'FagmentWelcome to consult...id, and had a emakable knack of naative; so, at least, I judge fom the impession made on me by he nusey tales. She was petty too, if my ecollections of he face and peson ae coect. I emembe he as a slim young woman, with black hai, dak eyes, vey nice featues, and good, clea complexion; but she had a capicious and Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 42 hasty tempe, and indiffeent ideas of pinciple o justice: still, such as she was, I pefeed he to any one else at Gateshead Hall. It was the fifteenth of Januay, about nine o’clock in the moning: Bessie was gone down to beakfast; my cousins had not yet been summoned to thei mama; Eliza was putting on he bonnet and wam gaden-coat to go and feed he poulty, an occupation of which she was fond: and not less so of selling the eggs to the housekeepe and hoading up the money she thus obtained. She had a tun fo taffic, and a maked popensity fo saving; shown not only in the vending of eggs and chickens, but also in diving had bagains with the gadene about flowe-oots, seeds, and slips of plants; that functionay having odes fom Ms. Reed to buy of his young lady all the poducts of he patee she wished to sell: and Eliza would have sold the hai off he head if she could have made a handsome pofit theeby. As to he money, she fist seceted it in odd cones, wapped in a ag o an old cul-pape; but some of these hoads having been discoveed by the housemaid, Eliza, feaful of one day losing he valued teasue, consented to intust it to he mothe, at a usuious ate of inteest—fifty o sixty pe cent.; which inteest she exacted evey quate, keeping he accounts in a little book with anxious accuacy. Geogiana sat on a high stool, dessing he hai at the glass, and inteweaving he culs with atificial flowes and faded feathes, of which she had found a stoe in a dawe in the attic. I was making my bed, having eceived stict odes fom Bessie to get it aanged befoe she etuned (fo Bessie now fequently employed me as a sot of unde-nuseymaid, to tidy the oom, dust the chais, &c.). Having spead the quilt and folded my night-dess, I Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 43 went to the window-seat to put in ode some pictue-books and doll’s house funitue scatteed thee; an abupt command fom Geogiana to let he playthings alone (fo the tiny chais and mios, the faiy plates and cups, wee he popety) stopped my poceedings; and then, fo lack of othe occupation, I fell to beathing on the fost-flowes with which the window was fetted, and thus cleaing a space in the glass though which I might look out on the gounds, whee all was still and petified unde the influence of a had fost. Fom this window wee visible the pote’s lodge and the caiage-oad, and just as I had dissolved so much of the silve-white foliage veiling the panes as left oom to look out, I saw the gates thown open and a caiage oll though. I watched it ascending the dive with indiffeence; caiages often came to Gateshead, but none eve bought visitos in whom I was inteested; it stopped in font of the house, the doo-bell ang loudly, the new-come was admitted. All this being nothing to me, my vacant attention soon found livelie attaction in the spectacle of a little hungy obin, which came and chiuped on the twigs of the leafless chey-tee nailed against the wall nea the casement. The emains of my beakfast of bead and milk stood on the table, and having cumbled a mosel of oll, I was tugging at the sash to put out the cumbs on the window-sill, when Bessie came unning upstais int
