chapter06CHAPTERVI
THEnextdaycommencedasbefore，gettingupanddressingbyrushlight;butthismorningwewereobligedtodispensewiththeceremonyofwashing;thewaterinthepitcherswasfrozen。Achangehadtakenplaceintheweathertheprecedingevening，andakeennorth—eastwind，whistlingthroughthecrevicesofourbedroomwindowsallnightlong，hadmadeusshiverinourbeds，andturnedthecontentsoftheewerstoice。
BeforethelonghourandahalfofprayersandBible—readingwasover，Ifeltreadytoperishwithcold。Breakfast—timecameatlast，andthismorningtheporridgewasnotburnt;thequalitywaseatable，thequantitysmall。Howsmallmyportionseemed！Iwishedithadbeendoubled。
InthecourseofthedayIwasenrolledamemberofthefourthclass，andregulartasksandoccupationswereassignedme:hitherto，I
hadonlybeenaspectatoroftheproceedingsatLowood;Iwasnowtobecomeanactortherein。Atfirst，beinglittleaccustomedtolearnbyheart，thelessonsappearedtomebothlonganddifficult;thefrequentchangefromtasktotask，too，bewilderedme;andIwasgladwhen，aboutthreeo\'clockintheafternoon，MissSmithputintomyhandsaborderofmuslintwoyardslong，togetherwithneedle，thimble，etc。，andsentmetositinaquietcorneroftheschoolroom，withdirectionstohemthesame。Atthathourmostoftheothersweresewinglikewise;butoneclassstillstoodroundMissScatcherd\'schairreading，andasallwasquiet，thesubjectoftheirlessonscouldbeheard，togetherwiththemannerinwhicheachgirlacquittedherself，andtheanimadversionsorcommendationsofMissScatcherdontheperformance。ItwasEnglishhistory:amongthereadersIobservedmyacquaintanceoftheverandah:atthecommencementofthelesson，herplacehadbeenatthetopoftheclass，butforsomeerrorofpronunciation，orsomeinattentiontostops，shewassuddenlysenttotheverybottom。Eveninthatobscureposition，MissScatcherdcontinuedtomakeheranobjectofconstantnotice;shewascontinuallyaddressingtohersuchphrasesasthefollowing:—