《象人》第4章

‘That"s　good；　’he　said。　‘Who　is　it？’
I　moved　away　from　the　door；　and　the　visitor　walked　in。　‘Your　Majesty；　this　is　Joseph　Merrick；　’I　said。　‘Joseph；　this　is　Her　Majesty；　Queen　Alexandra；　the　Queen　of　England。　’
Queen　Alexandra　smiled　at　him。　‘How　do　you　do；　Mr　Merrick；　’She　said。　‘I"m　very　pleased　to　meet　you。　’Then　she　shook　his　hand。　
Merrick　did　not　move。　For　nearly　half　a　minute　he　stood　and　looked　at　her　with　his　mouth　open。　Then　he　spoke；　in　his　strange；　slow　voice。　
‘How…　how　do　you　do；　Your　Majesty；　’he　said。　But　I　don"t　think　the　Queen　understood　him；　because　he　tried　to　get　down　on　his　knees　at　the　same　time。　It　was　very　difficult　for　him；　because　of　his　enormous　legs。　
‘No；　please；　Mr　Merrick；　do　get　up；　’said　the　Queen。　‘I　would　like　to　talk　to　you。　Can　we　sit　at　your　table？’
‘Yes…yes；　of　course；　’he　said。　They　sat　at　the　table。　She　took　his　left　hand；　the　good　hand；　in　hers。　She　looked　at　the　hand　carefully；　and　then　smiled　at　Merrick　again。　
‘I　often　read　about　you　in　the　newspapers；　’she　said。　‘You　are　a　very　interesting　man；　Mr　Merrick。　You　have　a　very　difficult　life；　but　people　say　you"re　happy。　Is　it　true？　Are　you　happy　now？’
‘Oh；　yes；　Your　Majesty；　yes！　’said　Merrick。　‘I"m　a　very　happy　man！　I　have　a　home　here　now；　and　friends；　and　my　books。　I"m　happy　every　hour　of　the　day！　’
‘What　a　wonderful　story！　’she　said。　‘I"m　very　pleasedto　hear　it　Now；　tell　me　about　your　reading。　I　see　you　have　a　lot　of　books　here。　’
‘Oh；　yes；　Your　Majesty。　I　love　my　books；　’said　Merrick。　And　for　nearly　half　an　hour　they　sat　and　talked　about　books。　The　Queen　gave　him　a　little　book；　and　some　red　flowers；　before　she　left。　
After　her　visit；　Merrick　began　to　sing。　He　could　not　sing　easily；　of　course；　because　of　his　mouth；　but　all　that　day　there　was　a　strange；　happy　noise　in　his　room。　He　looked　at　the　flowers　carefully；　and　put　them　on　his　table。　
He　had　many　visits　from　the　Queen；　and　at　Christmas　she　sent　him　a　Christmas　card。　
Windsor　Castle
20th　December　1888
Dear　Joseph；　
Here　is　a　small　Christmas　present　for　you。　I　think　it　looks　like　me；　doesn"t　it？I　do　like　visiting　you　very　much；　and　I　am　going　to　e　to　the　hospital　again　in　the　New　Year。　
Happy　Christmas！　
Your　friend
Alexandra
The　present　was　a　picture　of　Queen　Alexandra；　with　her　name　on　it。　Merrick　cried　over　it；　and　put　it　carefully　by　the　bed　in　his　room。　Then　he　sat　down　and　wrote　a　letter　to　the　Queen。　It　was　the　first　letter　of　his　life。　
The　London　Hospital
23rd　December　1888
My　dear　Queen；　
Thank　you　very；　very；　much　for　your　wonderful　card　and　the　beautiful　picture。　It　is　the　best　thing　in　my　room；　the　very　best；　the　most　beautiful　thing　I　have。　This　is　the　first　Christmas　in　my　life；　and　my　first　Christmas　present。　Perhaps　I　had　a　Christmas　with　my　mother　once；　but　I　do　not　remember　it。　I　have　my　mother"s　picture　too；　and　she　is　beautiful；　like　you。　But　now　I　know　many　famous　ladies　and　kind　people　like　Dr　Treves；　and　I　am　a　very　happy　man。　I　am　happy　too　because　I　am　going　to　see　you　in　the　New　Year。　
Happy　Christmas　to　you；　my　dear　friend；　
With　all　my　love；　
Joseph　Merrick
Chapter　6
Outside　the　Hospital
Merrick　had　a　lo　of　friends　now；　but　he　was　more　like　a　child　than　a　man。　He　could　read　about　things；　and　talk　to　his　visitors；　but　he　could　not　go　out　of　the　hospital　by　himself。　He　thought　and　played　like　a　child。　
After　Christmas；　he　wanted　to　go　to　the　theatre。　This　was　very　difficult；　because　I　did　not　want　the　people　in　the　theatre　to　see　him。　But　a　kind　lady　from　the　theatre—Mrs　Kendal—helped　us。　We　bought　tickets　for　a　box　at　the　side　of　the　theatre　We　went　to　the　theatre　in　a　cab　with　dark　windows；　and　we　went　into　the　theatre　by　a　door　at　the　back—the　Queen"s　door。　Nobody　saw　us。　
Three　nurses　sat　at　the　front　of　the　box；　and　Merrick　and　I　sat　in　the　dark　behind　them。　Nobody　in　the　theatre　could　see　us；　but　we　could　see　the　play。　
It　was　a　children"s　Christmas　play。　Merrick　loved　it。　It　was　a　most　wonderful；　exciting　story。　Often　he　laughed；　and　sometimes　he　tried　to　sing　like　the　children　in　the　theatre。　He　was　like　a　child。　For　him；　everything　in　the　story　was　true。　
Once　he　was　very　afraid；　because　the　bad　man　in　the　play　was　angry　and　had　a　knife。　At　first　Merrick　wanted　to　leave　the　theatre；　but　I　stopped　him。　Then　he　was　very　angry　with　this　bad　man　in　the　play。　He　hit　his　hand　on　his　chair；　and　stood　up　and　talked　to　the　man。　But　nobody　heard　him。　When 42the　bad　man　went　to　prison；　Merrick　laughed。　
Merrick　thought　the　beautiful　young　lady　in　the　play　was　wonderful。　He　wanted　to　talk　to　her　too。　At　the　end　of　the　play　he　was　very　happy　because　she　married　a　good　young　man。　
He　remembered　this　play　for　a　long　time；　and　he　talked　a　lot　about　the　people　in　it。　‘What　do　you　think　they　did　after　we　left？’he　asked　me。　‘Where　do　the　young　lady　and　the　young　man　live？　What　are　they　doing　now？’
‘I　don"t　know；　I　said。　‘Perhaps　they　live　in　the　country。　’
Merrick　thought　about　this　for　a　long　time。　Then　he　said：‘Dr　Treves；　can　I　go　to　the　country；　please？I　saw　the　country　once　from　a　train；　but　I　never　went　there。　I　often　read　about　it　in　books。　It"s　very　beautiful；　isn"t　it？I　would　like　to　see　it。　’
The　visit　to　the　theatre　was　difficult　but　a　visit　to　the　country　was　more　difficult。　But　again；　one　of　his　new　friends　helped　us。　She　had　a　small　house　in　the　country；　and　Merrick　could　stay　in　it　for　the　summer；　she　said。　
I　took　Merrick　to　the　country　in　a　train　with　dark　windows；　so　nobody　could　see　him。　Then　we　went　in　a　cab　to　the　country　house。　
There　were　a　lot　of　trees　near　the　house；　but　no　people　lived　near　it。　A　countryman　brought　food　to　the　house　everyday；　but　no　people　came　near　it。　
I　stayed　with　him　that　night。　At　night；　it　orning；　hundreds　of　birds　sang　in　the　trees；　and　everything　outside　the　house　was　green。　Merrick　walked　under　the　big　trees；　looking　at　things　happily；　and　singing　his　strange　song。　
I　went　back　to　London；　but　Merrick　stayed　there　for　six　weeks。　He　was　wonderfully　happy。　Every　week；　he　wrot