seemed almost to grudge the necessary leisure for relaxation and
play-hours, which might be partly accounted for by the awkwardness in
all games occasioned by her shortness of sight. Yet, in spite of these
unsociable habits, she was a great favourite with her school-fellows.
She was always ready to try and do what they wished, though not sorry
when they called her awkward, and left her out of their sports. Then,
at night, she was an invaluable story-teller, frightening them almost
out of their wits as they lay in bed. On one occasion the effect was
such that she was led to scream out loud, and Miss Wooler, coming
upstairs, found that one of the listeners had been seized with violent
palpitations, in consequence of the excitement produced by Charlotte's
story.

Her indefatigable craving for knowledge tempted Miss Wooler on into
setting her longer and longer tasks of reading for examination; and
toward the end of the two years that she remained as a pupil at Roe
Head, she received her first bad mark for an imperfect lesson. She had
had a great quantity of Blair's "Lectures on Belles-Lettres" to read;
and she could not answer some of the questions upon it; Charlotte
Brontë had a bad mark. Miss Wooler was sorry, and regretted that she
had over-tasked so willing a pupil. Charlotte cried bitterly. But her
school-fellows were more than sorry--they were indignant. They
declared that the infliction of ever so slight a punishment on
Charlotte Brontë was unjust--for who had tried to do her duty like
her?--and testified their feeling in a variety of ways, until Miss
Wooler, who was in reality only too willing to pass over her good
pupil's first fault, withdrew the bad mark. . . .

After her return home she employed herself in teaching her sisters over
whom she had had superior advantages. She writes thus, July 21, 1832,