Jane Eyre 简爱 Chapter 8

ERE the half-hour ended, five o'clock struck; school was dismissed, and all were gone into the refectory to tea. I now ventured to descend ¹: it was deep dusk; I retired ² into a corner and sat down on the floor. The spell by which I had been so far supported began to dissolve; reaction took place, and soon, so overwhelming was the grief that seized me, I sank prostrate ³ with my face to the ground. Now I wept: Helen Burns was not here; nothing sustained me; left to myself I abandoned myself, and my tears watered the boards. I had meant to be so good, and to do so much at Lowood: to make so many friends, to earn respect and win affection. Already I had made visible progress; that very morning I had reached the head of my class; Miss Miller ⁴ had praised me warmly; Miss Temple had smiled approbation ⁵; she had promised to teach me drawing, and to let me learn French, if I continued to make similar improvement two months longer: and then I was well received by my fellow-pupils; treated as an equal by those of my own age, and not molested ⁶ by any; now, here I lay again crushed and trodden on; and could I ever rise more?, ,'Never,' I thought; and ardently ⁸ I wished to die. While sobbing ⁹ out this wish in broken accents, some one approached: I started up- again Helen Burns was near me; the fading fires just showed her coming up the long, vacant room; she brought my coffee and bread., ,'Come, eat something,' she said; but I put both away from me, feeling as if a drop or a crumb ¹⁰ would have choked me in my present condition. Helen regarded me, probably with surprise: I could not now abate ¹¹ my agitation ¹², though I tried hard; I continued to weep aloud. She sat down on the ground near me, embraced her knees with her arms, and rested her head upon them; in that attitude she remained silent as an Indian. I was the first who spoke ¹³-, , ,'Everybody, Jane? Why, there are only eighty people who have heard you called so, and the world contains hundreds of millions.', ,'But what have I to do with millions? The eighty, I know, despise me.', ,We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段
。,The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。