"And was that the head and front of his offending?" demanded Mr. Rochester.

     "He starved us when he had the sole superintendence of the provision department, before the committee was appointed; and he bored us with long lectures once a week, and with evening readings from books of his own inditing, about sudden deaths and judgments, which made us afraid to go to bed."

     "What age were you when you went to Lowood?"

     "About ten."

     "And you stayed there eight years: you are now, then, eighteen?"

     I assented.

     "Arithmetic, you see, is useful; without its aid, I should hardly have been able to guess your age. It is a point difficult to fix where the features and countenance are so much at variance as in your case. And now what did you learn at Lowood? Can you play?"

     "A little."