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“Well？”
“ItpuzzlesmetoknowwhyMr。Briggswrotetoyouaboutme;orhowheknewyou，orcouldfancythatyou，livinginsuchanout—of—the—wayplace，hadthepowertoaidinmydiscovery。”
“Oh！Iamaclergyman，”hesaid;“andtheclergyareoftenappealedtoaboutoddmatters。”Againthelatchrattled。
“No;thatdoesnotsatisfyme！”Iexclaimed:andindeedtherewassomethinginthehastyandunexplanatoryreplywhich，insteadofallaying，piquedmycuriositymorethanever。
“Itisaverystrangepieceofbusiness，”Iadded;“Imustknowmoreaboutit。”
“Anothertime。”
“No;to—night！—to—night！”andasheturnedfromthedoor，Iplacedmyselfbetweenitandhim。Helookedratherembarrassed。
“Youcertainlyshallnotgotillyouhavetoldmeall，”Isaid。
“Iwouldrathernotjustnow。”
“Youshall！—youmust！”
“IwouldratherDianaorMaryinformedyou。”
Ofcoursetheseobjectionswroughtmyeagernesstoaclimax:gratifieditmustbe，andthatwithoutdelay;andItoldhimso。
“ButIapprisedyouthatIwasahardman，”saidhe，“difficulttopersuade。”
“AndIamahardwoman，—impossibletoputoff。”
“Andthen，”hepursued，“Iamcold:nofervourinfectsme。”
“WhereasIamhot，andfiredissolvesice。Theblazetherehasthawedallthesnowfromyourcloak;bythesametoken，ithasstreamedontomyfloor，andmadeitlikeatrampledstreet。Asyouhopeevertobeforgiven，Mr。Rivers，thehighcrimeandmisdemeanourofspoilingasandedkitchen，tellmewhatIwishtoknow。”
“Well，then，”hesaid，“Iyield;ifnottoyourearnestness，toyourperseverance:asstoneiswornbycontinualdropping。Besides，youmustknowsomeday，—aswellnowaslater。YournameisJaneEyre？”
“Ofcourse:thatwasallsettledbefore。”
“Youarenot，perhaps，awarethatIamyournamesake？—thatIwaschristenedSt。JohnEyreRivers？”
“No，indeed！IremembernowseeingtheletterE。comprisedinyourinitialswritteninbooksyouhaveatdifferenttimeslentme;butIneveraskedforwhatnameitstood。Butwhatthen？Surely—”
Istopped:Icouldnottrustmyselftoentertain，muchlesstoexpress，thethoughtthatrusheduponme—thatembodieditself，—that，inasecond，stoodoutastrong，solidprobability。Circumstancesknitthemselves，fittedthemselves，shotintoorder:thechainthathadbeenlyinghithertoaformlesslumpoflinkswasdrawnoutstraight，—everyringwasperfect，theconnectioncomplete。Iknew，byinstinct，howthematterstood，beforeSt。Johnhadsaidanotherword;butIcannotexpectthereadertohavethesameintuitiveperception，soImustrepeathisexplanation。
“Mymother’snamewasEyre;shehadtwobrothers;oneaclergyman，whomarriedMissJaneReed，ofGateshead;theother，JohnEyre，Esq。，merchant，lateofFunchal，Madeira。Mr。Briggs，beingMr。Eyre’ssolicitor，wrotetouslastAugusttoinformusofouruncle’sdeath，andtosaythathehadlefthispropertytohisbrothertheclergyman’sorphandaughter，overlookingus，inconsequenceofaquarrel，neverforgiven，betweenhimandmyfather。Hewroteagainafewweekssince，tointimatethattheheiresswaslost，andaskingifweknewanythingofher。Anamecasuallywrittenonaslipofpaperhasenabledmetofindherout。Youknowtherest。”Againhewasgoing，butIsetmybackagainstthedoor。
“Doletmespeak，”Isaid;“letmehaveonemomenttodrawbreathandreflect。”Ipaused—hestoodbeforeme，hatinhand，lookingcomposedenough。Iresumed—
“Yourmotherwasmyfather’ssister？”
“Yes。”
“Myaunt，consequently？”
Hebowed。
“MyuncleJohnwasyouruncleJohn？You，Diana，andMaryarehissister’schildren，asIamhisbrother’schild？”
“Undeniably。”
“Youthree，then，aremycousins;halfourbloodoneachsideflowsfromthesamesource？”
“Wearecousins;yes。”
Isurveyedhim。ItseemedIhadfoundabrother:oneIcouldbeproudof，—oneIcouldlove;andtwosisters，whosequalitiesweresuch，that，whenIknewthembutasmerestrangers，theyhadinspiredmewithgenuineaffectionandadmiration。Thetwogirls，onwhom，kneelingdownonthewetground，andlookingthroughthelow，latticedwindowofMoorHousekitchen，Ihadgazedwithsobitteramixtureofinterestanddespair，weremynearkinswomen;andtheyoungandstatelygentlemanwhohadfoundmealmostdyingathisthresholdwasmybloodrelation。Gloriousdiscoverytoalonelywretch！Thiswaswealthindeed！—wealthtotheheart！—amineofpure，genialaffections。Thiswasablessing，bright，vivid，andexhilarating;—notliketheponderousgiftofgold:richandwelcomeenoughinitsway，butsoberingfromitsweight。Inowclappedmyhandsinsuddenjoy—mypulsebounded，myveinsthrilled。
“Oh，Iamglad！—Iamglad！”Iexclaimed。
St。Johnsmiled。“DidInotsayyouneglectedessentialpointstopursuetrifles？”heasked。“YouwereseriouswhenItoldyouyouhadgotafortune;andnow，foramatterofnomoment，youareexcited。”
“Whatcanyoumean？Itmaybeofnomomenttoyou;youhavesistersanddon’tcareforacousin;butIhadnobody;andnowthreerelations，—ortwo，ifyoudon’tchoosetobecounted，—arebornintomyworldfull—grown。Isayagain，Iamglad！”
Iwalkedfastthroughtheroom:Istopped，halfsuffocatedwiththethoughtsthatrosefasterthanIcouldreceive，comprehend，settlethem:—thoughtsofwhatmight，could，would，andshouldbe，andthaterelong。Ilookedattheblankwall:itseemedaskythickwithascendingstars，—everyonelitmetoapurposeordelight。Thosewhohadsavedmylife，whom，tillthishour，Ihadlovedbarrenly，Icouldnowbenefit。Theywereunderayoke，—Icouldfreethem:theywerescattered，—Icouldreunitethem:theindependence，theaffluencewhichwasmine，mightbetheirstoo。Werewenotfour？Twentythousandpoundssharedequallywouldbefivethousandeach，justice—enoughandtospare:justicewouldbedone，—mutualhappinesssecured。Nowthewealthdidnotweighonme:nowitwasnotamerebequestofcoin，—itwasalegacyoflife，hope，enjoyment。
HowIlookedwhiletheseideasweretakingmyspiritbystorm，Icannottell;butIperceivedsoonthatMr。Rivershadplacedachairbehindme，andwasgentlyattemptingtomakemesitdownonit。Healsoadvisedmetobecomposed;Iscornedtheinsinuationofhelplessnessanddistraction，shookoffhishand，andbegantowalkaboutagain。
“WritetoDianaandMaryto—morrow，”Isaid，“andtellthemtocomehomedirectly。Dianasaidtheywouldbothconsiderthemselvesrichwithathousandpounds，sowithfivethousandtheywilldoverywell。”
“TellmewhereIcangetyouaglassofwater，”saidSt。John;“youmustreallymakeanefforttotranquilliseyourfeelings。”
“Nonsense！andwhatsortofaneffectwillthebequesthaveonyou？WillitkeepyouinEngland，induceyoutomarryMissOliver，andsettledownlikeanordinarymortal？”
“Youwander:yourheadbecomesconfused。Ihavebeentooabruptincommunicatingthenews;ithasexcitedyoubeyondyourstrength。”
“Mr。Rivers！youquiteputmeoutofpatience:Iamrationalenough;itisyouwhomisunderstand，orratherwhoaffecttomisunderstand。”
“Perhaps，ifyouexplainedyourselfalittlemorefully，Ishouldcomprehendbetter。”
“Explain！Whatistheretoexplain？Youcannotfailtoseethattwentythousandpounds，thesuminquestion，dividedequallybetweenthenephewandthreeniecesofouruncle，willgivefivethousandtoeach？WhatIwantis，thatyoushouldwritetoyoursistersandtellthemofthefortunethathasaccruedtothem。”
“Toyou，youmean。”
“Ihaveintimatedmyviewofthecase:Iamincapableoftakinganyother。Iamnotbrutallyselfish，blindlyunjust，orfiendishlyungrateful。Besides，IamresolvedIwillhaveahomeandconnections。IlikeMoorHouse，andIwillliveatMoorHouse;IlikeDianaandMary，andIwillattachmyselfforlifetoDianaandMary。Itwouldpleaseandbenefitmetohavefivethousandpounds;itwouldtormentandoppressmetohavetwentythousand;which，moreover，couldneverbemineinjustice，thoughitmightinlaw。Iabandontoyou，then，whatisabsolutelysuperfluoustome。Lettherebenoopposition，andnodiscussionaboutit;letusagreeamongsteachother，anddecidethepointatonce。”
“Thisisactingonfirstimpulses;youmusttakedaystoconsidersuchamatter，ereyourwordcanberegardedasvalid。”
“Oh！ifallyoudoubtismysincerity，Iameasy:youseethejusticeofthecase？”
“Idoseeacertainjustice;butitiscontrarytoallcustom。Besides，theentirefortuneisyourright:myunclegaineditbyhisownefforts;hewasfreetoleaveittowhomhewould:heleftittoyou。Afterall，justicepermitsyoutokeepit:youmay，withaclearconscience，consideritabsolutelyyourown。”
“Withme，”saidI，“itisfullyasmuchamatteroffeelingasofconscience:Imustindulgemyfeelings;Isoseldomhavehadanopportunityofdoingso。Wereyoutoargue，object，andannoymeforayear，IcouldnotforegothedeliciouspleasureofwhichIhavecaughtaglimpse—thatofrepaying，inpart，amightyobligation，andwinningtomyselflifelongfriends。”
“Youthinksonow，”rejoinedSt。John，“becauseyoudonotknowwhatitistopossess，norconsequentlytoenjoywealth:youcannotformanotionoftheimportancetwentythousandpoundswouldgiveyou;oftheplaceitwouldenableyoutotakeinsociety;oftheprospectsitwouldopentoyou:youcannot—”
“Andyou，”Iinterrupted，“cannotatallimaginethecravingIhaveforfraternalandsisterlylove。Ineverhadahome，Ineverhadbrothersorsisters;Imustandwillhavethemnow:youarenotreluctanttoadmitmeandownme，areyou？”
“Jane，Iwillbeyourbrother—mysisterswillbeyoursisters—withoutstipulatingforthissacrificeofyourjustrights。”
“Brother？Yes;atthedistanceofathousandleagues！Sisters？Yes;slavingamongststrangers！I，wea
