CHAPTER XXIX 437
" Which , if you like , you have , in my opinion , a right to keep , both from St . John and every other questioner ," remarked Diana .
" Yet if I know nothing about you or your history , I cannot help you ," he said . " And you need help , do you not ?"
" I need it , and I seek it so far , sir , that some true philanthropist will put me in the way of getting work which I can do , and the remuneration for which will keep me , if but in the barest necessaries of life ."
" I know not whether I am a true philanthropist ; yet I am willing to aid you to the utmost of my power in a purpose so honest . First , then , tell me what you have been accustomed to do , and what you CAN do ."
I had now swallowed my tea . I was mightily refreshed by the beverage ; as much so as a giant with wine : it gave new tone to my unstrung nerves , and enabled me to address this penetrating young judge steadily .
" Mr . Rivers ," I said , turning to him , and looking at him , as he looked at me , openly and without diffidence , " you and your sisters have done me a great service -- the greatest man can do his fellow- being ; you have rescued me , by your noble hospitality , from death . This benefit conferred gives you an unlimited claim on my gratitude , and a claim , to a certain extent , on my confidence . I will tell you as much of the history of the wanderer you have harboured , as I can tell without compromising my own peace of mind -- my own security , moral and physical , and that of others .
" I am an orphan , the daughter of a clergyman . My parents died before I could know them . I was brought up a dependant ; educated in a charitable institution . I will even tell you the name of the establishment , where I passed six years as a pupil , and two as a teacher -- Lowood Orphan Asylum , -shire : you will have heard of it , Mr . Rivers ? -- the Rev . Robert Brocklehurst is the treasurer ."
" I have heard of Mr . Brocklehurst , and I have seen the school ."