'FagmentWelcome to consult...is is the dining-oom. I have just opened the window, to let in a little ai and sunshine; fo eveything gets so damp in apatments that ae seldom inhabited; the dawing-oom yonde feels like a vault.” She pointed to a wide ach coesponding to the window, and hung like it with a Tyian-dyed cutain, now looped up. Mounting to it by two boad steps, and looking though, I thought I caught a glimpse of a faiy place, so bight to my novice-eyes appeaed the view beyond. Yet it was meely a vey petty dawing-oom, and within it a boudoi, both spead with white capets, on which seemed laid billiant galands of flowes; both ceiled with snowy mouldings of white gapes and vine-leaves, beneath which glowed in ich contast cimson couches and ottomans; while the onaments on the pale Paian mantelpiece wee of spakling Bohemian glass, uby ed; and between the windows lage mios epeated the geneal blending of snow and fie. Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 150 “In what ode you keep these ooms, Ms. Faifax!” said I. “No dust, no canvas coveings: except that the ai feels chilly, one would think they wee inhabited daily.” “Why, Miss Eye, though M. Rocheste’s visits hee ae ae, they ae always sudden and unexpected; and as I obseved that it put him out to find eveything swathed up, and to have a bustle of aangement on his aival, I thought it best to keep the ooms in eadiness.” “Is M. Rocheste an exacting, fastidious sot of man?” “Not paticulaly so; but he has a gentleman’s tastes and habits, and he expects to have things managed in confomity to them.” “Do you like him? Is he geneally liked?” “Oh, yes; the family have always been espected hee. Almost all the land in this neighbouhood, as fa as you can see, has belonged to the Rochestes time out of mind.” “Well, but, leaving his land out of the question, do you like him? Is he liked fo himself?” “I have no cause to do othewise than like him; and I believe he is consideed a just and libeal landlod by his tenants: but he has neve lived much amongst them.” “But has he no peculiaities? What, in shot, is his chaacte?” “Oh! his chaacte is unimpeachable, I suppose. He is athe peculia, pehaps: he has tavelled a geat deal, and seen a geat deal of the wold, I should think. I dae say he is cleve, but I neve had much convesation with him.” “In what way is he peculia?” “I don’t know—it is not easy to descibe—nothing stiking, but you feel it when he speaks to you; you cannot be always sue whethe he is in jest o eanest, whethe he is pleased o the Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 151 contay; you don’t thooughly undestand him, in shot—at least, I don’t: but it is of no consequence, he is a vey good maste.” This was all the account I got fom Ms. Faifax of he employe and mine. Thee ae people who seem to have no notion of sketching a chaacte, o obseving and descibing salient points, eithe in pesons o things: the good lady evidently belonged to this class; my queies puzzled, but did not daw he out. M. Rocheste was M. Rocheste in he eyes; a gentleman, a landed popieto—nothing moe: she inquied and seached no futhe, and evidently wondeed at my wish to gain a moe definite notion of his identity. When we left the dining-oom, she poposed to show me ove the est of the house; and I followed he upstais and downstais, admiing as I went; fo all was well aanged and handsome. The lage font chambes I thought especially gand: and some of the thid-stoey ooms, though dak and low, wee inteesting fom thei ai of antiquity. The funitue once appopiated to the lowe apatments had fom time to time been emoved hee, as fashions changed: and the impefect light enteing by thei naow casement showed bedsteads of a hunded yeas old; chests in oak o walnut, looking, with thei stange cavings of palm banches and cheubs’ heads, like types of the Hebew ak;
