第53章

第53章hewentonasastatuewould，thatis，heneitherspokenormoved.mrs.fairfaxseemedtothinkitnecessarythatsomeoneshouldbeamiable，andshebegantotalk.kindly，asusual—and，asusual，rathertrite—shecondoledwithhimonthepressureofbusinesshehadhadallday；ontheannoyanceitmusthavebeentohimwiththatpainfulsprain：thenshecommendedhispatienceandperseveranceingoingthroughwithit.

“madam，ishouldlikesometea，”wasthesolerejoindershegot.shehastenedtoringthebell；andwhenthetraycame，sheproceededtoarrangethecups，spoons，&c.，withassiduouscelerity.iandadèlewenttothetable；butthemasterdidnotleavehiscouch.

“willyouhandmr.rochester’scup？”saidmrs.fairfaxtome；“adèlemightperhapsspillit.”

ididasrequested.ashetookthecupfrommyhand，adèle，thinkingthemomentpropitiousformakingarequestinmyfavour，criedout—

“n’est-cepas，monsieur，qu’ilyauncadeaupourmademoiselleeyredansvotrepetitcoffre？”

“whotalksofcadeaux？”saidhegruffly.“didyouexpectapresent，misseyre？areyoufondofpresents？”andhesearchedmyfacewitheyesthatisawweredark，irate，andpiercing.

“ihardlyknow，sir；ihavelittleexperienceofthem：theyaregenerallythoughtpleasantthings.”

“generallythought？butwhatdoyouthink？”

“ishouldbeobligedtotaketime，sir，beforeicouldgiveyouananswerworthyofyouracceptance：apresenthasmanyfacestoit，hasitnot？andoneshouldconsiderall，beforepronouncinganopinionastoitsnature.”

“misseyre，youarenotsounsophisticatedasadèle：shedemandsa‘cadeau，’clamorously，themomentsheseesme：youbeataboutthebush.”

“becauseihavelessconfidenceinmydesertsthanadèlehas：shecanprefertheclaimofoldacquaintance，andtherighttooofcustom；forshesaysyouhavealwaysbeeninthehabitofgivingherplaythings；butifihadtomakeoutacaseishouldbepuzzled，sinceiamastranger，andhavedonenothingtoentitlemetoanacknowledgment.”

“oh，don’tfallbackonover-modesty！ihaveexaminedadèle，andfindyouhavetakengreatpainswithher：sheisnotbright，shehasnotalents；yetinashorttimeshehasmademuchimprovement.”

“sir，youhavenowgivenmemy‘cadeau；’iamobligedtoyou：itisthemeedteachersmostcovet—praiseoftheirpupils’progress.”

“humph！”saidmr.rochester，andhetookhisteainsilence.

“cometothefire，”saidthemaster，whenthetraywastakenaway，andmrs.fairfaxhadsettledintoacornerwithherknitting；whileadèlewasleadingmebythehandroundtheroom，showingmethebeautifulbooksandornamentsontheconsolesandchiffonnieres.weobeyed，asindutybound；adèlewantedtotakeaseatonmyknee，butshewasorderedtoamuseherselfwithpilot.

“youhavebeenresidentinmyhousethreemonths？”

“yes，sir.”

“andyoucamefrom—？”

“fromlowoodschool，in—shire.”

“ah！acharitableconcern.howlongwereyouthere？”

“eightyears.”

“eightyears！youmustbetenaciousoflife.ithoughthalfthetimeinsuchaplacewouldhavedoneupanyconstitution！nowonderyouhaveratherthelookofanotherworld.imarvelledwhereyouhadgotthatsortofface.whenyoucameonmeinhaylanelastnight，ithoughtountablyoffairytales，andhadhalfamindtodemandwhetheryouhadbewitchedmyhorse：iamnotsureyet.whoareyourparents？”

“ihavenone.”

“noreverhad，isuppose：doyourememberthem？”

“no.”

“ithoughtnot.andsoyouwerewaitingforyourpeoplewhenyousatonthatstile？”

“forwhom，sir？”

“forthemeningreen：itwasapropermoonlighteveningforthem.didibreakthroughoneofyourrings，thatyouspreadthatdamnediceonthecauseway？”

ishookmyhead.“themeningreenallforsookenglandahundredyearsago，”saidi，speakingasseriouslyashehaddone.“andnoteveninhaylane，orthefieldsaboutit，couldyoufindatraceofthem.idon’tthinkeithersummerorharvest，orwintermoon，willevershineontheirrevelsmore.”

mrs.fairfaxhaddroppedherknitting，and，withraisedeyebrows，seemedwonderingwhatsortoftalkthiswas.

“well，”resumedmr.rochester，“ifyoudisownparents，youmusthavesomesortofkinsfolk：unclesandaunts？”

“no；nonethatieversaw.”

“andyourhome？”

“ihavenone.”

“wheredoyourbrothersandsisterslive？”

“ihavenobrothersorsisters.”

“whorecommendedyoutocomehere？”

“iadvertised，andmrs.fairfaxansweredmyadvertisement.”

“yes，”saidthegoodlady，whonowknewwhatgroundwewereupon，“andiamdailythankfulforthechoiceprovidenceledmetomake.misseyrehasbeenaninvaluablecompaniontome，andakindandcarefulteachertoadèle.”

“don’ttroubleyourselftogiveheracharacter，”returnedmr.rochester：“eulogiumswillnotbiasme；ishalljudgeformyself.shebeganbyfellingmyhorse.”

无一错一首一发一内一容一在一6一9一书一吧一看！

“sir？”saidmrs.fairfax.

“ihavetothankherforthissprain.”

thewidowlookedbewildered.

“misseyre，haveyoueverlivedinatown？”

“no，sir.”

“haveyouseenmuchsociety？”

“nonebutthepupilsandteachersoflowood，andnowtheinmatesofthornfield.”

“haveyoureadmuch？”

“onlysuchbooksascameinmyway；andtheyhavenotbeennumerousorverylearned.”