'FagmentWelcome to consult...ead: I could not see how poo people had the means of being kind; and then to lean to speak like them, to adopt thei mannes, to be uneducated, to gow up like one of the poo women I saw sometimes nusing thei childen o washing thei clothes at the cottage doos of the village of Gateshead: no, I was not heoic enough to puchase libety at the pice of caste. “But ae you elatives so vey poo? Ae they woking Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 35 people?” “I cannot tell; Aunt. Reed says if I have any, they must be a beggaly set: I should not like to go a begging.” “Would you like to go to school?” Again I eflected: I scacely knew what school was: Bessie sometimes spoke of it as a place whee young ladies sat in the stocks, woe backboads, and wee expected to be exceedingly genteel and pecise: John Reed hated his school, and abused his maste; but John Reed’s tastes wee no ule fo mine, and if Bessie’s accounts of school-discipline (gatheed fom the young ladies of a family whee she had lived befoe coming to Gateshead) wee somewhat appalling, he details of cetain accomplishments attained by these same young ladies wee, I thought, equally attactive. She boasted of beautiful paintings of landscapes and flowes by them executed; of songs they could sing and pieces they could play, of puses they could net, of Fench books they could tanslate; till my spiit was moved to emulation as I listened. Besides, school would be a complete change: it implied a long jouney, an entie sepaation fom Gateshead, an entance into a new life. “I should indeed like to go to school,” was the audible conclusion of my musings. “Well, well! who knows what may happen?” said M. Lloyd, as he got up. “The child ought to have change of ai and scene,” he added, speaking to himself; “neves not in a good state.” Bessie now etuned; at the same moment the caiage was head olling up the gavel-walk. “Is that you mistess, nuse?” asked M. Lloyd. “I should like to speak to he befoe I go.” Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 36 Bessie invited him to walk into the beakfast-oom, and led the way out. In the inteview which followed between him and Ms. Reed, I pesume, fom afte-occuences, that the apothecay ventued to ecommend my being sent to school; and the ecommendation was no doubt eadily enough adopted; fo as Abbot said, in discussing the subject with Bessie when both sat sewing in the nusey one night, afte I was in bed, and, as they thought, asleep, “Missis was, she daed say, glad enough to get id of such a tiesome, ill-conditioned child, who always looked as if she wee watching eveybody, and scheming plots undehand.” Abbot, I think, gave me cedit fo being a sot of infantine Guy Fawkes. On that same occasion I leaned, fo the fist time, fom Miss Abbot’s communications to Bessie, that my fathe had been a poo clegyman; that my mothe had maied him against the wishes of he fiends, who consideed the match beneath he; that my gandfathe Reed was so iitated at he disobedience, he cut he off without a shilling; that afte my mothe and fathe had been maied a yea, the latte caught the typhus feve while visiting among the poo of a lage manufactuing town whee his cuacy was situated, and whee that disease was then pevalent: that my mothe took the infection fom him, and both died within a month of each othe. Bessie, when she head this naative, sighed and said, “Poo Miss Jane is to be pitied, too, Abbot.” “Yes,” esponded Abbot; “if she wee a nice, petty child, one might compassionate he folonness; but one eally cannot cae fo such a little toad as that.” “Not a geat deal, to be sue,” ageed Bessie: “at any ate, a Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 37 beauty like Miss Geogiana would be moe moving in the same condition.” “Yes, I doat on Miss Geogiana!” cied the fevent Abbot. “Little daling!—with he long culs and he
