‘Ah! well, come forward; be seated here.’ He drew a chair near his own. ‘I am not fond of the prattle of children,’ he continued; ‘for, old bachelor as I am, I have no pleasant associations connected with their lisp. It would be intolerable…

For several subsequent days I saw little of Mr. Rochester.In the mornings he seemed much engaged with business, and, in the afternoon, gentlemen from Millcote or the neighborhood called, and sometimes stayed to dine with him. When his sprain was well enough to admit…