简.爱 英文版 Jane Eyre
夏洛蒂.勃朗特 Charlotte Bronte
CHAPTER V Page 1
Five o'clock had hardly struck on the morning of the 19th ofJanuary, when Bessie brought a candle into my closet and found mealready up and nearly dressed. I had risen half-an-hour beforeher entrance, and had washed my face, and put on my clothes by thelight of a half-moon just setting, whose rays streamed through thenarrow window near my crib. I was to leave Gateshead that day bya coach which passed the lodge gates at six a. m. Bessie was theonly person yet risen; she had lit a fire in the nursery, whereshe now proceeded to make my breakfast. Few children can eat whenexcited with the thoughts of a journey; nor could I. Bessie, havingpressed me in vain to take a few spoonfuls of the boiled milk andbread she had prepared for me, wrapped up some biscuits in a paperand put them into my bag; then she helped me on with my pelisseand bonnet, and wrapping herself in a shawl, she and I left thenursery. As we passed Mrs. Reed's bedroom, she said, "Will you goin and bid Missis good-bye?"
"No, Bessie: she came to my crib last night when you were gonedown to supper, and said I need not disturb her in the morning, ormy cousins either; and she told me to remember that she had alwaysbeen my best friend, and to speak of her and be grateful to heraccordingly. "
"What did you say, Miss?"
"Nothing: I covered my face with the bedclothes, and turned fromher to the wall. "
"That was wrong, Miss Jane. "
"It was quite right, Bessie. Your Missis has not been my friend:she has been my foe. "
"O Miss Jane! don't say so!"
"Good-bye to Gateshead!" cried I, as we passed through the halland went out at the front door.
The moon was set, and it was very dark; Bessie carried a lantern,whose light glanced on wet steps and gravel road sodden by a recentthaw. Raw and chill was the winter morning: my teeth chatteredas I hastened down the drive. There was a light in the porter'slodge: when we reached it, we found the porter's wife just kindlingher fire: my trunk, which had been carried down the eveningbefore, stood corded at the door. It wanted but a few minutes ofsix, and shortly after that hour had struck, the distant roll ofwheels announced the coming coach; I went to the door and watchedits lamps approach rapidly through the gloom.
"Is she going by herself?" asked the porter's wife.
"And how far is it?"
"Fifty miles. "
"What a long way! I wonder Mrs. Reed is not afraid to trust herso far alone. "
The coach drew up; there it was at the gates with its four horsesand its top laden with passengers: the guard and coachman loudlyurged haste; my trunk was hoisted up; I was taken from Bessie'sneck, to which I clung with kisses.
"Be sure and take good care of her, " cried she to the guard, as helifted me into the inside.
"Ay, ay!" was the answer: the door was slapped to, a voice exclaimed"All right, " and on we drove. Thus was I severed from Bessie andGateshead; thus whirled away to unknown, and, as I then deemed,remote and mysterious regions.
I remember but little of the journey; I only know that the dayseemed to me of a preternatural length, and that we appeared totravel over hundreds of miles of road. We passed through severaltowns, and in one, a very large one, the coach stopped; the horseswere taken out, and the passengers alighted to dine. I was carriedinto an inn, where the guard wanted me to have some dinner; but, asI had no appetite, he left me in an immense room with a fireplaceat each end, a chandelier pendent from the ceiling, and a little redgallery high up against the wall filled with musical instruments.Here I walked about for a long time, feeling very strange, andmortally apprehensive of some one coming in and kidnapping me; forI believed in kidnappers, their exploits having frequently figuredin Bessie's fireside chronicles. At last the guard returned; oncemore I was stowed away in the coach, my protector mounted his ownseat, sounded his hollow horn, and away we rattled over the "stonystreet" of L-.
The afternoon came on wet and somewhat misty: as it waned intodusk, I began to feel that we were getting very far indeed fromGateshead: we ceased to pass through towns; the country changed;great grey hills heaved up round the horizon: as twilight deepened,we descended a valley, dark with wood, and long after night hadoverclouded the prospect, I heard a wild wind rushing amongst trees.
Lulled by the sound, I at last dropped asleep; I had not long slumberedwhen the sudden cessation of motion awoke me; the coach-door wasopen, and a person like a servant was standing at it: I saw herface and dress by the light of the lamps.
"Is there a little girl called Jane Eyre here?" she asked. Ianswered "Yes, " and was then lifted out; my trunk was handed down,and the coach instantly drove away.
I was stiff with long sitting, and bewildered with the noise andmotion of the coach: Gathering my faculties, I looked about me.Rain, wind, and darkness filled the air; nevertheless, I dimlydiscerned a wall before me and a door open in it; through this doorI passed with my new guide: she shut and locked it behind her.There was now visible a house or houses -- for the building spreadfar -- with many windows, and lights burning in some; we went upa broad pebbly path, splashing wet, and were admitted at a door;then the servant led me through a passage into a room with a fire,where she left me alone.
I stood and warmed my numbed fingers over the blaze, then I lookedround; there was no candle, but the uncertain light from the hearthshowed, by intervals, papered walls, carpet, curtains, shiningmahogany furniture: it was a parlour, not so spacious or splendidas the drawing-room at Gateshead, but comfortable enough. I waspuzzling to make out the subject of a picture on the wall, when thedoor opened, and an individual carrying a light entered; anotherfollowed close behind.
The first was a tall lady with dark hair, dark eyes, and a paleand large forehead; her figure was partly enveloped in a shawl,her countenance was grave, her bearing erect.
"The child is very young to be sent alone, " said she, puttingher candle down on the table. She considered me attentivelyfor a minute or two, then further added -
"She had better be put to bed soon; she looks tired: are youtired?" she asked, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"A little, ma'am. "
"And hungry too, no doubt: let her have some supper before shegoes to bed, Miss Miller. Is this the first time you have leftyour parents to come to school, my little girl?"
I explained to her that I had no parents. She inquired how longthey had been dead: then how old I was, what was my name, whetherI could read, write, and sew a little: then she touched my cheekgently with her forefinger, and saying, "She hoped I should be agood child, " dismissed me along with Miss Miller.
The lady I had left might be about twenty-nine; the one who wentwith me appeared some years younger: the first impressed me byher voice, look, and air. Miss Miller was more ordinary; ruddy incomplexion, though of a careworn countenance; hurried in gait andaction, like one who had always a multiplicity of tasks on hand:she looked, indeed, what I afterwards found she really was, anunder-teacher. Led by her, I passed from compartment to compartment,from passage to passage, of a large and irregular building; till,emerging from the total and somewhat dreary silence pervading thatportion of the house we had traversed, we came upon the hum of manyvoices, and presently entered a wide, long room, with great dealtables, two at each end, on each of which burnt a pair of candles,and seated all round on benches, a congregation of girls of everyage, from nine or ten to twenty. Seen by the dim light of thedips, their number to me appeared countless, though not in realityexceeding eighty; they were uniformly dressed in brown stuff frocksof quaint fashion, and long holland pinafores. It was the hour ofstudy; they were engaged in conning over their to- morrow's task,and the hum I had heard was the combined result of their whisperedrepetitions.
Miss Miller signed to me to sit on a bench near the door,then walking up to the top of the long room she cried out -
"Monitors, collect the lesson-books and put them away! Four tallgirls arose from different tables, and going round, gathered thebooks and removed them. Miss Miller again gave the word of command -
"Monitors, fetch the supper-trays!"
first class, fetch the globes!" to which I clung with kisses. papered walls, carpet, curtains.
The tall girls went out and returned presently, each bearing a tray,with portions of something, I knew not what, arranged thereon, anda pitcher of water and mug in the middle of each tray. The portionswere handed round; those who liked took a draught of the water,the mug being common to all. When it came to my turn, I drank, forI was thirsty, but did not touch the food, excitement and fatiguerendering me incapable of eating: I now saw, however, that it wasa thin oaten cake shaved into fragments.
The meal over, prayers were read by Miss Miller, and the classesfiled off, two and two, upstairs. Overpowered by this time withweariness, I scarcely noticed what sort of a place the bedroom was,except that, like the schoolroom, I saw it was very long. To-nightI was to be Miss Miller's bed-fellow; she helped me to undress:when laid down I glanced at the long rows of beds, each of whichwas quickly filled with two occupants; in ten minutes the singlelight was extinguished, and amidst silence and complete darknessI fell asleep.
The night passed rapidly. I was too tired even to dream; I onlyonce awoke to hear the wind rave in furious gusts, and the rainfall in torrents, and to be sensible that Miss Miller had takenher place by my side. When I again unclosed my eyes, a loud bellwas ringing; the girls were up and dressing; day had not yet begunto dawn, and a rushlight or two burned in the room. I too rosereluctantly; it was bitter cold, and I dressed as well as I couldfor shivering, and washed when there was a basin at liberty, whichdid not occur soon, as there was but one basin to six girls, onthe stands down the middle of the room. Again the bell rang: allformed in file, two and two, and in that order descended the stairsand entered the cold and dimly lit schoolroom: here prayerswere read by Miss Miller; afterwards she called out -
"Form classes!"
A great tumult succeeded for some minutes, during which Miss Millerrepeatedly exclaimed, "Silence!" and "Order!" When it subsided,I saw them all drawn up in four semicircles, before four chairs,placed at the four tables; all held books in their hands, and a greatbook, like a Bible, lay on each table, before the vacant seat. Apause of some seconds succeeded, filled up by the low, vague humof numbers; Miss Miller walked from class to class, hushing thisindefinite sound.
A distant bell tinkled: immediately three ladies entered the room,each walked to a table and took her seat. Miss Miller assumed thefourth vacant chair, which was that nearest the door, and aroundwhich the smallest of the children were assembled: to this inferiorclass I was called, and placed at the bottom of it.
I was puzzled.Ere I had gathered?
Business now began, the day's Collect was repeated, then certaintexts of Scripture were said, and to these succeeded a protractedreading of chapters in the Bible, which lasted an hour. Bythe time that exercise was terminated, day had fully dawned. Theindefatigable bell now sounded for the fourth time: the classeswere marshalled and marched into another room to breakfast: howglad I was to behold a prospect of getting something to eat! Iwas now nearly sick from inanition, having taken so little the daybefore.
The refectory was a great, low-ceiled, gloomy room; on two long tablessmoked basins of something hot, which, however, to my dismay, sentforth an odour far from inviting. I saw a universal manifestationof discontent when the fumes of the repast met the nostrilsof those destined to swallow it; from the van of the procession,the tall girls of the first class, rose the whispered words -
"Disgusting! The porridge is burnt again!"
"Silence!" ejaculated a voice; not that of Miss Miller, but one ofthe upper teachers, a little and dark personage, smartly dressed,but of somewhat morose aspect, who installed herself at the topof one table, while a more buxom lady presided at the other. Ilooked in vain for her I had first seen the night before; she wasnot visible: Miss Miller occupied the foot of the table where I sat,and a strange, foreign-looking, elderly lady, the French teacher,as I afterwards found, took the corresponding seat at the otherboard. A long grace was said and a hymn sung; then a servantbrought in some tea for the teachers, and the meal began.
Ravenous, and now very faint, I devoured a spoonful or two of myportion without thinking of its taste; but the first edge of hungerblunted, I perceived I had got in hand a nauseous mess; burntporridge is almost as bad as rotten potatoes; famine itself soonsickens over it. The spoons were moved slowly: I saw each girltaste her food and try to swallow it; but in most cases the effortwas soon relinquished. Breakfast was over, and none had breakfasted.Thanks being returned for what we had not got, and a second hymnchanted, the refectory was evacuated for the schoolroom. I was oneof the last to go out, and in passing the tables, I saw one teachertake a basin of the porridge and taste it; she looked at the others;all their countenances expressed displeasure, and one ofthem, the stout one, whispered -
"Abominable stuff! How shameful!"
A quarter of an hour passed before lessons again began, during whichthe schoolroom was in a glorious tumult; for that space of time itseemed to be permitted to talk loud and more freely, and they usedtheir privilege. The whole conversation ran on the breakfast,which one and all abused roundly. Poor things! it was the soleconsolation they had. Miss Miller was now the only teacher in theroom: a group of great girls standing about her spoke with seriousand sullen gestures. I heard the name of Mr. Brocklehurst pronouncedby some lips; at which Miss Miller shook her head disapprovingly;but she made no great effort to cheek the general wrath; doubtlessshe shared in it.
A clock in the schoolroom struck nine; Miss Miller lefther circle, and standing in the middle of the room, cried -
"Silence! To your seats!"
Discipline prevailed: in five minutes the confused throng wasresolved into order, and comparative silence quelled the Babelclamour of tongues. The upper teachers now punctually resumed theirposts: but still, all seemed to wait. Ranged on benches down thesides of the room, the eighty girls sat motionless and erect; aquaint assemblage they appeared, all with plain locks combed fromtheir faces, not a curl visible; in brown dresses, made high andsurrounded by a narrow tucker about the throat, with little pocketsof holland (shaped something like a Highlander's purse) tied in frontof their frocks, and destined to serve the purpose of a work-bag:all, too, wearing woollen stockings and country-made shoes, fastenedwith brass buckles. Above twenty of those clad in this costumewere full-grown girls, or rather young women; it suited them ill,and gave an air of oddity even to the prettiest.
I was still looking at them, and also at intervals examining theteachers -- none of whom precisely pleased me; for the stout onewas a little coarse, the dark one not a little fierce, the foreignerharsh and grotesque, and Miss Miller, poor thing! looked purple,weather- beaten, and over-worked -- when, as my eye wandered fromface to face, the whole school rose simultaneously, as if moved bya common spring.
What was the matter? I had heard no order given: I was puzzled.Ere I had gathered my wits, the classes were again seated: but asall eyes were now turned to one point, mine followed the generaldirection, and encountered the personage who had received me lastnight. She stood at the bottom of the long room, on the hearth;for there was a fire at each end; she surveyed the two rows of girlssilently and gravely. Miss Miller approaching, seemed to ask hera question, and having received her answer, went back toher place, and said aloud -
"Monitor of the first class, fetch the globes!"
While the direction was being executed, the lady consulted movedslowly up the room. I suppose I have a considerable organ ofveneration, for I retain yet the sense of admiring awe with whichmy eyes traced her steps. Seen now, in broad daylight, she lookedtall, fair, and shapely; brown eyes with a benignant light in theiriris, and a fine pencilling of long lashes round, relieved thewhiteness of her large front; on each of her temples her hair, ofa very dark brown, was clustered in round curls, according to thefashion of those times, when neither smooth bands nor long ringletswere in vogue; her dress, also in the mode of the day, was of purplecloth, relieved by a sort of Spanish trimming of black velvet;a gold watch (watches were not so common then as now) shone ather girdle. Let the reader add, to complete the picture, refinedfeatures; a complexion, if pale, clear; and a stately air andcarriage, and he will have, at least, as clearly as words can giveit, a correct idea of the exterior of Miss Temple -- Maria Temple,as I afterwards saw the name written in a prayer-book intrusted tome to carry to church.
The superintendent of Lowood (for such was this lady) having takenher seat before a pair of globes placed on one of the tables,summoned the first class round her, and commenced giving a lessonon geography; the lower classes were called by the teachers:repetitions in history, grammar, &c. , went on for an hour; writingand arithmetic succeeded, and music lessons were given by MissTemple to some of the elder girls. The duration of each lessonwas measured by the clock, which at last struck twelve. Thesuperintendent rose -
"I have a word to address to the pupils, " said she.
teacher in theroom: a group of great girls standing about her ?
The tumult of cessation from lessons was already breakingforth, but it sank at her voice. She went on -
"You had this morning a breakfast which you could not eat; youmust be hungry: -- I have ordered that a lunch of bread and cheeseshall be served to all. "
The teachers looked at her with a sort of surprise.
"It is to be done on my responsibility, " she added, in an explanatorytone to them, and immediately afterwards left the room.
The bread and cheese was presently brought in and distributed, tothe high delight and refreshment of the whole school. The orderwas now given "To the garden!" Each put on a coarse straw bonnet,with strings of coloured calico, and a cloak of grey frieze. I wassimilarly equipped, and, following the stream, I made my way intothe open air.
The garden was a wide inclosure, surrounded with walls so high asto exclude every glimpse of prospect; a covered verandah ran downone side, and broad walks bordered a middle space divided intoscores of little beds: these beds were assigned as gardens forthe pupils to cultivate, and each bed had an owner. When full offlowers they would doubtless look pretty; but now, at the latterend of January, all was wintry blight and brown decay. I shudderedas I stood and looked round me: it was an inclement day for outdoorexercise; not positively rainy, but darkened by a drizzling yellowfog; all under foot was still soaking wet with the floods ofyesterday. The stronger among the girls ran about and engaged inactive games, but sundry pale and thin ones herded together forshelter and warmth in the verandah; and amongst these, as the densemist penetrated to their shivering frames, I heard frequently thesound of a hollow cough.