“Mr. Rivers,” I said, turning to him and looking at him as he looked at me, openly and without indifference, “you and your sisters have done me a great service, the greatest man can do a 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.”
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 29. After spending three days and nights in bed recovering at Moor House, Jane thanks St. John and his sisters for rescuing her from certain death.