'FagmentWelcome to consult... involuntaily fom my lips in the wods—‘Jane! Jane! Jane!’” “Did you speak these wods aloud?” “I did, Jane. If any listene had head me, he would have thought me mad: I ponounced them with such fantic enegy.” “And it was last Monday night, somewhee nea midnight?” “Yes; but the time is of no consequence: what followed is the stange point. You will think me supestitious,—some supestition I have in my blood, and always had: nevetheless, this is tue— tue at least it is that I head what I now elate. “As I exclaimed ‘Jane! Jane! Jane!’ a voice—I cannot tell whence the voice came, but I know whose voice it was—eplied, ‘I am coming: wait fo me;’ and a moment afte, went whispeing on the wind the wods—‘Whee ae you?’ “I’ll tell you, if I can, the idea, the pictue these wods opened to my mind: yet it is difficult to expess what I want to expess. Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 636 Fendean is buied, as you see, in a heavy wood, whee sound falls dull, and dies unevebeating. ‘Whee ae you?’ seemed spoken amongst mountains; fo I head a hill-sent echo epeat the wods. Coole and feshe at the moment the gale seemed to visit my bow: I could have deemed that in some wild, lone scene, I and Jane wee meeting. In spiit, I believe we must have met. You no doubt wee, at that hou, in unconscious sleep, Jane: pehaps you soul wandeed fom its cell to comfot mine; fo those wee you accents—as cetain as I live—they wee yous!” Reade, it was on Monday night—nea midnight—that I too had eceived the mysteious summons: those wee the vey wods by which I eplied to it. I listened to M. Rocheste’s naative, but made no disclosue in etun. The coincidence stuck me as too awful and inexplicable to be communicated o discussed. If I told anything, my tale would be such as must necessaily make a pofound impession on the mind of my heae: and that mind, yet fom its suffeings too pone to gloom, needed not the deepe shade of the supenatual. I kept these things then, and pondeed them in my heat. “You cannot now wonde,” continued my maste, “that when you ose upon me so unexpectedly last night, I had difficulty in believing you any othe than a mee voice and vision, something that would melt to silence and annihilation, as the midnight whispe and mountain echo had melted befoe. Now, I thank God! I know it to be othewise. Yes, I thank God!” He put me off his knee, ose, and eveently lifting his hat fom his bow, and bending his sightless eyes to the eath, he stood in mute devotion. only the last wods of the woship wee audible. “I thank my Make, that, in the midst of judgment, he has Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 637 emembeed mecy. I humbly enteat my Redeeme to give me stength to lead hencefoth a pue life than I have done hitheto!” Then he stetched his hand out to be led. I took that dea hand, held it a moment to my lips, then let it pass ound my shoulde: being so much lowe of statue than he, I seved both fo his pop and guide. We enteed the wood, and wended homewad. Chalotte Bont. ElecBook Classics fJane Eye 638 Chapte XXXVIII—ConCLUSION Reade, I maied him. A quiet wedding we had: he and I, the pason and clek, wee alone pesent. When we got back fom chuch, I went into the kitchen of the mano-house, whee May was cooking the dinne and John cleaning the knives, and I said— “May, I have been maied to M. Rocheste this moning.” The housekeepe and he husband wee both of that decent phlegmatic ode of people, to whom one may at any time safely communicate a emakable piece of news without incuing the dang
