler’s shop in the neighbourhood, for the ostensible purpose of spending a penny; and when the coast was quite clear, Polly fled: Jemima calling after her that if they could only go round towards the City Road on their way back, they would be sure to meet little Biler coming from school. Return to Original English Version

pippins /ˈpɪpɪnz/ — florões de madeira em forma de maçã. That they did, if one might judge from the noise they made, and the way in which they dashed at Polly and dragged her to a low chair in the chimney corner, where her own honest apple face became immediately the centre of a bunch of smaller pippins, all laying their rosy cheeks close to it, and all evidently the growth of the same tree. Return to Original English Version

pitchers /ˈpɪtʃər/ — jarras. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Return to Original English Version

piteously /ˈpɪtiəsli/ — lastimosamente; de modo comovente. The matter being settled thus, little Paul began to cry most piteously, as if he had a foreboding that no good would come of it. Return to Original English Version

pitfalls /ˈpɪtfɔːlz/ — armadilhas; ciladas. The Major decided, after some consideration, that it meant mantraps; that it meant plotting and snaring; that Miss Tox was digging pitfalls. Return to Original English Version

pitiable /ˈpɪtiəbəl/ — lamentável. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection. Return to Original English Version

plaintive /ˈpleɪntɪv/ — lamentoso. “Cut off,” said Miss Tox, in a plaintive whisper, “from one common fountain!” Return to Original English Version

pleasurable /ˈpleʒərəbəl/ — agradável; aprazível. Being compelled to emerge into the main road, his ill fortune brought him at last where a small party of boys, headed by a ferocious young butcher, were lying in wait for any means of pleasurable excitement that might happen. Return to Original English Version

pluck /plʌk/ — colher; depenar; coragem. Whether a man so situated would be able to pluck away the result of so many years of usage, confidence, and belief, from the impostor, and endow a stranger with it? Return to Original English Version

plunge /plʌndʒ/ — mergulho. “Well, Sir,” said Mr Chick, making a desperate plunge, after a long silence, and filling a glass of sherry; “I shall drink this, if you’ll allow me, Sir, to little Paul.” Return to Original English Version

plying /ˈplaɪɪŋ/ — manejando; percorrendo com regularidade. “Oh! there’s not much to be told about the Firm, Uncle,” said the boy, plying his knife and fork. Return to Original English Version

poetical /poʊˈetɪkəl/ — poético. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Return to Original English Version

pointedly /ˈpɔɪntɪdli/ — de modo incisivo; com intenção. “Perhaps I should say of Mrs Pipchin, my dear Sir,” observed Miss Tox, with an ingenuous blush, “having been so pointedly referred to, that the encomium which has been passed upon her by your sweet sister is well merited. Return to Original English Version

pokes /poʊk/ — cutuca. Hither the two nurses bent their steps, accompanied by their charges; Richards carrying Paul, of course, and Susan leading little Florence by the hand, and giving her such jerks and pokes from time to time, as she considered it wholesome to administer. Return to Original English Version

polarized /ˈpoʊləraɪzd/ — polarizado. It’s so comfortable to sit here and feel that you might be weighed, measured, magnified, electrified, polarized, played the very devil with: and never know how.” Return to Original English Version

pomp /pɑːmp/ — pompa; fausto. There they found Mr Pitt turning up his nose at a cold collation, set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver, and looking more like a dead dinner lying in state than a social refreshment. Return to Original English Version

pompous /ˈpɑːmpəs/ — pomposo; presunçoso. Dombey was rather bald, rather red, and though a handsome well-made man, too stern and pompous in appearance, to be prepossessing. Return to Original English Version

portentous /pɔːrˈtɛntəs/ — descomunal; de aspecto solene. Arrived at the church steps, they were received by a portentous beadle. Return to Original English Version

portico /ˈpɔːrtɪkoʊ/ — pórtico. Even when that event had happened, to the great relief of everybody, he was heard under the portico, during the rest of the ceremony, now fainter, now louder, now hushed, now bursting forth again with an irrepressible sense of his wrongs. Return to Original English Version

postponement /poʊstˈpoʊnmənt/ — adiamento. Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul, in virtue of her insignificance, Miss Tox was from that hour chosen and appointed to office; and Mr Dombey further signified his pleasure that the ceremony, already long delayed, should take place without further postponement. Return to Original English Version

precedents /ˈpresɪdənts/ — precedentes. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker’s door. Return to Original English Version

precincts /ˈpriːsɪŋkts/ — recintos; imediações; circunscrições. Others, who had a natural taste for the country, held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd, under the familiar denomination of Staggses, had resorted to its shady precincts. Return to Original English Version

precocious /prɪˈkoʊʃəs/ — precoces; adiantados para a idade. Richards deferred to these compliments by curtseying and murmuring her thanks; but finding it quite impossible to recover her spirits from the disorder into which they had been thrown by the image of her son in his precocious nether garments, she gradually approached the door and was heartily relieved to escape by it. Return to Original English Version

prejudicial /ˌpredʒəˈdɪʃəl/ — prejudicial. So Mrs Chick, who had her matronly apprehensions that this indulgence in grief might be prejudicial to the little Dombey (“acid, indeed,” she whispered Miss Tox), hastened to the rescue. Return to Original English Version

prelude /ˈpreljuːd/ — prelúdio. In this dainty raiment, she instructed Florence to dress herself; and as such preparation seemed a prelude to her release, the child complied with increased readiness, if possible. Return to Original English Version

prematurely /ˌpriːməˈtʊrli/ — prematuramente; antes da hora. If he had meant to bring the subject prematurely to a close, he could not have done it more effectually. Return to Original English Version

premonitory /prɪˈmɑːnɪtɔːri/ — premonitório. “My dear Paul,” said Mrs Chick, in a warning voice, “I must be spoken to kindly, or there is an end of me,” at the same time a premonitory redness developed itself in Mrs Chick’s eyelids which was an invariable sign of rain, unless the weather changed directly. Return to Original English Version

prepossessing /ˌpriːpəˈzesɪŋ/ — atraente; que causa boa impressão. Dombey was rather bald, rather red, and though a handsome well-made man, too stern and pompous in appearance, to be prepossessing. Return to Original English Version

preside /prɪˈzaɪd/ — presidir; dirigir. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir, with ineffable satisfaction, almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. Return to Original English Version

presided /prɪˈzaɪdɪd/ — presidiu. Paul and Florence went out in the meantime on the beach with Wickam - who was constantly in tears - and at about noon Mrs Pipchin presided over some Early Readings. Return to Original English Version

prettily /ˈprɪtɪli/ — graciosamente; de modo bonito. “And I do say, and will say, and must say,” pursued his sister, pressing the foot of the wine-glass on Miss Tox’s hand, at each of the three clauses, “that Miss Tox has very prettily adapted the sentiment to the occasion. Return to Original English Version

prided /ˈpraɪdɪd/ — orgulhou-se de. “It makes one almost hope, it really does,” said Mrs Chick, who prided herself on taking trustful views of human nature, “that there may yet be some faint spark of gratitude and right feeling in the world.” Return to Original English Version

principally /ˈprɪnsəpli/ — principalmente. “Well,” said Mr Dombey, after looking at him attentively, and with no great favour, as he stood gazing round the room (principally round the ceiling) and still drawing his hand across and across his mouth. Return to Original English Version

privateersman /ˈpraɪvətɪərzmən/ — corsário. He was usually addressed as Captain, this visitor; and had been a pilot, or a skipper, or a privateersman, or all three perhaps; and was a very salt-looking man indeed. Return to Original English Version

prized /praɪzd/ — muito estimado. “And as to anything in the shape of a token, my dear Paul,” pursued his sister, “all I can say is that anything you give Miss Tox will be hoarded and prized, I am sure, like a relic. Return to Original English Version

probabilities /ˌprɑːbəˈbɪlətiz/ — probabilidades. So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Return to Original English Version

prodigies /ˈprɒdɪdʒiz/ — prodígios. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Return to Original English Version

prodigious /prəˈdɪdʒəs/ — prodigioso; enorme. “I am sure,” said Miss Tox, with a prodigious curtsey, “that to have the honour of being presented to Mr Dombey is a distinction which I have long sought, but very little expected at the present moment. Return to Original English Version

profited /ˈprɑːfɪtɪd/ — lucrou; tirou proveito. How, for example, it had secured to his Mama the services of Mr Pilkins, by which he, Paul, had often profited himself; likewise of the great Doctor Parker Peps, whom he had never known. Return to Original English Version

prolong /prəˈlɔːŋ/ — prolongar. “It is not necessary to prolong these observations. Return to Original English Version

prompter /ˈprɒmptər/ — inspirador. But Paul got his hand free as soon as he could; and rubbing it gently to and fro on the elbow of his chair, as if his wit were in the palm, and he were sharpening it - and looking at the fire again, as though the fire had been his adviser and prompter - repeated, after a short pause: Return to Original English Version

promptings /ˈprɑːmptɪŋz/ — impulsos; instigações. Polly was beset by so many misgivings in the morning, that but for the incessant promptings of her black-eyed companion, she would have abandoned all thoughts of the expedition, and formally petitioned for leave to see number one hundred and forty-seven, under the awful shadow of Mr Dombey’s roof. Return to Original English Version

propagate /ˈprɒpəɡeɪt/ — propagar ou reproduzir. These and other appearances of a similar nature, had served to propagate the opinion, that Miss Tox was a lady of what is called a limited independence, which she turned to the best account. Return to Original English Version

propitiated /prəˈpɪʃieɪtɪd/ — aplacado; agradado. Miss Nipper, on the other hand, rather looked out for these occasions: her sensitive young heart being secretly propitiated by Walter’s good looks, and inclining to the belief that its sentiments were responded to. Return to Original English Version

propitiation /prəˌpɪʃiˈeɪʃən/ — apaziguamento. But for this she might have been described as the very pink of general propitiation and politeness. Return to Original English Version

propounded /prəˈpaʊndɪd/ — propôs; apresentou. “What is money after all!” said Mr Dombey, backing his chair a little, that he might the better gaze in sheer amazement at the presumptuous atom that propounded such an inquiry. Return to Original English Version

propped /prɑːpt/ — escorado; apoiado. Houses were knocked down; streets broken through and stopped; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground; enormous heaps of earth and clay thrown up; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood. Return to Original English Version

proprietor /prʌpraɪʌtɜr/ — proprietário. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

proprietorship /prəˈpraɪətərʃɪp/ — propriedade; ar de dono. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir, with ineffable satisfaction, almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. Return to Original English Version

prosecuting /ˈprɑːsɪkjuːtɪŋ/ — processando; levando adiante. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Return to Original English Version

prostrate /ˈprɑːstreɪt/ — prostrado; por terra; prostrar-se. Although the niece of Mrs Pipchin did not expect to find that exemplary dragon prostrate on the hearth-rug when she went downstairs, she was relieved to find her unusually fractious and severe, and with every present appearance of intending to live a long time to be a comfort to all who knew her. Return to Original English Version

providentially /ˌprɑːvɪˈdenʃəli/ — providencialmente; por sorte. He added in a low voice, “With my tiddle tol toor rul” - when he was providentially stopped by Towlinson, who announced: Return to Original English Version

prowling /ˈpraʊlɪŋ/ — rondando; espreitando. The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. Return to Original English Version

prudent /prudʌnt/ — prudente. But he sat turning it over in his mind, with such an obvious intention of fixing Mrs Pipchin presently, that even that hardy old lady deemed it prudent to retreat until he should have forgotten the subject. Return to Original English Version

pry /praɪ/ — bisbilhotar; forçar com alavanca. Sensible that she was plainly to be seen by him, however, she never dared to pry in that direction but very furtively and for a moment at a time. Return to Original English Version

puckered /ˈpʌkərd/ — franziu-se; enrugou. If the Major could have known how many hopes and ventures, what a multitude of plans and speculations, rested on that baby head; and could have seen them hovering, in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder, round the puckered cap of the unconscious little Paul; he might have stared indeed. Return to Original English Version

puffed /pʌft/ — estufado; inchado. Doctor Parker Peps, one of the Court Physicians, and a man of immense reputation for assisting at the increase of great families, was walking up and down the drawing-room with his hands behind him, to the unspeakable admiration of the family Surgeon, who had regularly puffed the case for the last six weeks, among all his patients, friends, and acquaintances, as one to which he was in hourly expectation day and night of being summoned, in conjunction with Doctor Parker Pep. Return to Original English Version

pulpits /ˈpʊlpɪts/ — pulpitos. A dusty urn at each high corner, dug up from an ancient tomb, preached desolation and decay, as from two pulpits; and the chimney-glass, reflecting Mr Dombey and his portrait at one blow, seemed fraught with melancholy meditations. Return to Original English Version

pumper /ˈpʌmpər/ — operador de bomba. “Not being a Pumper himself, of course,” said Mrs Chick, glancing at her brother; and it really did seem necessary to offer the explanation, for Miss Tox had spoken of him as if he had died at the handle; “but having invested money in the speculation, which failed. Return to Original English Version

punch's /ˈpʌntʃɪz/ — de Punch (personagem do teatro de fantoches). It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. Return to Original English Version

punctuated /ˈpʌŋktʃueɪtɪd/ — pontuado; entrecortado. She was still busily engaged in that labour, when sought and found by Susan; who, such was her sense of duty, even under the humanizing influence of shrimps, delivered a moral address to her (punctuated with thumps) on her degenerate nature, while washing her face and hands; and predicted that she would bring the grey hairs of her family in general, with sorrow to the grave. Return to Original English Version

pungent /ˈpʌndʒənt/ — pungente; de cheiro forte. The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room, but had no fragrance in the dull and languid air the lady breathed. Return to Original English Version

purport /ˈpɜːrpɔːrt/ — conteúdo. Not having understood the purport of his whisper, the little creature turned her perfectly colourless face and deep dark eyes towards him; but without loosening her hold in the least. Return to Original English Version

pursuance /pərˈsuːəns/ — cumprimento; execução de. What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! Return to Original English Version

pursuits /pərˈsuːts/ — ocupações; buscas. The conversation soon becoming general lest the black-eyed should go off at score and turn sarcastic, that young lady related to Jemima a summary of everything she knew concerning Mr Dombey, his prospects, family, pursuits, and character. Return to Original English Version

puzzled /ˈpʌzəld/ — intrigado; confuso. If you could understand what an extraordinary interest he takes in me, and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office, and how he is never advanced, and never complains, though year after year he sees young men passed over his head, and though his brother (younger than he is), is our head Manager, you would be as much puzzled about him as I am.” Return to Original English Version

quailed /kweɪld/ — acovardou-se; vacilou. Richards quailed under the magnificence of the reproof. Return to Original English Version

queerer /ˈkwɪrər/ — mais esquisito. “We met Mr Carker the Junior in the street, queerer than ever. Return to Original English Version

queller /ˈkwelər/ — repressora. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Return to Original English Version

quenched /kwentʃt/ — apagado; saciado. The fire of his eyes, the expression of his features, the very voice in which he spoke, were all subdued and quenched, as if the spirit within him lay in ashes. Return to Original English Version

quencher /ˈkwentʃər/ — algo que apaga o brilho. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. Return to Original English Version

quenching /ˈkwentʃɪŋ/ — interrompendo; abafando. Quenching this expression of opinion in a short hysterical laugh which terminated in tears, Louisa cast up her eyes, and emptied her glass. Return to Original English Version

quickness /ˈkwɪknəs/ — rapidez. Perhaps he had seen, with a child’s quickness, that it had already made his father uncomfortable. Return to Original English Version

quivered /ˈkwɪv.ərd/ — tremeu. For a moment, the closed eye lids trembled, and the nostril quivered, and the faintest shadow of a smile was seen. Return to Original English Version

quoth /kwoʊθ/ — disse (forma arcaica de said). “Oh do sit down, Miss Nipper, if you please,” quoth Jemima. Return to Original English Version

railroads ˈreɪlroʊd — ferrovias. I’m a going on one of these here railroads when they comes into full play.” Return to Original English Version

raiment ˈreɪmənt — vestimenta. In this dainty raiment, she instructed Florence to dress herself; and as such preparation seemed a prelude to her release, the child complied with increased readiness, if possible. Return to Original English Version

rambling /ˈræmblɪŋ/ — desconexa; construída sem plano. It was growing dark and foggy, and beginning to rain too; but they cared nothing for this: being both wholly absorbed in the late adventures of Florence, which she related with the innocent good faith and confidence of her years, while Walter listened as if, far from the mud and grease of Thames Street, they were rambling alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of some desert island in the tropics - as he very likely fancied, for the time, they were. Return to Original English Version

rapt /ræpt/ — absorto; arrebatado. Mr Clark stood rapt in amazement: observing under his breath, I never saw such a start on this wharf before. Return to Original English Version

ratified /ˈrætɪfaɪd/ — ratificado; confirmado. Meanwhile terms were ratified and agreed upon between Mrs Chick and Richards, with the assistance of Miss Tox; and Richards being with much ceremony invested with the Dombey baby, as if it were an Order, resigned her own, with many tears and kisses, to Jemima. Return to Original English Version

rayther /ˈreɪðər/ — meio/bastante. “I heerd it,” said Toodle, “but I don’t know as I understood it rightly Sir, “account of being no scholar, and the words being - ask your pardon - rayther high. Return to Original English Version

reappeared ˌri˙əˈpɪrd — reapareceu. Day after day, two, three, four times a week, this Baby reappeared. Return to Original English Version

reappearing /ˌriːəˈpɪrɪŋ/ — reaparecendo. “I say, Uncle Sol,” cried Walter, reappearing at the door. Return to Original English Version

reckoning /ˈrekənɪŋ/ — cálculo; conta; ajuste de contas. The stock-in-trade of this old gentleman comprised chronometers, barometers, telescopes, compasses, charts, maps, sextants, quadrants, and specimens of every kind of instrument used in the working of a ship’s course, or the keeping of a ship’s reckoning, or the prosecuting of a ship’s discoveries. Return to Original English Version

recognitions /ˌrekəɡˈnɪʃənz/ — reconhecimentos. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Return to Original English Version

recollect /ˌrekəˈlekt/ — recordar; recompor-se. “Two, Uncle, don’t you recollect? Return to Original English Version

recollection /ˌrekəˈlekʃən/ — recordação; lembrança. “I was about to say to you, Richards,” resumed Mr Dombey, with an appalling glance at Mr John, “that I was further assisted in my decision, by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room, on the occasion of your being hired, when he disclosed to me the melancholy fact that your family, himself at the head, were sunk and steeped in ignorance.” Return to Original English Version

recompense /ˈrɛkəmpɛns/ — recompensar; retribuir. But the nursery being at length free of visitors, she made herself some recompense for her late restraint. Return to Original English Version

reconcileable /ˈrekənsaɪləbəl/ — conciliável. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

redolent ˈrɛdələnt — perfumado. A bran-new Tavern, redolent of fresh mortar and size, and fronting nothing at all, had taken for its sign The Railway Arms; but that might be rash enterprise - and then it hoped to sell drink to the workmen. Return to Original English Version

referable /rɪˈfɜrəbəl/ — atribuível; relacionado. And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony. Return to Original English Version

refolded ˌriːˈfoʊldɪd — dobrou novamente. When he had read it through, he folded and refolded it slowly several times, and tore it carefully into fragments. Return to Original English Version

refreshment /rɪˈfreʃmənt/ — refresco; comida e bebida; alívio. There they found Mr Pitt turning up his nose at a cold collation, set forth in a cold pomp of glass and silver, and looking more like a dead dinner lying in state than a social refreshment. Return to Original English Version

refreshments /rɪˈfreʃmənts/ — refrescos e petiscos. Mr Dombey promptly supplied her with these refreshments from a tray on the table. Return to Original English Version

regaled /rɪˈɡeɪld/ — regalou; entreteve com fartura. When this great truth had been thoroughly impressed upon her, she was regaled with rice; and subsequently repeated the form of grace established in the Castle, in which there was a special clause, thanking Mrs Pipchin for a good dinner. Return to Original English Version

rejoinder /rɪˈdʒɔɪndər/ — réplica. “She don’t worry me,” was the surprised rejoinder of Polly. Return to Original English Version

Original Text: Rare Words (6/7)

rejoined riːˈdʒɔɪnd — reuniu-se. “Oh no, Mrs Richards,” rejoined Spitfire. Return to Original English Version

relapsed /rɪˈlæpst/ — recaiu. The tone in which this was said admitting of nothing more, Mr Chick relapsed into low spirits and silence. Return to Original English Version

relenting /rɪˈlentɪŋ/ — cedendo; abrandando. For, being thus appealed to with some endearing gestures and caresses, she folded her small arms and shook her head, and conveyed a relenting expression into her very-wide-open black eyes. Return to Original English Version

relic ˈrɛlɪk — relíquia. “And as to anything in the shape of a token, my dear Paul,” pursued his sister, “all I can say is that anything you give Miss Tox will be hoarded and prized, I am sure, like a relic. Return to Original English Version

relict /ˈrɛlɪkt/ — viúva. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. Return to Original English Version

relinquished /rɪˈlɪŋkwɪʃt/ — abandonou; renunciou a. I am so accustomed to the habit that I could hardly live if I relinquished it: but there’s nothing doing, nothing doing. Return to Original English Version

relish ˈrɛlɪʃ — acompanhamento saboroso. “I am sure of it,” and he applied himself to a second glass of the old Madeira, with increased relish. Return to Original English Version

reminiscence /ˌremɪˈnɪsəns/ — lembrança; reminiscência. I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny, and that tiddy ickle sing.” These last words originated in a sudden vivid reminiscence of the baby. Return to Original English Version

remonstrance /rɪˈmɑːnstrəns/ — protesto; reclamação formal. “Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. Return to Original English Version

remonstrated /rɪˈmɑːnstreɪtɪd/ — protestou; objetou. “No, my dear Paul,” she remonstrated with tearful dignity, “I must really be allowed to speak. Return to Original English Version

remorseless /rɪˈmɔːrsləs/ — sem remorso; implacável. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Return to Original English Version

remotest /rɪˈmoʊtəst/ — a mais remota; a mais distante. He had no idea of being overlooked or slighted by anybody; least of all, had he the remotest comprehension of being overlooked and slighted by Miss Tox. Return to Original English Version

rending ˈrɛndɪŋ — rasgando. “I am sure,” she said, “I hope this heart-rending occurrence will be a warning to all of us, to accustom ourselves to rouse ourselves, and to make efforts in time where they’re required of us. Return to Original English Version

repast /rɪˈpæst/ — repasto; refeição. Mrs Pipchin, whose constitution required warm nourishment, made a special repast of mutton-chops, which were brought in hot and hot, between two plates, and smelt very nice. Return to Original English Version

repasts rɪˈpæsts — refeições. She would preside over the innocent repasts of the young heir, with ineffable satisfaction, almost with an air of joint proprietorship with Richards in the entertainment. Return to Original English Version

replete rɪˈpliːt — repleto. No portrait that I have ever seen of anyone has been half so replete with those qualities. Return to Original English Version

repress /rɪˈpres/ — reprimir. She delivered it for the behoof of Mr Chick, who was a stout bald gentleman, with a very large face, and his hands continually in his pockets, and who had a tendency in his nature to whistle and hum tunes, which, sensible of the indecorum of such sounds in a house of grief, he was at some pains to repress at present. Return to Original English Version

repressed rɪˈprɛs — conter. Mrs Chick took Miss Tox’s hand in hers, rested the foot of her wine-glass upon it, repressed a tear, and said in a low voice, “God bless you!” Return to Original English Version

repressing /rɪˈpresɪŋ/ — reprimindo. The old woman’s threats and promises; the dread of giving her offence; and the habit, unusual to a child, but almost natural to Florence now, of being quiet, and repressing what she felt, and feared, and hoped; enabled her to do this bidding, and to tell her little history, or what she knew of it. Return to Original English Version

reproachful /rɪˈproʊtʃfəl/ — de censura; de reprovação. “Why, of course he did, my love,” retorted Mrs Chick, mildly reproachful. Return to Original English Version

reproof rɪˈpruːf — repreensão. Mrs Chick contented herself with a glance of reproof, and then proceeded with the thread of her discourse. Return to Original English Version

repudiated /rɪˈpjuːdieɪtɪd/ — repudiou. The bookcase, glazed and locked, repudiated all familiarities. Return to Original English Version

repulse /rɪˈpʌls/ — repulsa; recusa. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection. Return to Original English Version

repulsed /rɪˈpʌlst/ — repelido; rechaçado. Tired of walking, repulsed and pushed about, stunned by the noise and confusion, anxious for her brother and the nurses, terrified by what she had undergone, and the prospect of encountering her angry father in such an altered state; perplexed and frightened alike by what had passed, and what was passing, and what was yet before her; Florence went upon her weary way with tearful eyes, and once or twice could not help stopping to ease her bursting heart by crying bitterly. Return to Original English Version

resentful /rɪˈzentfəl/ — ressentido. “Nonsense!” cried Miss Berry - somewhat resentful of the idea. Return to Original English Version

resolute ˈrɛzəluːt — resoluto. It was generally said, too, that it was highly creditable of Mrs Pipchin to have devoted herself to this way of life, and to have made such a sacrifice of her feelings, and such a resolute stand against her troubles, when Mr Pipchin broke his heart in the Peruvian mines. Return to Original English Version

resolutely /ˈrɛzəluːtli/ — resolutamente; com firmeza. But wherever you was born, Mrs Richards,” pursued Spitfire, shaking her head resolutely, “and whenever, and however (which is best known to yourself), you may bear in mind, please, that it’s one thing to give orders, and quite another thing to take ’em. Return to Original English Version

resorted /rɪˈzɔːrtɪd/ — recorreu a. Others, who had a natural taste for the country, held that it dated from those rural times when the antlered herd, under the familiar denomination of Staggses, had resorted to its shady precincts. Return to Original English Version

restoratives rɪˈstɔːrətɪv — restaurador. The scent of the restoratives that had been tried was pungent in the room, but had no fragrance in the dull and languid air the lady breathed. Return to Original English Version

resumption rɪˈzʌmpʃən — retomada. This trivial incident had so interrupted the current of conversation, that it was difficult of resumption; and Mrs Chick moreover had been so affected by the contemplation of her own tolerant nature, that she was not in spirits. Return to Original English Version

reticule ˈretɪkjuːl — bolsa pequena. In spite of the double disappointment, it was impossible to regard in the light of a failure a visit which was greeted with such a reception; so the sisters talked hopefully about family matters, and about Biler, and about all his brothers and sisters: while the black-eyed, having performed several journeys to Banbury Cross and back, took sharp note of the furniture, the Dutch clock, the cupboard, the castle on the mantel-piece with red and green windows in it, susceptible of illumination by a candle-end within; and the pair of small black velvet kittens, each with a lady’s reticule in its mouth; regarded by the Staggs’s Gardeners as prodigies of imitative art. Return to Original English Version

retorted ritɔrtɪd — replicar. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Return to Original English Version

retributive rɪˈtrɪbjətɪv — retributivo. For the matter of that - but Mrs Chick didn’t know it - he had been pretty well blighted by the dress already; and as to the education, even its retributive effect might be produced in time, for it was a storm of sobs and blows. Return to Original English Version

reverberation /rɪˌvɜːrbəˈreɪʃən/ — reverberação; eco. There was such a continual reverberation of wind in it, that it sounded like a great shell, which the inhabitants were obliged to hold to their ears night and day, whether they liked it or no. Return to Original English Version

reverence rɛvɜrʌns — reverência. It may be gathered from these remarks that Captain Cuttle’s reverence for the stock of instruments was profound, and that his philosophy knew little or no distinction between trading in it and inventing it. Return to Original English Version

revilings rɪˈvaɪlɪŋz — insultos. His legs had not only undergone verbal criticisms and revilings, but had been handled and pinched. Return to Original English Version

reviving /rɪˈvaɪvɪŋ/ — renascente; que revive. “Now don’t be a young mule,” said Good Mrs Brown, reviving her with a shake. Return to Original English Version

revolving rivɑlvɪŋ — girando. Solomon Gills laughingly defied him to find out anything of the kind; and Walter, revolving in his thoughts all sorts of impracticable ways of making fortunes and placing the wooden Midshipman in a position of independence, betook himself to the offices of Dombey and Son with a heavier countenance than he usually carried there. Return to Original English Version

ringlets /ˈrɪŋləts/ — cachos em anéis. The Doctor gently brushed the scattered ringlets of the child, aside from the face and mouth of the mother. Return to Original English Version

romps rɒmps — brinca alegremente. Enlivened by company, however, this was the best place after all; for Berry played with them there, and seemed to enjoy a game at romps as much as they did; until Mrs Pipchin knocking angrily at the wall, like the Cock Lane Ghost revived, they left off, and Berry told them stories in a whisper until twilight. Return to Original English Version

roundly /ˈraʊndli/ — sem rodeios; redondamente. He was often in the ascendant himself, and at those times punished Louisa roundly. Return to Original English Version

rouse /raʊz/ — despertar; estimular. They want to lay your little boy - the baby, Fanny, you know; you have hardly seen him yet, I think - in bed; but they can’t till you rouse yourself a little. Return to Original English Version

roused /raʊzd/ — despertou; chamou a atenção. “Well, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a round, deep, sonorous voice, muffled for the occasion, like the knocker; “do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?” Return to Original English Version

ruddy /ˈrʌdi/ — avermelhado; rubro. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. Return to Original English Version

ruffling /ˈrʌflɪŋ/ — eriçando as penas. Why, Lord!” said the old woman, ruffling her curls with a furious pleasure, “anybody but me would have had ’em off, first of all.” Return to Original English Version

rundown /ˌrʌn ˈdaʊn/ — difamada. “It’s very easy for some to keep their tempers, and be soft-spoken, Mrs Richards,” returned Susan, slightly mollified, “when their child’s made as much of as a prince, and is petted and patted till it wishes its friends further, but when a sweet young pretty innocent, that never ought to have a cross word spoken to or of it, is rundown, the case is very different indeed. Return to Original English Version

ruts rʌts — sulcos. They had not gone far, but had gone by some very uncomfortable places, such as brick-fields and tile-yards, when the old woman turned down a dirty lane, where the mud lay in deep black ruts in the middle of the road. Return to Original English Version

sanguine /ˈsæŋɡwɪn/ — otimista; confiante. As in any case, he couldn’t, however sanguine his disposition, hope to offer a remark that would be a greater outrage on human nature in general, we would beg to leave the discussion at that point. Return to Original English Version

satiated /ˈseɪʃieɪtɪd/ — plenamente satisfeito. The old gentleman, however, having satiated his curiosity, walked calmly away. Return to Original English Version

saunter /ˈsɔːntər/ — caminhar sem pressa. Little Paul Dombey’s foster-mother had led this life herself, and had carried little Paul through it for some weeks; and had returned upstairs one day from a melancholy saunter through the dreary rooms of state (she never went out without Mrs Chick, who called on fine mornings, usually accompanied by Miss Tox, to take her and Baby for an airing - or in other words, to march them gravely up and down the pavement, like a walking funeral); when, as she was sitting in her own room, the door was slowly and quietly opened, and a dark-eyed little girl looked in. Return to Original English Version

savages /ˈsævɪdʒɪz/ — selvagens. “Well, Wally,” resumed the old man, after a short pause: “not being like the Savages who came on Robinson Crusoe’s Island, we can’t live on a man who asks for change for a sovereign, and a woman who inquires the way to Mile-End Turnpike. Return to Original English Version

scantiness /ˈskæntinəs/ — exiguidade; escassez. Miss Tox’s dress, though perfectly genteel and good, had a certain character of angularity and scantiness. Return to Original English Version

schoolmaster /ˈskuːlmæstər/ — mestre-escola; professor. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination. Return to Original English Version

scuttle /ˈskətəl/ — correr depressa. “No, nothing else, except an old birdcage (I wonder how that ever came there!) and a coal-scuttle.” Return to Original English Version

seafaring /ˈsiːferɪŋ/ — marítimo; ligado à navegação. Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment, as he talked of the sea, though; and looked on the seafaring objects about him with inexpressible complacency. Return to Original English Version

seamen /ˈsiːmən/ — marinheiros. Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing ‘Rule Britannia’, when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.” Return to Original English Version

seaweeds /ˈsiːwiːdz/ — algas marinhas. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Return to Original English Version

secreted /sɪˈkriːtɪd/ — escondeu; secretou. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Return to Original English Version

sermuchser /sərˈmʌtʃsər/ — com certeza, senhor. Sermuchser that when he was took to church the gen’lm’n said, it wamm’t a chris’en one, and he couldn’t give it. Return to Original English Version

serpents /ˈsɜːrpənts/ — serpentes; cobras. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Return to Original English Version

serviceable /ˈsɜːrvɪsəbəl/ — utilizável; funcional; prestável. “I am sure I am very much obliged, Sir,” returned Richards faintly, “and take it very kind that you should remember my little ones.” At the same time a vision of Biler as a Charitable Grinder, with his very small legs encased in the serviceable clothing described by Mrs Chick, swam before Richards’s eyes, and made them water. Return to Original English Version

settee /seˈtiː/ — sofá; banco estofado. Dombey sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new. Return to Original English Version

sexton ˈsɛkstən — sacristão. The register signed, and the fees paid, and the pew-opener (whose cough was very bad again) remembered, and the beadle gratified, and the sexton (who was accidentally on the doorsteps, looking with great interest at the weather) not forgotten, they got into the carriage again, and drove home in the same bleak fellowship. Return to Original English Version

shaky /ˈʃeɪki/ — trêmulo; vacilante. My dear Paul, it’s very weak and silly of me, I know, to be so trembly and shaky from head to foot; but I am so very queer that I must ask you for a glass of wine and a morsel of that cake.” Return to Original English Version

shampoo'd /ʃæmˈpuːd/ — massageada vigorosamente. At one o’clock there was a dinner, chiefly of the farinaceous and vegetable kind, when Miss Pankey (a mild little blue-eyed morsel of a child, who was shampoo’d every morning, and seemed in danger of being rubbed away, altogether) was led in from captivity by the ogress herself, and instructed that nobody who sniffed before visitors ever went to Heaven. Return to Original English Version

sharer /ˈʃɛərər/ — companheiro. That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth lay those two figures clasped in each other’s arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them - quite shut out. Return to Original English Version

sheepishly /ˈʃiːpɪʃli/ — encabuladamente. The apple-faced man having sheepishly complied with this request, stood chuckling and grinning in a front row. Return to Original English Version

shoals /ʃoʊlz/ — bancos de areia; baixios. “Confound it, Uncle!” said Walter, putting down his breakfast cup with a clatter, and striking his hand on the table: “when I see the people going up and down the street in shoals all day, and passing and re-passing the shop every minute, by scores, I feel half tempted to rush out, collar somebody, bring him in, and make him buy fifty pounds’ worth of instruments for ready money. Return to Original English Version

showerbaths /ˈʃaʊər bæðz/ — banhos de chuveiro. A thorough contrast in all respects, to Mr Dombey, who was one of those close-shaved close-cut moneyed gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like new bank-notes, and who seem to be artificially braced and tightened as by the stimulating action of golden showerbaths. Return to Original English Version

showering ʃaʊɜrɪŋ — cobrindo de beijos. It was a bleak autumnal afternoon indeed; and as she walked, and hushed, and, glancing through the dreary windows, pressed the little fellow closer to her breast, the withered leaves came showering down. Return to Original English Version

shrewd /ʃruːd/ — astuto; sagaz. It happened to be an iron-grey autumnal day, with a shrewd east wind blowing - a day in keeping with the proceedings. Return to Original English Version

shrimps ʃrɪmp — camarões. Having relieved her mind of these disclosures, she partook of shrimps and porter, and evinced a disposition to swear eternal friendship. Return to Original English Version

shrouded /ˈʃraʊdɪd/ — envolto; encoberto. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

shrunk /ʃrʌŋk/ — encolhido; encolheu; recuou. The child shrunk as she listened - and was gone, before her humble friend looked round again. Return to Original English Version

shudder /ˈʃʌdər/ — estremecimento; arrepio. You leave this house, Richards, for taking my son - my son,” said Mr Dombey, emphatically repeating these two words, “into haunts and into society which are not to be thought of without a shudder. Return to Original English Version

shuns ʃʌnz — evita. If you could understand what an extraordinary interest he takes in me, and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office, and how he is never advanced, and never complains, though year after year he sees young men passed over his head, and though his brother (younger than he is), is our head Manager, you would be as much puzzled about him as I am.” Return to Original English Version

sicken /ˈsɪkən/ — adoecer. He was not a man of whom it could properly be said that he was ever startled, or shocked; but he certainly had a sense within him, that if his wife should sicken and decay, he would be very sorry, and that he would find a something gone from among his plate and furniture, and other household possessions, which was well worth the having, and could not be lost without sincere regret. Return to Original English Version

signified /ˈsɪɡnɪfaɪd/ — indicou; significou. Elevated thus to the godmothership of little Paul, in virtue of her insignificance, Miss Tox was from that hour chosen and appointed to office; and Mr Dombey further signified his pleasure that the ceremony, already long delayed, should take place without further postponement. Return to Original English Version

signifying /ˈsɪɡnɪfaɪɪŋ/ — significando; indicando. It then appeared that she had used the word, not in its legal or business acceptation, when it merely expresses an individual, but as a noun of multitude, or signifying many: for Miss Tox escorted a plump rosy-cheeked wholesome apple-faced young woman, with an infant in her arms; a younger woman not so plump, but apple-faced also, who led a plump and apple-faced child in each hand; another plump and also apple-faced boy who walked by himself; and finally, a plump and apple-faced man, who carried in his arms another plump and apple-faced boy, whom he stood down on the floor, and admonished, in a husky whisper, to “kitch hold of his brother Johnny.” Return to Original English Version

simpering /ˈsɪmpərɪŋ/ — sorrindo afetadamente. “Blockitt, Sir?” suggested the nurse, a simpering piece of faded gentility, who did not presume to state her name as a fact, but merely offered it as a mild suggestion. Return to Original English Version

singling /ˈsɪŋɡəlɪŋ/ — escolhendo um só. “This is his wife, of course,” said Miss Tox, singling out the young woman with the baby. Return to Original English Version

singularly /ˈsɪŋɡjələrli/ — singularmente; extraordinariamente. Mr Chick invaded the grave silence which ensued on this remark with the singularly inappropriate air of “A cobbler there was;” and checking himself, in some confusion, observed, that it was undoubtedly our own faults if we didn’t improve such melancholy occasions as the present. Return to Original English Version

skimming /ˈskɪmɪŋ/ — lendo por alto; roçando a superfície. Over the fireplace was a ground-plan of the vaults underneath the church; and Mr Chick, skimming the literary portion of it aloud, by way of enlivening the company, read the reference to Mrs Dombey’s tomb in full, before he could stop himself. Return to Original English Version

slab /slæb/ — placa; bloco chato. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world. Return to Original English Version

slabs /slæbz/ — lajes; placas. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

slipshod /ˈslɪpʃɑːd/ — desleixado; malfeito. At last the steeples rang out three o’clock; there was one close by, so she couldn’t be mistaken; and - after often looking over her shoulder, and often going a little way, and as often coming back again, lest the all-powerful spies of Mrs Brown should take offence - she hurried off, as fast as she could in her slipshod shoes, holding the rabbit-skin tight in her hand. Return to Original English Version

slumber /ˈslʌmbər/ — sono; dormir. And this time he really was: and Solomon Gills, with no appetite for dinner, sat on the opposite side of the fire, watching Florence in her slumber, building a great many airy castles of the most fantastic architecture; and looking, in the dim shade, and in the close vicinity of all the instruments, like a magician disguised in a Welsh wig and a suit of coffee colour, who held the child in an enchanted sleep. Return to Original English Version

slumbered /ˈslʌmbərd/ — dormitou. But he slumbered on, alike unconscious of the kind intentions of Miss Tox, the wonder of the Major, the early sorrows of his sister, and the stern visions of his father; and innocent that any spot of earth contained a Dombey or a Son. Return to Original English Version

slumbers /ˈslʌmbərz/ — o teu sono; as tuas horas de dormir. Beneath the watching and attentive eyes of Time - so far another Major - Paul’s slumbers gradually changed. Return to Original English Version

slunk /slʌŋk/ — escapuliu; saiu de fininho. Thus it fell out that Biler, on his way home, sought unfrequented paths; and slunk along by narrow passages and back streets, to avoid his tormentors. Return to Original English Version

slyness /slˈaɪnʌs/ — astúcia. Oh! the age of the face that was turned up again, with an expression, half of melancholy, half of slyness, on it! Return to Original English Version

smartness /smˈɑrtnɪs/ — elegância; aparência bem cuidada. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Return to Original English Version

smelt /smˈɛlt/ — cheirar. The little creature, in his mother’s absence, smelt a warm flat iron. Return to Original English Version

smothered /ˈsmʌðərd/ — sufocado; abafado; contido. As his sister hid behind her nurse, he followed her with his eyes; and when she peeped out with a merry cry to him, he sprang up and crowed lustily - laughing outright when she ran in upon him; and seeming to fondle her curls with his tiny hands, while she smothered him with kisses. Return to Original English Version

snappishly /ˈsnæpɪʃli/ — de modo irritado. “Because it’s not polite,” said Mrs Pipchin, snappishly. Return to Original English Version

snaring /ˈsnɛrɪŋ/ — capturando em armadilha. The Major decided, after some consideration, that it meant mantraps; that it meant plotting and snaring; that Miss Tox was digging pitfalls. Return to Original English Version

snub /snʌb/ — desprezar; deter com uma corda; arrebitado. And won’t your Pa be angry neither!” cried a quick voice at the door, proceeding from a short, brown, womanly girl of fourteen, with a little snub nose, and black eyes like jet beads. Return to Original English Version

snug /snəg/ — aconchegante. Such extraordinary precautions were taken in every instance to save room, and keep the thing compact; and so much practical navigation was fitted, and cushioned, and screwed into every box (whether the box was a mere slab, as some were, or something between a cocked hat and a star-fish, as others were, and those quite mild and modest boxes as compared with others); that the shop itself, partaking of the general infection, seemed almost to become a snug, sea-going, ship-shape concern, wanting only good sea-room, in the event of an unexpected launch, to work its way securely to any desert island in the world. Return to Original English Version

sojourning /ˈsoʊʤərnɪŋ/ — em estadia temporária. Certainly the wild ones went home tame enough, after sojourning for a few months beneath her hospitable roof. Return to Original English Version

solicitation /səˌlɪsɪˈteɪʃən/ — apelo; tentação; influência insistente. He was respectably, though very plainly dressed, in black; but his clothes, moulded to the general character of his figure, seemed to shrink and abase themselves upon him, and to join in the sorrowful solicitation which the whole man from head to foot expressed, to be left unnoticed, and alone in his humility. Return to Original English Version

solicited /səˈlɪsɪtɪd/ — solicitou; pediu. When it was all over, he again gave his arm to Miss Tox, and conducted her to the vestry, where he informed the clergyman how much pleasure it would have given him to have solicited the honour of his company at dinner, but for the unfortunate state of his household affairs. Return to Original English Version

solicitous /səˈlɪsɪtəs/ — solícito; cheio de cuidados. Their recommendation of Mrs Pipchin had great weight with him; for he knew that they were jealous of any interference with their charge, and he never for a moment took it into account that they might be solicitous to divide a responsibility, of which he had, as shown just now, his own established views. Return to Original English Version

solidity /səˈlɪdəti/ — solidez. His face, remarkable for a brown solidity, brightened as he shook hands with Uncle and nephew; but he seemed to be of a laconic disposition, and merely said: Return to Original English Version

sombre /ˈsɑːmbər/ — sombrio. Forty years at least had elapsed since the Peruvian mines had been the death of Mr Pipchin; but his relict still wore black bombazeen, of such a lustreless, deep, dead, sombre shade, that gas itself couldn’t light her up after dark, and her presence was a quencher to any number of candles. Return to Original English Version

somebody's /ˈsʌmbɑːdiz/ — de alguém. There was another private house besides Miss Tox’s in Princess’s Place: not to mention an immense Pair of gates, with an immense pair of lion-headed knockers on them, which were never opened by any chance, and were supposed to constitute a disused entrance to somebody’s stables. Return to Original English Version

sonorous /səˈnɔːrəs/ — sonoro; grave e cheio. “Well, Sir,” said Doctor Parker Peps in a round, deep, sonorous voice, muffled for the occasion, like the knocker; “do you find that your dear lady is at all roused by your visit?” Return to Original English Version

sooth /suːθ/ — verdade, arcaico, em in sooth, na verdade. Sooth to say, poor Paul had better reason for his tears than sons of that age often have, for he had lost his second mother - his first, so far as he knew - by a stroke as sudden as that natural affliction which had darkened the beginning of his life. Return to Original English Version

sorely /ˈsɔːrli/ — gravemente; dolorosamente. Seeking, perhaps - in dreams - some natural comfort for a heart, deeply and sorely wounded, though so young a child’s: and finding it, perhaps, in dreams, if not in waking, cold, substantial truth. Return to Original English Version

sorrowfully /ˈsɒroʊfəli/ — tristemente. It was a dull, grey, autumn day indeed, and in a minute’s pause and silence that took place, the leaves fell sorrowfully. Return to Original English Version

soul's /soʊlz/ — da alma. And yet in his pride and jealousy, he viewed with so much bitterness the thought of being dependent for the very first step towards the accomplishment of his soul’s desire, on a hired serving-woman who would be to the child, for the time, all that even his alliance could have made his own wife, that in every new rejection of a candidate he felt a secret pleasure. Return to Original English Version

sown /soʊn/ — semeado; espalhado. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Return to Original English Version

spar /spɑːr/ — verga; mastro ou peça longa de madeira do navio. Thus, clinging fast to that slight spar within her arms, the mother drifted out upon the dark and unknown sea that rolls round all the world. Return to Original English Version

spasmodic /spæzˈmɒdɪk/ — espasmódico; involuntário e irregular. Her hands had contracted a spasmodic habit of raising themselves of their own accord as in involuntary admiration. Return to Original English Version

specialities /ˌspeʃiˈælətiz/ — especialidades. He was so lavish of this condescension, that he not only bowed to her, in a particular manner, on several occasions, but even entrusted such stately recognitions of her to his sister as “pray tell your friend, Louisa, that she is very good,” or “mention to Miss Tox, Louisa, that I am obliged to her;” specialities which made a deep impression on the lady thus distinguished. Return to Original English Version

spectre /ˈspektər/ — espectro; fantasma; assombração. She spoke, too, in the nursery, of his “blessed legs,” and was again troubled by his spectre in uniform. Return to Original English Version

speculating /ˈspekjuleɪtɪŋ/ — especulando; conjecturando. But it was idle speculating thus. Return to Original English Version

speculations /ˌspekjuˈleɪʃənz/ — especulações. If the Major could have known how many hopes and ventures, what a multitude of plans and speculations, rested on that baby head; and could have seen them hovering, in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder, round the puckered cap of the unconscious little Paul; he might have stared indeed. Return to Original English Version

speculators /ˈspɛkjəleɪtərz/ — especuladores. One or two bold speculators had projected streets; and one had built a little, but had stopped among the mud and ashes to consider farther of it. Return to Original English Version

speechless /ˈspiːtʃləs/ — sem palavras; mudo de espanto. The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless, and looked as though about to swoon. Return to Original English Version

speedily /ˈspiːdəli/ — rapidamente; prontamente. A quantity of oranges and halfpence thrust indiscriminately on each young Toodle, checked the first violence of their regret, and the family were speedily transported to their own home, by means of the hackney-coach kept in waiting for that purpose. Return to Original English Version

sported /ˈspɔrtɪd/ — brincava; divertia-se. As she sported and played about her baby brother that night, her manner was seldom so winning and so pretty as it naturally was, and sometimes when in his pacing to and fro, he came near her (she had, perhaps, for the moment, forgotten him) it changed upon the instant and became forced and embarrassed. Return to Original English Version

sportive /ˈspɔːrtɪv/ — brincalhão. He was childish and sportive enough at times, and not of a sullen disposition; but he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful way, at other times, of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair, when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales, who, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age, fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted. Return to Original English Version

spotty /ˈspɒti/ — manchado; cheio de pintas. Son was very bald, and very red, and though (of course) an undeniably fine infant, somewhat crushed and spotty in his general effect, as yet. Return to Original English Version

sprawling /ˈsprɔːlɪŋ/ — esparramadas; abertas de qualquer jeito. The greater part of the furniture was of the powdered-head and pig-tail period: comprising a plate-warmer, always languishing and sprawling its four attenuated bow legs in somebody’s way; and an obsolete harpsichord, illuminated round the maker’s name with a painted garland of sweet peas. Return to Original English Version

sprightly /ˈspraɪtli/ — vivo; desembaraçado. After a moment’s silence, Polly asked, in a more sprightly manner: Return to Original English Version

springing /ˈsprɪŋɪŋ/ — saltando; brotando; surgindo. “I can remember my Mama,” returned the child, with tears springing to her eyes, “in any frock.” Return to Original English Version

sprinkle /ˈsprɪŋkəl/ — borrifar; espalhar gotas. Mr Dombey’s cup of satisfaction was so full at this moment, however, that he felt he could afford a drop or two of its contents, even to sprinkle on the dust in the by-path of his little daughter. Return to Original English Version

sprung /sprʌŋ/ — abriu; surgiu; foi imposto de repente. So, the Excavators’ House of Call had sprung up from a beer-shop; and the old-established Ham and Beef Shop had become the Railway Eating House, with a roast leg of pork daily, through interested motives of a similar immediate and popular description. Return to Original English Version

squalid /ˈskwɑːlɪd/ — esquálido; imundo. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Return to Original English Version

squaring /ˈskweərɪŋ/ — assumindo posição de luta. Son, with his little fists curled up and clenched, seemed, in his feeble way, to be squaring at existence for having come upon him so unexpectedly. Return to Original English Version

squints /skwɪnts/ — aperta os olhos. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Return to Original English Version

stabling /ˈsteɪblɪŋ/ — acomodações para cavalos. Indeed, there was a smack of stabling in the air of Princess’s Place; and Miss Tox’s bedroom (which was at the back) commanded a vista of Mews, where hostlers, at whatever sort of work engaged, were continually accompanying themselves with effervescent noises; and where the most domestic and confidential garments of coachmen and their wives and families, usually hung, like Macbeth’s banners, on the outward walls. Return to Original English Version

starch /stɑːrtʃ/ — amido. Mr Dombey stiff with starch and arrogance; the little image by inheritance, and in unconscious imitation. Return to Original English Version

starched /stɑːrtʃt/ — engomado; engomou. For all his starched, impenetrable dignity and composure, he wiped blinding tears from his eyes as he paced up and down his room; and often said, with an emotion of which he would not, for the world, have had a witness, “Poor little fellow!” Return to Original English Version

stave /steɪv/ — aduela; bastão. Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing ‘Rule Britannia’, when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.” Return to Original English Version

staves /steɪvz/ — aduelas; bastões. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Return to Original English Version

stead /stɛd/ — lugar; herdade (em home-stead). Invoking a blessing upon his innocence, Mrs Wickam withdrew, and presently Florence appeared in her stead. Return to Original English Version

steadfastly /ˈstedfæstli/ — firmemente; com constância. It was with extreme difficulty that Nipper, the black-eyed, who looked on steadfastly, contained herself at this crisis, and until the subsequent departure of Mrs Chick. Return to Original English Version

stealthily /ˈstelθɪli/ — furtivamente; às escondidas. “And you’re very glad to leave your dear good wife in such a comfortable home, ain’t you, Sir?” said Miss Tox, nodding and winking at him stealthily. Return to Original English Version

stealthy /ˈstelθi/ — furtivo. Solomon Gills rubbed his hands with an air of stealthy enjoyment, as he talked of the sea, though; and looked on the seafaring objects about him with inexpressible complacency. Return to Original English Version

steamingine /ˈstiːm ɛndʒɪn/ — máquina a vapor. The Steamingine was a’most as good as a godfather to him, and so we called him Biler, don’t you see!” Return to Original English Version

steeped /stiːpt/ — impregnado; embebido. “I was about to say to you, Richards,” resumed Mr Dombey, with an appalling glance at Mr John, “that I was further assisted in my decision, by the recollection of a conversation I held with your husband in this room, on the occasion of your being hired, when he disclosed to me the melancholy fact that your family, himself at the head, were sunk and steeped in ignorance.” Return to Original English Version

steeple /ˈstiːpəl/ — campanário; torre pontiaguda. This dangerous ground in his steeple-chase towards manhood passed, he still found it very rough riding, and was grievously beset by all the obstacles in his course. Return to Original English Version

steeples /ˈstiːpəlz/ — campanários; torres de igreja. At last the steeples rang out three o’clock; there was one close by, so she couldn’t be mistaken; and - after often looking over her shoulder, and often going a little way, and as often coming back again, lest the all-powerful spies of Mrs Brown should take offence - she hurried off, as fast as she could in her slipshod shoes, holding the rabbit-skin tight in her hand. Return to Original English Version

sterile /ˈsterəl/ — estéril. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Return to Original English Version

sternness /ˈstɜrnnəs/ — severidade. She felt it was ungrateful; but the influence of the day fell even on the Charitable Grinders, and she could hardly help regarding his pewter badge, number one hundred and forty-seven, as, somehow, a part of its formality and sternness. Return to Original English Version

stimulated /ˈstɪmjuleɪtɪd/ — estimulou; estimulado. “Stimulated as it were?” said the family practitioner faintly: bowing at the same time to the Doctor, as much as to say, “Excuse my putting in a word, but this is a valuable connexion.” Return to Original English Version

stipend /ˈstaɪpɛnd/ — estipêndio. You will receive a liberal stipend in return for the discharge of certain duties, in the performance of which, I wish you to see as little of your family as possible. Return to Original English Version

stipulate /ˈstɪpjəleɪt/ — estipular; exigir como condição. While you are here, I must stipulate that you are always known as - say as Richards - an ordinary name, and convenient. Return to Original English Version

stoned /stoʊnd/ — apedrejado; fechado com pedras. He had been stoned in the streets. Return to Original English Version

stooping /ˈstuːpɪŋ/ — curvando-se; postura curvada. The two medical attendants exchanged a look across the bed; and the Physician, stooping down, whispered in the child’s ear. Return to Original English Version

stoppage /ˈstɑpɪdʒ/ — parada; interrupção. It was a stoppage and delay upon the road the child must traverse, slowly at the best, before the goal was reached. Return to Original English Version

stouter /ˈstaʊtər/ — mais corpulento; mais firme. Little Paul, suffering no contamination from the blood of the Toodles, grew stouter and stronger every day. Return to Original English Version

stoutly /ˈstaʊtli/ — firmemente; sem hesitar. Polly rejected the idea pretty stoutly at first; but by little and little she began to entertain it, as she entertained more and more distinctly the forbidden pictures of her children, and her own home. Return to Original English Version

stowed /stoʊd/ — guardou; arrumou de novo. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

straddling /ˈstrædəlɪŋ/ — escarranchado sobre. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

straggling /ˈstræɡəlɪŋ/ — desgarradas; espalhadas em desordem. It was soon gone again to return no more that day; and the bands of music and the straggling Punch’s shows going after it, left it a prey to the most dismal of organs, and white mice; with now and then a porcupine, to vary the entertainments; until the butlers whose families were dining out, began to stand at the house-doors in the twilight, and the lamp-lighter made his nightly failure in attempting to brighten up the street with gas. Return to Original English Version

straining /ˈstreɪnɪŋ/ — forçando; tensionando; aguçando ao máximo. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:” Return to Original English Version

stratagem /ˈstrætədʒəm/ — estratagema. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Return to Original English Version

strewn /struːn/ — juncado; coberto de. Every gust of wind that rose, brought eddying round the corner from the neighbouring mews, some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when she was ill, mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the neighbourhood: and these, being always drawn by some invisible attraction to the threshold of the dirty house to let immediately opposite, addressed a dismal eloquence to Mr Dombey’s windows. Return to Original English Version

striding /ˈstraɪdɪŋ/ — caminhando a passos largos. On the brow of Dombey, Time and his brother Care had set some marks, as on a tree that was to come down in good time - remorseless twins they are for striding through their human forests, notching as they go - while the countenance of Son was crossed with a thousand little creases, which the same deceitful Time would take delight in smoothing out and wearing away with the flat part of his scythe, as a preparation of the surface for his deeper operations. Return to Original English Version

strolled /stroʊld/ — passeou. He had even a dislike, at such times, to the company of Wickam, and was well pleased when she strolled away, as she generally did, to pick up shells and acquaintances. Return to Original English Version

strolling /ˈstroʊlɪŋ/ — ambulante; errante. The man who had been strolling carelessly towards her, seemed surprised by this reply, and looking attentively in her face, rejoined: Return to Original English Version

stronghold /ˈstrɔːŋhoʊld/ — fortaleza; reduto. This he had several times hinted at the club: in connexion with little jocularities, of which old Joe Bagstock, old Joey Bagstock, old J. Bagstock, old Josh Bagstock, or so forth, was the perpetual theme: it being, as it were, the Major’s stronghold and donjon-keep of light humour, to be on the most familiar terms with his own name. Return to Original English Version

strove /stroʊv/ — lutava; esforçava-se. And yet his interest in youth and hopefulness was not extinguished with the other embers of his soul, for he watched the boy’s earnest countenance as he spoke with unusual sympathy, though with an inexplicable show of trouble and compassion, which escaped into his looks, however hard he strove to hold it prisoner. Return to Original English Version

stuffs /stʌfs/ — tecidos; materiais. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Return to Original English Version

stupendously /stjuːˈpendəsli/ — extraordinariamente; enormemente. She had the softest voice that ever was heard; and her nose, stupendously aquiline, had a little knob in the very centre or key-stone of the bridge, whence it tended downwards towards her face, as in an invincible determination never to turn up at anything. Return to Original English Version

suavity /ˈswɑːvəti/ — suavidade; brandura calculada. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

subdued /səbˈduːd/ — contido; abafado; subjugado. The fire of his eyes, the expression of his features, the very voice in which he spoke, were all subdued and quenched, as if the spirit within him lay in ashes. Return to Original English Version

subservience /səbˈsɜːrviəns/ — subserviência. His temper gave abundant promise of being imperious in after-life; and he had as hopeful an apprehension of his own importance, and the rightful subservience of all other things and persons to it, as heart could desire. Return to Original English Version

subsided /səbˈsaɪdɪd/ — acalmou-se; cessou. As his unusual emotion subsided, these misgivings gradually melted away, though so much of their shadow remained behind, that he was constant in his resolution to look closely after Richards himself, without appearing to do so. Return to Original English Version

substituted /ˈsʌbstɪtuːtɪd/ — substituiu; posto no lugar de. “I never saw such a melting thing in all my life!” said Richards, who naturally substituted for this child one of her own, inquiring for herself in like circumstances. Return to Original English Version

substitutes /ˈsʌbstɪtuːts/ — substitutos. The old woman then produced some wretched substitutes from the bottom of the heap of rags, which she turned up for that purpose; together with a girl’s cloak, quite worn out and very old; and the crushed remains of a bonnet that had probably been picked up from some ditch or dunghill. Return to Original English Version

successively /səkˈsesɪvli/ — sucessivamente. To say nothing of his Welsh wig, which was as plain and stubborn a Welsh wig as ever was worn, and in which he looked like anything but a Rover, he was a slow, quiet-spoken, thoughtful old fellow, with eyes as red as if they had been small suns looking at you through a fog; and a newly-awakened manner, such as he might have acquired by having stared for three or four days successively through every optical instrument in his shop, and suddenly came back to the world again, to find it green. Return to Original English Version

suddenness /ˈsʌdənnəs/ — brusquidão; caráter repentino. “Very true, my dear Paul,” retorted Mrs Chick, with an extraordinary show of animation, to cover the suddenness of her conversion; “and spoken like yourself. Return to Original English Version

sullen /ˈsʌlən/ — sombrio e mal-humorado. He was childish and sportive enough at times, and not of a sullen disposition; but he had a strange, old-fashioned, thoughtful way, at other times, of sitting brooding in his miniature arm-chair, when he looked (and talked) like one of those terrible little Beings in the Fairy tales, who, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred years of age, fantastically represent the children for whom they have been substituted. Return to Original English Version

summing /ˈsʌmɪŋ/ — somando; resumindo. “If the dear child,” said Mrs Chick, in the tone of one who was summing up what had been previously quite agreed upon, instead of saying it all for the first time, “is a little weakened by that last attack, and is not in quite such vigorous health as we could wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his system, and does occasionally seem about to lose, for the moment, the use of his - ” Return to Original English Version

summons /ˈsʌmənz/ — convocação; chamado; intimação. He had already laid his hand upon the bellrope to convey his usual summons to Richards, when his eye fell upon a writing-desk, belonging to his deceased wife, which had been taken, among other things, from a cabinet in her chamber. Return to Original English Version

sundry /ˈsʌndri/ — vários; diversos. In any part of the house, visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine. Return to Original English Version

superannuated /ˌsuːpərˈænjueɪtɪd/ — caduco; aposentado por idade. The bride was too old and the bridegroom too young, and a superannuated beau with one eye and an eyeglass stuck in its blank companion, was giving away the lady, while the friends were shivering. Return to Original English Version

superintended /ˌsuːpərɪnˈtɛndɪd/ — supervisionei; dirigi. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death. Return to Original English Version

superseded /ˌsuːpərˈsiːdɪd/ — substituído; suplantado. Something or somebody had superseded him as a source of interest. Return to Original English Version

superstructure /ˈsuːpərˌstrʌktʃər/ — superestrutura. Mr Dombey’s young child was, from the beginning, so distinctly important to him as a part of his own greatness, or (which is the same thing) of the greatness of Dombey and Son, that there is no doubt his parental affection might have been easily traced, like many a goodly superstructure of fair fame, to a very low foundation. Return to Original English Version

supplication /ˌsʌplɪˈkeɪʃən/ — súplica; rogo. Mrs Chick interposed with some motherly words about going to sleep like a dear, but Florence repeated her supplication, with a frightened look, and in a voice broken by sobs and tears. Return to Original English Version

supposing /səˈpoʊzɪŋ/ — supondo. “It is not to be supposed, Louisa,” he said (Mrs Chick had nailed her colours to the mast, and repeated “I know it isn’t,” but he took no notice of it), “but that there are many persons who, supposing that I recognised any claim at all in such a case, have a claim upon me superior to Miss Tox’s. Return to Original English Version

suppressing /səˈpresɪŋ/ — supondo (uso cômico não padrão). “Thankee, Mum,” said Toodle, “since you are suppressing.” Return to Original English Version

surveying /sərˈveɪɪŋ/ — topografia; agrimensura. Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences. Return to Original English Version

swamped /swɑːmpt/ — alagado; inundado. “There were two brothers on board,” interposed his nephew, speaking very fast and loud, “and there not being room for both of them in the only boat that wasn’t swamped, neither of them would consent to go, until the elder took the younger by the waist, and flung him in. Return to Original English Version

swarmed /swɔːrmd/ — acorreu em massa; fervilhou. More and more light broke in upon them; distincter and distincter dreams disturbed them; an accumulating crowd of objects and impressions swarmed about his rest; and so he passed from babyhood to childhood, and became a talking, walking, wondering Dombey. Return to Original English Version

swarming /ˈswɔːrmɪŋ/ — fervilhante; apinhado; enxameando. But the stratagem hardly succeeded as well as it deserved; for the smallest boy but one divining her intent, immediately began swarming upstairs after her - if that word of doubtful etymology be admissible - on his arms and legs; while the eldest (known in the family by the name of Biler, in remembrance of the steam engine) beat a demoniacal tattoo with his boots, expressive of grief; in which he was joined by the rest of the family. Return to Original English Version

sweeper /ˈswiːpər/ — varredor. Be this as it may, Staggs’s Gardens was regarded by its population as a sacred grove not to be withered by Railroads; and so confident were they generally of its long outliving any such ridiculous inventions, that the master chimney-sweeper at the corner, who was understood to take the lead in the local politics of the Gardens, had publicly declared that on the occasion of the Railroad opening, if ever it did open, two of his boys should ascend the flues of his dwelling, with instructions to hail the failure with derisive cheers from the chimney-pots. Return to Original English Version

sweeten /ˈswiːtən/ — adoçar; tornar mais agradável. She was generally spoken of as “a great manager” of children; and the secret of her management was, to give them everything that they didn’t like, and nothing that they did - which was found to sweeten their dispositions very much. Return to Original English Version

sweetening /ˈswiːtənɪŋ/ — adoçando. Mrs Pipchin’s scale of charges being high, however, to all who could afford to pay, and Mrs Pipchin very seldom sweetening the equable acidity of her nature in favour of anybody, she was held to be an old “lady of remarkable firmness, who was quite scientific in her knowledge of the childish character.” On this reputation, and on the broken heart of Mr Pipchin, she had contrived, taking one year with another, to eke out a tolerable sufficient living since her husband’s demise. Return to Original English Version

swoon /swuːn/ — desmaio; desfalecimento. The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless, and looked as though about to swoon. Return to Original English Version

taciturn /ˈtæsɪtɜːrn/ — taciturno. He seemed quite amazed himself at the manner in which it opened up to view the sources of the taciturn delight he had had in eating Sunday dinners in that parlour for ten years. Return to Original English Version

tailed /teɪld/ — de cauda longa ou curta. “One hundred and forty-seven,” said Mrs Chick “The dress, Richards, is a nice, warm, blue baize tailed coat and cap, turned up with orange coloured binding; red worsted stockings; and very strong leather small-clothes. Return to Original English Version

tarpaulin /tɑːrˈpɔːlɪn/ — lona impermeável. It was a little row of houses, with little squalid patches of ground before them, fenced off with old doors, barrel staves, scraps of tarpaulin, and dead bushes; with bottomless tin kettles and exhausted iron fenders, thrust into the gaps. Return to Original English Version

teeming /ˈtiːmɪŋ/ — fervilhante; repleto de vida. Just round the corner stood the rich East India House, teeming with suggestions of precious stuffs and stones, tigers, elephants, howdahs, hookahs, umbrellas, palm trees, palanquins, and gorgeous princes of a brown complexion sitting on carpets, with their slippers very much turned up at the toes. Return to Original English Version

temperedest /ˈtɛmpərdɪst/ — mais equilibrado. But he’s always talking of you, Polly, and telling the children about you; and is the peaceablest, patientest, best-temperedest soul in the world, as he always was and will be!” Return to Original English Version

temporaries /ˈtɛmpərəriz/ — empregados temporários. “Temporaries carries it all before ’em here, I find, but though there’s a excellent party-wall between this house and the next, I mayn’t exactly like to go to it, Mrs Richards, notwithstanding!” Return to Original English Version

Original Text: Rare Words (7/7)

tenacity /təˈnæsəti/ — tenacidade. The Castle of this ogress and child-queller was in a steep by-street at Brighton; where the soil was more than usually chalky, flinty, and sterile, and the houses were more than usually brittle and thin; where the small front-gardens had the unaccountable property of producing nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were constantly discovered holding on to the street doors, and other public places they were not expected to ornament, with the tenacity of cupping-glasses. Return to Original English Version

tenanted /ˈtenəntɪd/ — ocupado por inquilinos. At this other private house in Princess’s Place, tenanted by a retired butler who had married a housekeeper, apartments were let Furnished, to a single gentleman: to wit, a wooden-featured, blue-faced Major, with his eyes starting out of his head, in whom Miss Tox recognised, as she herself expressed it, “something so truly military;” and between whom and herself, an occasional interchange of newspapers and pamphlets, and such Platonic dalliance, was effected through the medium of a dark servant of the Major’s who Miss Tox was quite content to classify as a “native,” without connecting him with any geographical idea whatever. Return to Original English Version

tending /ˈtɛndɪŋ/ — cuidando; tratando de. Those words being on his lips, it occurred to him - and it is an instance of the strong attraction with which his hopes and fears and all his thoughts were tending to one centre - that a great temptation was being placed in this woman’s way. Return to Original English Version

tenement /ˈtɛnəmənt/ — cortiço; edifício de moradia popular. The dingy tenement inhabited by Miss Tox was her own; having been devised and bequeathed to her by the deceased owner of the fishy eye in the locket, of whom a miniature portrait, with a powdered head and a pigtail, balanced the kettle-holder on opposite sides of the parlour fireplace. Return to Original English Version

tenements /ˈtɛnəmənts/ — cortiços; prédios de moradia popular. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

testily /ˈtɛstɪli/ — com irritação; impacientemente. “Oh Lord bless me!” said Mr Dombey, rising testily. Return to Original English Version

testimonials /ˌtɛstəˈmoʊniəlz/ — depoimentos; cartas de recomendação; provas. But Mrs Chick relieved her, by entering into a close private examination of Polly, her children, her marriage certificate, testimonials, and so forth. Return to Original English Version

thank'e /ˈθæŋk juː/ — obrigado. “No more, thank’e, Uncle!” Return to Original English Version

thank'ee /ˈθæŋkiː/ — obrigado; agradeço. “Oh, thank’ee, Mrs Richards, don’t it!” returned the sharp girl. Return to Original English Version

thankee /ˈθæŋkiː/ — obrigado; agradeço. “Thankee, Mum,” said Toodle, “since you are suppressing.” Return to Original English Version

thawed /θɔːd/ — descongelou. And now, when that nature concentrated its whole force so strongly on a partial scheme of parental interest and ambition, it seemed as if its icy current, instead of being released by this influence, and running clear and free, had thawed for but an instant to admit its burden, and then frozen with it into one unyielding block. Return to Original English Version

thence /ðɛns/ — dali; a partir de lá. Thence he passed to the contemplation of the future glories of Dombey and Son, and dismissed the memory of his wife, for the time being, with a tributary sigh or two. Return to Original English Version

thereabouts /ˈðerəbaʊts/ — por aí; aproximadamente; nas imediações. “Thereabouts, I suppose, Sir,” answered Toodle, after more reflection Return to Original English Version

thing's /θɪŋz/ — da coisa; do assunto. “Oh yes, plenty of that I suppose,” returned his nephew carelessly; “but all that sort of thing’s in Mr Carker’s room, or Mr Morfin’s, or Mr Dombey’s.” Return to Original English Version

thinly /ˈθɪnli/ — de modo ralo; esparsamente. And enter that fair enslaver, with a blue nose and indescribably frosty face, referable to her being very thinly clad in a maze of fluttering odds and ends, to do honour to the ceremony. Return to Original English Version

thinned /θɪnd/ — rareou; ficou mais fina. “The streets have thinned,” as Mr Gills says, “very much.” It threatens to be wet tonight. Return to Original English Version

thither /ˈθɪðər/ — para lá (arcaico). Mrs Chick made this impressive observation in the drawing-room, after having descended thither from the inspection of the mantua-makers upstairs, who were busy on the family mourning. Return to Original English Version

thoroughfare /ˈθɜːroʊfer/ — via pública; rua principal. At length, Mrs Brown, issuing forth, conducted her changed and ragged little friend through a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes and alleys, which emerged, after a long time, upon a stable yard, with a gateway at the end, whence the roar of a great thoroughfare made itself audible. Return to Original English Version

thoroughfares /ˈθɜːroʊferz/ — vias públicas; ruas principais. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

thrice /θraɪs/ — três vezes. As the husband did nothing but chuckle and grin, and continually draw his right hand across his mouth, moistening the palm, Mrs Toodle, after nudging him twice or thrice in vain, dropped a curtsey and replied “that perhaps if she was to be called out of her name, it would be considered in the wages.” Return to Original English Version

throats /θroʊts/ — gargantas. Pickles were produced upon it, in great wholesale jars, with “dealer in all kinds of Ships’ Provisions” on the label; spirits were set forth in case bottles with no throats. Return to Original English Version

thumps /θʌmps/ — pancadas; baques. She was still busily engaged in that labour, when sought and found by Susan; who, such was her sense of duty, even under the humanizing influence of shrimps, delivered a moral address to her (punctuated with thumps) on her degenerate nature, while washing her face and hands; and predicted that she would bring the grey hairs of her family in general, with sorrow to the grave. Return to Original English Version

thundering /ˈθʌndərɪŋ/ — estrondoso; retumbante; trovejante. The astonished Susan Nipper and her two young charges were rescued by the bystanders from under the very wheels of a passing carriage before they knew what had happened; and at that moment (it was market day) a thundering alarm of “Mad Bull!” was raised. Return to Original English Version

tickerlerly /pərˈtɪkjələrli/ — particularmente. “When it was “tickerlerly given out that you wasn’t to go and worrit the wet nurse.” Return to Original English Version

tickled /ˈtɪkəld/ — provocavam cócegas. Although Major Bagstock had arrived at what is called in polite literature, the grand meridian of life, and was proceeding on his journey downhill with hardly any throat, and a very rigid pair of jaw-bones, and long-flapped elephantine ears, and his eyes and complexion in the state of artificial excitement already mentioned, he was mightily proud of awakening an interest in Miss Tox, and tickled his vanity with the fiction that she was a splendid woman who had her eye on him. Return to Original English Version

tiddy /ˈtɪdi/ — pequenino (fala infantil). I thought I should have fallen out of the staircase window as I came down from seeing dear Fanny, and that tiddy ickle sing.” These last words originated in a sudden vivid reminiscence of the baby. Return to Original English Version

tightness /ˈtaɪtnəs/ — aperto; justeza. His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice, Return to Original English Version

timbers /ˈtɪmbərz/ — madeiramentos; vigas. Think what a straining and creaking of timbers and masts: what a whistling and howling of the gale through ropes and rigging:” Return to Original English Version

time's /taɪmz/ — como (contração dialetal). “Then I’ve no more to say; and that’s lucky, for my time’s up for going to business. Return to Original English Version

tinkling /ˈtɪŋklɪŋ/ — tilintando. The name of this retirement, where grass grew between the chinks in the stone pavement, was Princess’s Place; and in Princess’s Place was Princess’s Chapel, with a tinkling bell, where sometimes as many as five-and-twenty people attended service on a Sunday. Return to Original English Version

tint /tɪnt/ — tom; tonalidade. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Return to Original English Version

tippets /ˈtɪpɪts/ — pequenas estolas de pele. She had furry articles for winter wear, as tippets, boas, and muffs, which stood up on end in rampant manner, and were not at all sleek. Return to Original English Version

toiled /tɔɪld/ — labutou. But Berry was free to hold what converse she could in that quarter, consistently with the discharge of the multifarious duties at which she toiled incessantly from morning to night; and to Berry Mrs Wickam unburdened her mind. Return to Original English Version

toilette /twɑːˈlɛt/ — toalete; preparação pessoal. “It is only a pincushion for the toilette table, Paul,” resumed his sister; “one of those trifles which are insignificant to your sex in general, as it’s very natural they should be - we have no business to expect they should be otherwise - but to which we attach some interest.” Return to Original English Version

toiling /ˈtɔɪlɪŋ/ — subindo com grande esforço. She was toiling up the great, wide, vacant staircase, with him in her arms; his head was lying on her shoulder, one of his arms thrown negligently round her neck. Return to Original English Version

tolerable /ˈtɑːlərəbəl/ — tolerável; razoável. But Susan who was personally disposed in favour of the excursion, and who (like Tony Lumpkin), if she could bear the disappointments of other people with tolerable fortitude, could not abide to disappoint herself, threw so many ingenious doubts in the way of this second thought, and stimulated the original intention with so many ingenious arguments, that almost as soon as Mr Dombey’s stately back was turned, and that gentleman was pursuing his daily road towards the City, his unconscious son was on his way to Staggs’s Gardens. Return to Original English Version

tolerably /ˈtɑːlərəbli/ — razoavelmente; passavelmente. When she had divested herself of all the articles of apparel mentioned by that lady, Mrs B. examined them at leisure, and seemed tolerably well satisfied with their quality and value. Return to Original English Version

toleration /ˌtɑːləˈreɪʃən/ — tolerância. What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! Return to Original English Version

topsy /ˌtɒpsiˈtɜːrvi/ — de cabeça para baixo, desordenado. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Return to Original English Version

tormentors /tɔːrˈmentərz/ — algozes; atormentadores. Thus it fell out that Biler, on his way home, sought unfrequented paths; and slunk along by narrow passages and back streets, to avoid his tormentors. Return to Original English Version

tottering /ˈtɑːtərɪŋ/ — cambaleante; vacilante. That the life and progress on which he built such hopes, should be endangered in the outset by so mean a want; that Dombey and Son should be tottering for a nurse, was a sore humiliation. Return to Original English Version

tradesmen /ˈtreɪdzmən/ — comerciantes; artesãos. Tradesmen are not the same as they used to be, apprentices are not the same, business is not the same, business commodities are not the same. Return to Original English Version

trailed /treɪld/ — arrastou-se; seguiu atrás; desvaneceu. In short, the yet unfinished and unopened Railroad was in progress; and, from the very core of all this dire disorder, trailed smoothly away, upon its mighty course of civilisation and improvement. Return to Original English Version

trampling /ˈtræmpəlɪŋ/ — pisoteando; tropel. “But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, “seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.” Return to Original English Version

transient /ˈtrænʃənt/ — transitório; passageiro. A transient flush of faint surprise overspread the sick lady’s face as she raised her eyes towards him. Return to Original English Version

traverse /trəˈvɜːrs/ — atravessar; percorrer. It was a stoppage and delay upon the road the child must traverse, slowly at the best, before the goal was reached. Return to Original English Version

treacherous /ˈtretʃərəs/ — traiçoeiro; pérfido; perigoso. Mr Dombey, who had never found her, kissed her once upon the forehead, and cautioned her not to run away again, or wander anywhere with treacherous attendants. Return to Original English Version

trembly /ˈtrembli/ — trêmulo; tremelicante. My dear Paul, it’s very weak and silly of me, I know, to be so trembly and shaky from head to foot; but I am so very queer that I must ask you for a glass of wine and a morsel of that cake.” Return to Original English Version

tremulous /ˈtrɛmjələs/ — trêmulo; vacilante. I couldn’t say how, nor I couldn’t say when, nor I couldn’t say whether the dear child knew it or not, but Betsey Jane had been watched by her mother, Miss Berry!” and Mrs Wickam, with a very white face, and with watery eyes, and with a tremulous voice, again looked fearfully round the room, and towards Paul in bed. Return to Original English Version

trestles /ˈtrɛsəlz/ — cavaletes. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

tributary /ˈtrɪbjəˌtɛri/ — afluente. Thence he passed to the contemplation of the future glories of Dombey and Son, and dismissed the memory of his wife, for the time being, with a tributary sigh or two. Return to Original English Version

trifles /ˈtraɪfəlz/ — ninharias; coisas sem importância. “It is only a pincushion for the toilette table, Paul,” resumed his sister; “one of those trifles which are insignificant to your sex in general, as it’s very natural they should be - we have no business to expect they should be otherwise - but to which we attach some interest.” Return to Original English Version

trilled /trɪld/ — trinou; falou com voz melodiosa. The summer sun was never on the street, but in the morning about breakfast-time, when it came with the water-carts and the old clothes men, and the people with geraniums, and the umbrella-mender, and the man who trilled the little bell of the Dutch clock as he went along. Return to Original English Version

tripods /ˈtraɪpɒdz/ — tripés. Everywhere were bridges that led nowhere; thoroughfares that were wholly impassable; Babel towers of chimneys, wanting half their height; temporary wooden houses and enclosures, in the most unlikely situations; carcases of ragged tenements, and fragments of unfinished walls and arches, and piles of scaffolding, and wildernesses of bricks, and giant forms of cranes, and tripods straddling above nothing. Return to Original English Version

triumphed /ˈtraɪəmft/ — triunfou. However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Return to Original English Version

trooping /ˈtruːpɪŋ/ — indo em grupo. He was down in every fit of the hooping-cough, and rolled upon and crushed by a whole field of small diseases, that came trooping on each other’s heels to prevent his getting up again. Return to Original English Version

tropics /ˈtrɑːpɪks/ — trópicos. It was growing dark and foggy, and beginning to rain too; but they cared nothing for this: being both wholly absorbed in the late adventures of Florence, which she related with the innocent good faith and confidence of her years, while Walter listened as if, far from the mud and grease of Thames Street, they were rambling alone among the broad leaves and tall trees of some desert island in the tropics - as he very likely fancied, for the time, they were. Return to Original English Version

trustful /ˈtrʌstfəl/ — confiante; crédulo. “It makes one almost hope, it really does,” said Mrs Chick, who prided herself on taking trustful views of human nature, “that there may yet be some faint spark of gratitude and right feeling in the world.” Return to Original English Version

tuckers /ˈtʌkəz/ — peitilhos de renda. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. Return to Original English Version

tumbling /ˈtʌmblɪŋ/ — caindo; rolando. At the same time her miserable bonnet falling off, her hair came tumbling down about her face: moving to speechless admiration and commiseration, young Walter, nephew of Solomon Gills, Ships’ Instrument-maker in general. Return to Original English Version

tumuli /ˈtuːmjəˌlaɪ/ — túmulos em montículo. Little tumuli of oyster shells in the oyster season, and of lobster shells in the lobster season, and of broken crockery and faded cabbage leaves in all seasons, encroached upon its high places. Return to Original English Version

turvy /ˈtɜːrvi/ — de pernas para o ar. Here, a chaos of carts, overthrown and jumbled together, lay topsy-turvy at the bottom of a steep unnatural hill; there, confused treasures of iron soaked and rusted in something that had accidentally become a pond. Return to Original English Version

tutored /ˈtuːtərd/ — instruído; treinado por um tutor. But few people noticed her at those times, in the garb she wore: or if they did, believed that she was tutored to excite compassion, and passed on. Return to Original English Version

twine /twaɪn/ — barbante; retorcer. She’ll never wind and twine herself about her Papa’s heart like - ” Return to Original English Version

twinkling /ˈtwɪŋklɪŋ/ — um piscar de olhos; um instante. The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds. Return to Original English Version

unaccountable /ˌʌnəˈkaʊntəbəl/ — inexplicável. The truth was, that the simple-minded Uncle in his secret attraction towards the marvellous and adventurous - of which he was, in some sort, a distant relation, by his trade - had greatly encouraged the same attraction in the nephew; and that everything that had ever been put before the boy to deter him from a life of adventure, had had the usual unaccountable effect of sharpening his taste for it. Return to Original English Version

unaccountably /ˌʌnəˈkaʊntəbli/ — inexplicavelmente. These, finding a Charitable Grinder in the midst of them - unaccountably delivered over, as it were, into their hands - set up a general yell and rushed upon him. Return to Original English Version

unaffectedly /ˌʌnəˈfɛktɪdli/ — com naturalidade; sinceramente. The only time that he unbent his visage in the least, was when the clergyman, in delivering (very unaffectedly and simply) the closing exhortation, relative to the future examination of the child by the sponsors, happened to rest his eye on Mr Chick; and then Mr Dombey might have been seen to express by a majestic look, that he would like to catch him at it. Return to Original English Version

unattainable /ˌʌnəˈteɪnəbəl/ — inatingível. Mr Pitt, in bronze, on the top, with no trace of his celestial origin about him, guarded the unattainable treasure like an enchanted Moor. Return to Original English Version

unbent /ʌnˈbɛnt/ — relaxou; endireitado. The only time that he unbent his visage in the least, was when the clergyman, in delivering (very unaffectedly and simply) the closing exhortation, relative to the future examination of the child by the sponsors, happened to rest his eye on Mr Chick; and then Mr Dombey might have been seen to express by a majestic look, that he would like to catch him at it. Return to Original English Version

unburdened /ənˈbərdənd/ — aliviado. But Berry was free to hold what converse she could in that quarter, consistently with the discharge of the multifarious duties at which she toiled incessantly from morning to night; and to Berry Mrs Wickam unburdened her mind. Return to Original English Version

uncommonly /ʌnˈkɑːmənli/ — excepcionalmente; raramente. What a satisfaction it was to Mrs Chick - a common-place piece of folly enough, compared with whom her sister-in-law had been a very angel of womanly intelligence and gentleness - to patronise and be tender to the memory of that lady: in exact pursuance of her conduct to her in her lifetime: and to thoroughly believe herself, and take herself in, and make herself uncommonly comfortable on the strength of her toleration! Return to Original English Version

uncomplaining /ʌnkəmˈpleɪnɪŋ/ — resignado. The child, in her grief and neglect, was so gentle, so quiet, and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have, and so much sorrowful intelligence that no one seemed to mind or think about the wounding of, that Polly’s heart was sore when she was left alone again. Return to Original English Version

uncompromising /ʌnˈkɑːmprəmaɪzɪŋ/ — intransigente. Something so stately, you know: so uncompromising: so very wide across the chest: so upright! Return to Original English Version

unconsciously /ˌənˈkɑnʃəsli/ — inconscientemente. “Is there!” echoed Mr Dombey, who had not intended his sister to participate in the thought he had unconsciously expressed. Return to Original English Version

unctuous /ˈəŋʧwəs/ — untuoso. “No bankers’ books, or cheque books, or bills, or such tokens of wealth rolling in from day to day?” said old Sol, looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him, and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words. Return to Original English Version

undeniably /ˌʌndɪˈnaɪəbli/ — inegavelmente. Son was very bald, and very red, and though (of course) an undeniably fine infant, somewhat crushed and spotty in his general effect, as yet. Return to Original English Version

undermined /ˌʌndərˈmaɪnd/ — solapado; minado. Houses were knocked down; streets broken through and stopped; deep pits and trenches dug in the ground; enormous heaps of earth and clay thrown up; buildings that were undermined and shaking, propped by great beams of wood. Return to Original English Version

undisguised /ˌʌndɪsˈɡaɪzd/ — sem disfarce. This was so very unexpected and awful to Mrs Pipchin’s niece, that she sat upright on the hard edge of the bedstead, breathing short, and surveying her informant with looks of undisguised alarm. Return to Original English Version

unfolding /ʌnˈfoʊldɪŋ/ — desdobrando; abrindo. “Still,” resumed Miss Tox, “she naturally must be interested in her young charge, and must consider it a privilege to see a little cherub connected with the superior classes, gradually unfolding itself from day to day at one common fountain - is it not so, Louisa?” Return to Original English Version

unfrequented /ˌʌnfrɪˈkwentɪd/ — pouco frequentado; ermo. Thus it fell out that Biler, on his way home, sought unfrequented paths; and slunk along by narrow passages and back streets, to avoid his tormentors. Return to Original English Version

ungarnished /ʌnˈɡɑːrnɪʃt/ — sem adornos; despojado. When the funeral was over, Mr Dombey ordered the furniture to be covered up - perhaps to preserve it for the son with whom his plans were all associated - and the rooms to be ungarnished, saving such as he retained for himself on the ground floor. Return to Original English Version

unhallowed /ʌnˈhæloʊd/ — não consagrado; profano. To this unhallowed spot, the very name of which had hitherto been carefully concealed from Mr Dombey by his sister, was little Paul now borne by Fate and Richards Return to Original English Version

unimpeachable /ˌʌnɪmˈpiːtʃəbəl/ — irrepreensível; acima de qualquer dúvida. The moment I heard this, and had it corroborated by the matron - excellent references and unimpeachable character - I got the address, my dear, and posted off again.” Return to Original English Version

unintelligible /ˌʌnɪnˈtelɪdʒəbəl/ — ininteligível. There were a hundred thousand shapes and substances of incompleteness, wildly mingled out of their places, upside down, burrowing in the earth, aspiring in the air, mouldering in the water, and unintelligible as any dream. Return to Original English Version

unison /ˈjuːnɪsən/ — uníssono. The tall, shrouded pulpit and reading desk; the dreary perspective of empty pews stretching away under the galleries, and empty benches mounting to the roof and lost in the shadow of the great grim organ; the dusty matting and cold stone slabs; the grisly free seats in the aisles; and the damp corner by the bell-rope, where the black trestles used for funerals were stowed away, along with some shovels and baskets, and a coil or two of deadly-looking rope; the strange, unusual, uncomfortable smell, and the cadaverous light; were all in unison. Return to Original English Version

unlearned /ʌnˈlɜːrnɪd/ — ignorante; sem instrução. And, perhaps, unlearned as she was, she could have brought a dawning knowledge home to Mr Dombey at that early day, which would not then have struck him in the end like lightning. Return to Original English Version

unlocking /ʌnˈlɑːkɪŋ/ — destrancando. Mr Dombey turned his head away, and going slowly to the bookcase, and unlocking it, brought back a book to read. Return to Original English Version

unlooked /ʌnˈlʊkt/ — inesperado (unlooked-for). Being liable himself to similar unlooked for checks from Mrs Chick, their little contests usually possessed a character of uncertainty that was very animating. Return to Original English Version

unmeaning /ʌnˈmiːnɪŋ/ — sem sentido; inexpressivo. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Return to Original English Version

unnecessarily /ʌnˈnɛsəsɛrɪli/ — desnecessariamente. Do not allow yourself to receive a turn unnecessarily. Return to Original English Version

unobservant /ˌʌnəbˈzɜːrvənt/ — desatento. This reference to Florence, who had been standing by the door not unobservant of what passed, directed the attention of the younger branches towards her; and had likewise the happy effect of leading to the formal recognition of Miss Nipper, who was not quite free from a misgiving that she had been already slighted. Return to Original English Version

unobserved /ˌʌnəbˈzɜːrvd/ — despercebido; sem ser notado. There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother’s face. Return to Original English Version

unoffending /ˌʌnəˈfendɪŋ/ — inofensivo; que não ofende. No young vagabond could be brought to bear its contemplation for a moment, without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer, and doing him a mischief. Return to Original English Version

unscathed /ʌnˈskeɪðd/ — ileso. Polly coming out unscathed from this ordeal, Mrs Chick withdrew with her report to her brother’s room, and as an emphatic comment on it, and corroboration of it, carried the two rosiest little Toodles with her. Return to Original English Version

unsolicited /ˌʌnsəˈlɪsɪtɪd/ — não solicitado; espontâneo. That very morning, he had received a perfectly unsolicited black eye on his way to the Grinders’ establishment, and had been punished for it by the master: a superannuated old Grinder of savage disposition, who had been appointed schoolmaster because he didn’t know anything, and wasn’t fit for anything, and for whose cruel cane all chubby little boys had a perfect fascination. Return to Original English Version

unsupplied /ˌʌnsəˈplaɪd/ — desprovido; sem provisões. “My dear Louisa,” said Miss Tox, “is the vacancy still unsupplied?” Return to Original English Version

unutterable /ʌnˈʌtərəbəl/ — indizível. The sight added such an extensive pair of wings to Polly’s impatience, that she set off down the Gardens at a run, and bouncing on Jemima, changed babies with her in a twinkling; to the unutterable astonishment of that young damsel, on whom the heir of the Dombeys seemed to have fallen from the clouds. Return to Original English Version

unwarrantable /ʌnˈwɒrəntəbəl/ — injustificável; indevido. But the uncertainty attendant on angelic strangers, will, I hope, excuse what must otherwise appear an unwarrantable familiarity.” Miss Tox made a graceful bend as she spoke, in favour of Mr Dombey, which that gentleman graciously acknowledged. Return to Original English Version

unwavering /ʌnˈweɪvərɪŋ/ — inabalável; firme; constante. Nor had she any symptoms of declining, in the course of the ensuing week, when the constitutional viands still continued to disappear in regular succession, notwithstanding that Paul studied her as attentively as ever, and occupied his usual seat between the black skirts and the fender, with unwavering constancy. Return to Original English Version

uppermost /ˈʌpərmoʊst/ — o mais alto; em primeiro plano. For the feeling uppermost in his mind, now and constantly intensifying, and increasing in it as Paul grew older, was impatience. Return to Original English Version

uproar /ˈʌprɔːr/ — alvoroço; algazarra; clamor. Though the offices of Dombey and Son were within the liberties of the City of London, and within hearing of Bow Bells, when their clashing voices were not drowned by the uproar in the streets, yet were there hints of adventurous and romantic story to be observed in some of the adjacent objects. Return to Original English Version

utterance /ˈʌtərəns/ — enunciado; fala; modo de falar. Nothing short of the wonderful Madeira, combined with the occasion (which rendered it desirable to improve and expand Walter’s mind), could have ever loosened his tongue to the extent of giving utterance to this prodigious oration. Return to Original English Version

uttering /ˈʌtərɪŋ/ — proferindo; emitindo. She no sooner saw it than, uttering a hasty exclamation, and giving Master Dombey to the black-eyed, she started to the rescue of her unhappy little son. Return to Original English Version

vagabond /ˈvæɡəbɑːnd/ — vagabundo; vadio. No young vagabond could be brought to bear its contemplation for a moment, without throwing himself upon the unoffending wearer, and doing him a mischief. Return to Original English Version

variance /ˈveriəns/ — divergência; desacordo. Next moment, the lady had opened her eyes and seen the child; and the child had run towards her; and, standing on tiptoe, the better to hide her face in her embrace, had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years. Return to Original English Version

vassal /ˈvæsəl/ — vassalo; servo. Mr Dombey, having delivered a glass of wine to this vassal, addressed her in the following words: Miss Tox previously settling her head on one side, and making other little arrangements for engraving them on her heart. Return to Original English Version

vehement /ˈviːəmənt/ — veemente. As to Polly, she was full as noisy and vehement as the children; and it was not until she was quite out of breath, and her hair was hanging all about her flushed face, and her new christening attire was very much dishevelled, that any pause took place in the confusion. Return to Original English Version

vellum /ˈvɛləm/ — velino; pergaminho fino. The apartments which Mr Dombey reserved for his own inhabiting, were attainable from the hall, and consisted of a sitting-room; a library, which was in fact a dressing-room, so that the smell of hot-pressed paper, vellum, morocco, and Russia leather, contended in it with the smell of divers pairs of boots; and a kind of conservatory or little glass breakfast-room beyond, commanding a prospect of the trees before mentioned, and, generally speaking, of a few prowling cats. Return to Original English Version

veneration /ˌvenəˈreɪʃən/ — veneração; reverência. I believe if there are three words in the English language for which she has a respect amounting almost to veneration, those words are, Dombey and Son.” Return to Original English Version

veritable /ˈvɛrətəbəl/ — verdadeiras; autênticas. His acquaintance lying chiefly among ship-chandlers and so forth, he had always plenty of the veritable ships’ biscuit on his table. Return to Original English Version

vex /veks/ — irritar; incomodar. “Then,” said Good Mrs Brown, taking her own seat on the bones, “don’t vex me. Return to Original English Version

viands /ˈvaɪəndz/ — iguarias; víveres. Nor had she any symptoms of declining, in the course of the ensuing week, when the constitutional viands still continued to disappear in regular succession, notwithstanding that Paul studied her as attentively as ever, and occupied his usual seat between the black skirts and the fender, with unwavering constancy. Return to Original English Version

vigilance /ˈvɪdʒələns/ — vigilância. Yet, in spite of his early promise, all this vigilance and care could not make little Paul a thriving boy. Return to Original English Version

vigour /ˈvɪɡər/ — vigor (grafia britânica). She had not that air of commanding superiority which one would somehow expect, almost as a matter of course, to find in my brother’s wife; nor had she that strength and vigour of mind which such a man requires.” Return to Original English Version

vilish /ˈdɛvəlɪʃ/ — diabólico. Old Joe, Sir, needn’t look far for a wife even now, if he was on the look-out; but he’s hard-hearted, Sir, is Joe - he’s tough, Sir, tough, and de-vilish sly!” After such a declaration, wheezing sounds would be heard; and the Major’s blue would deepen into purple, while his eyes strained and started convulsively. Return to Original English Version

visage /ˈvɪzɪdʒ/ — semblante; rosto; fisionomia. The only time that he unbent his visage in the least, was when the clergyman, in delivering (very unaffectedly and simply) the closing exhortation, relative to the future examination of the child by the sponsors, happened to rest his eye on Mr Chick; and then Mr Dombey might have been seen to express by a majestic look, that he would like to catch him at it. Return to Original English Version

visionary /ˈvɪʒəneri/ — visionário. So it was that he went on doing what he had to do from day to day, in a cheerful, pains-taking, merry spirit; and saw through the sanguine complexion of Uncle Sol and Captain Cuttle; and yet entertained a thousand indistinct and visionary fancies of his own, to which theirs were work-a-day probabilities. Return to Original English Version

vying /ˈvaɪɪŋ/ — competindo; disputando. “What a clambering aloft of men, vying with each other who shall lie out first upon the yards to furl the icy sails, while the ship rolls and pitches, like mad!” cried his nephew. Return to Original English Version

waggons /ˈwæɡənz/ — carroças; vagões. It was full two hours later in the afternoon than when she had started on this strange adventure, when, escaping from the clash and clangour of a narrow street full of carts and waggons, she peeped into a kind of wharf or landing-place upon the river-side, where there were a great many packages, casks, and boxes, strewn about; a large pair of wooden scales; and a little wooden house on wheels, outside of which, looking at the neighbouring masts and boats, a stout man stood whistling, with his pen behind his ear, and his hands in his pockets, as if his day’s work were nearly done. Return to Original English Version

wainscoat /ˈweɪnskət/ — lambril. In any part of the house, visitors were usually cognizant of a prevailing mustiness; and in warm weather Miss Tox had been seen apparently writing in sundry chinks and crevices of the wainscoat with the wrong end of a pen dipped in spirits of turpentine. Return to Original English Version

wainscotted /ˈweɪnskətɪd/ — revestido de lambril. Old prints of ships with alphabetical references to their various mysteries, hung in frames upon the walls; the Tartar Frigate under weigh, was on the plates; outlandish shells, seaweeds, and mosses, decorated the chimney-piece; the little wainscotted back parlour was lighted by a sky-light, like a cabin. Return to Original English Version

walled /wɔːld/ — amuralhada; cercada de muros. There was very little daylight to be got there in the winter: no sun at the best of times: air was out of the question, and traffic was walled out. Return to Original English Version

waltzes /ˈwɔːltsɪz/ — valsas. The Major, standing in the shade of his own apartment, could make out that an air of greater smartness had recently come over Miss Tox’s house; that a new cage with gilded wires had been provided for the ancient little canary bird; that divers ornaments, cut out of coloured card-boards and paper, seemed to decorate the chimney-piece and tables; that a plant or two had suddenly sprung up in the windows; that Miss Tox occasionally practised on the harpsichord, whose garland of sweet peas was always displayed ostentatiously, crowned with the Copenhagen and Bird Waltzes in a Music Book of Miss Tox’s own copying. Return to Original English Version

wamm't /ˈwæmənt/ — não era. Sermuchser that when he was took to church the gen’lm’n said, it wamm’t a chris’en one, and he couldn’t give it. Return to Original English Version

waver /ˈweɪvər/ — vacilar; hesitar; oscilar. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father’s eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, “Oh father, try to love me! there’s no one else!” the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection. Return to Original English Version

weaning /ˈwiːnɪŋ/ — desmamando. Mrs Wickam was a waiter’s wife - which would seem equivalent to being any other man’s widow - whose application for an engagement in Mr Dombey’s service had been favourably considered, on account of the apparent impossibility of her having any followers, or anyone to follow; and who, from within a day or two of Paul’s sharp weaning, had been engaged as his nurse. Return to Original English Version

weariness /ˈwɪrinəs/ — fadiga; cansaço. He never seemed to know what weariness was, when he was looking fixedly at Mrs Pipchin. Return to Original English Version

weatherglasses /ˈwɛðər ɡlæsɪz/ — barômetros. All the weatherglasses in the shop are in low spirits, and the rain already shines upon the cocked hat of the wooden Midshipman. Return to Original English Version

weazen /ˈwizən/ — mirrado; encarquilhado; magro. Consistent in his odd tastes, the child set aside a ruddy-faced lad who was proposed as the drawer of this carriage, and selected, instead, his grandfather - a weazen, old, crab-faced man, in a suit of battered oilskin, who had got tough and stringy from long pickling in salt water, and who smelt like a weedy sea-beach when the tide is out. Return to Original English Version

westry /ˈvɛstri/ — sacristia. “There’s a wedding just on, Sir,” said the beadle, “but it’ll be over directly, if you’ll walk into the westry here.” Return to Original English Version

westward /ˈwɛstwərd/ — para o oeste; a poente. The usual daily clearance has been making in the City for an hour or more; and the human tide is still rolling westward. Return to Original English Version

wheezy /ˈwiːzi/ — chiado; ofegante; roufenho. After another cold interval, a wheezy little pew-opener afflicted with an asthma, appropriate to the churchyard, if not to the church, summoned them to the font - a rigid marble basin which seemed to have been playing a churchyard game at cup and ball with its matter of fact pedestal, and to have been just that moment caught on the top of it. Return to Original English Version

whence /wɛns/ — de onde; donde. There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother’s face. Return to Original English Version

whereof /wɛrˈʌv/ — do qual; de que (arcaico). Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, jingled and jingled the heavy gold watch-chain that depended from below his trim blue coat, whereof the buttons sparkled phosphorescently in the feeble rays of the distant fire. Return to Original English Version

whimsical /ˈwɪmzɪkəl/ — extravagante; caprichoso. “She took fancies to people; whimsical fancies, some of them; others, affections that one might expect to see - only stronger than common. Return to Original English Version

whipper /ˈwɪpər/ — carregador de carvão. Hardly a Sunday passed, without mysterious references being made by one or other of those worthy chums to Richard Whittington; and the latter gentleman had even gone so far as to purchase a ballad of considerable antiquity, that had long fluttered among many others, chiefly expressive of maritime sentiments, on a dead wall in the Commercial Road: which poetical performance set forth the courtship and nuptials of a promising young coal-whipper with a certain “lovely Peg,” the accomplished daughter of the master and part-owner of a Newcastle collier. Return to Original English Version

whisker /ˈwɪskər/ — bigode; pelo facial. He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently: with a good deal of hair and whisker, deepened in its natural tint, perhaps by smoke and coal-dust: hard knotty hands: and a square forehead, as coarse in grain as the bark of an oak. Return to Original English Version

whisking /ˈwɪskɪŋ/ — levando depressa; sacudindo. His meditations on the subject were soon interrupted, first by the rustling of garments on the staircase, and then by the sudden whisking into the room of a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise but dressed in a very juvenile manner, particularly as to the tightness of her bodice, who, running up to him with a kind of screw in her face and carriage, expressive of suppressed emotion, flung her arms around his neck, and said, in a choking voice, Return to Original English Version

whither /ˈwɪðər/ — para onde; aonde. The administration of infantine doses of physic awakened all the active sympathy of her character; and being on one occasion secreted in a cupboard (whither she had fled in modesty), when Mr Dombey was introduced into the nursery by his sister, to behold his son, in the course of preparation for bed, taking a short walk uphill over Richards’s gown, in a short and airy linen jacket, Miss Tox was so transported beyond the ignorant present as to be unable to refrain from crying out, “Is he not beautiful Mr Dombey! Return to Original English Version

wildernesses /ˈwɪldərnəsəz/ — regiões selvagens; ermos. As the knight-errants of old relieved their minds by carving their mistress’s names in deserts, and wildernesses, and other savage places where there was no probability of there ever being anybody to read them, so did Miss Susan Nipper curl her snub nose into drawers and wardrobes, put away winks of disparagement in cupboards, shed derisive squints into stone pitchers, and contradict and call names out in the passage. Return to Original English Version

wilt /wɪlt/ — queres; hás de. It seemed for a moment like that other solemn institution, “Wilt thou have this man, Lucretia?” “Yes, I will.” Return to Original English Version

winced /wɪnst/ — estremeceu; recuou. Have the goodness to direct that this woman’s coach is paid to” - Mr Dombey stopped and winced - “to Staggs’s Gardens.” Return to Original English Version

wistful /ˈwɪstfəl/ — saudoso; melancólico. He was a pretty little fellow; though there was something wan and wistful in his small face, that gave occasion to many significant shakes of Mrs Wickam’s head, and many long-drawn inspirations of Mrs Wickam’s breath. Return to Original English Version

wistfully /ˈwɪstfəli/ — com nostalgia; melancolicamente; com saudade. “No bankers’ books, or cheque books, or bills, or such tokens of wealth rolling in from day to day?” said old Sol, looking wistfully at his nephew out of the fog that always seemed to hang about him, and laying an unctuous emphasis upon the words. Return to Original English Version

withering /ˈwɪðərɪŋ/ — fulminante; que murcha. “Which might be better improved, I should think, Mr C.,” retorted his helpmate, after a short pause, “than by the introduction, either of the college hornpipe, or the equally unmeaning and unfeeling remark of rump-te-iddity, bow-wow-wow!” - which Mr Chick had indeed indulged in, under his breath, and which Mrs Chick repeated in a tone of withering scorn. Return to Original English Version

withheld /wɪðˈheld/ — reteve; negou. And what is more,” added Mrs Chick with increased dignity, as if she had withheld her crushing argument until now, “I never did think it was.” Return to Original English Version

wits /wɪts/ — juízo; inteligência; esperteza. The short interval of quiet, though only a few minutes in duration, enabled Solomon Gills so far to collect his wits as to make some little arrangements for her comfort, and to darken the room, and to screen her from the blaze. Return to Original English Version

wonderment /ˈwʌndərmənt/ — assombro; admiração. The man looked at her yet more curiously, and rubbed the back of his head so hard in his wonderment that he knocked his own hat off. Return to Original English Version

woodenest /ˈwʊdənɪst/ — mais rígida. Sole master and proprietor of one of these effigies - of that which might be called, familiarly, the woodenest - of that which thrust itself out above the pavement, right leg foremost, with a suavity the least endurable, and had the shoe buckles and flapped waistcoat the least reconcileable to human reason, and bore at its right eye the most offensively disproportionate piece of machinery - sole master and proprietor of that Midshipman, and proud of him too, an elderly gentleman in a Welsh wig had paid house-rent, taxes, rates, and dues, for more years than many a full-grown midshipman of flesh and blood has numbered in his life; and midshipmen who have attained a pretty green old age, have not been wanting in the English Navy. Return to Original English Version

workings /ˈwɜrkɪŋz/ — funcionamento; mecanismo. Mrs Pipchin nodded assent; and Paul had enough to do, for the rest of that day, in surveying Master Bitherstone from head to foot, and watching all the workings of his countenance, with the interest attaching to a boy of mysterious and terrible experiences. Return to Original English Version

workmen /ˈwɜːrkmən/ — operários; artesãos. A bran-new Tavern, redolent of fresh mortar and size, and fronting nothing at all, had taken for its sign The Railway Arms; but that might be rash enterprise - and then it hoped to sell drink to the workmen. Return to Original English Version

worrit /ˈwɜrɪt/ — preocupar; aborrecer. “When it was “tickerlerly given out that you wasn’t to go and worrit the wet nurse.” Return to Original English Version

worsted /ˈwʊstɪd/ — lã penteada; fio de lã. “One hundred and forty-seven,” said Mrs Chick “The dress, Richards, is a nice, warm, blue baize tailed coat and cap, turned up with orange coloured binding; red worsted stockings; and very strong leather small-clothes. Return to Original English Version

wounding /ˈwundɪŋ/ — ferindo; machucando. The child, in her grief and neglect, was so gentle, so quiet, and uncomplaining; was possessed of so much affection that no one seemed to care to have, and so much sorrowful intelligence that no one seemed to mind or think about the wounding of, that Polly’s heart was sore when she was left alone again. Return to Original English Version

wrench /rɛntʃ/ — torcer; arrancar com força. “Yes, Mrs Richards, just come, and here, Miss Floy, before you’ve been in the house a quarter of an hour, you go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs Richards is a wearing for your Ma!” With this remonstrance, young Spitfire, whose real name was Susan Nipper, detached the child from her new friend by a wrench - as if she were a tooth. Return to Original English Version

wretched /ˈretʃɪd/ — miserável; desgraçado; péssimo. Posts, and rails, and old cautions to trespassers, and backs of mean houses, and patches of wretched vegetation, stared it out of countenance. Return to Original English Version

wretchedness /ˈretʃɪdnəs/ — desgraça; miséria. He motioned his child’s foster-father to the door, who departed by no means unwillingly: and then turning the key, paced up and down the room in solitary wretchedness. Return to Original English Version

wristbands /ˈrɪstbændz/ — punhos da camisa; pulseiras. Strange grasses were sometimes perceived in her hair; and it was observed by the curious, of all her collars, frills, tuckers, wristbands, and other gossamer articles - indeed of everything she wore which had two ends to it intended to unite - that the two ends were never on good terms, and wouldn’t quite meet without a struggle. Return to Original English Version

writhing /ˈraɪðɪŋ/ — contorcendo-se; retorcendo-se. There were half-a-dozen specimens of the cactus, writhing round bits of lath, like hairy serpents; another specimen shooting out broad claws, like a green lobster; several creeping vegetables, possessed of sticky and adhesive leaves; and one uncomfortable flower-pot hanging to the ceiling, which appeared to have boiled over, and tickling people underneath with its long green ends, reminded them of spiders - in which Mrs Pipchin’s dwelling was uncommonly prolific, though perhaps it challenged competition still more proudly, in the season, in point of earwigs. Return to Original English Version

wry /raɪ/ — torto; enviesado. There was anything but solitude in the nursery; for there, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox were enjoying a social evening, so much to the disgust of Miss Susan Nipper, that that young lady embraced every opportunity of making wry faces behind the door. Return to Original English Version

yore /jɔːr/ — outrora, em of yore, de antanho. Such was his condition at the Pipchin period, when he looked a little older than of yore, but not much; and was the same light-footed, light-hearted, light-headed lad, as when he charged into the parlour at the head of Uncle Sol and the imaginary boarders, and lighted him to bring up the Madeira. Return to Original English Version

your'n /jʊərn/ — seu, sua (dele/dela pertence a você). Me and J’mima will do your duty by you; and with relating to your’n, hold up your head and fight low, Polly, and you can’t go wrong!” Return to Original English Version

zeal /ziːl/ — zelo; fervor. Nor have they much bearing on the fact (of which there is no doubt), that Miss Tox’s constancy and zeal were a heavy discouragement to Richards, who lost flesh hourly under her patronage, and was in some danger of being superintended to death. Return to Original English Version