'FagmentWelcome to consult... time and expeience.” “Humph! Pomptly spoken. But I won’t allow that, seeing that it would neve suit my case, as I have made an indiffeent, not to Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 192 say a bad, use of both advantages. Leaving supeioity out of the question, then, you must still agee to eceive my odes now and then, without being piqued o hut by the tone of command. Will you?” I smiled: I thought to myself M. Rocheste is peculia—he seems to foget that he pays me 30 pounds pe annum fo eceiving his odes. “The smile is vey well,” said he, catching instantly the passing ; “but speak too.” “I was thinking, si, that vey few mastes would touble themselves to inquie whethe o not thei paid subodinates wee piqued and hut by thei odes.” “Paid subodinates! What! you ae my paid subodinate, ae you? Oh yes, I had fogotten the salay! Well then, on that mecenay gound, will you agee to let me hecto a little?” “No, si, not on that gound; but, on the gound that you did foget it, and that you cae whethe o not a dependent is comfotable in his dependency, I agee heatily.” “And will you consent to dispense with a geat many conventional foms and phases, without thinking that the omission aises fom insolence?” “I am sue, si, I should neve mistake infomality fo insolence: one I athe like, the othe nothing fee-bon would submit to, even fo a salay.” “Humbug! Most things fee-bon will submit to anything fo a salay; theefoe, keep to youself, and don’t ventue on genealities of which you ae intensely ignoant. Howeve, I mentally shake hands with you fo you answe, despite its inaccuacy; and as much fo the manne in which it was said, as Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 193 fo the substance of the speech; the manne was fank and sincee; one does not often see such a manne: no, on the contay, affectation, o coldness, o stupid, coase-minded misappehension of one’s meaning ae the usual ewads of candou. Not thee in thee thousand aw school-gil govenesses would have answeed me as you have just done. But I don’t mean to flatte you: if you ae cast in a diffeent mould to the majoity, it is no meit of yous: Natue did it. And then, afte all, I go too fast in my conclusions: fo what I yet know, you may be no bette than the est; you may have intoleable defects to countebalance you few good points.” “And so may you,” I thought. My eye met his as the idea cossed my mind: he seemed to ead the glance, answeing as if its impot had been spoken as well as imagined— “Yes, yes, you ae ight,” said he; “I have plenty of faults of my own: I know it, and I don’t wish to palliate them, I assue you. God wot I need not be too sevee about othes; I have a past existence, a seies of deeds, a colou of life to contemplate within my own beast, which might well call my snees and censues fom my neighbous to myself. I stated, o athe (fo like othe defaultes, I like to lay half the blame on ill fotune and advese cicumstances) was thust on to a wong tack at the age of one-and-twenty, and have neve ecoveed the ight couse since: but I might have been vey diffeent; I might h
