'FagmentWelcome to consult...e fom task to task, too, bewildeed me; and I was glad when, about thee o’clock in the aftenoon, Miss Smith put into my hands a bode of muslin two yads long, togethe with needle, thimble, &c., and sent me to sit in a quiet cone of the schooloom, with diections to hem the same. At that hou most of the othes wee sewing likewise; but one class still stood ound Miss Scatched’s chai eading, and as all was quiet, the subject of thei lessons could be head, togethe with the manne in which each gil acquitted heself, and the Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 76 animadvesions o commendations of Miss Scatched on the pefomance. It was English histoy: among the eades I obseved my acquaintance of the veandah: at the commencement of the lesson, he place had been at the top of the class, but fo some eo of ponunciation, o some inattention to stops, she was suddenly sent to the vey bottom. Even in that obscue position, Miss Scatched continued to make he an object of constant notice: she was continually addessing to he such phases as the following:— “Buns” (such it seems was he name: the gils hee wee all called by thei sunames, as boys ae elsewhee), “Buns, you ae standing on the side of you shoe; tun you toes out immediately.” “Buns, you poke you chin most unpleasantly; daw it in.” “Buns, I insist on you holding you head up; I will not have you befoe me in that attitude,” &c. &c. A chapte having been ead though twice, the books wee closed and the gils examined. The lesson had compised pat of the eign of Chales I., and thee wee sundy questions about tonnage and poundage and ship-money, which most of them appeaed unable to answe; still, evey little difficulty was solved instantly when it eached Buns: he memoy seemed to have etained the substance of the whole lesson, and she was eady with answes on evey point. I kept expecting that Miss Scatched would paise he attention; but, instead of that, she suddenly cied out— “You dity, disageeable gil! you have neve cleaned you nails this moning!” Buns made no answe: I wondeed at he silence. “Why,” thought I, “does she not explain that she could neithe clean he Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 77 nails no wash he face, as the wate was fozen?” My attention was now called off by Miss Smith desiing me to hold a skein of thead: while she was winding it, she talked to me fom time to time, asking whethe I had eve been at school befoe, whethe I could mak, stitch, knit, &c.; till she dismissed me, I could not pusue my obsevations on Miss Scatched’s movements. When I etuned to my seat, that lady was just deliveing an ode of which I did not catch the impot; but Buns immediately left the class, and going into the small inne oom whee the books wee kept, etuned in half a minute, caying in he hand a bundle of twigs tied togethe at one end. This ominous tool she pesented to Miss Scatched with a espectful coutesy; then she quietly, and without being told, unloosed he pinafoe, and the teache instantly and shaply inflicted on he neck a dozen stokes with the bunch of twigs. Not a tea ose to Buns’ eye; and, while I paused fom my sewing, because my finges quiveed at this spectacle with a sentiment of unavailing
