第25部分(第5/8 頁)

“Yes；　sir。”

“And　you　girls　probably　worshipped　him；　as　a　convent　full　of　religieuses　would　worship　their　director。”

“Oh；　no。”

“You　are　very　cool！　No！　What！　a　novice　not　worship　her　priest！　That　sounds　blasphemous。”

“I　disliked　Mr。　Brocklehurst；　and　I　was　not　alone　in　the　feeling。　He　is　a　harsh　man；　at　once　pompous　and　meddling；　he　cut　off　our　hair；　and　for　economy’s　sake　bought　us　bad　needles　and　thread；　with　which　we　could　hardly　sew。”

“That　was　very　false　economy；”　remarked　Mrs。　Fairfax；　who　now　again　caught　the　drift　of　the　dialogue。

“And　was　that　the　head　and　front　of　his　offending？”　demanded　Mr。　Rochester。

“He　starved　us　when　he　had　the　sole　superintendence　of　the　provision　department；　before　the　mittee　was　appointed；　and　he　bored　us　with　long　lectures　once　a　week；　and　with　evening　readings　from　books　of　his　own　inditing；　about　sudden　deaths　and　judgments；　which　made　us　afraid　to　go　to　bed。”

“What　age　were　you　when　you　went　to　Lowood？”

“About　ten。”

“And　you　stayed　there　eight　years：　you　are　now；　then；　eighteen？”

I　assented。

“Arithmetic；　you　see；　is　useful；　without　its　aid；　I　should　hardly　have　been　able　to　guess　your　age。　It　is　a　point　difficult　to　fix　where　the　features　and　countenance　are　so　much　at　variance　as　in　your　case。　And　now　what　did　you　learn　at　Lowood？　Can　you　play？”

“A　little。”

“Of　course：　that　is　the　established　answer。　Go　into　the　library—I　mean；　if　you　plea