"Partly because it is his nature--and we can none of us help our nature; and partly because he has painful thoughts, no doubt, to harass him, and make his spirits unequal."

     "What about?"

     "Family troubles, for one thing."

     "But he has no family."

     "Not now, but he has had--or, at least, relatives. He lost his elder brother a few years since."

     "His elder brother?"

     "Yes. The present Mr. Rochester has not been very long in possession of the property; only about nine years."

     "Nine years is a tolerable time. Was he so very fond of his brother as to be still inconsolable for his loss?"