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1The next day commenced as before, getting up and dressing by rushlight; but this morning we were obliged to dispense
2with the ceremony of washing; the water in the pitchers was frozen. A change had taken place in the weather the
3preceding evening, and a keen north-east wind, whistling through the crevices of our bedroom windows all night long, had
4made us shiver in our beds, and turned the contents of the ewers to ice. Before the long hour and a half of prayers and
5Bible-reading was over, I felt ready to perish with cold. Breakfast-time came at last, and this morning the porridge was
6not burnt; the quality was eatable, the quantity small. How small my portion seemed! I wished it had been doubled. In
7the course of the day I was enrolled a member of the fourth class, and regular tasks and occupations were assigned me:
8hitherto, I had only been a spectator of the proceedings at Lowood; I was now to become an actor therein. At first,
9being little accustomed to learn by heart, the lessons appeared to me both long and difficult; the frequent change from
10task to task, too, bewildered me; and I was glad when, about three o'clock in the afternoon, Miss Smith put into my
11hands a border of muslin two yards long, together with needle, thimble, &c., and sent me to sit in a quiet corner of the
12schoolroom, with directions to hem the same. At that hour most of the others were sewing likewise; but one class still
13stood round Miss Scatcherd's chair reading, and as all was quiet, the subject of their lessons could be heard, together
14with the manner in which each girl acquitted herself, and the animadversions or commendations of Miss Scatcherd on the
15performance. It was English history: among the readers I observed my acquaintance of the verandah: at the commencement
16of the lesson, her place had been at the top of the class, but for some error of pronunciation, or some inattention to
17stops, she was suddenly sent to the very bottom. Even in that obscure position, Miss Scatcherd continued to make her an
18object of constant notice: she was continually addressing to her such phrases as the following:-- "Burns" (such it seems
19was her name: the girls here were all called by their surnames, as boys are elsewhere), "Burns, you are standing on the
20side of your shoe; turn your toes out immediately." "Burns, you poke your chin most unpleasantly; draw it in." "Burns, I
21insist on your holding your head up; I will not have you before me in that attitude," &c. &c. A chapter having been read
22through twice, the books were closed and the girls examined. The lesson had comprised part of the reign of Charles I.,
23and there were sundry questions about tonnage and poundage and ship-money, which most of them appeared unable to answer;
24still, every little difficulty was solved instantly when it reached Burns: her memory seemed to have retained the
25substance of the whole lesson, and she was ready with answers on every point. I kept expecting that Miss Scatcherd would
26praise her attention; but, instead of that, she suddenly cried out-- "You dirty, disagreeable girl! you have never
27cleaned your nails this morning!" Burns made no answer: I wondered at her silence. "Why," thought I, "does she not
28explain that she could neither clean her nails nor wash her face, as the water was frozen?" My attention was now called
29off by Miss Smith desiring me to hold a skein of thread: while she was winding it, she talked to me from time to time,
30asking whether I had ever been at school before, whether I could mark, stitch, knit, &c.; till she dismissed me, I could
31not pursue my observations on Miss Scatcherd's movements. When I returned to my seat, that lady was just delivering an
32order of which I did not catch the import; but Burns immediately left the class, and going into the small inner room
33where the books were kept, returned in half a minute, carrying in her hand a bundle of twigs tied together at one end.
34This ominous tool she presented to Miss Scatcherd with a respectful curtesy; then she quietly, and without being told,
35unloosed her pinafore, and the teacher instantly and sharply inflicted on her neck a dozen strokes with the bunch of
36twigs. Not a tear rose to Burns' eye; and, while I paused from my sewing, because my fingers quivered at this spectacle
37with a sentiment of unavailing and impotent anger, not a feature of her pensive face altered its ordinary expression.
38"Hardened girl!" exclaimed Miss Scatcherd; "nothing can correct you of your slatternly habits: carry the rod away."
39Burns obeyed: I looked at her narrowly as she emerged from the book-closet; she was just putting back her handkerchief
40into her pocket, and the trace of a tear glistened on her thin cheek. The play-hour in the evening I thought the
41pleasantest fraction of the day at Lowood: the bit of bread, the draught of coffee swallowed at five o'clock had revived
42vitality, if it had not satisfied hunger: the long restraint of the day was slackened; the schoolroom felt warmer than
43in the morning--its fires being allowed to burn a little more brightly, to supply, in some measure, the place of
44candles, not yet introduced: the ruddy gloaming, the licensed uproar, the confusion of many voices gave one a welcome
45sense of liberty. On the evening of the day on which I had seen Miss Scatcherd flog her pupil, Burns, I wandered as
46usual among the forms and tables and laughing groups without a companion, yet not feeling lonely: when I passed the
47windows, I now and then lifted a blind, and looked out; it snowed fast, a drift was already forming against the lower
48panes; putting my ear close to the window, I could distinguish from the gleeful tumult within, the disconsolate moan of
49the wind outside. Probably, if I had lately left a good home and kind parents, this would have been the hour when I
50should most keenly have regretted the separation; that wind would then have saddened my heart; this obscure chaos would
51have disturbed my peace! as it was, I derived from both a strange excitement, and reckless and feverish, I wished the
52wind to howl more wildly, the gloom to deepen to darkness, and the confusion to rise to clamour. Jumping over forms, and
53creeping under tables, I made my way to one of the fire-places; there, kneeling by the high wire fender, I found Burns,
54absorbed, silent, abstracted from all round her by the companionship of a book, which she read by the dim glare of the
55embers. "Is it still 'Rasselas'?" I asked, coming behind her. "Yes," she said, "and I have just finished it." And in
56five minutes more she shut it up. I was glad of this. "Now," thought I, "I can perhaps get her to talk." I sat down by
57her on the floor. "What is your name besides Burns?" "Helen." "Do you come a long way from here?" "I come from a place
58farther north, quite on the borders of Scotland." "Will you ever go back?" "I hope so; but nobody can be sure of the
59future." "You must wish to leave Lowood?" "No! why should I? I was sent to Lowood to get an education; and it would be
60of no use going away until I have attained that object." "But that teacher, Miss Scatcherd, is so cruel to you?" "Cruel?
61Not at all! She is severe: she dislikes my faults." "And if I were in your place I should dislike her; I should resist
62her. If she struck me with that rod, I should get it from her hand; I should break it under her nose." "Probably you
63would do nothing of the sort: but if you did, Mr. Brocklehurst would expel you from the school; that would be a great
64grief to your relations. It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a
65hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you; and besides, the Bible bids us return good
66for evil." "But then it seems disgraceful to be flogged, and to be sent to stand in the middle of a room full of people;
67and you are such a great girl: I am far younger than you, and I could not bear it." "Yet it would be your duty to bear
68it, if you could not avoid it: it is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear."
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