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第9章 峨嵋之行（五）

　　'Aire? Bah! I cannot say it. Well, our ship stopped in the morning,before it was quite daylight, at a great city- a huge city, withvery dark houses and all smoky; not at all like the pretty cleantown I came from; and Mr. Rochester carried me in his arms over aplank to the land, and Sophie came after, and we all got into a coach,which took us to a beautiful large house, larger than this andfiner, called an hotel. We stayed there nearly a week: I and Sophieused to walk every day in a great green place full of trees, calledthe Park; and there were many children there besides me, and a pondwith beautiful birds in it, that I fed with crumbs.'

　　In another second I was embracing and kissing her rapturously:'Bessie! Bessie! Bessie!' that was all I said; whereat she halflaughed, half cried, and we both went into the parlour. By the firestood a little fellow of three years old, in plaid frock and trousers.

　　'We shall think you what you prove yourself to be, my child.Continue to act as a good girl, and you will satisfy us.'

　　The din was on the causeway: a horse was coming; the windings ofthe lane yet hid it, but it approached. I was just leaving thestile; yet, as the path was narrow, I sat still to let it go by. Inthose days I was young, and all sorts of fancies bright and darktenanted my mind: the memories of nursery stories were there amongstother rubbish; and when they recurred, maturing youth added to thema vigour and vividness beyond what childhood could give. As this horseapproached, and as I watched for it to appear through the dusk, Iremembered certain of Bessie's tales, wherein figured aNorth-of-England spirit called a 'Gytrash,' which, in the form ofhorse, mule, or large dog, haunted solitary ways, and sometimes cameupon belated travellers, as this horse was now coming upon me.

　　A kind fairy, in my absence, had surely dropped the requiredsuggestion on my pillow; for as I lay down, it came quietly andnaturally to my mind:- 'Those who want situations advertise; you

　　'In what way is he peculiar?'

　　'Madam,' he pursued, 'I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is notof this world: my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts ofthe flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness andsobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of theyoung persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits whichvanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off;think of the time wasted, of-'

　　A chapter having been read through twice, the books were closed andthe girls examined. The lesson had comprised part of the reign ofCharles I, and there were sundry questions about tonnage andpoundage and ship-money, which most of them appeared unable to answer;still, every little difficulty was solved instantly when it reachedBurns: her memory seemed to have retained the substance of the wholelesson, and she was ready with answers on every point. I keptexpecting that Miss Scatcherd would praise her attention; but, insteadof that, she suddenly cried out-

　　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 which myeyes traced her steps. Seen now, in broad day-light, she lookedtall, fair, and shapely; brown eyes with a benignant light in theiririds, and a fine pencilling of long lashes round, relieved thewhiteness of her large front; on each of her temples her hair, of avery 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; agold watch (watches were not so common then as now) shone at hergirdle. Let the reader add, to complete the picture, refined features;a complexion, if pale, clear; and a stately air and carriage, and hewill have, at least, as clearly as words can give it, a correct ideaof the exterior of Miss Temple- Maria