CHAPTER VIII 92
Helen if she sometimes snatched a moment to recall the Latin her father had taught her , and taking a book from a shelf , bade her read and construe a page of Virgil ; and Helen obeyed , my organ of veneration expanding at every sounding line . She had scarcely finished ere the bell announced bedtime ! no delay could be admitted ; Miss Temple embraced us both , saying , as she drew us to her heart -
" God bless you , my children !"
Helen she held a little longer than me : she let her go more reluctantly ; it was Helen her eye followed to the door ; it was for her she a second time breathed a sad sigh ; for her she wiped a tear from her cheek .
On reaching the bedroom , we heard the voice of Miss Scatcherd : she was examining drawers ; she had just pulled out Helen Burns ' s , and when we entered Helen was greeted with a sharp reprimand , and told that to-morrow she should have half-a-dozen of untidily folded articles pinned to her shoulder .
" My things were indeed in shameful disorder ," murmured Helen to me , in a low voice : " I intended to have arranged them , but I forgot ."
Next morning , Miss Scatcherd wrote in conspicuous characters on a piece of pasteboard the word " Slattern ," and bound it like a phylactery round Helen ' s large , mild , intelligent , and benign- looking forehead . She wore it till evening , patient , unresentful , regarding it as a deserved punishment . The moment Miss Scatcherd withdrew after afternoon school , I ran to Helen , tore it off , and thrust it into the fire : the fury of which she was incapable had been burning in my soul all day , and tears , hot and large , had continually been scalding my cheek ; for the spectacle of her sad resignation gave me an intolerable pain at the heart .
About a week subsequently to the incidents above narrated , Miss Temple , who had written to Mr . Lloyd , received his answer : it appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account . Miss Temple , having assembled the whole school , announced that inquiry had been made into the charges