正文预览

第3章 葫芦妙用（四更完）

　　Scarcely dared I answer her; for I feared the next sentence mightbe rough. 'I will try.'

　　'A careless girl!' said Mr. Brocklehurst, and immediately after-'It is the new pupil, I perceive.' And before I could draw breath,'I must not forget I have a word to say respecting her.' Then aloud:how loud it seemed to me! 'Let the child who broke her slate comeforward!'

　　Thus relieved of a grievous load, I from that hour set to workafresh, resolved to pioneer my way through every difficulty: Itoiled hard, and my success was proportionate to my efforts; mymemory, not naturally tenacious, improved with practice; exercisesharpened my wits; in a few weeks I was promoted to a higher class; inless than two months I was allowed to commence French and drawing. Ilearned the first two tenses of the verb Etre, and sketched my firstcottage (whose walls, by the bye, outrivalled in slope those of theleaning tower of Pisa), on the same day. That night, on going tobed, I forgot to prepare in imagination the Barmecide supper of hotroast potatoes, or white bread and new milk, with which I was wontto amuse my inward cravings: I feasted instead on the spectacle ofideal drawings, which I saw in the dark; all the work of my own hands:freely pencilled houses and trees, picturesque rocks and ruins,Cuyp-like groups of cattle, sweet paintings of butterflies hoveringover unblown roses, of birds picki

　　'Can you tell me what the writing on that stone over the doormeans? What is Lowood Institution?'

hehush, the gloom, the quaintness of these retreats in the day; but I byno means coveted a night's repose on one of those wide and heavy beds:shut in, some of them, with doors of oak; shaded, others, with wroughtold English hangings crusted with thick work, portraying effigies ofstrange flowers, and stranger birds, and strangest human beings,-all which would have looked strange, indeed, by the pallid gleam ofmoonlight.

　　'Mrs. Reed, my uncle's wife. My uncle is dead, and he left me toher care.'

　　'I suppose, Miss Temple, the thread I bought at Lowton will do;it struck me that it would be just of the quality for the calicochemises, and I sorted the needles to match. You may tell Miss Smiththat I forgot to make a memorandum of the darning needles, but sheshall have some papers sent in next week; and she is not, on anyaccount, to give out more than one at a time to each pupil: if theyhave more, they are apt to be careless and lose them. And, O ma'am!I wish the woollen stockings were better looked to!- when I was herelast, I went into the kitchen-garden and examined the clothes dryingon the line; there was a quantity of black hose in a very bad state ofrepair: from the size of the holes in them I was sure they had notbeen well mended from time to time.'

　　'Ah! a charitable concern. How long were you there?'

　　'I am so glad,' she continued, as she sat down opposite to me,and took the cat on her knee; 'I am so glad you are come; it will bequite pleasant living here now with a companion. To be sure it ispleasant at any time; for Thornfield is a fine old hall, ratherneglected of late years perhaps, but still it is a respectableplace; yet you know in winter-time one feels dreary quite alone in thebest quarters. I say alone- Leah is a nice girl to be sure, and Johnand his wife are very decent people; but then you see they are onlyservants, and one can't converse with them on terms of equality: onemust keep them at due distance, for fear of losing one's authority.I'm sure last winter (it was a very severe one, if you recollect,and when it did not snow, it rained and blew), not a creature butthe butcher and postman came to the house, from November tillFebruary; and I really got quite melancholy with sitting night afternight alone; I had Leah in to read to me sometimes; but I don'tthink the poor girl liked the task much: