"Did you speak, my own?"

The young lady thus claimed as the dowager's special property,

reiterated her question with an explanation.

"My dearest, don't mention governesses; the word makes me nervous.

I have suffered a martyrdom from their incompetency and caprice. I

thank Heaven I have now done with them!"

Mrs. Dent here bent over to the pious lady and whispered something

in her ear; I suppose, from the answer elicited, it was a reminder

that one of the anathematised race was present.

"Tant pis!" said her Ladyship, "I hope it may do her good!" Then,

in a lower tone, but still loud enough for me to hear, "I noticed

her; I am a judge of physiognomy, and in hers I see all the faults

of her class."

"What are they, madam?" inquired Mr. Rochester aloud.

"I will tell you in your private ear," replied she, wagging her

turban three times with portentous significancy.

"But my curiosity will be past its appetite; it craves food now."

"Ask Blanche; she is nearer you than I."

"Oh, don't refer him to me, mama! I have just one word to say of

the whole tribe; they are a nuisance. Not that I ever suffered much

from them; I took care to turn the tables. What tricks Theodore and

I used to play on our Miss Wilsons, and Mrs. Greys, and Madame

Jouberts! Mary was always too sleepy to join in a plot with spirit.

The best fun was with Madame Joubert: Miss Wilson was a poor sickly

thing, lachrymose and low-spirited, not worth the trouble of

vanquishing, in short; and Mrs. Grey was coarse and insensible; no

blow took effect on her. But poor Madame Joubert! I see her yet in

her raging passions, when we had driven her to extremities--spilt

our tea, crumbled our bread and butter, tossed our books up to the

ceiling, and played a charivari with the ruler and desk, the fender

and fire-irons. Theodore, do you remember those merry days?"

"Yaas, to be sure I do," drawled Lord Ingram; "and the poor old

stick used to cry out 'Oh you villains childs!'--and then we

sermonised her on the presumption of attempting to teach such clever

blades as we were, when she was herself so ignorant."

"We did; and, Tedo, you know, I helped you in prosecuting (or

persecuting) your tutor, whey-faced Mr. Vining--the parson in the

pip, as we used to call him. He and Miss Wilson took the liberty of

falling in love with each other--at least Tedo and I thought so; we

surprised sundry tender glances and sighs which we interpreted as

tokens of 'la belle passion,' and I promise you the public soon had

the benefit of our discovery; we employed it as a sort of lever to

hoist our dead-weights from the house. Dear mama, there, as soon as

she got an inkling of the business, found out that it was of an

immoral tendency. Did you not, my lady-mother?"




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