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diff --git a/1827.txt b/1827.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..700066a --- /dev/null +++ b/1827.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9261 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Life of Charlotte Bronte - Volume 1, by +Elizabeth Gaskell + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Life of Charlotte Bronte - Volume 1 + + +Author: Elizabeth Gaskell + +Release Date: April 12, 2005 [eBook #1827] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE - +VOLUME 1*** + + + + + +Transcribed from the 1906 Smith, Elder, and Co. edition by David Price, +email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk + + + + + +THE LIFE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE--VOLUME 1 + + +CHAPTER I + + +The Leeds and Skipton railway runs along a deep valley of the Aire; a +slow and sluggish stream, compared to the neighbouring river of Wharfe. +Keighley station is on this line of railway, about a quarter of a mile +from the town of the same name. The number of inhabitants and the +importance of Keighley have been very greatly increased during the last +twenty years, owing to the rapidly extended market for worsted +manufactures, a branch of industry that mainly employs the factory +population of this part of Yorkshire, which has Bradford for its centre +and metropolis. + +Keighley is in process of transformation from a populous, old-fashioned +village, into a still more populous and flourishing town. It is evident +to the stranger, that as the gable-ended houses, which obtrude themselves +corner-wise on the widening street, fall vacant, they are pulled down to +allow of greater space for traffic, and a more modern style of +architecture. The quaint and narrow shop-windows of fifty years ago, are +giving way to large panes and plate-glass. Nearly every dwelling seems +devoted to some branch of commerce. In passing hastily through the town, +one hardly perceives where the necessary lawyer and doctor can live, so +little appearance is there of any dwellings of the professional middle- +class, such as abound in our old cathedral towns. In fact, nothing can +be more opposed than the state of society, the modes of thinking, the +standards of reference on all points of morality, manners, and even +politics and religion, in such a new manufacturing place as Keighley in +the north, and any stately, sleepy, picturesque cathedral town in the +south. Yet the aspect of Keighley promises well for future stateliness, +if not picturesqueness. Grey stone abounds; and the rows of houses built +of it have a kind of solid grandeur connected with their uniform and +enduring lines. The frame-work of the doors, and the lintels of the +windows, even in the smallest dwellings, are made of blocks of stone. +There is no painted wood to require continual beautifying, or else +present a shabby aspect; and the stone is kept scrupulously clean by the +notable Yorkshire housewives. Such glimpses into the interior as a +passer-by obtains, reveal a rough abundance of the means of living, and +diligent and active habits in the women. But the voices of the people +are hard, and their tones discordant, promising little of the musical +taste that distinguishes the district, and which has already furnished a +Carrodus to the musical world. The names over the shops (of which the +one just given is a sample) seem strange even to an inhabitant of the +neighbouring county, and have a peculiar smack and flavour of the place. + +The town of Keighley never quite melts into country on the road to +Haworth, although the houses become more sparse as the traveller journeys +upwards to the grey round hills that seem to bound his journey in a +westerly direction. First come some villas; just sufficiently retired +from the road to show that they can scarcely belong to any one liable to +be summoned in a hurry, at the call of suffering or danger, from his +comfortable fireside; the lawyer, the doctor, and the clergyman, live at +hand, and hardly in the suburbs, with a screen of shrubs for concealment. + +In a town one does not look for vivid colouring; what there may be of +this is furnished by the wares in the shops, not by foliage or +atmospheric effects; but in the country some brilliancy and vividness +seems to be instinctively expected, and there is consequently a slight +feeling of disappointment at the grey neutral tint of every object, near +or far off, on the way from Keighley to Haworth. The distance is about +four miles; and, as I have said, what with villas, great worsted +factories, rows of workmen's houses, with here and there an old-fashioned +farmhouse and out-buildings, it can hardly be called "country" any part +of the way. For two miles the road passes over tolerably level ground, +distant hills on the left, a "beck" flowing through meadows on the right, +and furnishing water power, at certain points, to the factories built on +its banks. The air is dim and lightless with the smoke from all these +habitations and places of business. The soil in the valley (or "bottom," +to use the local term) is rich; but, as the road begins to ascend, the +vegetation becomes poorer; it does not flourish, it merely exists; and, +instead of trees, there are only bushes and shrubs about the dwellings. +Stone dykes are everywhere used in place of hedges; and what crops there +are, on the patches of arable land, consist of pale, hungry-looking, grey +green oats. Right before the traveller on this road rises Haworth +village; he can see it for two miles before he arrives, for it is +situated on the side of a pretty steep hill, with a back-ground of dun +and purple moors, rising and sweeping away yet higher than the church, +which is built at the very summit of the long narrow street. All round +the horizon there is this same line of sinuous wave-like hills; the +scoops into which they fall only revealing other hills beyond, of similar +colour and shape, crowned with wild, bleak moors--grand, from the ideas +of solitude and loneliness which they suggest, or oppressive from the +feeling which they give of being pent-up by some monotonous and +illimitable barrier, according to the mood of mind in which the spectator +may be. + +For a short distance the road appears to turn away from Haworth, as it +winds round the base of the shoulder of a hill; but then it crosses a +bridge over the "beck," and the ascent through the village begins. The +flag-stones with which it is paved are placed end-ways, in order to give +a better hold to the horses' feet; and, even with this help, they seem to +be in constant danger of slipping backwards. The old stone houses are +high compared to the width of the street, which makes an abrupt turn +before reaching the more level ground at the head of the village, so that +the steep aspect of the place, in one part, is almost like that of a +wall. But this surmounted, the church lies a little off the main road on +the left; a hundred yards, or so, and the driver relaxes his care, and +the horse breathes more easily, as they pass into the quite little by- +street that leads to Haworth Parsonage. The churchyard is on one side of +this lane, the school-house and the sexton's dwelling (where the curates +formerly lodged) on the other. + +The parsonage stands at right angles to the road, facing down upon the +church; so that, in fact, parsonage, church, and belfried school-house, +form three sides of an irregular oblong, of which the fourth is open to +the fields and moors that lie beyond. The area of this oblong is filled +up by a crowded churchyard, and a small garden or court in front of the +clergyman's house. As the entrance to this from the road is at the side, +the path goes round the corner into the little plot of ground. Underneath +the windows is a narrow flower-border, carefully tended in days of yore, +although only the most hardy plants could be made to grow there. Within +the stone wall, which keeps out the surrounding churchyard, are bushes of +elder and lilac; the rest of the ground is occupied by a square grass- +plot and a gravel walk. The house is of grey stone, two stories high, +heavily roofed with flags, in order to resist the winds that might strip +off a lighter covering. It appears to have been built about a hundred +years ago, and to consist of four rooms on each story; the two windows on +the right (as the visitor stands with his back to the church, ready to +enter in at the front door) belonging to Mr. Bronte's study, the two on +the left to the family sitting-room. Everything about the place tells of +the most dainty order, the most exquisite cleanliness. The door-steps +are spotless; the small old-fashioned window-panes glitter like looking- +glass. Inside and outside of that house cleanliness goes up into its +essence, purity. + +The little church lies, as I mentioned, above most of the houses in the +village; and the graveyard rises above the church, and is terribly full +of upright tombstones. The chapel or church claims greater antiquity +than any other in that part of the kingdom; but there is no appearance of +this in the external aspect of the present edifice, unless it be in the +two eastern windows, which remain unmodernized, and in the lower part of +the steeple. Inside, the character of the pillars shows that they were +constructed before the reign of Henry VII. It is probable that there +existed on this ground, a "field-kirk," or oratory, in the earliest +times; and, from the Archbishop's registry at York, it is ascertained +that there was a chapel at Haworth in 1317. The inhabitants refer +inquirers concerning the date to the following inscription on a stone in +the church tower:-- + + "Hic fecit Caenobium Monachorum Auteste fundator. A. D. + sexcentissimo." + +That is to say, before the preaching of Christianity in Northumbria. +Whitaker says that this mistake originated in the illiterate copying out, +by some modern stone-cutter, of an inscription in the character of Henry +the Eighth's time on an adjoining stone:-- + + "Orate pro bono statu Eutest Tod." + + "Now every antiquary knows that the formula of prayer 'bono statu' + always refers to the living. I suspect this singular Christian name + has been mistaken by the stone-cutter for Austet, a contraction of + Eustatius, but the word Tod, which has been mis-read for the Arabic + figures 600, is perfectly fair and legible. On the presumption of + this foolish claim to antiquity, the people would needs set up for + independence, and contest the right of the Vicar of Bradford to + nominate a curate at Haworth." + +I have given this extract, in order to explain the imaginary groundwork +of a commotion which took place in Haworth about five and thirty years +ago, to which I shall have occasion to allude again more particularly. + +The interior of the church is commonplace; it is neither old enough nor +modern enough to compel notice. The pews are of black oak, with high +divisions; and the names of those to whom they belong are painted in +white letters on the doors. There are neither brasses, nor altar-tombs, +nor monuments, but there is a mural tablet on the right-hand side of the +communion-table, bearing the following inscription:-- + + HERE + LIE THE REMAINS OF + MARIA BRONTE, WIFE + OF THE + REV. P. BRONTE, A.B., MINISTER OF HAWORTH. + HER SOUL + DEPARTED TO THE SAVIOUR, SEPT. 15TH, 1821, + IN THE 39TH YEAR OF HER AGE. + + "Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man + cometh." MATTHEW xxiv. 44. + + ALSO HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF + MARIA BRONTE, DAUGHTER OF THE AFORESAID; + SHE DIED ON THE + 6TH OF MAY, 1825, IN THE 12TH YEAR OF HER AGE; + AND OF + ELIZABETH BRONTE, HER SISTER, + WHO DIED JUNE 15TH, 1825, IN THE 11TH YEAR OF HER AGE. + + "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little + children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."--MATTHEW + xviii. 3. + + HERE ALSO LIE THE REMAINS OF + PATRICK BRANWELL BRONTE, + WHO DIED SEPT. 24TH, 1848, AGED 30 YEARS; + AND OF + EMILY JANE BRONTE, + WHO DIED DEC. 19TH, 1848, AGED 29 YEARS, + SON AND DAUGHTER OF THE + REV. P. BRONTE, INCUMBENT. + + THIS STONE IS ALSO DEDICATED TO THE + MEMORY OF ANNE BRONTE, {1} + YOUNGEST DAUGHTER OF THE REV. P. BRONTE, A.B. + SHE DIED, AGED 27 YEARS, MAY 28TH, 1849, + AND WAS BURIED AT THE OLD CHURCH, SCARBORO.' + +At the upper part of this tablet ample space is allowed between the lines +of the inscription; when the first memorials were written down, the +survivors, in their fond affection, thought little of the margin and +verge they were leaving for those who were still living. But as one dead +member of the household follows another fast to the grave, the lines are +pressed together, and the letters become small and cramped. After the +record of Anne's death, there is room for no other. + +But one more of that generation--the last of that nursery of six little +motherless children--was yet to follow, before the survivor, the +childless and widowed father, found his rest. On another tablet, below +the first, the following record has been added to that mournful list:-- + + ADJOINING LIE THE REMAINS OF + CHARLOTTE, WIFE + OF THE + REV. ARTHUR BELL NICHOLLS, A.B., + AND DAUGHTER OF THE REV. P. BRONTE, A.B., INCUMBENT + SHE DIED MARCH 31ST, 1855, IN THE 39TH + YEAR OF HER AGE. {2} + +This tablet, which corrects the error in the former tablet as to the age +of Anne Bronte, bears the following inscription in Roman letters; the +initials, however, being in old English. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +For a right understanding of the life of my dear friend, Charlotte +Bronte, it appears to me more necessary in her case than in most others, +that the reader should be made acquainted with the peculiar forms of +population and society amidst which her earliest years were passed, and +from which both her own and her sisters' first impressions of human life +must have been received. I shall endeavour, therefore, before proceeding +further with my work, to present some idea of the character of the people +of Haworth, and the surrounding districts. + +Even an inhabitant of the neighbouring county of Lancaster is struck by +the peculiar force of character which the Yorkshiremen display. This +makes them interesting as a race; while, at the same time, as +individuals, the remarkable degree of self-sufficiency they possess gives +them an air of independence rather apt to repel a stranger. I use this +expression "self-sufficiency" in the largest sense. Conscious of the +strong sagacity and the dogged power of will which seem almost the +birthright of the natives of the West Riding, each man relies upon +himself, and seeks no help at the hands of his neighbour. From rarely +requiring the assistance of others, he comes to doubt the power of +bestowing it: from the general success of his efforts, he grows to depend +upon them, and to over-esteem his own energy and power. He belongs to +that keen, yet short-sighted class, who consider suspicion of all whose +honesty is not proved as a sign of wisdom. The practical qualities of a +man are held in great respect; but the want of faith in strangers and +untried modes of action, extends itself even to the manner in which the +virtues are regarded; and if they produce no immediate and tangible +result, they are rather put aside as unfit for this busy, striving world; +especially if they are more of a passive than an active character. The +affections are strong and their foundations lie deep: but they are +not--such affections seldom are--wide-spreading; nor do they show +themselves on the surface. Indeed, there is little display of any of the +amenities of life among this wild, rough population. Their accost is +curt; their accent and tone of speech blunt and harsh. Something of this +may, probably, be attributed to the freedom of mountain air and of +isolated hill-side life; something be derived from their rough Norse +ancestry. They have a quick perception of character, and a keen sense of +humour; the dwellers among them must be prepared for certain +uncomplimentary, though most likely true, observations, pithily +expressed. Their feelings are not easily roused, but their duration is +lasting. Hence there is much close friendship and faithful service; and +for a correct exemplification of the form in which the latter frequently +appears, I need only refer the reader of "Wuthering Heights" to the +character of "Joseph." + +From the same cause come also enduring grudges, in some cases amounting +to hatred, which occasionally has been bequeathed from generation to +generation. I remember Miss Bronte once telling me that it was a saying +round about Haworth, "Keep a stone in thy pocket seven year; turn it, and +keep it seven year longer, that it may be ever ready to thine hand when +thine enemy draws near." + +The West Riding men are sleuth-hounds in pursuit of money. Miss Bronte +related to my husband a curious instance illustrative of this eager +desire for riches. A man that she knew, who was a small manufacturer, +had engaged in many local speculations which had always turned out well, +and thereby rendered him a person of some wealth. He was rather past +middle age, when he bethought him of insuring his life; and he had only +just taken out his policy, when he fell ill of an acute disease which was +certain to end fatally in a very few days. The doctor, +half-hesitatingly, revealed to him his hopeless state. "By jingo!" cried +he, rousing up at once into the old energy, "I shall _do_ the insurance +company! I always was a lucky fellow!" + +These men are keen and shrewd; faithful and persevering in following out +a good purpose, fell in tracking an evil one. They are not emotional; +they are not easily made into either friends or enemies; but once lovers +or haters, it is difficult to change their feeling. They are a powerful +race both in mind and body, both for good and for evil. + +The woollen manufacture was introduced into this district in the days of +Edward III. It is traditionally said that a colony of Flemings came over +and settled in the West Riding to teach the inhabitants what to do with +their wool. The mixture of agricultural with manufacturing labour that +ensued and prevailed in the West Riding up to a very recent period, +sounds pleasant enough at this distance of time, when the classical +impression is left, and the details forgotten, or only brought to light +by those who explore the few remote parts of England where the custom +still lingers. The idea of the mistress and her maidens spinning at the +great wheels while the master was abroad ploughing his fields, or seeing +after his flocks on the purple moors, is very poetical to look back upon; +but when such life actually touches on our own days, and we can hear +particulars from the lips of those now living, there come out details of +coarseness--of the uncouthness of the rustic mingled with the sharpness +of the tradesman--of irregularity and fierce lawlessness--that rather mar +the vision of pastoral innocence and simplicity. Still, as it is the +exceptional and exaggerated characteristics of any period that leave the +most vivid memory behind them, it would be wrong, and in my opinion +faithless, to conclude that such and such forms of society and modes of +living were not best for the period when they prevailed, although the +abuses they may have led into, and the gradual progress of the world, +have made it well that such ways and manners should pass away for ever, +and as preposterous to attempt to return to them, as it would be for a +man to return to the clothes of his childhood. + +The patent granted to Alderman Cockayne, and the further restrictions +imposed by James I. on the export of undyed woollen cloths (met by a +prohibition on the part of the States of Holland of the import of English- +dyed cloths), injured the trade of the West Riding manufacturers +considerably. Their independence of character, their dislike of +authority, and their strong powers of thought, predisposed them to +rebellion against the religious dictation of such men as Laud, and the +arbitrary rule of the Stuarts; and the injury done by James and Charles +to the trade by which they gained their bread, made the great majority of +them Commonwealth men. I shall have occasion afterwards to give one or +two instances of the warm feelings and extensive knowledge on subjects of +both home and foreign politics existing at the present day in the +villages lying west and east of the mountainous ridge that separates +Yorkshire and Lancashire; the inhabitants of which are of the same race +and possess the same quality of character. + +The descendants of many who served under Cromwell at Dunbar, live on the +same lands as their ancestors occupied then; and perhaps there is no part +of England where the traditional and fond recollections of the +Commonwealth have lingered so long as in that inhabited by the woollen +manufacturing population of the West Riding, who had the restrictions +taken off their trade by the Protector's admirable commercial policy. I +have it on good authority that, not thirty years ago, the phrase, "in +Oliver's days," was in common use to denote a time of unusual prosperity. +The class of Christian names prevalent in a district is one indication of +the direction in which its tide of hero-worship sets. Grave enthusiasts +in politics or religion perceive not the ludicrous side of those which +they give to their children; and some are to be found, still in their +infancy, not a dozen miles from Haworth, that will have to go through +life as Lamartine, Kossuth, and Dembinsky. And so there is a testimony +to what I have said, of the traditional feeling of the district, in the +fact that the Old Testament names in general use among the Puritans are +yet the prevalent appellations in most Yorkshire families of middle or +humble rank, whatever their religious persuasion may be. There are +numerous records, too, that show the kindly way in which the ejected +ministers were received by the gentry, as well as by the poorer part of +the inhabitants, during the persecuting days of Charles II. These little +facts all testify to the old hereditary spirit of independence, ready +ever to resist authority which was conceived to be unjustly exercised, +that distinguishes the people of the West Riding to the present day. + +The parish of Halifax touches that of Bradford, in which the chapelry of +Haworth is included; and the nature of the ground in the two parishes is +much the of the same wild and hilly description. The abundance of coal, +and the number of mountain streams in the district, make it highly +favourable to manufactures; and accordingly, as I stated, the inhabitants +have for centuries been engaged in making cloth, as well as in +agricultural pursuits. But the intercourse of trade failed, for a long +time, to bring amenity and civilization into these outlying hamlets, or +widely scattered dwellings. Mr. Hunter, in his "Life of Oliver Heywood," +quotes a sentence out of a memorial of one James Rither, living in the +reign of Elizabeth, which is partially true to this day:-- + +"They have no superior to court, no civilities to practise: a sour and +sturdy humour is the consequence, so that a stranger is shocked by a tone +of defiance in every voice, and an air of fierceness in every +countenance." + +Even now, a stranger can hardly ask a question without receiving some +crusty reply, if, indeed, he receive any at all. Sometimes the sour +rudeness amounts to positive insult. Yet, if the "foreigner" takes all +this churlishness good-humouredly, or as a matter of course, and makes +good any claim upon their latent kindliness and hospitality, they are +faithful and generous, and thoroughly to be relied upon. As a slight +illustration of the roughness that pervades all classes in these out-of- +the-way villages, I may relate a little adventure which happened to my +husband and myself, three years ago, at Addingham-- + + From Penigent to Pendle Hill, + From Linton to Long-_Addingham_ + And all that Craven coasts did tell, &c.-- + +one of the places that sent forth its fighting men to the famous old +battle of Flodden Field, and a village not many miles from Haworth. + +We were driving along the street, when one of those ne'er-do-weel lads +who seem to have a kind of magnetic power for misfortunes, having jumped +into the stream that runs through the place, just where all the broken +glass and bottles are thrown, staggered naked and nearly covered with +blood into a cottage before us. Besides receiving another bad cut in the +arm, he had completely laid open the artery, and was in a fair way of +bleeding to death--which, one of his relations comforted him by saying, +would be likely to "save a deal o' trouble." + +When my husband had checked the effusion of blood with a strap that one +of the bystanders unbuckled from his leg, he asked if a surgeon had been +sent for. + +"Yoi," was the answer; "but we dunna think he'll come." + +"Why not?" + +"He's owd, yo seen, and asthmatic, and it's up-hill." + +My husband taking a boy for his guide, drove as fast as he could to the +surgeon's house, which was about three-quarters of a mile off, and met +the aunt of the wounded lad leaving it. + +"Is he coming?" inquired my husband. + +"Well, he didna' say he wouldna' come." + +"But, tell him the lad may bleed to death." + +"I did." + +"And what did he say?" + +"Why, only, 'D-n him; what do I care?'" + +It ended, however, in his sending one of his sons, who, though not +brought up to "the surgering trade," was able to do what was necessary in +the way of bandages and plasters. The excuse made for the surgeon was, +that "he was near eighty, and getting a bit doited, and had had a matter +o' twenty childer." + +Among the most unmoved of the lookers-on was the brother of the boy so +badly hurt; and while he was lying in a pool of blood on the flag floor, +and crying out how much his arm was "warching," his stoical relation +stood coolly smoking his bit of black pipe, and uttered not a single word +of either sympathy or sorrow. + +Forest customs, existing in the fringes of dark wood, which clothed the +declivity of the hills on either side, tended to brutalize the population +until the middle of the seventeenth century. Execution by beheading was +performed in a summary way upon either men or women who were guilty of +but very slight crimes; and a dogged, yet in some cases fine, +indifference to human life was thus generated. The roads were so +notoriously bad, even up to the last thirty years, that there was little +communication between one village and another; if the produce of industry +could be conveyed at stated times to the cloth market of the district, it +was all that could be done; and, in lonely houses on the distant hill- +side, or by the small magnates of secluded hamlets, crimes might be +committed almost unknown, certainly without any great uprising of popular +indignation calculated to bring down the strong arm of the law. It must +be remembered that in those days there was no rural constabulary; and the +few magistrates left to themselves, and generally related to one another, +were most of them inclined to tolerate eccentricity, and to wink at +faults too much like their own. + +Men hardly past middle life talk of the days of their youth, spent in +this part of the country, when, during the winter months, they rode up to +the saddle-girths in mud; when absolute business was the only reason for +stirring beyond the precincts of home, and when that business was +conducted under a pressure of difficulties which they themselves, borne +along to Bradford market in a swift first-class carriage, can hardly +believe to have been possible. For instance, one woollen manufacturer +says that, not five and twenty years ago, he had to rise betimes to set +off on a winter's-morning in order to be at Bradford with the great +waggon-load of goods manufactured by his father; this load was packed +over-night, but in the morning there was a great gathering around it, and +flashing of lanterns, and examination of horses' feet, before the +ponderous waggon got under way; and then some one had to go groping here +and there, on hands and knees, and always sounding with a staff down the +long, steep, slippery brow, to find where the horses might tread safely, +until they reached the comparative easy-going of the deep-rutted main +road. People went on horseback over the upland moors, following the +tracks of the pack-horses that carried the parcels, baggage, or goods +from one town to another, between which there did not happen to be a +highway. + +But in winter, all such communication was impossible, by reason of the +snow which lay long and late on the bleak high ground. I have known +people who, travelling by the mail-coach over Blackstone Edge, had been +snowed up for a week or ten days at the little inn near the summit, and +obliged to spend both Christmas and New Year's Day there, till the store +of provisions laid in for the use of the landlord and his family falling +short before the inroads of the unexpected visitors, they had recourse to +the turkeys, geese, and Yorkshire pies with which the coach was laden; +and even these were beginning to fail, when a fortunate thaw released +them from their prison. + +Isolated as the hill villages may be, they are in the world, compared +with the loneliness of the grey ancestral houses to be seen here and +there in the dense hollows of the moors. These dwellings are not large, +yet they are solid and roomy enough for the accommodation of those who +live in them, and to whom the surrounding estates belong. The land has +often been held by one family since the days of the Tudors; the owners +are, in fact, the remains of the old yeomanry--small squires--who are +rapidly becoming extinct as a class, from one of two causes. Either the +possessor falls into idle, drinking habits, and so is obliged eventually +to sell his property: or he finds, if more shrewd and adventurous, that +the "beck" running down the mountain-side, or the minerals beneath his +feet, can be turned into a new source of wealth; and leaving the old +plodding life of a landowner with small capital, he turns manufacturer, +or digs for coal, or quarries for stone. + +Still there are those remaining of this class--dwellers in the lonely +houses far away in the upland districts--even at the present day, who +sufficiently indicate what strange eccentricity--what wild strength of +will--nay, even what unnatural power of crime was fostered by a mode of +living in which a man seldom met his fellows, and where public opinion +was only a distant and inarticulate echo of some clearer voice sounding +behind the sweeping horizon. + +A solitary life cherishes mere fancies until they become manias. And the +powerful Yorkshire character, which was scarcely tamed into subjection by +all the contact it met with in "busy town or crowded mart," has before +now broken out into strange wilfulness in the remoter districts. A +singular account was recently given me of a landowner (living, it is +true, on the Lancashire side of the hills, but of the same blood and +nature as the dwellers on the other,) who was supposed to be in the +receipt of seven or eight hundred a year, and whose house bore marks of +handsome antiquity, as if his forefathers had been for a long time people +of consideration. My informant was struck with the appearance of the +place, and proposed to the countryman who was accompanying him, to go up +to it and take a nearer inspection. The reply was, "Yo'd better not; +he'd threap yo' down th' loan. He's let fly at some folk's legs, and let +shot lodge in 'em afore now, for going too near to his house." And +finding, on closer inquiry, that such was really the inhospitable custom +of this moorland squire, the gentleman gave up his purpose. I believe +that the savage yeoman is still living. + +Another squire, of more distinguished family and larger property--one is +thence led to imagine of better education, but that does not always +follow--died at his house, not many miles from Haworth, only a few years +ago. His great amusement and occupation had been cock-fighting. When he +was confined to his chamber with what he knew would be his last illness, +he had his cocks brought up there, and watched the bloody battle from his +bed. As his mortal disease increased, and it became impossible for him +to turn so as to follow the combat, he had looking-glasses arranged in +such a manner, around and above him, as he lay, that he could still see +the cocks fighting. And in this manner he died. + +These are merely instances of eccentricity compared to the tales of +positive violence and crime that have occurred in these isolated +dwellings, which still linger in the memories of the old people of the +district, and some of which were doubtless familiar to the authors of +"Wuthering Heights" and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall." + +The amusements of the lower classes could hardly be expected to be more +humane than those of the wealthy and better educated. The gentleman, who +has kindly furnished me with some of the particulars I have given, +remembers the bull-baitings at Rochdale, not thirty years ago. The bull +was fastened by a chain or rope to a post in the river. To increase the +amount of water, as well as to give their workpeople the opportunity of +savage delight, the masters were accustomed to stop their mills on the +day when the sport took place. The bull would sometimes wheel suddenly +round, so that the rope by which he was fastened swept those who had been +careless enough to come within its range down into the water, and the +good people of Rochdale had the excitement of seeing one or two of their +neighbours drowned, as well as of witnessing the bull baited, and the +dogs torn and tossed. + +The people of Haworth were not less strong and full of character than +their neighbours on either side of the hills. The village lies embedded +in the moors, between the two counties, on the old road between Keighley +and Colne. About the middle of the last century, it became famous in the +religious world as the scene of the ministrations of the Rev. William +Grimshaw, curate of Haworth for twenty years. Before this time, it is +probable that the curates were of the same order as one Mr. Nicholls, a +Yorkshire clergyman, in the days immediately succeeding the Reformation, +who was "much addicted to drinking and company-keeping," and used to say +to his companions, "You must not heed me but when I am got three feet +above the earth," that was, into the pulpit. + +Mr. Grimshaw's life was written by Newton, Cowper's friend; and from it +may be gathered some curious particulars of the manner in which a rough +population were swayed and governed by a man of deep convictions, and +strong earnestness of purpose. It seems that he had not been in any way +remarkable for religious zeal, though he had led a moral life, and been +conscientious in fulfilling his parochial duties, until a certain Sunday +in September, 1744, when the servant, rising at five, found her master +already engaged in prayer; she stated that, after remaining in his +chamber for some time, he went to engage in religious exercises in the +house of a parishioner, then home again to pray; thence, still fasting, +to the church, where, as he was reading the second lesson, he fell down, +and, on his partial recovery, had to be led from the church. As he went +out, he spoke to the congregation, and told them not to disperse, as he +had something to say to them, and would return presently. He was taken +to the clerk's house, and again became insensible. His servant rubbed +him, to restore the circulation; and when he was brought to himself "he +seemed in a great rapture," and the first words he uttered were, "I have +had a glorious vision from the third heaven." He did not say what he had +seen, but returned into the church, and began the service again, at two +in the afternoon, and went on until seven. + +From this time he devoted himself, with the fervour of a Wesley, and +something of the fanaticism of a Whitfield, to calling out a religious +life among his parishioners. They had been in the habit of playing at +foot-ball on Sunday, using stones for this purpose; and giving and +receiving challenges from other parishes. There were horse-races held on +the moors just above the village, which were periodical sources of +drunkenness and profligacy. Scarcely a wedding took place without the +rough amusement of foot-races, where the half-naked runners were a +scandal to all decent strangers. The old custom of "arvills," or funeral +feasts, led to frequent pitched battles between the drunken mourners. +Such customs were the outward signs of the kind of people with whom Mr. +Grimshaw had to deal. But, by various means, some of the most practical +kind, he wrought a great change in his parish. In his preaching he was +occasionally assisted by Wesley and Whitfield, and at such times the +little church proved much too small to hold the throng that poured in +from distant villages, or lonely moorland hamlets; and frequently they +were obliged to meet in the open air; indeed, there was not room enough +in the church even for the communicants. Mr. Whitfield was once +preaching in Haworth, and made use of some such expression, as that he +hoped there was no need to say much to this congregation, as they had sat +under so pious and godly a minister for so many years; "whereupon Mr. +Grimshaw stood up in his place, and said with a loud voice, 'Oh, sir! for +God's sake do not speak so. I pray you do not flatter them. I fear the +greater part of them are going to hell with their eyes open.'" But if +they were so bound, it was not for want of exertion on Mr. Grimshaw's +part to prevent them. He used to preach twenty or thirty times a week in +private houses. If he perceived any one inattentive to his prayers, he +would stop and rebuke the offender, and not go on till he saw every one +on their knees. He was very earnest in enforcing the strict observance +of Sunday; and would not even allow his parishioners to walk in the +fields between services. He sometimes gave out a very long Psalm +(tradition says the 119th), and while it was being sung, he left the +reading-desk, and taking a horsewhip went into the public-houses, and +flogged the loiterers into church. They were swift who could escape the +lash of the parson by sneaking out the back way. He had strong health +and an active body, and rode far and wide over the hills, "awakening" +those who had previously had no sense of religion. To save time, and be +no charge to the families at whose houses he held his prayer-meetings, he +carried his provisions with him; all the food he took in the day on such +occasions consisting simply of a piece of bread and butter, or dry bread +and a raw onion. + +The horse-races were justly objectionable to Mr. Grimshaw; they attracted +numbers of profligate people to Haworth, and brought a match to the +combustible materials of the place, only too ready to blaze out into +wickedness. The story is, that he tried all means of persuasion, and +even intimidation, to have the races discontinued, but in vain. At +length, in despair, he prayed with such fervour of earnestness that the +rain came down in torrents, and deluged the ground, so that there was no +footing for man or beast, even if the multitude had been willing to stand +such a flood let down from above. And so Haworth races were stopped, and +have never been resumed to this day. Even now the memory of this good +man is held in reverence, and his faithful ministrations and real virtues +are one of the boasts of the parish. + +But after his time, I fear there was a falling back into the wild rough +heathen ways, from which he had pulled them up, as it were, by the +passionate force of his individual character. He had built a chapel for +the Wesleyan Methodists, and not very long after the Baptists established +themselves in a place of worship. Indeed, as Dr. Whitaker says, the +people of this district are "strong religionists;" only, fifty years ago, +their religion did not work down into their lives. Half that length of +time back, the code of morals seemed to be formed upon that of their +Norse ancestors. Revenge was handed down from father to son as an +hereditary duty; and a great capability for drinking without the head +being affected was considered as one of the manly virtues. The games of +foot-ball on Sundays, with the challenges to the neighbouring parishes, +were resumed, bringing in an influx of riotous strangers to fill the +public-houses, and make the more sober-minded inhabitants long for good +Mr. Grimshaw's stout arm, and ready horsewhip. The old custom of +"arvills" was as prevalent as ever. The sexton, standing at the foot of +the open grave, announced that the "arvill" would be held at the Black +Bull, or whatever public-house might be fixed upon by the friends of the +dead; and thither the mourners and their acquaintances repaired. The +origin of the custom had been the necessity of furnishing some +refreshment for those who came from a distance, to pay the last mark of +respect to a friend. In the life of Oliver Heywood there are two +quotations, which show what sort of food was provided for "arvills" in +quiet Nonconformist connections in the seventeenth century; the first +(from Thoresby) tells of "cold possets, stewed prunes, cake, and cheese," +as being the arvill after Oliver Heywood's funeral. The second gives, as +rather shabby, according to the notion of the times (1673), "nothing but +a bit of cake, draught of wine, piece of rosemary, and pair of gloves." + +But the arvills at Haworth were often far more jovial doings. Among the +poor, the mourners were only expected to provide a kind of spiced roll +for each person; and the expense of the liquors--rum, or ale, or a +mixture of both called "dog's nose"--was generally defrayed by each guest +placing some money on a plate, set in the middle of the table. Richer +people would order a dinner for their friends. At the funeral of Mr. +Charnock (the next successor but one to Mr. Grimshaw in the incumbency), +above eighty people were bid to the arvill, and the price of the feast +was 4s. 6d. per head, all of which was defrayed by the friends of the +deceased. As few "shirked their liquor," there were very frequently "up- +and-down fights" before the close of the day; sometimes with the horrid +additions of "pawsing" and "gouging," and biting. + +Although I have dwelt on the exceptional traits in the characteristics of +these stalwart West-Ridingers, such as they were in the first quarter of +this century, if not a few years later, I have little doubt that in the +everyday life of the people so independent, wilful, and full of grim +humour, there would be much found even at present that would shock those +accustomed only to the local manners of the south; and, in return, I +suspect the shrewd, sagacious, energetic Yorkshireman would hold such +"foreigners" in no small contempt. + +I have said, it is most probable that where Haworth Church now stands, +there was once an ancient "field-kirk," or oratory. It occupied the +third or lowest class of ecclesiastical structures, according to the +Saxon law, and had no right of sepulture, or administration of +sacraments. It was so called because it was built without enclosure, and +open to the adjoining fields or moors. The founder, according to the +laws of Edgar, was bound, without subtracting from his tithes, to +maintain the ministering priest out of the remaining nine parts of his +income. After the Reformation, the right of choosing their clergyman, at +any of those chapels of ease which had formerly been field-kirks, was +vested in the freeholders and trustees, subject to the approval of the +vicar of the parish. But owing to some negligence, this right has been +lost to the freeholders and trustees at Haworth, ever since the days of +Archbishop Sharp; and the power of choosing a minister has lapsed into +the hands of the Vicar of Bradford. So runs the account, according to +one authority. + +Mr. Bronte says,--"This living has for its patrons the Vicar of Bradford +and certain trustees. My predecessor took the living with the consent of +the Vicar of Bradford, but in opposition to the trustees; in consequence +of which he was so opposed that, after only three weeks' possession, he +was compelled to resign." A Yorkshire gentleman, who has kindly sent me +some additional information on this subject since the second edition of +my work was published, write, thus:-- + + "The sole right of presentation to the incumbency of Haworth is vested + in the Vicar of Bradford. He only can present. The funds, however, + from which the clergyman's stipend mainly proceeds, are vested in the + hands of trustees, who have the power to withhold them, if a nominee + is sent of whom they disapprove. On the decease of Mr. Charnock, the + Vicar first tendered the preferment to Mr. Bronte, and he went over to + his expected cure. He was told that towards himself they had no + personal objection; but as a nominee of the Vicar he would not be + received. He therefore retired, with the declaration that if he could + not come with the approval of the parish, his ministry could not be + useful. Upon this the attempt was made to introduce Mr. Redhead. + + "When Mr. Redhead was repelled, a fresh difficulty arose. Some one + must first move towards a settlement, but a spirit being evoked which + could not be allayed, action became perplexing. The matter had to be + referred to some independent arbitrator, and my father was the + gentleman to whom each party turned its eye. A meeting was convened, + and the business settled by the Vicar's conceding the choice to the + trustees, and the acceptance of the Vicar's presentation. That choice + forthwith fell on Mr. Bronte, whose promptness and prudence had won + their hearts." + +In conversing on the character of the inhabitants of the West Riding with +Dr. Scoresby, who had been for some time Vicar of Bradford, he alluded to +certain riotous transactions which had taken place at Haworth on the +presentation of the living to Mr. Redhead, and said that there had been +so much in the particulars indicative of the character of the people, +that he advised me to inquire into them. I have accordingly done so, +and, from the lips of some of the survivors among the actors and +spectators, I have learnt the means taken to eject the nominee of the +Vicar. + +The previous incumbent had been the Mr. Charnock whom I have mentioned as +next but one in succession to Mr. Grimshaw. He had a long illness which +rendered him unable to discharge his duties without assistance, and Mr. +Redhead gave him occasional help, to the great satisfaction of the +parishioners, and was highly respected by them during Mr. Charnock's +lifetime. But the case was entirely altered when, at Mr. Charnock's +death in 1819, they conceived that the trustees had been unjustly +deprived of their rights by the Vicar of Bradford, who appointed Mr. +Redhead as perpetual curate. + +The first Sunday he officiated, Haworth Church was filled even to the +aisles; most of the people wearing the wooden clogs of the district. But +while Mr. Redhead was reading the second lesson, the whole congregation, +as by one impulse, began to leave the church, making all the noise they +could with clattering and clumping of clogs, till, at length, Mr. Redhead +and the clerk were the only two left to continue the service. This was +bad enough, but the next Sunday the proceedings were far worse. Then, as +before, the church was well filled, but the aisles were left clear; not a +creature, not an obstacle was in the way. The reason for this was made +evident about the same time in the reading of the service as the +disturbances had begun the previous week. A man rode into the church +upon an ass, with his face turned towards the tail, and as many old hats +piled on his head as he could possibly carry. He began urging his beast +round the aisles, and the screams, and cries, and laughter of the +congregation entirely drowned all sound of Mr. Redhead's voice, and, I +believe, he was obliged to desist. + +Hitherto they had not proceeded to anything like personal violence; but +on the third Sunday they must have been greatly irritated at seeing Mr. +Redhead, determined to brave their will, ride up the village street, +accompanied by several gentlemen from Bradford. They put up their horses +at the Black Bull--the little inn close upon the churchyard, for the +convenience of arvills as well as for other purposes--and went into +church. On this the people followed, with a chimney-sweeper, whom they +had employed to clean the chimneys of some out-buildings belonging to the +church that very morning, and afterward plied with drink till he was in a +state of solemn intoxication. They placed him right before the reading- +desk, where his blackened face nodded a drunken, stupid assent to all +that Mr. Redhead said. At last, either prompted by some mischief-maker, +or from some tipsy impulse, he clambered up the pulpit stairs, and +attempted to embrace Mr. Redhead. Then the profane fun grew fast and +furious. Some of the more riotous, pushed the soot-covered +chimney-sweeper against Mr. Redhead, as he tried to escape. They threw +both him and his tormentor down on the ground in the churchyard where the +soot-bag had been emptied, and, though, at last, Mr. Redhead escaped into +the Black Bull, the doors of which were immediately barred, the people +raged without, threatening to stone him and his friends. One of my +informants is an old man, who was the landlord of the inn at the time, +and he stands to it that such was the temper of the irritated mob, that +Mr. Redhead was in real danger of his life. This man, however, planned +an escape for his unpopular inmates. The Black Bull is near the top of +the long, steep Haworth street, and at the bottom, close by the bridge, +on the road to Keighley, is a turnpike. Giving directions to his hunted +guests to steal out at the back door (through which, probably, many a +ne'er-do-weel has escaped from good Mr. Grimshaw's horsewhip), the +landlord and some of the stable-boys rode the horses belonging to the +party from Bradford backwards and forwards before his front door, among +the fiercely-expectant crowd. Through some opening between the houses, +those on the horses saw Mr. Redhead and his friends creeping along behind +the street; and then, striking spurs, they dashed quickly down to the +turnpike; the obnoxious clergyman and his friends mounted in haste, and +had sped some distance before the people found out that their prey had +escaped, and came running to the closed turnpike gate. + +This was Mr. Redhead's last appearance at Haworth for many years. Long +afterwards, he came to preach, and in his sermon to a large and attentive +congregation he good-humouredly reminded them of the circumstances which +I have described. They gave him a hearty welcome, for they owed him no +grudge; although before they had been ready enough to stone him, in order +to maintain what they considered to be their rights. + +The foregoing account, which I heard from two of the survivors, in the +presence of a friend who can vouch for the accuracy of my repetition, has +to a certain degree been confirmed by a letter from the Yorkshire +gentleman, whose words I have already quoted. + +"I am not surprised at your difficulty in authenticating matter-of-fact. +I find this in recalling what I have heard, and the authority on which I +have heard anything. As to the donkey tale, I believe you are right. Mr. +Redhead and Dr. Ramsbotham, his son-in-law, are no strangers to me. Each +of them has a niche in my affections. + +"I have asked, this day, two persons who lived in Haworth at the time to +which you allude, the son and daughter of an acting trustee, and each of +them between sixty and seventy years of age, and they assure me that the +donkey was introduced. One of them says it was mounted by a half-witted +man, seated with his face towards the tail of the beast, and having +several hats piled on his head. Neither of my informants was, however, +present at these edifying services. I believe that no movement was made +in the church on either Sunday, until the whole of the authorised reading- +service was gone through, and I am sure that nothing was more remote from +the more respectable party than any personal antagonism toward Mr. +Redhead. He was one of the most amiable and worthy of men, a man to +myself endeared by many ties and obligations. I never heard before your +book that the sweep ascended the pulpit steps. He was present, however, +in the clerical habiliments of his order . . . I may also add that among +the many who were present at those sad Sunday orgies the majority were +non-residents, and came from those moorland fastnesses on the outskirts +of the parish locally designated as 'ovver th' steyres,' one stage more +remote than Haworth from modern civilization. + +"To an instance or two more of the rusticity of the inhabitants of the +chapelry of Haworth, I may introduce you. + +"A Haworth carrier called at the office of a friend of mine to deliver a +parcel on a cold winter's day, and stood with the door open. 'Robin! +shut the door!' said the recipient. 'Have you no doors in your country?' +'Yoi,' responded Robin, 'we hev, but we nivver steik 'em.' I have +frequently remarked the number of doors open even in winter. + +"When well directed, the indomitable and independent energies of the +natives of this part of the country are invaluable; dangerous when +perverted. I shall never forget the fierce actions and utterances of one +suffering from delirium tremens. Whether in its wrath, disdain, or its +dismay, the countenance was infernal. I called once upon a time on a +most respectable yeoman, and I was, in language earnest and homely, +pressed to accept the hospitality of the house. I consented. The word +to me was, 'Nah, Maister, yah mun stop an hev sum te-ah, yah mun, eah, +yah mun.' A bountiful table was soon spread; at all events, time soon +went while I scaled the hills to see 't' maire at wor thretty year owd, +an't' feil at wor fewer.' On sitting down to the table, a venerable +woman officiated, and after filling the cups, she thus addressed me: +'Nah, Maister, yah mun loawze th'taible' (loose the table). The master +said, 'Shah meeans yah mun sey t' greyce.' I took the hint, and uttered +the blessing. + +"I spoke with an aged and tried woman at one time, who, after recording +her mercies, stated, among others, her powers of speech, by asserting +'Thank the Lord, ah nivver wor a meilly-meouthed wumman.' I feel +particularly at fault in attempting the orthography of the dialect, but +must excuse myself by telling you that I once saw a letter in which the +word I have just now used (excuse) was written 'ecksqueaize!' + +"There are some things, however, which rather tend to soften the idea of +the rudeness of Haworth. No rural district has been more markedly the +abode of musical taste and acquirement, and this at a period when it was +difficult to find them to the same extent apart from towns in advance of +their times. I have gone to Haworth and found an orchestra to meet me, +filled with local performers, vocal and instrumental, to whom the best +works of Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Marcello, &c. &c., were familiar as +household words. By knowledge, taste, and voice, they were markedly +separate from ordinary village choirs, and have been put in extensive +requisition for the solo and chorus of many an imposing festival. One +man still survives, who, for fifty years, has had one of the finest tenor +voices I ever heard, and with it a refined and cultivated taste. To him +and to others many inducements have been offered to migrate; but the +loom, the association, the mountain air have had charms enow to secure +their continuance at home. I love the recollection of their performance; +that recollection extends over more than sixty years. The attachments, +the antipathies and the hospitalities of the district are ardent, hearty, +and homely. Cordiality in each is the prominent characteristic. As a +people, these mountaineers have ever been accessible to gentleness and +truth, so far as I have known them; but excite suspicion or resentment, +and they give emphatic and not impotent resistance. Compulsion they +defy. + +"I accompanied Mr. Heap on his first visit to Haworth after his accession +to the vicarage of Bradford. It was on Easter day, either 1816 or 1817. +His predecessor, the venerable John Crosse, known as the 'blind vicar,' +had been inattentive to the vicarial claims. A searching investigation +had to be made and enforced, and as it proceeded stout and sturdy +utterances were not lacking on the part of the parishioners. To a +spectator, though rude, they were amusing, and significant, foretelling +what might be expected, and what was afterwards realised, on the advent +of a new incumbent, if they deemed him an intruder. + +"From their peculiar parochial position and circumstances, the +inhabitants of the chapelry have been prompt, earnest, and persevering in +their opposition to church-rates. Although ten miles from the mother- +church, they were called upon to defray a large proportion of this +obnoxious tax,--I believe one fifth. + +"Besides this, they had to maintain their own edifice, &c., &c. They +resisted, therefore, with energy, that which they deemed to be oppression +and injustice. By scores would they wend their way from the hills to +attend a vestry meeting at Bradford, and in such service failed not to +show less of the _suaviter in modo_ than the _fortiter in re_. Happily +such occasion for their action has not occurred for many years. + +"The use of patronymics has been common in this locality. Inquire for a +man by his Christian name and surname, and you may have some difficulty +in finding him: ask, however, for 'George o' Ned's,' or 'Dick o' Bob's,' +or 'Tom o' Jack's,' as the case may be, and your difficulty is at an end. +In many instances the person is designated by his residence. In my early +years I had occasion to inquire for Jonathan Whitaker, who owned a +considerable farm in the township. I was sent hither and thither, until +it occurred to me to ask for 'Jonathan o' th' Gate.' My difficulties +were then at an end. Such circumstances arise out of the settled +character and isolation of the natives. + +"Those who have witnessed a Haworth wedding when the parties were above +the rank of labourers, will not easily forget the scene. A levy was made +on the horses of the neighbourhood, and a merry cavalcade of mounted men +and women, single or double, traversed the way to Bradford church. The +inn and church appeared to be in natural connection, and as the labours +of the Temperance Society had then to begin, the interests of sobriety +were not always consulted. On remounting their steeds they commenced +with a race, and not unfrequently an inebriate or unskilful horseman or +woman was put _hors de combat_. A race also was frequent at the end. of +these wedding expeditions, from the bridge to the toll-bar at Haworth. +The race-course you will know to be anything but level." + +Into the midst of this lawless, yet not unkindly population, Mr. Bronte +brought his wife and six little children, in February, 1820. There are +those yet alive who remember seven heavily-laden carts lumbering slowly +up the long stone street, bearing the "new parson's" household goods to +his future abode. + +One wonders how the bleak aspect of her new home--the low, oblong, stone +parsonage, high up, yet with a still higher back-ground of sweeping +moors--struck on the gentle, delicate wife, whose health even then was +failing. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +The Rev. Patrick Bronte is a native of the County Down in Ireland. His +father Hugh Bronte, was left an orphan at an early age. He came from the +south to the north of the island, and settled in the parish of Ahaderg, +near Loughbrickland. There was some family tradition that, humble as +Hugh Bronte's circumstances were, he was the descendant of an ancient +family. But about this neither he nor his descendants have cared to +inquire. He made an early marriage, and reared and educated ten children +on the proceeds of the few acres of land which he farmed. This large +family were remarkable for great physical strength, and much personal +beauty. Even in his old age, Mr. Bronte is a striking-looking man, above +the common height, with a nobly-shaped head, and erect carriage. In his +youth he must have been unusually handsome. + +He was born on Patrickmas day (March 17), 1777, and early gave tokens of +extraordinary quickness and intelligence. He had also his full share of +ambition; and of his strong sense and forethought there is a proof in the +fact, that, knowing that his father could afford him no pecuniary aid, +and that he must depend upon his own exertions, he opened a public school +at the early age of sixteen; and this mode of living he continued to +follow for five or six years. He then became a tutor in the family of +the Rev. Mr. Tighe, rector of Drumgooland parish. Thence he proceeded to +St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was entered in July, 1802, being +at the time five-and-twenty years of age. After nearly four years' +residence, he obtained his B.A. degree, and was ordained to a curacy in +Essex, whence he removed into Yorkshire. The course of life of which +this is the outline, shows a powerful and remarkable character, +originating and pursuing a purpose in a resolute and independent manner. +Here is a youth--a boy of sixteen--separating himself from his family, +and determining to maintain himself; and that, not in the hereditary +manner by agricultural pursuits, but by the labour of his brain. + +I suppose, from what I have heard, that Mr. Tighe became strongly +interested in his children's tutor, and may have aided him, not only in +the direction of his studies, but in the suggestion of an English +university education, and in advice as to the mode in which he should +obtain entrance there. Mr. Bronte has now no trace of his Irish origin +remaining in his speech; he never could have shown his Celtic descent in +the straight Greek lines and long oval of his face; but at +five-and-twenty, fresh from the only life he had ever known, to present +himself at the gates of St. John's proved no little determination of +will, and scorn of ridicule. + +While at Cambridge, he became one of a corps of volunteers, who were then +being called out all over the country to resist the apprehended invasion +by the French. I have heard him allude, in late years, to Lord +Palmerston as one who had often been associated with him then in the +mimic military duties which they had to perform. + +We take him up now settled as a curate at Hartshead, in Yorkshire--far +removed from his birth-place and all his Irish connections; with whom, +indeed, he cared little to keep up any intercourse, and whom he never, I +believe, revisited after becoming a student at Cambridge. + +Hartshead is a very small village, lying to the east of Huddersfield and +Halifax; and, from its high situation--on a mound, as it were, surrounded +by a circular basin--commanding a magnificent view. Mr. Bronte resided +here for five years; and, while the incumbent of Hartshead, he wooed and +married Maria Branwell. + +She was the third daughter of Mr. Thomas Branwell, merchant, of Penzance. +Her mother's maiden name was Carne: and, both on father's and mother's +side, the Branwell family were sufficiently well descended to enable them +to mix in the best society that Penzance then afforded. Mr. and Mrs. +Branwell would be living--their family of four daughters and one son, +still children--during the existence of that primitive state of society +which is well described by Dr. Davy in the life of his brother. + +"In the same town, when the population was about 2,000 persons, there was +only one carpet, the floors of rooms were sprinkled with sea-sand, and +there was not a single silver fork. + +"At that time, when our colonial possessions were very limited, our army +and navy on a small scale, and there was comparatively little demand for +intellect, the younger sons of gentlemen were often of necessity brought +up to some trade or mechanical art, to which no discredit, or loss of +caste, as it were, was attached. The eldest son, if not allowed to +remain an idle country squire, was sent to Oxford or Cambridge, +preparatory to his engaging in one of the three liberal professions of +divinity, law, or physic; the second son was perhaps apprenticed to a +surgeon or apothecary, or a solicitor; the third to a pewterer or +watchmaker; the fourth to a packer or mercer, and so on, were there more +to be provided for. + +"After their apprenticeships were finished, the young men almost +invariably went to London to perfect themselves in their respective trade +or art: and on their return into the country, when settled in business, +they were not excluded from what would now be considered genteel society. +Visiting then was conducted differently from what it is at present. +Dinner-parties were almost unknown, excepting at the annual feast-time. +Christmas, too, was then a season of peculiar indulgence and +conviviality, and a round of entertainments was given, consisting of tea +and supper. Excepting at these two periods, visiting was almost entirely +confined to tea-parties, which assembled at three o'clock, broke up at +nine, and the amusement of the evening was commonly some round game at +cards, as Pope Joan, or Commerce. The lower class was then extremely +ignorant, and all classes were very superstitious; even the belief in +witches maintained its ground, and there was an almost unbounded +credulity respecting the supernatural and monstrous. There was scarcely +a parish in the Mount's Bay that was without a haunted house, or a spot +to which some story of supernatural horror was not attached. Even when I +was a boy, I remember a house in the best street of Penzance which was +uninhabited because it was believed to be haunted, and which young people +walked by at night at a quickened pace, and with a beating heart. Amongst +the middle and higher classes there was little taste for literature, and +still less for science, and their pursuits were rarely of a dignified or +intellectual kind. Hunting, shooting, wrestling, cock-fighting, +generally ending in drunkenness, were what they most delighted in. +Smuggling was carried on to a great extent; and drunkenness, and a low +state of morals, were naturally associated with it. Whilst smuggling was +the means of acquiring wealth to bold and reckless adventurers, +drunkenness and dissipation occasioned the ruin of many respectable +families." + +I have given this extract because I conceive it bears some reference to +the life of Miss Bronte, whose strong mind and vivid imagination must +have received their first impressions either from the servants (in that +simple household, almost friendly companions during the greater part of +the day,) retailing the traditions or the news of Haworth village; or +from Mr. Bronte, whose intercourse with his children appears to have been +considerably restrained, and whose life, both in Ireland and at +Cambridge, had been spent under peculiar circumstances; or from her aunt, +Miss Branwell, who came to the parsonage, when Charlotte was only six or +seven years old, to take charge of her dead sister's family. This aunt +was older than Mrs. Bronte, and had lived longer among the Penzance +society, which Dr. Davy describes. But in the Branwell family itself, +the violence and irregularity of nature did not exist. They were +Methodists, and, as far as I can gather, a gentle and sincere piety gave +refinement and purity of character. Mr. Branwell, the father, according +to his descendants' account, was a man of musical talent. He and his +wife lived to see all their children grown up, and died within a year of +each other--he in 1808, she in 1809, when their daughter Maria was twenty- +five or twenty-six years of age. I have been permitted to look over a +series of nine letters, which were addressed by her to Mr. Bronte, during +the brief term of their engagement in 1812. They are full of tender +grace of expression and feminine modesty; pervaded by the deep piety to +which I have alluded as a family characteristic. I shall make one or two +extracts from them, to show what sort of a person was the mother of +Charlotte Bronte: but first, I must state the circumstances under which +this Cornish lady met the scholar from Ahaderg, near Loughbrickland. In +the early summer of 1812, when she would be twenty-nine, she came to +visit her uncle, the Reverend John Fennel, who was at that time a +clergyman of the Church of England, living near Leeds, but who had +previously been a Methodist minister. Mr. Bronte was the incumbent of +Hartshead; and had the reputation in the neighbourhood of being a very +handsome fellow, full of Irish enthusiasm, and with something of an +Irishman's capability of falling easily in love. Miss Branwell was +extremely small in person; not pretty, but very elegant, and always +dressed with a quiet simplicity of taste, which accorded well with her +general character, and of which some of the details call to mind the +style of dress preferred by her daughter for her favourite heroines. Mr. +Bronte was soon captivated by the little, gentle creature, and this time +declared that it was for life. In her first letter to him, dated August +26th, she seems almost surprised to find herself engaged, and alludes to +the short time which she has known him. In the rest there are touches +reminding one of Juliet's-- + + "But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true, + Than those that have more cunning to be strange." + +There are plans for happy pic-nic parties to Kirkstall Abbey, in the +glowing September days, when "Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin Jane,"--the last +engaged to a Mr. Morgan, another clergyman--were of the party; all since +dead, except Mr. Bronte. There was no opposition on the part of any of +her friends to her engagement. Mr. and Mrs. Fennel sanctioned it, and +her brother and sisters in far-away Penzance appear fully to have +approved of it. In a letter dated September 18th, she says:-- + +"For some years I have been perfectly my own mistress, subject to no +control whatever; so far from it, that my sisters, who are many years +older than myself, and even my dear mother, used to consult me on every +occasion of importance, and scarcely ever doubted the propriety of my +opinions and actions: perhaps you will be ready to accuse me of vanity in +mentioning this, but you must consider that I do not boast of it. I have +many times felt it a disadvantage, and although, I thank God, it has +never led me into error, yet, in circumstances of uncertainty and doubt, +I have deeply felt the want of a guide and instructor." In the same +letter she tells Mr. Bronte, that she has informed her sisters of her +engagement, and that she should not see them again so soon as she had +intended. Mr. Fennel, her uncle, also writes to them by the same post in +praise of Mr. Bronte. + +The journey from Penzance to Leeds in those days was both very long and +very expensive; the lovers had not much money to spend in unnecessary +travelling, and, as Miss Branwell had neither father nor mother living, +it appeared both a discreet and seemly arrangement that the marriage +should take place from her uncle's house. There was no reason either why +the engagement should be prolonged. They were past their first youth; +they had means sufficient for their unambitious wants; the living of +Hartshead is rated in the Clergy List at 202_l_. per annum, and she was +in the receipt of a small annuity (50_l_. I have been told) by the will +of her father. So, at the end of September, the lovers began to talk +about taking a house, for I suppose that Mr. Bronte up to that time had +been in lodgings; and all went smoothly and successfully with a view to +their marriage in the ensuing winter, until November, when a misfortune +happened, which she thus patiently and prettily describes:-- + +"I suppose you never expected to be much the richer for me, but I am +sorry to inform you that I am still poorer than I thought myself. I +mentioned having sent for my books, clothes, &c. On Saturday evening, +about the time when you were writing the description of your imaginary +shipwreck, I was reading and feeling the effects of a real one, having +then received a letter from my sister giving me an account of the vessel +in which she had sent my box being stranded on the coast of Devonshire, +in consequence of which the box was dashed to pieces with the violence of +the sea, and all my little property, with the exception of a very few +articles, being swallowed up in the mighty deep. If this should not +prove the prelude to something worse I shall think little of it, as it is +the first disastrous circumstance which has occurred since I left my +home." + +The last of these letters is dated December the 5th. Miss Branwell and +her cousin intended to set about making the wedding-cake in the following +week, so the marriage could not be far off. She had been learning by +heart a "pretty little hymn" of Mr. Bronte's composing; and reading Lord +Lyttelton's "Advice to a Lady," on which she makes some pertinent and +just remarks, showing that she thought as well as read. And so Maria +Branwell fades out of sight; we have no more direct intercourse with her; +we hear of her as Mrs. Bronte, but it is as an invalid, not far from +death; still patient, cheerful, and pious. The writing of these letters +is elegant and neat; while there are allusions to household +occupations--such as making the wedding-cake; there are also allusions to +the books she has read, or is reading, showing a well-cultivated mind. +Without having anything of her daughter's rare talents, Mrs. Bronte must +have been, I imagine, that unusual character, a well-balanced and +consistent woman. The style of the letters is easy and good; as is also +that of a paper from the same hand, entitled "The Advantages of Poverty +in Religious Concerns," which was written rather later, with a view to +publication in some periodical. + +She was married from her uncle's house in Yorkshire, on the 29th of +December, 1812; the same day was also the wedding-day of her younger +sister, Charlotte Branwell, in distant Penzance. I do not think that +Mrs. Bronte ever revisited Cornwall, but she has left a very pleasant +impression on the minds of those relations who yet survive; they speak of +her as "their favourite aunt, and one to whom they, as well as all the +family, looked up, as a person of talent and great amiability of +disposition;" and, again, as "meek and retiring, while possessing more +than ordinary talents, which she inherited from her father, and her piety +was genuine and unobtrusive." + +Mr. Bronte remained for five years at Hartshead, in the parish of +Dewsbury. There he was married, and his two children, Maria and +Elizabeth, were born. At the expiration of that period, he had the +living of Thornton, in Bradford Parish. Some of those great West Riding +parishes are almost like bishoprics for their amount of population and +number of churches. Thornton church is a little episcopal chapel of +ease, rich in Nonconformist monuments, as of Accepted Lister and his +friend Dr. Hall. The neighbourhood is desolate and wild; great tracts of +bleak land, enclosed by stone dykes, sweeping up Clayton heights. The +church itself looks ancient and solitary, and as if left behind by the +great stone mills of a flourishing Independent firm, and the solid square +chapel built by the members of that denomination. Altogether not so +pleasant a place as Hartshead, with its ample outlook over +cloud-shadowed, sun-flecked plain, and hill rising beyond hill to form +the distant horizon. + +Here, at Thornton, Charlotte Bronte was born, on the 21st of April, 1816. +Fast on her heels followed Patrick Branwell, Emily Jane, and Anne. After +the birth of this last daughter, Mrs. Bronte's health began to decline. +It is hard work to provide for the little tender wants of many young +children where the means are but limited. The necessaries of food and +clothing are much more easily supplied than the almost equal necessaries +of attendance, care, soothing, amusement, and sympathy. Maria Bronte, +the eldest of six, could only have been a few months more than six years +old, when Mr. Bronte removed to Haworth, on February the 25th, 1820. +Those who knew her then, describe her as grave, thoughtful, and quiet, to +a degree far beyond her years. Her childhood was no childhood; the cases +are rare in which the possessors of great gifts have known the blessings +of that careless happy time; _their_ unusual powers stir within them, +and, instead of the natural life of perception--the objective, as the +Germans call it--they begin the deeper life of reflection--the +subjective. + +Little Maria Bronte was delicate and small in appearance, which seemed to +give greater effect to her wonderful precocity of intellect. She must +have been her mother's companion and helpmate in many a household and +nursery experience, for Mr. Bronte was, of course, much engaged in his +study; and besides, he was not naturally fond of children, and felt their +frequent appearance on the scene as a drag both on his wife's strength, +and as an interruption to the comfort of the household. + +Haworth Parsonage is--as I mentioned in the first chapter--an oblong +stone house, facing down the hill on which the village stands, and with +the front door right opposite to the western door of the church, distant +about a hundred yards. Of this space twenty yards or so in depth are +occupied by the grassy garden, which is scarcely wider than the house. +The graveyard lies on two sides of the house and garden. The house +consists of four rooms on each floor, and is two stories high. When the +Brontes took possession, they made the larger parlour, to the left of the +entrance, the family sitting-room, while that on the right was +appropriated to Mr. Bronte as a study. Behind this was the kitchen; +behind the former, a sort of flagged store-room. Upstairs were four bed- +chambers of similar size, with the addition of a small apartment over the +passage, or "lobby" as we call it in the north. This was to the front, +the staircase going up right opposite to the entrance. There is the +pleasant old fashion of window seats all through the house; and one can +see that the parsonage was built in the days when wood was plentiful, as +the massive stair-banisters, and the wainscots, and the heavy +window-frames testify. + +This little extra upstairs room was appropriated to the children. Small +as it was, it was not called a nursery; indeed, it had not the comfort of +a fire-place in it; the servants--two affectionate, warm-hearted sisters, +who cannot now speak of the family without tears--called the room the +"children's study." The age of the eldest student was perhaps by this +time seven. + +The people in Haworth were none of them very poor. Many of them were +employed in the neighbouring worsted mills; a few were mill-owners and +manufacturers in a small way; there were also some shopkeepers for the +humbler and everyday wants; but for medical advice, for stationery, +books, law, dress, or dainties, the inhabitants had to go to Keighley. +There were several Sunday-schools; the Baptists had taken the lead in +instituting them, the Wesleyans had followed, the Church of England had +brought up the rear. Good Mr. Grimshaw, Wesley's friend, had built a +humble Methodist chapel, but it stood close to the road leading on to the +moor; the Baptists then raised a place of worship, with the distinction +of being a few yards back from the highway; and the Methodists have since +thought it well to erect another and a larger chapel, still more retired +from the road. Mr. Bronte was ever on kind and friendly terms with each +denomination as a body; but from individuals in the village the family +stood aloof, unless some direct service was required, from the first. +"They kept themselves very close," is the account given by those who +remember Mr. and Mrs. Bronte's coming amongst them. I believe many of +the Yorkshiremen would object to the system of parochial visiting; their +surly independence would revolt from the idea of any one having a right, +from his office, to inquire into their condition, to counsel, or to +admonish them. The old hill-spirit lingers in them, which coined the +rhyme, inscribed on the under part of one of the seats in the Sedilia of +Whalley Abbey, not many miles from Haworth, + + "Who mells wi' what another does + Had best go home and shoe his goose." + +I asked an inhabitant of a district close to Haworth what sort of a +clergyman they had at the church which he attended. + +"A rare good one," said he: "he minds his own business, and ne'er +troubles himself with ours." + +Mr. Bronte was faithful in visiting the sick and all those who sent for +him, and diligent in attendance at the schools; and so was his daughter +Charlotte too; but, cherishing and valuing privacy themselves, they were +perhaps over-delicate in not intruding upon the privacy of others. + +From their first going to Haworth, their walks were directed rather out +towards the heathery moors, sloping upwards behind the parsonage, than +towards the long descending village street. A good old woman, who came +to nurse Mrs. Bronte in the illness--an internal cancer--which grew and +gathered upon her, not many months after her arrival at Haworth, tells me +that at that time the six little creatures used to walk out, hand in +hand, towards the glorious wild moors, which in after days they loved so +passionately; the elder ones taking thoughtful care for the toddling wee +things. + +They were grave and silent beyond their years; subdued, probably, by the +presence of serious illness in the house; for, at the time which my +informant speaks of, Mrs. Bronte was confined to the bedroom from which +she never came forth alive. "You would not have known there was a child +in the house, they were such still, noiseless, good little creatures. +Maria would shut herself up" (Maria, but seven!) "in the children's study +with a newspaper, and be able to tell one everything when she came out; +debates in Parliament, and I don't know what all. She was as good as a +mother to her sisters and brother. But there never were such good +children. I used to think them spiritless, they were so different to any +children I had ever seen. They were good little creatures. Emily was +the prettiest." + +Mrs. Bronte was the same patient, cheerful person as we have seen her +formerly; very ill, suffering great pain, but seldom if ever complaining; +at her better times begging her nurse to raise her in bed to let her see +her clean the grate, "because she did it as it was done in Cornwall;" +devotedly fond of her husband, who warmly repaid her affection, and +suffered no one else to take the night-nursing; but, according to my +informant, the mother was not very anxious to see much of her children, +probably because the sight of them, knowing how soon they were to be left +motherless, would have agitated her too much. So the little things clung +quietly together, for their father was busy in his study and in his +parish, or with their mother, and they took their meals alone; sat +reading, or whispering low, in the "children's study," or wandered out on +the hill-side, hand in hand. + +The ideas of Rousseau and Mr. Day on education had filtered down through +many classes, and spread themselves widely out. I imagine, Mr. Bronte +must have formed some of his opinions on the management of children from +these two theorists. His practice was not half so wild or extraordinary +as that to which an aunt of mine was subjected by a disciple of Mr. +Day's. She had been taken by this gentleman and his wife, to live with +them as their adopted child, perhaps about five-and-twenty years before +the time of which I am writing. They were wealthy people and kind +hearted, but her food and clothing were of the very simplest and rudest +description, on Spartan principles. A healthy, merry child, she did not +much care for dress or eating; but the treatment which she felt as a real +cruelty was this. They had a carriage, in which she and the favourite +dog were taken an airing on alternate days; the creature whose turn it +was to be left at home being tossed in a blanket--an operation which my +aunt especially dreaded. Her affright at the tossing was probably the +reason why it was persevered in. Dressed-up ghosts had become common, +and she did not care for them, so the blanket exercise was to be the next +mode of hardening her nerves. It is well known that Mr. Day broke off +his intention of marrying Sabrina, the girl whom he had educated for this +purpose, because, within a few weeks of the time fixed for the wedding, +she was guilty of the frivolity, while on a visit from home, of wearing +thin sleeves. Yet Mr. Day and my aunt's relations were benevolent +people, only strongly imbued with the crotchet that by a system of +training might be educed the hardihood and simplicity of the ideal +savage, forgetting the terrible isolation of feelings and habits which +their pupils would experience in the future life which they must pass +among the corruptions and refinements of civilization. + +Mr. Bronte wished to make his children hardy, and indifferent to the +pleasures of eating and dress. In the latter he succeeded, as far as +regarded his daughters. + +His strong, passionate, Irish nature was, in general, compressed down +with resolute stoicism; but it was there notwithstanding all his +philosophic calm and dignity of demeanour; though he did not speak when +he was annoyed or displeased. Mrs. Bronte, whose sweet nature thought +invariably of the bright side, would say, "Ought I not to be thankful +that he never gave me an angry word?" + +Mr. Bronte was an active walker, stretching away over the moors for many +miles, noting in his mind all natural signs of wind and weather, and +keenly observing all the wild creatures that came and went in the +loneliest sweeps of the hills. He has seen eagles stooping low in search +of food for their young; no eagle is ever seen on those mountain slopes +now. + +He fearlessly took whatever side in local or national politics appeared +to him right. In the days of the Luddites, he had been for the +peremptory interference of the law, at a time when no magistrate could be +found to act, and all the property of the West Riding was in terrible +danger. He became unpopular then among the millworkers, and he esteemed +his life unsafe if he took his long and lonely walks unarmed; so he began +the habit, which has continued to this day, of invariably carrying a +loaded pistol about with him. It lay on his dressing-table with his +watch; with his watch it was put on in the morning; with his watch it was +taken off at night. + +Many years later, during his residence at Haworth, there was a strike; +the hands in the neighbourhood felt themselves aggrieved by the masters, +and refused to work: Mr. Bronte thought that they had been unjustly and +unfairly treated, and he assisted them by all the means in his power to +"keep the wolf from their doors," and avoid the incubus of debt. Several +of the more influential inhabitants of Haworth and the neighbourhood were +mill-owners; they remonstrated pretty sharply with him, but he believed +that his conduct was right and persevered in it. + +His opinions might be often both wild and erroneous, his principles of +action eccentric and strange, his views of life partial, and almost +misanthropical; but not one opinion that he held could be stirred or +modified by any worldly motive: he acted up to his principles of action; +and, if any touch of misanthropy mingled with his view of mankind in +general, his conduct to the individuals who came in personal contact with +him did not agree with such view. It is true that he had strong and +vehement prejudices, and was obstinate in maintaining them, and that he +was not dramatic enough in his perceptions to see how miserable others +might be in a life that to him was all-sufficient. But I do not pretend +to be able to harmonize points of character, and account for them, and +bring them all into one consistent and intelligible whole. The family +with whom I have now to do shot their roots down deeper than I can +penetrate. I cannot measure them, much less is it for me to judge them. +I have named these instances of eccentricity in the father because I hold +the knowledge of them to be necessary for a right understanding of the +life of his daughter. + +Mrs. Bronte died in September, 1821, and the lives of those quiet +children must have become quieter and lonelier still. Charlotte tried +hard, in after years, to recall the remembrance of her mother, and could +bring back two or three pictures of her. One was when, sometime in the +evening light, she had been playing with her little boy, Patrick +Branwell, in the parlour of Haworth Parsonage. But the recollections of +four or five years old are of a very fragmentary character. + +Owing to some illness of the digestive organs, Mr. Bronte was obliged to +be very careful about his diet; and, in order to avoid temptation, and +possibly to have the quiet necessary for digestion, he had begun, before +his wife's death, to take his dinner alone--a habit which he always +retained. He did not require companionship, therefore he did not seek +it, either in his walks, or in his daily life. The quiet regularity of +his domestic hours was only broken in upon by church-wardens, and +visitors on parochial business; and sometimes by a neighbouring +clergyman, who came down the hills, across the moors, to mount up again +to Haworth Parsonage, and spend an evening there. But, owing to Mrs. +Bronte's death so soon after her husband had removed into the district, +and also to the distances, and the bleak country to be traversed, the +wives of these clerical friends did not accompany their husbands; and the +daughters grew up out of childhood into girlhood bereft, in a singular +manner, of all such society as would have been natural to their age, sex, +and station. + +But the children did not want society. To small infantine gaieties they +were unaccustomed. They were all in all to each other. I do not suppose +that there ever was a family more tenderly bound to each other. Maria +read the newspapers, and reported intelligence to her younger sisters +which it is wonderful they could take an interest in. But I suspect that +they had no "children's books," and that their eager minds "browzed +undisturbed among the wholesome pasturage of English literature," as +Charles Lamb expresses it. The servants of the household appear to have +been much impressed with the little Brontes' extraordinary cleverness. In +a letter which I had from him on this subject, their father writes:--"The +servants often said that they had never seen such a clever little child" +(as Charlotte), "and that they were obliged to be on their guard as to +what they said and did before her. Yet she and the servants always lived +on good terms with each other." + +These servants are yet alive; elderly women residing in Bradford. They +retain a faithful and fond recollection of Charlotte, and speak of her +unvarying kindness from the "time when she was ever such a little child!" +when she would not rest till she had got the old disused cradle sent from +the parsonage to the house where the parents of one of them lived, to +serve for a little infant sister. They tell of one long series of kind +and thoughtful actions from this early period to the last weeks of +Charlotte Bronte's life; and, though she had left her place many years +ago, one of these former servants went over from Bradford to Haworth on +purpose to see Mr. Bronte, and offer him her true sympathy, when his last +child died. I may add a little anecdote as a testimony to the admirable +character of the likeness of Miss Bronte prefixed to this volume. A +gentleman who had kindly interested himself in the preparation of this +memoir took the first volume, shortly after the publication, to the house +of this old servant, in order to show her the portrait. The moment she +caught a glimpse of the frontispiece, "There she is," in a minute she +exclaimed. "Come, John, look!" (to her husband); and her daughter was +equally struck by the resemblance. There might not be many to regard the +Brontes with affection, but those who once loved them, loved them long +and well. + +I return to the father's letter. He says:-- + +"When mere children, as soon as they could read and write, Charlotte and +her brothers and sisters used to invent and act little plays of their +own, in which the Duke of Wellington, my daughter Charlotte's hero, was +sure to come off conqueror; when a dispute would not unfrequently arise +amongst them regarding the comparative merits of him, Buonaparte, +Hannibal, and Caesar. When the argument got warm, and rose to its +height, as their mother was then dead, I had sometimes to come in as +arbitrator, and settle the dispute according to the best of my judgment. +Generally, in the management of these concerns, I frequently thought that +I discovered signs of rising talent, which I had seldom or never before +seen in any of their age . . . A circumstance now occurs to my mind which +I may as well mention. When my children were very young, when, as far as +I can remember, the oldest was about ten years of age, and the youngest +about four, thinking that they knew more than I had yet discovered, in +order to make them speak with less timidity, I deemed that if they were +put under a sort of cover I might gain my end; and happening to have a +mask in the house, I told them all to stand and speak boldly from under +cover of the mask. + +"I began with the youngest (Anne, afterwards Acton Bell), and asked what +a child like her most wanted; she answered, 'Age and experience.' I +asked the next (Emily, afterwards Ellis Bell), what I had best do with +her brother Branwell, who was sometimes a naughty boy; she answered, +'Reason with him, and when he won't listen to reason, whip him.' I asked +Branwell what was the best way of knowing the difference between the +intellects of man and woman; he answered, 'By considering the difference +between them as to their bodies.' I then asked Charlotte what was the +best book in the world; she answered, 'The Bible.' And what was the next +best; she answered, 'The Book of Nature.' I then asked the next what was +the best mode of education for a woman; she answered, 'That which would +make her rule her house well.' Lastly, I asked the oldest what was the +best mode of spending time; she answered, 'By laying it out in +preparation for a happy eternity.' I may not have given precisely their +words, but I have nearly done so, as they made a deep and lasting +impression on my memory. The substance, however, was exactly what I have +stated." + +The strange and quaint simplicity of the mode taken by the father to +ascertain the hidden characters of his children, and the tone and +character of these questions and answers, show the curious education +which was made by the circumstances surrounding the Brontes. They knew +no other children. They knew no other modes of thought than what were +suggested to them by the fragments of clerical conversation which they +overheard in the parlour, or the subjects of village and local interest +which they heard discussed in the kitchen. Each had their own strong +characteristic flavour. + +They took a vivid interest in the public characters, and the local and +the foreign as well as home politics discussed in the newspapers. Long +before Maria Bronte died, at the age of eleven, her father used to say he +could converse with her on any of the leading topics of the day with as +much freedom and pleasure as with any grown-up person. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +About a year after Mrs. Bronte's death, an elder sister, as I have before +mentioned, came from Penzance to superintend her brother-in-law's +household, and look after his children. Miss Branwell was, I believe, a +kindly and conscientious woman, with a good deal of character, but with +the somewhat narrow ideas natural to one who had spent nearly all her +life in the same place. She had strong prejudices, and soon took a +distaste to Yorkshire. From Penzance, where plants which we in the north +call greenhouse flowers grow in great profusion, and without any shelter +even in the winter, and where the soft warm climate allows the +inhabitants, if so disposed, to live pretty constantly in the open air, +it was a great change for a lady considerably past forty to come and take +up her abode in a place where neither flowers nor vegetables would +flourish, and where a tree of even moderate dimensions might be hunted +for far and wide; where the snow lay long and late on the moors, +stretching bleakly and barely far up from the dwelling which was +henceforward to be her home; and where often, on autumnal or winter +nights, the four winds of heaven seemed to meet and rage together, +tearing round the house as if they were wild beasts striving to find an +entrance. She missed the small round of cheerful, social visiting +perpetually going on in a country town; she missed the friends she had +known from her childhood, some of whom had been her parents' friends +before they were hers; she disliked many of the customs of the place, and +particularly dreaded the cold damp arising from the flag floors in the +passages and parlours of Haworth Parsonage. The stairs, too, I believe, +are made of stone; and no wonder, when stone quarries are near, and trees +are far to seek. I have heard that Miss Branwell always went about the +house in pattens, clicking up and down the stairs, from her dread of +catching cold. For the same reason, in the latter years of her life, she +passed nearly all her time, and took most of her meals, in her bedroom. +The children respected her, and had that sort of affection for her which +is generated by esteem; but I do not think they ever freely loved her. It +was a severe trial for any one at her time of life to change +neighbourhood and habitation so entirely as she did; and the greater her +merit. + +I do not know whether Miss Branwell taught her nieces anything besides +sewing, and the household arts in which Charlotte afterwards was such an +adept. Their regular lessons were said to their father; and they were +always in the habit of picking up an immense amount of miscellaneous +information for themselves. But a year or so before this time, a school +had been begun in the North of England for the daughters of clergymen. +The place was Cowan Bridge, a small hamlet on the coach-road between +Leeds and Kendal, and thus easy of access from Haworth, as the coach ran +daily, and one of its stages was at Keighley. The yearly expense for +each pupil (according to the entrance-rules given in the Report for 1842, +and I believe they had not been increased since the establishment of the +schools in 1823) was as follows: + +"Rule 11. The terms for clothing, lodging, boarding, and educating, are +14_l_. a year; half to be paid in advance, when the pupils are sent; and +also 1_l_. entrance-money, for the use of books, &c. The system of +education comprehends history, geography, the use of the globes, grammar, +writing and arithmetic, all kinds of needlework, and the nicer kinds of +household work--such as getting up fine linen, ironing, &c. If +accomplishments are required, an additional charge of 3_l_. a year is +made for music or drawing, each." + +Rule 3rd requests that the friends will state the line of education +desired in the case of every pupil, having a regard to her future +prospects. + +Rule 4th states the clothing and toilette articles which a girl is +expected to bring with her; and thus concludes: "The pupils all appear in +the same dress. They wear plain straw cottage bonnets; in summer white +frocks on Sundays, and nankeen on other days; in winter, purple stuff +frocks, and purple cloth cloaks. For the sake of uniformity, therefore, +they are required to bring 3_l_. in lieu of frocks, pelisse, bonnet, +tippet, and frills; making the whole sum which each pupil brings with her +to the school-- + + 7_l_. half-year in advance. + 1_l_. entrance for books. + 1_l_. entrance for clothes. + +The 8th rule is,--"All letters and parcels are inspected by the +superintendent;" but this is a very prevalent regulation in all young +ladies' schools, where I think it is generally understood that the +schoolmistress may exercise this privilege, although it is certainly +unwise in her to insist too frequently upon it. + +There is nothing at all remarkable in any of the other regulations, a +copy of which was doubtless in Mr. Bronte's hands when he formed the +determination to send his daughters to Cowan Bridge School; and he +accordingly took Maria and Elizabeth thither in July, 1824. + +I now come to a part of my subject which I find great difficulty in +treating, because the evidence relating to it on each side is so +conflicting that it seems almost impossible to arrive at the truth. Miss +Bronte more than once said to me, that she should not have written what +she did of Lowood in "Jane Eyre," if she had thought the place would have +been so immediately identified with Cowan Bridge, although there was not +a word in her account of the institution but what was true at the time +when she knew it; she also said that she had not considered it necessary, +in a work of fiction, to state every particular with the impartiality +that might be required in a court of justice, nor to seek out motives, +and make allowances for human failings, as she might have done, if +dispassionately analysing the conduct of those who had the +superintendence of the institution. I believe she herself would have +been glad of an opportunity to correct the over-strong impression which +was made upon the public mind by her vivid picture, though even she, +suffering her whole life long, both in heart and body, from the +consequences of what happened there, might have been apt, to the last, to +take her deep belief in facts for the facts themselves--her conception of +truth for the absolute truth. + +In some of the notices of the previous editions of this work, it is +assumed that I derived the greater part of my information with regard to +her sojourn at Cowan Bridge from Charlotte Bronte herself. I never heard +her speak of the place but once, and that was on the second day of my +acquaintance with her. A little child on that occasion expressed some +reluctance to finish eating his piece of bread at dinner; and she, +stooping down, and addressing him in a low voice, told him how thankful +she should have been at his age for a piece of bread; and when we--though +I am not sure if I myself spoke--asked her some question as to the +occasion she alluded to, she replied with reserve and hesitation, +evidently shying away from what she imagined might lead to too much +conversation on one of her books. She spoke of the oat-cake at Cowan +Bridge (the clap-bread of Westmorland) as being different to the leaven- +raised oat-cake of Yorkshire, and of her childish distaste for it. Some +one present made an allusion to a similar childish dislike in the true +tale of "The terrible knitters o' Dent" given in Southey's "Common-place +Book:" and she smiled faintly, but said that the mere difference in food +was not all: that the food itself was spoilt by the dirty carelessness of +the cook, so that she and her sisters disliked their meals exceedingly; +and she named her relief and gladness when the doctor condemned the meat, +and spoke of having seen him spit it out. These are all the details I +ever heard from her. She so avoided particularizing, that I think Mr. +Carus Wilson's name never passed between us. + +I do not doubt the general accuracy of my informants,--of those who have +given, and solemnly repeated, the details that follow,--but it is only +just to Miss Bronte to say that I have stated above pretty nearly all +that I ever heard on the subject from her. + +A clergyman, living near Kirby Lonsdale, the Reverend William Carus +Wilson, was the prime mover in the establishment of this school. He was +an energetic man, sparing no labour for the accomplishment of his ends. +He saw that it was an extremely difficult task for clergymen with limited +incomes to provide for the education of their children; and he devised a +scheme, by which a certain sum was raised annually by subscription, to +complete the amount required to furnish a solid and sufficient English +education, for which the parent's payment of 14_l_. a year would not have +been sufficient. Indeed, that made by the parents was considered to be +exclusively appropriated to the expenses of lodging and boarding, and the +education provided for by the subscriptions. Twelve trustees were +appointed; Mr. Wilson being not only a trustee, but the treasurer and +secretary; in fact, taking most of the business arrangements upon +himself; a responsibility which appropriately fell to him, as he lived +nearer the school than any one else who was interested in it. So his +character for prudence and judgment was to a certain degree implicated in +the success or failure of Cowan Bridge School; and the working of it was +for many years the great object and interest of his life. But he was +apparently unacquainted with the prime element in good +administration--seeking out thoroughly competent persons to fill each +department, and then making them responsible for, and judging them by, +the result, without perpetual interference with the details. + +So great was the amount of good which Mr. Wilson did, by his constant, +unwearied superintendence, that I cannot help feeling sorry that, in his +old age and declining health, the errors which he was believed to have +committed, should have been brought up against him in a form which +received such wonderful force from the touch of Miss Bronte's great +genius. No doubt whatever can be entertained of the deep interest which +he felt in the success of the school. As I write, I have before me his +last words on giving up the secretaryship in 1850: he speaks of the +"withdrawal, from declining health, of an eye, which, at all events, has +loved to watch over the schools with an honest and anxious interest;"--and +again he adds, "that he resigns, therefore, with a desire to be thankful +for all that God has been pleased to accomplish through his +instrumentality (the infirmities and unworthinesses of which he deeply +feels and deplores)." + +Cowan Bridge is a cluster of some six or seven cottages, gathered +together at both ends of a bridge, over which the high road from Leeds to +Kendal crosses a little stream, called the Leck. This high road is +nearly disused now; but formerly, when the buyers from the West Riding +manufacturing districts had frequent occasion to go up into the North to +purchase the wool of the Westmorland and Cumberland farmers, it was +doubtless much travelled; and perhaps the hamlet of Cowan Bridge had a +more prosperous look than it bears at present. It is prettily situated; +just where the Leck-fells swoop into the plain; and by the course of the +beck alder-trees and willows and hazel bushes grow. The current of the +stream is interrupted by broken pieces of grey rock; and the waters flow +over a bed of large round white pebbles, which a flood heaves up and +moves on either side out of its impetuous way till in some parts they +almost form a wall. By the side of the little, shallow, sparkling, +vigorous Leck, run long pasture fields, of the fine short grass common in +high land; for though Cowan Bridge is situated on a plain, it is a plain +from which there is many a fall and long descent before you and the Leck +reach the valley of the Lune. I can hardly understand how the school +there came to be so unhealthy, the air all round about was so sweet and +thyme-scented, when I visited it last summer. But at this day, every one +knows that the site of a building intended for numbers should be chosen +with far greater care than that of a private dwelling, from the tendency +to illness, both infectious and otherwise, produced by the congregation +of people in close proximity. + +The house is still remaining that formed part of that occupied by the +school. It is a long, bow-windowed cottage, now divided into two +dwellings. It stands facing the Leck, between which and it intervenes a +space, about seventy yards deep, that was once the school garden. This +original house was an old dwelling of the Picard family, which they had +inhabited for two generations. They sold it for school purposes, and an +additional building was erected, running at right angles from the older +part. This new part was devoted expressly to schoolrooms, dormitories, +&c.; and after the school was removed to Casterton, it was used for a +bobbin-mill connected with the stream, where wooden reels were made out +of the alders, which grow profusely in such ground as that surrounding +Cowan Bridge. This mill is now destroyed. The present cottage was, at +the time of which I write, occupied by the teachers' rooms, the dinner- +room and kitchens, and some smaller bedrooms. On going into this +building, I found one part, that nearest to the high road, converted into +a poor kind of public-house, then to let, and having all the squalid +appearance of a deserted place, which rendered it difficult to judge what +it would look like when neatly kept up, the broken panes replaced in the +windows, and the rough-cast (now cracked and discoloured) made white and +whole. The other end forms a cottage, with the low ceilings and stone +floors of a hundred years ago; the windows do not open freely and widely; +and the passage upstairs, leading to the bedrooms, is narrow and +tortuous: altogether, smells would linger about the house, and damp cling +to it. But sanitary matters were little understood thirty years ago; and +it was a great thing to get a roomy building close to the high road, and +not too far from the habitation of Mr. Wilson, the originator of the +educational scheme. There was much need of such an institution; numbers +of ill-paid clergymen hailed the prospect with joy, and eagerly put down +the names of their children as pupils when the establishment should be +ready to receive them. Mr. Wilson was, no doubt, pleased by the +impatience with which the realisation of his idea was anticipated, and +opened the school with less than a hundred pounds in hand, and with +pupils, the number of whom varies according to different accounts; Mr. W. +W. Carus Wilson, the son of the founder, giving it as seventy; while Mr. +Shepheard, the son-in-law, states it to have been only sixteen. + +Mr. Wilson felt, most probably, that the responsibility of the whole plan +rested upon him. The payment made by the parents was barely enough for +food and lodging; the subscriptions did not flow very freely into an +untried scheme; and great economy was necessary in all the domestic +arrangements. He determined to enforce this by frequent personal +inspection; carried perhaps to an unnecessary extent, and leading +occasionally to a meddling with little matters, which had sometimes the +effect of producing irritation of feeling. Yet, although there was +economy in providing for the household, there does not appear to have +been any parsimony. The meat, flour, milk, &c., were contracted for, but +were of very fair quality; and the dietary, which has been shown to me in +manuscript, was neither bad nor unwholesome; nor, on the whole, was it +wanting in variety. Oatmeal porridge for breakfast; a piece of oat-cake +for those who required luncheon; baked and boiled beef, and mutton, +potato-pie, and plain homely puddings of different kinds for dinner. At +five o'clock, bread and milk for the younger ones; and one piece of bread +(this was the only time at which the food was limited) for the elder +pupils, who sat up till a later meal of the same description. + +Mr. Wilson himself ordered in the food, and was anxious that it should be +of good quality. But the cook, who had much of his confidence, and +against whom for a long time no one durst utter a complaint, was +careless, dirty, and wasteful. To some children oatmeal porridge is +distasteful, and consequently unwholesome, even when properly made; at +Cowan Bridge School it was too often sent up, not merely burnt, but with +offensive fragments of other substances discoverable in it. The beef, +that should have been carefully salted before it was dressed, had often +become tainted from neglect; and girls, who were school-fellows with the +Brontes, during the reign of the cook of whom I am speaking, tell me that +the house seemed to be pervaded, morning, noon, and night, by the odour +of rancid fat that steamed out of the oven in which much of their food +was prepared. There was the same carelessness in making the puddings; +one of those ordered was rice boiled in water, and eaten with a sauce of +treacle and sugar; but it was often uneatable, because the water had been +taken out of the rain tub, and was strongly impregnated with the dust +lodging on the roof, whence it had trickled down into the old wooden +cask, which also added its own flavour to that of the original rain +water. The milk, too, was often "bingy," to use a country expression for +a kind of taint that is far worse than sourness, and suggests the idea +that it is caused by want of cleanliness about the milk pans, rather than +by the heat of the weather. On Saturdays, a kind of pie, or mixture of +potatoes and meat, was served up, which was made of all the fragments +accumulated during the week. Scraps of meat from a dirty and disorderly +larder, could never be very appetizing; and, I believe, that this dinner +was more loathed than any in the early days of Cowan Bridge School. One +may fancy how repulsive such fare would be to children whose appetites +were small, and who had been accustomed to food, far simpler perhaps, but +prepared with a delicate cleanliness that made it both tempting and +wholesome. At many a meal the little Brontes went without food, although +craving with hunger. They were not strong when they came, having only +just recovered from a complication of measles and hooping-cough: indeed, +I suspect they had scarcely recovered; for there was some consultation on +the part of the school authorities whether Maria and Elizabeth should be +received or not, in July 1824. Mr. Bronte came again, in the September +of that year, bringing with him Charlotte and Emily to be admitted as +pupils. + +It appears strange that Mr. Wilson should not have been informed by the +teachers of the way in which the food was served up; but we must remember +that the cook had been known for some time to the Wilson family, while +the teachers were brought together for an entirely different work--that +of education. They were expressly given to understand that such was +their department; the buying in and management of the provisions rested +with Mr. Wilson and the cook. The teachers would, of course, be +unwilling to lay any complaints on the subject before him. + +There was another trial of health common to all the girls. The path from +Cowan Bridge to Tunstall Church, where Mr. Wilson preached, and where +they all attended on the Sunday, is more than two miles in length, and +goes sweeping along the rise and fall of the unsheltered country, in a +way to make it a fresh and exhilarating walk in summer, but a bitter cold +one in winter, especially to children like the delicate little Brontes, +whose thin blood flowed languidly in consequence of their feeble +appetites rejecting the food prepared for them, and thus inducing a half- +starved condition. The church was not warmed, there being no means for +this purpose. It stands in the midst of fields, and the damp mist must +have gathered round the walls, and crept in at the windows. The girls +took their cold dinner with them, and ate it between the services, in a +chamber over the entrance, opening out of the former galleries. The +arrangements for this day were peculiarly trying to delicate children, +particularly to those who were spiritless and longing for home, as poor +Maria Bronte must have been; for her ill health was increasing, and the +old cough, the remains of the hooping-cough, lingered about her. + +She was far superior in mind to any of her play-fellows and companions, +and was lonely amongst them from that very cause; and yet she had faults +so annoying that she was in constant disgrace with her teachers, and an +object of merciless dislike to one of them, who is depicted as "Miss +Scatcherd" in "Jane Eyre," and whose real name I will be merciful enough +not to disclose. I need hardly say, that Helen Burns is as exact a +transcript of Maria Bronte as Charlotte's wonderful power of reproducing +character could give. Her heart, to the latest day on which we met, +still beat with unavailing indignation at the worrying and the cruelty to +which her gentle, patient, dying sister had been subjected by this woman. +Not a word of that part of "Jane Eyre" but is a literal repetition of +scenes between the pupil and the teacher. Those who had been pupils at +the same time knew who must have written the book from the force with +which Helen Burns' sufferings are described. They had, before that, +recognised the description of the sweet dignity and benevolence of Miss +Temple as only a just tribute to the merits of one whom all that knew her +appear to hold in honour; but when Miss Scatcherd was held up to +opprobrium they also recognised in the writer of "Jane Eyre" an +unconsciously avenging sister of the sufferer. + +One of their fellow-pupils, among other statements even worse, gives me +the following:--The dormitory in which Maria slept was a long room, +holding a row of narrow little beds on each side, occupied by the pupils; +and at the end of this dormitory there was a small bed-chamber opening +out of it, appropriated to the use of Miss Scatcherd. Maria's bed stood +nearest to the door of this room. One morning, after she had become so +seriously unwell as to have had a blister applied to her side (the sore +from which was not perfectly healed), when the getting-up bell was heard, +poor Maria moaned out that she was so ill, so very ill, she wished she +might stop in bed; and some of the girls urged her to do so, and said +they would explain it all to Miss Temple, the superintendent. But Miss +Scatcherd was close at hand, and her anger would have to be faced before +Miss Temple's kind thoughtfulness could interfere; so the sick child +began to dress, shivering with cold, as, without leaving her bed, she +slowly put on her black worsted stockings over her thin white legs (my +informant spoke as if she saw it yet, and her whole face flushed out +undying indignation). Just then Miss Scatcherd issued from her room, +and, without asking for a word of explanation from the sick and +frightened girl, she took her by the arm, on the side to which the +blister had been applied, and by one vigorous movement whirled her out +into the middle of the floor, abusing her all the time for dirty and +untidy habits. There she left her. My informant says, Maria hardly +spoke, except to beg some of the more indignant girls to be calm; but, in +slow, trembling movements, with many a pause, she went down-stairs at +last,--and was punished for being late. + +Any one may fancy how such an event as this would rankle in Charlotte's +mind. I only wonder that she did not remonstrate against her father's +decision to send her and Emily back to Cowan Bridge, after Maria's and +Elizabeth's deaths. But frequently children are unconscious of the +effect which some of their simple revelations would have in altering the +opinions entertained by their friends of the persons placed around them. +Besides, Charlotte's earnest vigorous mind saw, at an unusually early +age, the immense importance of education, as furnishing her with tools +which she had the strength and the will to wield, and she would be aware +that the Cowan Bridge education was, in many points, the best that her +father could provide for her. + +Before Maria Bronte's death, that low fever broke out, in the spring of +1825, which is spoken of in "Jane Eyre." Mr. Wilson was extremely +alarmed at the first symptoms of this. He went to a kind motherly woman, +who had had some connection with the school--as laundress, I believe--and +asked her to come and tell him what was the matter with them. She made +herself ready, and drove with him in his gig. When she entered the +schoolroom, she saw from twelve to fifteen girls lying about; some +resting their aching heads on the table, others on the ground; all heavy- +eyed, flushed, indifferent, and weary, with pains in every limb. Some +peculiar odour, she says, made her recognise that they were sickening for +"the fever;" and she told Mr. Wilson so, and that she could not stay +there for fear of conveying the infection to her own children; but he +half commanded, and half entreated her to remain and nurse them; and +finally mounted his gig and drove away, while she was still urging that +she must return to her own house, and to her domestic duties, for which +she had provided no substitute. However, when she was left in this +unceremonious manner, she determined to make the best of it; and a most +efficient nurse she proved: although, as she says, it was a dreary time. + +Mr. Wilson supplied everything ordered by the doctors, of the best +quality and in the most liberal manner; the invalids were attended by Dr. +Batty, a very clever surgeon in Kirby, who had had the medical +superintendence of the establishment from the beginning, and who +afterwards became Mr. Wilson's brother-in-law. I have heard from two +witnesses besides Charlotte Bronte, that Dr. Batty condemned the +preparation of the food by the expressive action of spitting out a +portion of it. He himself, it is but fair to say, does not remember this +circumstance, nor does he speak of the fever itself as either alarming or +dangerous. About forty of the girls suffered from this, but none of them +died at Cowan Bridge; though one died at her own home, sinking under the +state of health which followed it. None of the Brontes had the fever. +But the same causes, which affected the health of the other pupils +through typhus, told more slowly, but not less surely, upon their +constitutions. The principal of these causes was the food. + +The bad management of the cook was chiefly to be blamed for this; she was +dismissed, and the woman who had been forced against her will to serve as +head nurse, took the place of housekeeper; and henceforward the food was +so well prepared that no one could ever reasonably complain of it. Of +course it cannot be expected that a new institution, comprising domestic +and educational arrangements for nearly a hundred persons, should work +quite smoothly at the beginning. + +All this occurred during the first two years of the establishment, and in +estimating its effect upon the character of Charlotte Bronte, we must +remember that she was a sensitive thoughtful child, capable of reflecting +deeply, if not of analyzing truly; and peculiarly susceptible, as are all +delicate and sickly children, to painful impressions. What the healthy +suffer from but momentarily and then forget, those who are ailing brood +over involuntarily and remember long,--perhaps with no resentment, but +simply as a piece of suffering that has been stamped into their very +life. The pictures, ideas, and conceptions of character received into +the mind of the child of eight years old, were destined to be reproduced +in fiery words a quarter of a century afterwards. She saw but one side +of Mr. Wilson's character; and many of those who knew him at that time +assure me of the fidelity with which this is represented, while at the +same time they regret that the delineation should have obliterated, as it +were, nearly all that was noble or conscientious. And that there were +grand and fine qualities in Mr. Wilson, I have received abundant +evidence. Indeed for several weeks past I have received letters almost +daily, bearing on the subject of this chapter; some vague, some definite; +many full of love and admiration for Mr. Wilson, some as full of dislike +and indignation; few containing positive facts. After giving careful +consideration to this mass of conflicting evidence, I have made such +alterations and omissions in this chapter as seem to me to be required. +It is but just to state that the major part of the testimony with which I +have been favoured from old pupils is in high praise of Mr. Wilson. Among +the letters that I have read, there is one whose evidence ought to be +highly respected. It is from the husband of "Miss Temple." She died in +1856, but he, a clergyman, thus wrote in reply to a letter addressed to +him on the subject by one of Mr. Wilson's friends:--"Often have I heard +my late dear wife speak of her sojourn at Cowan Bridge; always in terms +of admiration of Mr. Carus Wilson, his parental love to his pupils, and +their love for him; of the food and general treatment, in terms of +approval. I have heard her allude to an unfortunate cook, who used at +times to spoil the porridge, but who, she said, was soon dismissed." + +The recollections left of the four Bronte sisters at this period of their +lives, on the minds of those who associated with them, are not very +distinct. Wild, strong hearts, and powerful minds, were hidden under an +enforced propriety and regularity of demeanour and expression, just as +their faces had been concealed by their father, under his stiff, +unchanging mask. Maria was delicate, unusually clever and thoughtful for +her age, gentle, and untidy. Of her frequent disgrace from this last +fault--of her sufferings, so patiently borne--I have already spoken. The +only glimpse we get of Elizabeth, through the few years of her short +life, is contained in a letter which I have received from "Miss Temple." +"The second, Elizabeth, is the only one of the family of whom I have a +vivid recollection, from her meeting with a somewhat alarming accident, +in consequence of which I had her for some days and nights in my bedroom, +not only for the sake of greater quiet, but that I might watch over her +myself. Her head was severely cut, but she bore all the consequent +suffering with exemplary patience, and by it won much upon my esteem. Of +the two younger ones (if two there were) I have very slight +recollections, save that one, a darling child, under five years of age, +was quite the pet nursling of the school." This last would be Emily. +Charlotte was considered the most talkative of the sisters--a "bright, +clever, little child." Her great friend was a certain "Mellany Hane" (so +Mr. Bronte spells the name), whose brother paid for her schooling, and +who had no remarkable talent except for music, which her brother's +circumstances forbade her to cultivate. She was "a hungry, good-natured, +ordinary girl;" older than Charlotte, and ever ready to protect her from +any petty tyranny or encroachments on the part of the elder girls. +Charlotte always remembered her with affection and gratitude. + +I have quoted the word "bright" in the account of Charlotte. I suspect +that this year of 1825 was the last time it could ever be applied to her. +In the spring of it, Maria became so rapidly worse that Mr. Bronte was +sent for. He had not previously been aware of her illness, and the +condition in which he found her was a terrible shock to him. He took her +home by the Leeds coach, the girls crowding out into the road to follow +her with their eyes over the bridge, past the cottages, and then out of +sight for ever. She died a very few days after her arrival at home. +Perhaps the news of her death falling suddenly into the life of which her +patient existence had formed a part, only a little week or so before, +made those who remained at Cowan Bridge look with more anxiety on +Elizabeth's symptoms, which also turned out to be consumptive. She was +sent home in charge of a confidential servant of the establishment; and +she, too, died in the early summer of that year. Charlotte was thus +suddenly called into the responsibilities of eldest sister in a +motherless family. She remembered how anxiously her dear sister Maria +had striven, in her grave earnest way, to be a tender helper and a +counsellor to them all; and the duties that now fell upon her seemed +almost like a legacy from the gentle little sufferer so lately dead. + +Both Charlotte and Emily returned to school after the Midsummer holidays +in this fatal year. But before the next winter it was thought desirable +to advise their removal, as it was evident that the damp situation of the +house at Cowan Bridge did not suit their health. {3} + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +For the reason just stated, the little girls were sent home in the autumn +of 1825, when Charlotte was little more than nine years old. + +About this time, an elderly woman of the village came to live as servant +at the parsonage. She remained there, as a member of the household, for +thirty years; and from the length of her faithful service, and the +attachment and respect which she inspired, is deserving of mention. Tabby +was a thorough specimen of a Yorkshire woman of her class, in dialect, in +appearance, and in character. She abounded in strong practical sense and +shrewdness. Her words were far from flattery; but she would spare no +deeds in the cause of those whom she kindly regarded. She ruled the +children pretty sharply; and yet never grudged a little extra trouble to +provide them with such small treats as came within her power. In return, +she claimed to be looked upon as a humble friend; and, many years later, +Miss Bronte told me that she found it somewhat difficult to manage, as +Tabby expected to be informed of all the family concerns, and yet had +grown so deaf that what was repeated to her became known to whoever might +be in or about the house. To obviate this publication of what it might +be desirable to keep secret, Miss Bronte used to take her out for a walk +on the solitary moors; where, when both were seated on a tuft of heather, +in some high lonely place, she could acquaint the old woman, at leisure, +with all that she wanted to hear. + +Tabby had lived in Haworth in the days when the pack-horses went through +once a week, with their tinkling bells and gay worsted adornment, +carrying the produce of the country from Keighley over the hills to Colne +and Burnley. What is more, she had known the "bottom," or valley, in +those primitive days when the fairies frequented the margin of the "beck" +on moonlight nights, and had known folk who had seen them. But that was +when there were no mills in the valleys; and when all the wool-spinning +was done by hand in the farm-houses round. "It wur the factories as had +driven 'em away," she said. No doubt she had many a tale to tell of by- +gone days of the country-side; old ways of living, former inhabitants, +decayed gentry, who had melted away, and whose places knew them no more; +family tragedies, and dark superstitious dooms; and in telling these +things, without the least consciousness that there might ever be anything +requiring to be softened down, would give at full length the bare and +simple details. + +Miss Branwell instructed the children at regular hours in all she could +teach, making her bed-chamber into their schoolroom. Their father was in +the habit of relating to them any public news in which he felt an +interest; and from the opinions of his strong and independent mind they +would gather much food for thought; but I do not know whether he gave +them any direct instruction. Charlotte's deep thoughtful spirit appears +to have felt almost painfully the tender responsibility which rested upon +her with reference to her remaining sisters. She was only eighteen +months older than Emily; but Emily and Anne were simply companions and +playmates, while Charlotte was motherly friend and guardian to both; and +this loving assumption of duties beyond her years, made her feel +considerably older than she really was. + +Patrick Branwell, their only brother, was a boy of remarkable promise, +and, in some ways, of extraordinary precocity of talent. Mr. Bronte's +friends advised him to send his son to school; but, remembering both the +strength of will of his own youth and his mode of employing it, he +believed that Patrick was better at home, and that he himself could teach +him well, as he had taught others before. So Patrick, or as his family +called him--Branwell, remained at Haworth, working hard for some hours a +day with his father; but, when the time of the latter was taken up with +his parochial duties, the boy was thrown into chance companionship with +the lads of the village--for youth will to youth, and boys will to boys. + +Still, he was associated in many of his sisters' plays and amusements. +These were mostly of a sedentary and intellectual nature. I have had a +curious packet confided to me, containing an immense amount of +manuscript, in an inconceivably small space; tales, dramas, poems, +romances, written principally by Charlotte, in a hand which it is almost +impossible to decipher without the aid of a magnifying glass. No +description will give so good an idea of the extreme minuteness of the +writing as the annexed facsimile of a page. + +Among these papers there is a list of her works, which I copy, as a +curious proof how early the rage for literary composition had seized upon +her:-- + + CATALOGUE OF MY BOOKS, WITH THE PERIOD OF THEIR COMPLETION, UP TO + AUGUST 3RD, 1830. + + Two romantic tales in one volume; viz., The Twelve Adventurers and the + Adventures in Ireland, April 2nd, 1829. + + The Search after Happiness, a Tale, Aug. 1st, 1829. + + Leisure Hours, a Tale, and two Fragments, July 6th 1829. + + The Adventures of Edward de Crack, a Tale, Feb. 2nd, 1830. + + The Adventures of Ernest Alembert, a Tale, May 26th, 1830. + + An interesting Incident in the Lives of some of the most eminent + Persons of the Age, a Tale, June 10th, 1830. + + Tales of the Islanders, in four volumes. Contents of the 1st Vol.:--l. + An Account of their Origin; 2. A Description of Vision Island; 3. + Ratten's Attempt; 4. Lord Charles Wellesley and the Marquis of + Douro's Adventure; completed June 31st, 1829. 2nd Vol.:--1. The + School-rebellion; 2. The strange Incident in the Duke of Wellington's + Life; 3. Tale to his Sons; 4. The Marquis of Douro and Lord Charles + Wellesley's Tale to his little King and Queen; completed Dec. 2nd, + 1829. 3rd Vol.:--1. The Duke of Wellington's Adventure in the + Cavern; 2. The Duke of Wellington and the little King's and Queen's + visit to the Horse-Guards; completed May 8th, 1830. 4th Vol.:--1. The + three old Washer-women of Strathfieldsaye; 2. Lord C. Wellesley's + Tale to his Brother; completed July 30th, 1830. + + Characters of Great Men of the Present Age, Dec. 17th 1829. + + The Young Men's Magazines, in Six Numbers, from August to December, + the latter months double number, completed December the 12th, 1829. + General index to their contents:--1. A True Story; 2. Causes of the + War; 3. A Song; 4. Conversations; 5. A True Story continued; 6. The + Spirit of Cawdor; 7. Interior of a Pothouse, a Poem; 8. The Glass + Town, a Song; 9. The Silver Cup, a Tale; 10. The Table and Vase in + the Desert, a Song; 11. Conversations; 12. Scene on the Great + Bridge; 13. Song of the Ancient Britons; 14. Scene in my Tun, a + Tale; 15. An American Tale; 16. Lines written on seeing the Garden + of a Genius; 17. The Lay of the Glass Town; 18. The Swiss Artist, a + Tale; 19. Lines on the Transfer of this Magazine; 20. On the Same, + by a different hand; 21. Chief Genii in Council; 22. Harvest in + Spain; 23. The Swiss Artists continued; 24. Conversations. + + The Poetaster, a Drama, in 2 volumes, July 12th, 1830. + + A Book of Rhymes, finished December 17th, 1829. Contents:--1. The + Beauty of Nature; 2. A Short Poem; 3. Meditations while Journeying + in a Canadian Forest; 4. Song of an Exile; 5. On Seeing the Ruins of + the Tower of Babel; 6. _A Thing of_ 14 _lines_; 7. Lines written on + the Bank of a River one fine Summer Evening; 8. Spring, a Song; 9. + Autumn, a Song. + + Miscellaneous Poems, finished May 30th, 1830. Contents:--1. The + Churchyard; 2. Description of the Duke of Wellington's Palace on the + Pleasant Banks of the Lusiva; this article is a small prose tale or + incident; 3. Pleasure; 4. Lines written on the Summit of a high + Mountain of the North of England; 5. Winter; 6. Two Fragments, + namely, 1st, The Vision; 2nd, A Short untitled Poem; the Evening Walk, + a Poem, June 23rd, 1830. + + Making in the whole twenty-two volumes. + + C. BRONTE, _August_ 3, 1830 + +As each volume contains from sixty to a hundred pages, and the size of +the page lithographed is rather less than the average, the amount of the +whole seems very great, if we remember that it was all written in about +fifteen months. So much for the quantity; the quality strikes me as of +singular merit for a girl of thirteen or fourteen. Both as a specimen of +her prose style at this time, and also as revealing something of the +quiet domestic life led by these children, I take an extract from the +introduction to "Tales of the Islanders," the title of one of their +"Little Magazines:"-- + + "June the 31st, 1829. + + "The play of the 'Islanders' was formed in December, 1827, in the + following manner. One night, about the time when the cold sleet and + stormy fogs of November are succeeded by the snow-storms, and high + piercing night winds of confirmed winter, we were all sitting round + the warm blazing kitchen fire, having just concluded a quarrel with + Tabby concerning the propriety of lighting a candle, from which she + came off victorious, no candle having been produced. A long pause + succeeded, which was at last broken by Branwell saying, in a lazy + manner, 'I don't know what to do.' This was echoed by Emily and Anne. + + "_Tabby_. 'Wha ya may go t' bed.' + + "_Branwell_. 'I'd rather do anything than that.' + + "_Charlotte_. 'Why are you so glum to-night, Tabby? Oh! suppose we + had each an island of our own.' + + "_Branwell_. 'If we had I would choose the Island of Man.' + + "_Charlotte_. 'And I would choose the Isle of Wight.' + + "_Emily_. 'The Isle of Arran for me.' + + "_Anne_. 'And mine shall be Guernsey.' + + "We then chose who should be chief men in our islands. Branwell chose + John Bull, Astley Cooper, and Leigh Hunt; Emily, Walter Scott, Mr. + Lockhart, Johnny Lockhart; Anne, Michael Sadler, Lord Bentinck, Sir + Henry Halford. I chose the Duke of Wellington and two sons, + Christopher North and Co., and Mr. Abernethy. Here our conversation + was interrupted by the, to us, dismal sound of the clock striking + seven, and we were summoned off to bed. The next day we added many + others to our list of men, till we got almost all the chief men of the + kingdom. After this, for a long time, nothing worth noticing + occurred. In June, 1828, we erected a school on a fictitious island, + which was to contain 1,000 children. The manner of the building was + as follows. The Island was fifty miles in circumference, and + certainly appeared more like the work of enchantment than anything + real," &c. + +Two or three things strike me much in this fragment; one is the graphic +vividness with which the time of the year, the hour of the evening, the +feeling of cold and darkness outside, the sound of the night-winds +sweeping over the desolate snow-covered moors, coming nearer and nearer, +and at last shaking the very door of the room where they were sitting--for +it opened out directly on that bleak, wide expanse--is contrasted with +the glow, and busy brightness of the cheerful kitchen where these +remarkable children are grouped. Tabby moves about in her quaint country- +dress, frugal, peremptory, prone to find fault pretty sharply, yet +allowing no one else to blame her children, we may feel sure. Another +noticeable fact is the intelligent partisanship with which they choose +their great men, who are almost all stanch Tories of the time. Moreover, +they do not confine themselves to local heroes; their range of choice has +been widened by hearing much of what is not usually considered to +interest children. Little Anne, aged scarcely eight, picks out the +politicians of the day for her chief men. + +There is another scrap of paper, in this all but illegible handwriting, +written about this time, and which gives some idea of the sources of +their opinions. + + + +THE HISTORY OF THE YEAR 1829. + + +"Once Papa lent my sister Maria a book. It was an old geography-book; +she wrote on its blank leaf, 'Papa lent me this book.' This book is a +hundred and twenty years old; it is at this moment lying before me. While +I write this I am in the kitchen of the Parsonage, Haworth; Tabby, the +servant, is washing up the breakfast-things, and Anne, my youngest sister +(Maria was my eldest), is kneeling on a chair, looking at some cakes +which Tabby has been baking for us. Emily is in the parlour, brushing +the carpet. Papa and Branwell are gone to Keighley. Aunt is upstairs in +her room, and I am sitting by the table writing this in the kitchen. +Keighley is a small town four miles from here. Papa and Branwell are +gone for the newspaper, the 'Leeds Intelligencer,' a most excellent Tory +newspaper, edited by Mr. Wood, and the proprietor, Mr. Henneman. We take +two and see three newspapers a week. We take the 'Leeds Intelligencer,' +Tory, and the 'Leeds Mercury,' Whig, edited by Mr. Baines, and his +brother, son-in-law, and his two sons, Edward and Talbot. We see the +'John Bull;' it is a high Tory, very violent. Mr. Driver lends us it, as +likewise 'Blackwood's Magazine,' the most able periodical there is. The +Editor is Mr. Christopher North, an old man seventy-four years of age; +the 1st of April is his birth-day; his company are Timothy Tickler, +Morgan O'Doherty, Macrabin Mordecai, Mullion, Warnell, and James Hogg, a +man of most extraordinary genius, a Scottish shepherd. Our plays were +established; 'Young Men,' June, 1826; 'Our Fellows,' July, 1827; +'Islanders,' December, 1827. These are our three great plays, that are +not kept secret. Emily's and my best plays were established the 1st of +December, 1827; the others March, 1828. Best plays mean secret plays; +they are very nice ones. All our plays are very strange ones. Their +nature I need not write on paper, for I think I shall always remember +them. The 'Young Men's' play took its rise from some wooden soldiers +Branwell had: 'Our Fellows' from 'AEsop's Fables;' and the 'Islanders' +from several events which happened. I will sketch out the origin of our +plays more explicitly if I can. First, 'Young Men.' Papa bought +Branwell some wooden soldiers at Leeds; when Papa came home it was night, +and we were in bed, so next morning Branwell came to our door with a box +of soldiers. Emily and I jumped out of bed, and I snatched up one and +exclaimed, 'This is the Duke of Wellington! This shall be the Duke!' +When I had said this, Emily likewise took up one and said it should be +hers; when Anne came down, she said one should be hers. Mine was the +prettiest of the whole, and the tallest, and the most perfect in every +part. Emily's was a grave-looking fellow, and we called him 'Gravey.' +Anne's was a queer little thing, much like herself, and we called him +'Waiting-Boy.' Branwell chose his, and called him 'Buonaparte.'" + +The foregoing extract shows something of the kind of reading in which the +little Brontes were interested; but their desire for knowledge must have +been excited in many directions, for I find a "list of painters whose +works I wish to see," drawn up by Charlotte when she was scarcely +thirteen:-- + +"Guido Reni, Julio Romano, Titian, Raphael, Michael Angelo, Correggio, +Annibal Caracci, Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Bartolomeo, Carlo Cignani, +Vandyke, Rubens, Bartolomeo Ramerghi." + +Here is this little girl, in a remote Yorkshire parsonage, who has +probably never seen anything worthy the name of a painting in her life, +studying the names and characteristics of the great old Italian and +Flemish masters, whose works she longs to see some time, in the dim +future that lies before her! There is a paper remaining which contains +minute studies of, and criticisms upon, the engravings in "Friendship's +Offering for 1829;" showing how she had early formed those habits of +close observation, and patient analysis of cause and effect, which served +so well in after-life as handmaids to her genius. + +The way in which Mr. Bronte made his children sympathise with him in his +great interest in politics, must have done much to lift them above the +chances of their minds being limited or tainted by petty local gossip. I +take the only other remaining personal fragment out of "Tales of the +Islanders;" it is a sort of apology, contained in the introduction to the +second volume, for their not having been continued before; the writers +had been for a long time too busy, and latterly too much absorbed in +politics. + +"Parliament was opened, and the great Catholic question was brought +forward, and the Duke's measures were disclosed, and all was slander, +violence, party-spirit, and confusion. Oh, those six months, from the +time of the King's speech to the end! Nobody could write, think, or +speak on any subject but the Catholic question, and the Duke of +Wellington, and Mr. Peel. I remember the day when the Intelligence +Extraordinary came with Mr. Peel's speech in it, containing the terms on +which the Catholics were to be let in! With what eagerness Papa tore off +the cover, and how we all gathered round him, and with what breathless +anxiety we listened, as one by one they were disclosed, and explained, +and argued upon so ably, and so well! and then when it was all out, how +aunt said that she thought it was excellent, and that the Catholics could +do no harm with such good security! I remember also the doubts as to +whether it would pass the House of Lords, and the prophecies that it +would not; and when the paper came which was to decide the question, the +anxiety was almost dreadful with which we listened to the whole affair: +the opening of the doors; the hush; the royal dukes in their robes, and +the great duke in green sash and waistcoat; the rising of all the +peeresses when he rose; the reading of his speech--Papa saying that his +words were like precious gold; and lastly, the majority of one to four +(sic) in favour of the Bill. But this is a digression," &c., &c. + +This must have been written when she was between thirteen and fourteen. + +It will be interesting to some of my readers to know what was the +character of her purely imaginative writing at this period. While her +description of any real occurrence is, as we have seen, homely, graphic, +and forcible, when she gives way to her powers of creation, her fancy and +her language alike run riot, sometimes to the very borders of apparent +delirium. Of this wild weird writing, a single example will suffice. It +is a letter to the editor of one of the "Little Magazines." + + "Sir,--It is well known that the Genii have declared that unless they + perform certain arduous duties every year, of a mysterious nature, all + the worlds in the firmament will be burnt up, and gathered together in + one mighty globe, which will roll in solitary grandeur through the + vast wilderness of space, inhabited only by the four high princes of + the Genii, till time shall be succeeded by Eternity; and the impudence + of this is only to be paralleled by another of their assertions, + namely, that by their magic might they can reduce the world to a + desert, the purest waters to streams of livid poison, and the clearest + lakes to stagnant waters, the pestilential vapours of which shall slay + all living creatures, except the blood-thirsty beast of the forest, + and the ravenous bird of the rock. But that in the midst of this + desolation the palace of the Chief Genii shall rise sparkling in the + wilderness, and the horrible howl of their war-cry shall spread over + the land at morning, at noontide and night; but that they shall have + their annual feast over the bones of the dead, and shall yearly + rejoice with the joy of victors. I think, sir, that the horrible + wickedness of this needs no remark, and therefore I haste to subscribe + myself, &c. + + "July 14, 1829." + +It is not unlikely that the foregoing letter may have had some +allegorical or political reference, invisible to our eyes, but very clear +to the bright little minds for whom it was intended. Politics were +evidently their grand interest; the Duke of Wellington their demi-god. +All that related to him belonged to the heroic age. Did Charlotte want a +knight-errant, or a devoted lover, the Marquis of Douro, or Lord Charles +Wellesley, came ready to her hand. There is hardly one of her +prose-writings at this time in which they are not the principal +personages, and in which their "august father" does not appear as a sort +of Jupiter Tonans, or Deus ex Machina. + +As one evidence how Wellesley haunted her imagination, I copy out a few +of the titles to her papers in the various magazines. + +"Liffey Castle," a Tale by Lord C. Wellesley. + +"Lines to the River Aragua," by the Marquis of Douro. + +"An Extraordinary Dream," by Lord C. Wellesley. + +"The Green Dwarf, a Tale of the Perfect Tense," by the Lord Charles +Albert Florian Wellesley. + +"Strange Events," by Lord C. A. F. Wellesley. + +Life in an isolated village, or a lonely country-house, presents many +little occurrences which sink into the mind of childhood, there to be +brooded over. No other event may have happened, or be likely to happen, +for days, to push one of these aside, before it has assumed a vague and +mysterious importance. Thus, children leading a secluded life are often +thoughtful and dreamy: the impressions made upon them by the world +without--the unusual sights of earth and sky--the accidental meetings +with strange faces and figures (rare occurrences in those out-of-the-way +places)--are sometimes magnified by them into things so deeply +significant as to be almost supernatural. This peculiarity I perceive +very strongly in Charlotte's writings at this time. Indeed, under the +circumstances, it is no peculiarity. It has been common to all, from the +Chaldean shepherds--"the lonely herdsman stretched on the soft grass +through half a summer's day"--the solitary monk--to all whose impressions +from without have had time to grow and vivify in the imagination, till +they have been received as actual personifications, or supernatural +visions, to doubt which would be blasphemy. + +To counterbalance this tendency in Charlotte, was the strong common sense +natural to her, and daily called into exercise by the requirements of her +practical life. Her duties were not merely to learn her lessons, to read +a certain quantity, to gain certain ideas; she had, besides, to brush +rooms, to run errands up and down stairs, to help in the simpler forms of +cooking, to be by turns play-fellow and monitress to her younger sisters +and brother, to make and to mend, and to study economy under her careful +aunt. Thus we see that, while her imagination received vivid +impressions, her excellent understanding had full power to rectify them +before her fancies became realities. On a scrap of paper, she has +written down the following relation:-- + + "June 22, 1830, 6 o'clock p.m. + "Haworth, near Bradford. + + "The following strange occurrence happened on the 22nd of June, + 1830:--At the time Papa was very ill, confined to his bed, and so weak + that he could not rise without assistance. Tabby and I were alone in + the kitchen, about half-past nine ante-meridian. Suddenly we heard a + knock at the door; Tabby rose and opened it. An old man appeared, + standing without, who accosted her thus:-- + + "_Old Man_.--'Does the parson live here?' + + "_Tabby_.--'Yes.' + + "_Old Man_.--'I wish to see him.' + + "_Tabby_.--'He is poorly in bed.' + + "_Old Man_.--'I have a message for him.' + + "_Tabby_.--'Who from?' + + "_Old Man_.--'From the Lord.' + + "_Tabby_.--'Who?' + + "_Old Man_.--'The Lord. He desires me to say that the Bridegroom is + coming, and that we must prepare to meet him; that the cords are about + to be loosed, and the golden bowl broken; the pitcher broken at the + fountain.' + + "Here he concluded his discourse, and abruptly went his way. As Tabby + closed the door, I asked her if she knew him. Her reply was, that she + had never seen him before, nor any one like him. Though I am fully + persuaded that he was some fanatical enthusiast, well meaning perhaps, + but utterly ignorant of true piety; yet I could not forbear weeping at + his words, spoken so unexpectedly at that particular period." + +Though the date of the following poem is a little uncertain, it may be +most convenient to introduce it here. It must have been written before +1833, but how much earlier there are no means of determining. I give it +as a specimen of the remarkable poetical talent shown in the various +diminutive writings of this time; at least, in all of them which I have +been able to read. + + + +THE WOUNDED STAG. + + +Passing amid the deepest shade + Of the wood's sombre heart, +Last night I saw a wounded deer + Laid lonely and apart. + +Such light as pierced the crowded boughs + (Light scattered, scant and dim,) +Passed through the fern that formed his couch + And centred full on him. + +Pain trembled in his weary limbs, + Pain filled his patient eye, +Pain-crushed amid the shadowy fern + His branchy crown did lie. + +Where were his comrades? where his mate? + All from his death-bed gone! +And he, thus struck and desolate, + Suffered and bled alone. + +Did he feel what a man might feel, + Friend-left, and sore distrest? +Did Pain's keen dart, and Grief's sharp sting + Strive in his mangled breast? + +Did longing for affection lost + Barb every deadly dart; +Love unrepaid, and Faith betrayed, + Did these torment his heart? + +No! leave to man his proper doom! + These are the pangs that rise +Around the bed of state and gloom, + Where Adam's offspring dies! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +This is perhaps a fitting time to give some personal description of Miss +Bronte. In 1831, she was a quiet, thoughtful girl, of nearly fifteen +years of age, very small in figure--"stunted" was the word she applied to +herself,--but as her limbs and head were in just proportion to the +slight, fragile body, no word in ever so slight a degree suggestive of +deformity could properly be applied to her; with soft, thick, brown hair, +and peculiar eyes, of which I find it difficult to give a description, as +they appeared to me in her later life. They were large and well shaped; +their colour a reddish brown; but if the iris was closely examined, it +appeared to be composed of a great variety of tints. The usual +expression was of quiet, listening intelligence; but now and then, on +some just occasion for vivid interest or wholesome indignation, a light +would shine out, as if some spiritual lamp had been kindled, which glowed +behind those expressive orbs. I never saw the like in any other human +creature. As for the rest of her features, they were plain, large, and +ill set; but, unless you began to catalogue them, you were hardly aware +of the fact, for the eyes and power of the countenance over-balanced +every physical defect; the crooked mouth and the large nose were +forgotten, and the whole face arrested the attention, and presently +attracted all those whom she herself would have cared to attract. Her +hands and feet were the smallest I ever saw; when one of the former was +placed in mine, it was like the soft touch of a bird in the middle of my +palm. The delicate long fingers had a peculiar fineness of sensation, +which was one reason why all her handiwork, of whatever kind--writing, +sewing, knitting--was so clear in its minuteness. She was remarkably +neat in her whole personal attire; but she was dainty as to the fit of +her shoes and gloves. + +I can well imagine that the grave serious composure, which, when I knew +her, gave her face the dignity of an old Venetian portrait, was no +acquisition of later years, but dated from that early age when she found +herself in the position of an elder sister to motherless children. But +in a girl only just entered on her teens, such an expression would be +called (to use a country phrase) "old-fashioned;" and in 1831, the period +of which I now write, we must think of her as a little, set, antiquated +girl, very quiet in manners, and very quaint in dress; for besides the +influence exerted by her father's ideas concerning the simplicity of +attire befitting the wife and daughters of a country clergyman, her aunt, +on whom the duty of dressing her nieces principally devolved, had never +been in society since she left Penzance, eight or nine years before, and +the Penzance fashions of that day were still dear to her heart. + +In January, 1831, Charlotte was sent to school again. This time she went +as a pupil to Miss W---, who lived at Roe Head, a cheerful roomy country +house, standing a little apart in a field, on the right of the road from +Leeds to Huddersfield. Three tiers of old-fashioned semicircular bow +windows run from basement to roof; and look down upon a long green slope +of pasture-land, ending in the pleasant woods of Kirklees, Sir George +Armitage's park. Although Roe Head and Haworth are not twenty miles +apart, the aspect of the country is as totally dissimilar as if they +enjoyed a different climate. The soft curving and heaving landscape +round the former gives a stranger the idea of cheerful airiness on the +heights, and of sunny warmth in the broad green valleys below. It is +just such a neighbourhood as the monks loved, and traces of the old +Plantagenet times are to be met with everywhere, side by side with the +manufacturing interests of the West Riding of to-day. There is the park +of Kirklees, full of sunny glades, speckled with black shadows of +immemorial yew-trees; the grey pile of building, formerly a "House of +professed Ladies;" the mouldering stone in the depth of the wood, under +which Robin Hood is said to lie; close outside the park, an old stone- +gabled house, now a roadside inn, but which bears the name of the "Three +Nuns," and has a pictured sign to correspond. And this quaint old inn is +frequented by fustian-dressed mill-hands from the neighbouring worsted +factories, which strew the high road from Leeds to Huddersfield, and form +the centres round which future villages gather. Such are the contrasts +of modes of living, and of times and seasons, brought before the +traveller on the great roads that traverse the West Riding. In no other +part of England, I fancy, are the centuries brought into such close, +strange contact as in the district in which Roe Head is situated. Within +six miles of Miss W---'s house--on the left of the road, coming from +Leeds--lie the remains of Howley Hall, now the property of Lord Cardigan, +but formerly belonging to a branch of the Saviles. Near to it is Lady +Anne's well; "Lady Anne," according to tradition, having been worried and +eaten by wolves as she sat at the well, to which the indigo-dyed factory +people from Birstall and Batley woollen mills would formerly repair on +Palm Sunday, when the waters possess remarkable medicinal efficacy; and +it is still believed by some that they assume a strange variety of +colours at six o'clock on the morning of that day. + +All round the lands held by the farmer who lives in the remains of Howley +Hall are stone houses of to-day, occupied by the people who are making +their living and their fortunes by the woollen mills that encroach upon +and shoulder out the proprietors of the ancient halls. These are to be +seen in every direction, picturesque, many-gabled, with heavy stone +carvings of coats of arms for heraldic ornament; belonging to decayed +families, from whose ancestral lands field after field has been shorn +away, by the urgency of rich manufacturers pressing hard upon necessity. + +A smoky atmosphere surrounds these old dwellings of former Yorkshire +squires, and blights and blackens the ancient trees that overshadow them; +cinder-paths lead up to them; the ground round about is sold for building +upon; but still the neighbours, though they subsist by a different state +of things, remember that their forefathers lived in agricultural +dependence upon the owners of these halls; and treasure up the traditions +connected with the stately households that existed centuries ago. Take +Oakwell Hall, for instance. It stands in a pasture-field, about a +quarter of a mile from the high road. It is but that distance from the +busy whirr of the steam-engines employed in the woollen mills at +Birstall; and if you walk to it from Birstall Station about meal-time, +you encounter strings of mill-hands, blue with woollen dye, and cranching +in hungry haste over the cinder-paths bordering the high road. Turning +off from this to the right, you ascend through an old pasture-field, and +enter a short by-road, called the "Bloody Lane"--a walk haunted by the +ghost of a certain Captain Batt, the reprobate proprietor of an old hall +close by, in the days of the Stuarts. From the "Bloody Lane," +overshadowed by trees, you come into the field in which Oakwell Hall is +situated. It is known in the neighbourhood to be the place described as +"Field Head," Shirley's residence. The enclosure in front, half court, +half garden; the panelled hall, with the gallery opening into the bed- +chambers running round; the barbarous peach-coloured drawing-room; the +bright look-out through the garden-door upon the grassy lawns and +terraces behind, where the soft-hued pigeons still love to coo and strut +in the sun,--are described in "Shirley." The scenery of that fiction +lies close around; the real events which suggested it took place in the +immediate neighbourhood. + +They show a bloody footprint in a bed-chamber of Oakwell Hall, and tell a +story connected with it, and with the lane by which the house is +approached. Captain Batt was believed to be far away; his family was at +Oakwell; when in the dusk, one winter evening, he came stalking along the +lane, and through the hall, and up the stairs, into his own room, where +he vanished. He had been killed in a duel in London that very same +afternoon of December 9th, 1684. + +The stones of the Hall formed part of the more ancient vicarage, which an +ancestor of Captain Batt's had seized in the troublous times for property +which succeeded the Reformation. This Henry Batt possessed himself of +houses and money without scruple; and, at last, stole the great bell of +Birstall Church, for which sacrilegious theft a fine was imposed on the +land, and has to be paid by the owner of the Hall to this day. + +But the Oakwell property passed out of the hands of the Batts at the +beginning of the last century; collateral descendants succeeded, and left +this picturesque trace of their having been. In the great hall hangs a +mighty pair of stag's horns, and dependent from them a printed card, +recording the fact that, on the 1st of September, 1763, there was a great +hunting-match, when this stag was slain; and that fourteen gentlemen +shared in the chase, and dined on the spoil in that hall, along with +Fairfax Fearneley, Esq., the owner. The fourteen names are given, +doubtless "mighty men of yore;" but, among them all, Sir Fletcher Norton, +Attorney-General, and Major-General Birch were the only ones with which I +had any association in 1855. Passing on from Oakwell there lie houses +right and left, which were well known to Miss Bronte when she lived at +Roe Head, as the hospitable homes of some of her school-fellows. Lanes +branch off for three or four miles to heaths and commons on the higher +ground, which formed pleasant walks on holidays, and then comes the white +gate into the field-path leading to Roe Head itself. + +One of the bow-windowed rooms on the ground floor with the pleasant look- +out I have described was the drawing-room; the other was the schoolroom. +The dining-room was on one side of the door, and faced the road. + +The number of pupils, during the year and a half Miss Bronte was there, +ranged from seven to ten; and as they did not require the whole of the +house for their accommodation, the third story was unoccupied, except by +the ghostly idea of a lady, whose rustling silk gown was sometimes heard +by the listeners at the foot of the second flight of stairs. + +The kind motherly nature of Miss W---, and the small number of the girls, +made the establishment more like a private family than a school. +Moreover, she was a native of the district immediately surrounding Roe +Head, as were the majority of her pupils. Most likely Charlotte Bronte, +in coming from Haworth, came the greatest distance of all. "E.'s" home +was five miles away; two other dear friends (the Rose and Jessie Yorke of +"Shirley") lived still nearer; two or three came from Huddersfield; one +or two from Leeds. + +I shall now quote from a valuable letter which I have received from +"Mary," one of these early friends; distinct and graphic in expression, +as becomes a cherished associate of Charlotte Bronte's. The time +referred to is her first appearance at Roe Head, on January 19th, 1831. + +"I first saw her coming out of a covered cart, in very old-fashioned +clothes, and looking very cold and miserable. She was coming to school +at Miss W---'s. When she appeared in the schoolroom, her dress was +changed, but just as old. She looked a little old woman, so +short-sighted that she always appeared to be seeking something, and +moving her head from side to side to catch a sight of it. She was very +shy and nervous, and spoke with a strong Irish accent. When a book was +given her, she dropped her head over it till her nose nearly touched it, +and when she was told to hold her head up, up went the book after it, +still close to her nose, so that it was not possible to help laughing." + +This was the first impression she made upon one of those whose dear and +valued friend she was to become in after-life. Another of the girls +recalls her first sight of Charlotte, on the day she came, standing by +the schoolroom window, looking out on the snowy landscape, and crying, +while all the rest were at play. "E." was younger than she, and her +tender heart was touched by the apparently desolate condition in which +she found the oddly-dressed, odd-looking little girl that winter morning, +as "sick for home she stood in tears," in a new strange place, among new +strange people. Any over-demonstrative kindness would have scared the +wild little maiden from Haworth; but "E." (who is shadowed forth in the +Caroline Helstone of "Shirley") managed to win confidence, and was +allowed to give sympathy. + +To quote again from "Mary's" letter:-- + +"We thought her very ignorant, for she had never learnt grammar at all, +and very little geography." + +This account of her partial ignorance is confirmed by her other school- +fellows. But Miss W--- was a lady of remarkable intelligence and of +delicate tender sympathy. She gave a proof of this in her first +treatment of Charlotte. The little girl was well-read, but not +well-grounded. Miss W--- took her aside and told her she was afraid that +she must place her in the second class for some time till she could +overtake the girls of her own age in the knowledge of grammar, &c.; but +poor Charlotte received this announcement with so sad a fit of crying, +that Miss W---'s kind heart was softened, and she wisely perceived that, +with such a girl, it would be better to place her in the first class, and +allow her to make up by private study in those branches where she was +deficient. + +"She would confound us by knowing things that were out of our range +altogether. She was acquainted with most of the short pieces of poetry +that we had to learn by heart; would tell us the authors, the poems they +were taken from, and sometimes repeat a page or two, and tell us the +plot. She had a habit of writing in italics (printing characters), and +said she had learnt it by writing in their magazine. They brought out a +'magazine' once a month, and wished it to look as like print as possible. +She told us a tale out of it. No one wrote in it, and no one read it, +but herself, her brother, and two sisters. She promised to show me some +of these magazines, but retracted it afterwards, and would never be +persuaded to do so. In our play hours she sate, or stood still, with a +book, if possible. Some of us once urged her to be on our side in a game +at ball. She said she had never played, and could not play. We made her +try, but soon found that she could not see the ball, so we put her out. +She took all our proceedings with pliable indifference, and always seemed +to need a previous resolution to say 'No' to anything. She used to go +and stand under the trees in the play-ground, and say it was pleasanter. +She endeavoured to explain this, pointing out the shadows, the peeps of +sky, &c. We understood but little of it. She said that at Cowan Bridge +she used to stand in the burn, on a stone, to watch the water flow by. I +told her she should have gone fishing; she said she never wanted. She +always showed physical feebleness in everything. She ate no animal food +at school. It was about this time I told her she was very ugly. Some +years afterwards, I told her I thought I had been very impertinent. She +replied, 'You did me a great deal of good, Polly, so don't repent of it.' +She used to draw much better, and more quickly, than anything we had seen +before, and knew much about celebrated pictures and painters. Whenever +an opportunity offered of examining a picture or cut of any kind, she +went over it piecemeal, with her eyes close to the paper, looking so long +that we used to ask her 'what she saw in it.' She could always see +plenty, and explained it very well. She made poetry and drawing at least +exceedingly interesting to me; and then I got the habit, which I have +yet, of referring mentally to her opinion on all matters of that kind, +along with many more, resolving to describe such and such things to her, +until I start at the recollection that I never shall." + +To feel the full force of this last sentence--to show how steady and +vivid was the impression which Miss Bronte made on those fitted to +appreciate her--I must mention that the writer of this letter, dated +January 18th, 1856, in which she thus speaks of constantly referring to +Charlotte's opinion has never seen her for eleven years, nearly all of +which have been passed among strange scenes, in a new continent, at the +antipodes. + +"We used to be furious politicians, as one could hardly help being in +1832. She knew the names of the two ministries; the one that resigned, +and the one that succeeded and passed the Reform Bill. She worshipped +the Duke of Wellington, but said that Sir Robert Peel was not to be +trusted; he did not act from principle like the rest, but from +expediency. I, being of the furious radical party, told her 'how could +any of them trust one another; they were all of them rascals!' Then she +would launch out into praises of the Duke of Wellington, referring to his +actions; which I could not contradict, as I knew nothing about him. She +said she had taken interest in politics ever since she was five years +old. She did not get her opinions from her father--that is, not +directly--but from the papers, &c., he preferred." + +In illustration of the truth of this, I may give an extract from a letter +to her brother, written from Roe Head, May 17th, 1832:--"Lately I had +begun to think that I had lost all the interest which I used formerly to +take in politics; but the extreme pleasure I felt at the news of the +Reform Bill's being thrown out by the House of Lords, and of the +expulsion, or resignation of Earl Grey, &c., convinced me that I have not +as yet lost all my penchant for politics. I am extremely glad that aunt +has consented to take in 'Fraser's Magazine;' for, though I know from +your description of its general contents it will be rather uninteresting +when compared with 'Blackwood,' still it will be better than remaining +the whole year without being able to obtain a sight of any periodical +whatever; and such would assuredly be our case, as, in the little wild +moorland village where we reside, there would be no possibility of +borrowing a work of that description from a circulating library. I hope +with you that the present delightful weather may contribute to the +perfect restoration of our dear papa's health; and that it may give aunt +pleasant reminiscences of the salubrious climate of her native place," +&c. + +To return to "Mary's" letter. + +"She used to speak of her two elder sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, who +died at Cowan Bridge. I used to believe them to have been wonders of +talent and kindness. She told me, early one morning, that she had just +been dreaming; she had been told that she was wanted in the drawing-room, +and it was Maria and Elizabeth. I was eager for her to go on, and when +she said there was no more, I said, 'but go on! _Make it out_! I know +you can.' She said she would not; she wished she had not dreamed, for it +did not go on nicely, they were changed; they had forgotten what they +used to care for. They were very fashionably dressed, and began +criticising the room, &c. + +"This habit of 'making out' interests for themselves that most children +get who have none in actual life, was very strong in her. The whole +family used to 'make out' histories, and invent characters and events. I +told her sometimes they were like growing potatoes in a cellar. She +said, sadly, 'Yes! I know we are!' + +"Some one at school said she 'was always talking about clever people; +Johnson, Sheridan, &c.' She said, 'Now you don't know the meaning of +_clever_, Sheridan might be clever; yes, Sheridan was clever,--scamps +often are; but Johnson hadn't a spark of cleverality in him.' No one +appreciated the opinion; they made some trivial remark about +'_cleverality_,' and she said no more. + +"This is the epitome of her life. At our house she had just as little +chance of a patient hearing, for though not school-girlish, we were more +intolerant. We had a rage for practicality, and laughed all poetry to +scorn. Neither she nor we had any idea but that our opinions were the +opinions of all the _sensible_ people in the world, and we used to +astonish each other at every sentence . . . Charlotte, at school, had no +plan of life beyond what circumstances made for her. She knew that she +must provide for herself, and chose her trade; at least chose to begin it +once. Her idea of self-improvement ruled her even at school. It was to +cultivate her tastes. She always said there was enough of hard +practicality and _useful_ knowledge forced on us by necessity, and that +the thing most needed was to soften and refine our minds. She picked up +every scrap of information concerning painting, sculpture, poetry, music, +&c., as if it were gold." + +What I have heard of her school days from other sources, confirms the +accuracy of the details in this remarkable letter. She was an +indefatigable student: constantly reading and learning; with a strong +conviction of the necessity and value of education, very unusual in a +girl of fifteen. She never lost a moment of time, and 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 +aloud, and Miss W---, coming up stairs, 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 W--- on into setting +her longer and longer tasks of reading for examination; and towards the +end of the year and a half 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 Bronte had a bad +mark. Miss W--- was sorry, and regretted that she had set Charlotte so +long a task. 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 Bronte was unjust--for who had +tried to do her duty like her?--and testified their feeling in a variety +of ways, until Miss W---, who was in reality only too willing to pass +over her good pupil's first fault, withdrew the bad mark; and the girls +all returned to their allegiance except "Mary," who took her own way +during the week or two that remained of the half-year, choosing to +consider that Miss W---, in giving Charlotte Bronte so long a task, had +forfeited her claim to obedience of the school regulations. + +The number of pupils was so small that the attendance to certain subjects +at particular hours, common in larger schools, was not rigidly enforced. +When the girls were ready with their lessons, they came to Miss W--- to +say them. She had a remarkable knack of making them feel interested in +whatever they had to learn. They set to their studies, not as to tasks +or duties to be got through, but with a healthy desire and thirst for +knowledge, of which she had managed to make them perceive the relishing +savour. They did not leave off reading and learning as soon as the +compulsory pressure of school was taken away. They had been taught to +think, to analyse, to reject, to appreciate. Charlotte Bronte was happy +in the choice made for her of the second school to which she was sent. +There was a robust freedom in the out-of-doors life of her companions. +They played at merry games in the fields round the house: on Saturday +half-holidays they went long scrambling walks down mysterious shady +lanes, then climbing the uplands, and thus gaining extensive views over +the country, about which so much had to be told, both of its past and +present history. + +Miss W--- must have had in great perfection the French art, "conter," to +judge from her pupil's recollections of the tales she related during +these long walks, of this old house, or that new mill, and of the states +of society consequent on the changes involved by the suggestive dates of +either building. She remembered the times when watchers or wakeners in +the night heard the distant word of command, and the measured tramp of +thousands of sad desperate men receiving a surreptitious military +training, in preparation for some great day which they saw in their +visions, when right should struggle with might and come off victorious: +when the people of England, represented by the workers of Yorkshire, +Lancashire, and Nottinghamshire, should make their voice heard in a +terrible slogan, since their true and pitiful complaints could find no +hearing in parliament. We forget, now-a-days, so rapid have been the +changes for the better, how cruel was the condition of numbers of +labourers at the close of the great Peninsular war. The half-ludicrous +nature of some of their grievances has lingered on in tradition; the real +intensity of their sufferings has become forgotten. They were maddened +and desperate; and the country, in the opinion of many, seemed to be on +the verge of a precipice, from which it was only saved by the prompt and +resolute decision of a few in authority. Miss W--- spoke of those times; +of the mysterious nightly drillings; of thousands on lonely moors; of the +muttered threats of individuals too closely pressed upon by necessity to +be prudent; of the overt acts, in which the burning of Cartwright's mill +took a prominent place; and these things sank deep into the mind of one, +at least, among her hearers. + +Mr. Cartwright was the owner of a factory called Rawfolds, in Liversedge, +not beyond the distance of a walk from Roe Head. He had dared to employ +machinery for the dressing of woollen cloth, which was an unpopular +measure in 1812, when many other circumstances conspired to make the +condition of the mill-hands unbearable from the pressure of starvation +and misery. Mr. Cartwright was a very remarkable man, having, as I have +been told, some foreign blood in him, the traces of which were very +apparent in his tall figure, dark eyes and complexion, and singular, +though gentlemanly bearing. At any rate he had been much abroad, and +spoke French well, of itself a suspicious circumstance to the bigoted +nationality of those days. Altogether he was an unpopular man, even +before he took the last step of employing shears, instead of hands, to +dress his wool. He was quite aware of his unpopularity, and of the +probable consequences. He had his mill prepared for an assault. He took +up his lodgings in it; and the doors were strongly barricaded at night. +On every step of the stairs there was placed a roller, spiked with barbed +points all round, so as to impede the ascent of the rioters, if they +succeeded in forcing the doors. + +On the night of Saturday the 11th of April, 1812, the assault was made. +Some hundreds of starving cloth-dressers assembled in the very field near +Kirklees that sloped down from the house which Miss W--- afterwards +inhabited, and were armed by their leaders with pistols, hatchets, and +bludgeons, many of which had been extorted by the nightly bands that +prowled about the country, from such inhabitants of lonely houses as had +provided themselves with these means of self-defence. The silent sullen +multitude marched in the dead of that spring-night to Rawfolds, and +giving tongue with a great shout, roused Mr. Cartwright up to the +knowledge that the long-expected attack was come. He was within walls, +it is true; but against the fury of hundreds he had only four of his own +workmen and five soldiers to assist him. These ten men, however, managed +to keep up such a vigorous and well-directed fire of musketry that they +defeated all the desperate attempts of the multitude outside to break +down the doors, and force a way into the mill; and, after a conflict of +twenty minutes, during which two of the assailants were killed and +several wounded, they withdrew in confusion, leaving Mr. Cartwright +master of the field, but so dizzy and exhausted, now the peril was past, +that he forgot the nature of his defences, and injured his leg rather +seriously by one of the spiked rollers, in attempting to go up his own +staircase. His dwelling was near the factory. Some of the rioters vowed +that, if he did not give in, they would leave this, and go to his house, +and murder his wife and children. This was a terrible threat, for he had +been obliged to leave his family with only one or two soldiers to defend +them. Mrs. Cartwright knew what they had threatened; and on that +dreadful night, hearing, as she thought, steps approaching, she snatched +up her two infant children, and put them in a basket up the great +chimney, common in old-fashioned Yorkshire houses. One of the two +children who had been thus stowed away used to point out with pride, +after she had grown up to woman's estate, the marks of musket shot, and +the traces of gunpowder on the walls of her father's mill. He was the +first that had offered any resistance to the progress of the "Luddites," +who had become by this time so numerous as almost to assume the character +of an insurrectionary army. Mr. Cartwright's conduct was so much admired +by the neighbouring mill-owners that they entered into a subscription for +his benefit which amounted in the end to 3,000_l_. + +Not much more than a fortnight after this attack on Rawfolds, another +manufacturer who employed the obnoxious machinery was shot down in broad +daylight, as he was passing over Crossland Moor, which was skirted by a +small plantation in which the murderers lay hidden. The readers of +"Shirley" will recognise these circumstances, which were related to Miss +Bronte years after they occurred, but on the very spots where they took +place, and by persons who remembered full well those terrible times of +insecurity to life and property on the one hand, and of bitter starvation +and blind ignorant despair on the other. + +Mr. Bronte himself had been living amongst these very people in 1812, as +he was then clergyman at Hartshead, not three miles from Rawfolds; and, +as I have mentioned, it was in these perilous times that he began his +custom of carrying a loaded pistol continually about with him. For not +only his Tory politics, but his love and regard for the authority of the +law, made him despise the cowardice of the surrounding magistrates, who, +in their dread of the Luddites, refused to interfere so as to prevent the +destruction of property. The clergy of the district were the bravest men +by far. + +There was a Mr. Roberson of Heald's Hall, a friend of Mr. Bronte's who +has left a deep impression of himself on the public mind. He lived near +Heckmondwike, a large, straggling, dirty village, not two miles from Roe +Head. It was principally inhabited by blanket weavers, who worked in +their own cottages; and Heald's Hall is the largest house in the village, +of which Mr. Roberson was the vicar. At his own cost, he built a +handsome church at Liversedge, on a hill opposite the one on which his +house stood, which was the first attempt in the West Riding to meet the +wants of the overgrown population, and made many personal sacrifices for +his opinions, both religious and political, which were of the true old- +fashioned Tory stamp. He hated everything which he fancied had a +tendency towards anarchy. He was loyal in every fibre to Church and +King; and would have proudly laid down his life, any day, for what he +believed to be right and true. But he was a man of an imperial will, and +by it he bore down opposition, till tradition represents him as having +something grimly demoniac about him. He was intimate with Cartwright, +and aware of the attack likely to be made on his mill; accordingly, it is +said, he armed himself and his household, and was prepared to come to the +rescue, in the event of a signal being given that aid was needed. Thus +far is likely enough. Mr. Roberson had plenty of warlike spirit in him, +man of peace though he was. + +But, in consequence of his having taken the unpopular side, exaggerations +of his character linger as truth in the minds of the people; and a +fabulous story is told of his forbidding any one to give water to the +wounded Luddites, left in the mill-yard, when he rode in the next morning +to congratulate his friend Cartwright on his successful defence. +Moreover, this stern, fearless clergyman had the soldiers that were sent +to defend the neighbourhood billeted at his house; and this deeply +displeased the workpeople, who were to be intimidated by the red-coats. +Although not a magistrate, he spared no pains to track out the Luddites +concerned in the assassination I have mentioned; and was so successful in +his acute unflinching energy, that it was believed he had been +supernaturally aided; and the country people, stealing into the fields +surrounding Heald's Hall on dusky winter evenings, years after this time, +declared that through the windows they saw Parson Roberson dancing, in a +strange red light, with black demons all whirling and eddying round him. +He kept a large boys' school; and made himself both respected and dreaded +by his pupils. He added a grim kind of humour to his strength of will; +and the former quality suggested to his fancy strange out-of-the-way +kinds of punishment for any refractory pupils: for instance, he made them +stand on one leg in a corner of the schoolroom, holding a heavy book in +each hand; and once, when a boy had run away home, he followed him on +horseback, reclaimed him from his parents, and, tying him by a rope to +the stirrup of his saddle, made him run alongside of his horse for the +many miles they had to traverse before reaching Heald's Hall. + +One other illustration of his character may be given. He discovered that +his servant Betty had "a follower;" and, watching his time till Richard +was found in the kitchen, he ordered him into the dining-room, where the +pupils were all assembled. He then questioned Richard whether he had +come after Betty; and on his confessing the truth, Mr. Roberson gave the +word, "Off with him, lads, to the pump!" The poor lover was dragged to +the court-yard, and the pump set to play upon him; and, between every +drenching, the question was put to him, "Will you promise not to come +after Betty again?" For a long time Richard bravely refused to give in; +when "Pump again, lads!" was the order. But, at last, the poor soaked +"follower" was forced to yield, and renounce his Betty. + +The Yorkshire character of Mr. Roberson would be incomplete if I did not +mention his fondness for horses. He lived to be a very old man, dying +some time nearer to 1840 than 1830; and even after he was eighty years of +age, he took great delight in breaking refractory steeds; if necessary, +he would sit motionless on their backs for half-an-hour or more to bring +them to. There is a story current that once, in a passion, he shot his +wife's favourite horse, and buried it near a quarry, where the ground, +some years after, miraculously opened and displayed the skeleton; but the +real fact is, that it was an act of humanity to put a poor old horse out +of misery; and that, to spare it pain, he shot it with his own hands, and +buried it where, the ground sinking afterwards by the working of a coal- +pit, the bones came to light. The traditional colouring shows the animus +with which his memory is regarded by one set of people. By another, the +neighbouring clergy, who remember him riding, in his old age, down the +hill on which his house stood, upon his strong white horse--his bearing +proud and dignified, his shovel hat bent over and shadowing his keen +eagle eyes--going to his Sunday duty like a faithful soldier that dies in +harness--who can appreciate his loyalty to conscience, his sacrifices to +duty, and his stand by his religion--his memory is venerated. In his +extreme old age, a rubric meeting was held, at which his clerical +brethren gladly subscribed to present him with a testimonial of their +deep respect and regard. + +This is a specimen of the strong character not seldom manifested by the +Yorkshire clergy of the Established Church. Mr. Roberson was a friend of +Charlotte Bronte's father; lived within a couple of miles of Roe Head +while she was at school there; and was deeply engaged in transactions, +the memory of which was yet recent when she heard of them, and of the +part which he had had in them. + +I may now say a little on the character of the Dissenting population +immediately surrounding Roe Head; for the "Tory and clergyman's +daughter," "taking interest in politics ever since she was five years +old," and holding frequent discussions with such of the girls as were +Dissenters and Radicals, was sure to have made herself as much acquainted +as she could with the condition of those to whom she was opposed in +opinion. + +The bulk of the population were Dissenters, principally Independents. In +the village of Heckmondwike, at one end of which Roe Head is situated, +there were two large chapels belonging to that denomination, and one to +the Methodists, all of which were well filled two or three times on a +Sunday, besides having various prayer-meetings, fully attended, on week- +days. The inhabitants were a chapel-going people, very critical about +the doctrine of their sermons, tyrannical to their ministers, and violent +Radicals in politics. A friend, well acquainted with the place when +Charlotte Bronte was at school, has described some events which occurred +then among them:-- + +"A scene, which took place at the Lower Chapel at Heckmondwike, will give +you some idea of the people at that time. When a newly-married couple +made their appearance at chapel, it was the custom to sing the Wedding +Anthem, just after the last prayer, and as the congregation was quitting +the chapel. The band of singers who performed this ceremony expected to +have money given them, and often passed the following night in drinking; +at least, so said the minister of the place; and he determined to put an +end to this custom. In this he was supported by many members of the +chapel and congregation; but so strong was the democratic element, that +he met with the most violent opposition, and was often insulted when he +went into the street. A bride was expected to make her first appearance, +and the minister told the singers not to perform the anthem. On their +declaring they would, he had the large pew which they usually occupied +locked; they broke it open: from the pulpit he told the congregation +that, instead of their singing a hymn, he would read a chapter; hardly +had he uttered the first word, before up rose the singers, headed by a +tall, fierce-looking weaver, who gave out a hymn, and all sang it at the +very top of their voices, aided by those of their friends who were in the +chapel. Those who disapproved of the conduct of the singers, and sided +with the minister, remained seated till the hymn was finished. Then he +gave out the chapter again, read it, and preached. He was just about to +conclude with prayer, when up started the singers and screamed forth +another hymn. These disgraceful scenes were continued for many weeks, +and so violent was the feeling, that the different parties could hardly +keep from blows as they came through the chapel-yard. The minister, at +last, left the place, and along with him went many of the most temperate +and respectable part of the congregation, and the singers remained +triumphant. + +"I believe that there was such a violent contest respecting the choice of +a pastor, about this time, in the Upper Chapel at Heckmondwike, that the +Riot Act had to be read at a church-meeting." + +Certainly, the _soi-disant_ Christians who forcibly ejected Mr. Redhead +at Haworth, ten or twelve years before, held a very heathen brotherhood +with the _soi-disant_ Christians of Heckmondwike; though the one set +might be called members of the Church of England and the other +Dissenters. + +The letter from which I have taken the above extract relates throughout +to the immediate neighbourhood of the place where Charlotte Bronte spent +her school-days, and describes things as they existed at that very time. +The writer says,--"Having been accustomed to the respectful manners of +the lower orders in the agricultural districts, I was at first, much +disgusted and somewhat alarmed at the great freedom displayed by the +working classes of Heckmondwike and Gomersall to those in a station above +them. The term 'lass,' was as freely applied to any young lady, as the +word 'wench' is in Lancashire. The extremely untidy appearance of the +villagers shocked me not a little, though I must do the housewives the +justice to say that the cottages themselves were not dirty, and had an +air of rough plenty about them (except when trade was bad), that I had +not been accustomed to see in the farming districts. The heap of coals +on one side of the house-door, and the brewing tubs on the other, and the +frequent perfume of malt and hops as you walked along, proved that fire +and 'home-brewed' were to be found at almost every man's hearth. Nor was +hospitality, one of the main virtues of Yorkshire, wanting. Oat-cake, +cheese, and beer were freely pressed upon the visitor. + +"There used to be a yearly festival, half-religious, half social, held at +Heckmondwike, called 'The Lecture.' I fancy it had come down from the +times of the Nonconformists. A sermon was preached by some stranger at +the Lower Chapel, on a week-day evening, and the next day, two sermons in +succession were delivered at the Upper Chapel. Of course, the service +was a very long one, and as the time was June, and the weather often hot, +it used to be regarded by myself and my companions as no pleasurable way +of passing the morning. The rest of the day was spent in social +enjoyment; great numbers of strangers flocked to the place; booths were +erected for the sale of toys and gingerbread (a sort of 'Holy Fair'); and +the cottages, having had a little extra paint and white-washing, assumed +quite a holiday look. + +"The village of Gomersall" (where Charlotte Bronte's friend "Mary" lived +with her family), "which was a much prettier place than Heckmondwike, +contained a strange-looking cottage, built of rough unhewn stones, many +of them projecting considerably, with uncouth heads and grinning faces +carved upon them; and upon a stone above the door was cut, in large +letters, 'SPITE HALL.' It was erected by a man in the village, opposite +to the house of his enemy, who had just finished for himself a good +house, commanding a beautiful view down the valley, which this hideous +building quite shut out." + +Fearless--because this people were quite familiar to all of them--amidst +such a population, lived and walked the gentle Miss W---'s eight or nine +pupils. She herself was born and bred among this rough, strong, fierce +set, and knew the depth of goodness and loyalty that lay beneath their +wild manners and insubordinate ways. And the girls talked of the little +world around them, as if it were the only world that was; and had their +opinions and their parties, and their fierce discussions like their +elders--possibly, their betters. And among them, beloved and respected +by all, laughed at occasionally by a few, but always to her face--lived, +for a year and a half, the plain, short-sighted, oddly-dressed, studious +little girl they called Charlotte Bronte. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +Miss Bronte left Roe Head in 1832, having won the affectionate regard +both of her teacher and her school-fellows, and having formed there the +two fast friendships which lasted her whole life long; the one with +"Mary," who has not kept her letters; the other with "E.," who has kindly +entrusted me with a large portion of Miss Bronte's correspondence with +her. This she has been induced to do by her knowledge of the urgent +desire on the part of Mr. Bronte that the life of his daughter should be +written, and in compliance with a request from her husband that I should +be permitted to have the use of these letters, without which such a task +could be but very imperfectly executed. In order to shield this friend, +however, from any blame or misconstruction, it is only right to state +that, before granting me this privilege, she throughout most carefully +and completely effaced the names of the persons and places which occurred +in them; and also that such information as I have obtained from her bears +reference solely to Miss Bronte and her sisters, and not to any other +individuals whom I may find it necessary to allude to in connection with +them. + +In looking over the earlier portion of this correspondence, I am struck +afresh by the absence of hope, which formed such a strong characteristic +in Charlotte. At an age when girls, in general, look forward to an +eternal duration of such feelings as they or their friends entertain, and +can therefore see no hindrance to the fulfilment of any engagements +dependent on the future state of the affections, she is surprised that +"E." keeps her promise to write. In after-life, I was painfully +impressed with the fact, that Miss Bronte never dared to allow herself to +look forward with hope; that she had no confidence in the future; and I +thought, when I heard of the sorrowful years she had passed through, that +it had been this this pressure of grief which had crushed all buoyancy of +expectation out of her. But it appears from the letters, that it must +have been, so to speak, constitutional; or, perhaps, the deep pang of +losing her two elder sisters combined with a permanent state of bodily +weakness in producing her hopelessness. If her trust in God had been +less strong, she would have given way to unbounded anxiety, at many a +period of her life. As it was, we shall see, she made a great and +successful effort to leave "her times in His hands." + +After her return home, she employed herself in teaching her sisters, over +whom she had had superior advantages. She writes thus, July 21st, 1832, +of her course of life at the parsonage:-- + +"An account of one day is an account of all. In the morning, from nine +o'clock till half-past twelve, I instruct my sisters, and draw; then we +walk till dinner-time. After dinner I sew till tea-time, and after tea I +either write, read, or do a little fancy-work, or draw, as I please. +Thus, in one delightful, though somewhat monotonous course, my life is +passed. I have been only out twice to tea since I came home. We are +expecting company this afternoon, and on Tuesday next we shall have all +the female teachers of the Sunday-school to tea." + +I may here introduce a quotation from a letter which I have received from +"Mary" since the publication of the previous editions of this memoir. + +"Soon after leaving school she admitted reading something of Cobbett's. +'She did not like him,' she said; 'but all was fish that came to her +net.' At this time she wrote to me that reading and drawing were the +only amusements she had, and that her supply of books was very small in +proportion to her wants. She never spoke of her aunt. When I saw Miss +Branwell she was a very precise person, and looked very odd, because her +dress, &c., was so utterly out of fashion. She corrected one of us once +for using the word 'spit' or 'spitting.' She made a great favourite of +Branwell. She made her nieces sew, with purpose or without, and as far +as possible discouraged any other culture. She used to keep the girls +sewing charity clothing, and maintained to me that it was not for the +good of the recipients, but of the sewers. 'It was proper for them to do +it,' she said. Charlotte never was 'in wild excitement' that I know of. +When in health she used to talk better, and indeed when in low spirits +never spoke at all. She needed her best spirits to say what was in her +heart, for at other times she had not courage. She never gave decided +opinions at such times . . . + +"Charlotte said she could get on with any one who had a bump at the top +of their heads (meaning conscientiousness). I found that I seldom +differed from her, except that she was far too tolerant of stupid people, +if they had a grain of kindness in them." + +It was about this time that Mr. Bronte provided his children with a +teacher in drawing, who turned out to be a man of considerable talent, +but very little principle. Although they never attained to anything like +proficiency, they took great interest in acquiring this art; evidently, +from an instinctive desire to express their powerful imaginations in +visible forms. Charlotte told me, that at this period of her life, +drawing, and walking out with her sisters, formed the two great pleasures +and relaxations of her day. + +The three girls used to walk upwards toward the "purple-black" moors, the +sweeping surface of which was broken by here and there a stone-quarry; +and if they had strength and time to go far enough, they reached a +waterfall, where the beck fell over some rocks into the "bottom." They +seldom went downwards through the village. They were shy of meeting even +familiar faces, and were scrupulous about entering the house of the very +poorest uninvited. They were steady teachers at the Sunday-School, a +habit which Charlotte kept up very faithfully, even after she was left +alone; but they never faced their kind voluntary, and always preferred +the solitude and freedom of the moors. + +* * * * * + +In the September of this year, Charlotte went to pay her first visit to +her friend "E." It took her into the neighbourhood of Roe Head, and +brought her into pleasant contact with many of her old school-fellows. +After this visit she and her friend seem to have agreed to correspond in +French, for the sake of improvement in the language. But this +improvement could not be great, when it could only amount to a greater +familiarity with dictionary words, and when there was no one to explain +to them that a verbal translation of English idioms hardly constituted +French composition; but the effort was laudable, and of itself shows how +willing they both were to carry on the education which they had begun +under Miss W-. I will give an extract which, whatever may be thought of +the language, is graphic enough, and presents us with a happy little +family picture; the eldest sister returning home to the two younger, +after a fortnight's absence. + +"J'arrivait a Haworth en parfaite sauvete sans le moindre accident ou +malheur. Mes petites soeurs couraient hors de la maison pour me +rencontrer aussitot que la voiture se fit voir, et elles m'embrassaient +avec autant d'empressement et de plaisir comme si j'avais ete absente +pour plus d'an. Mon Papa, ma Tante, et le monsieur dent men frere avoit +parle, furent tous assembles dans le Salon, et en peu de temps je m'y +rendis aussi. C'est souvent l'ordre du Ciel que quand on a perdu un +plaisir il y en a un autre pret a prendre sa place. Ainsi je venois de +partir de tres-chers amis, mais tout a l'heure je revins a des parens +aussi chers et bon dans le moment. Meme que vous me perdiez (ose-je +croire que mon depart vous etait un chagrin?) vous attendites l'arrivee +de votre frere, et de votre soeur. J'ai donne a mes soeurs les pommes +que vous leur envoyiez avec tant de bonte; elles disent qu'elles sont sur +que Mademoiselle E. est tres-aimable et bonne; l'une et l'autre sont +extremement impatientes de vous voir; j'espere qu'en peu de mois elles +auront ce plaisir." + +But it was some time yet before the friends could meet, and meanwhile +they agreed to correspond once a month. There were no events to +chronicle in the Haworth letters. Quiet days, occupied in reaching, and +feminine occupations in the house, did not present much to write about; +and Charlotte was naturally driven to criticise books. + +Of these there were many in different plights, and according to their +plight, kept in different places. The well-bound were ranged in the +sanctuary of Mr. Bronte's study; but the purchase of books was a +necessary luxury to him, but as it was often a choice between binding an +old one, or buying a new one, the familiar volume, which had been +hungrily read by all the members of the family, was sometimes in such a +condition that the bedroom shelf was considered its fitting place. Up +and down the house were to be found many standard works of a solid kind. +Sir Walter Scott's writings, Wordsworth's and Southey's poems were among +the lighter literature; while, as having a character of their +own--earnest, wild, and occasionally fanatical--may be named some of the +books which came from the Branwell side of the family--from the Cornish +followers of the saintly John Wesley--and which are touched on in the +account of the works to which Caroline Helstone had access in +"Shirley:"--"Some venerable Lady's Magazines, that had once performed a +voyage with their owner, and undergone a storm"--(possibly part of the +relics of Mrs. Bronte's possessions, contained in the ship wrecked on the +coast of Cornwall)--"and whose pages were stained with salt water; some +mad Methodist Magazines full of miracles and apparitions, and +preternatural warnings, ominous dreams, and frenzied fanaticisms; and the +equally mad letters of Mrs. Elizabeth Rowe from the Dead to the Living." + +Mr. Bronte encouraged a taste for reading in his girls; and though Miss +Branwell kept it in due bounds, by the variety of household occupations, +in which she expected them not merely to take a part, but to become +proficients, thereby occupying regularly a good portion of every day, +they were allowed to get books from the circulating library at Keighley; +and many a happy walk, up those long four miles, must they have had, +burdened with some new book, into which they peeped as they hurried home. +Not that the books were what would generally be called new; in the +beginning of 1833, the two friends seem almost simultaneously to have +fallen upon "Kenilworth," and Charlotte writes as follows about it:-- + +"I am glad you like 'Kenilworth;' it is certainly more resembling a +romance than a novel: in my opinion, one of the most interesting works +that ever emanated from the great Sir Walter's pen. Varney is certainly +the personification of consummate villainy; and in the delineation of his +dark and profoundly artful mind, Scott exhibits a wonderful knowledge of +human nature, as well as a surprising skill in embodying his perceptions, +so as to enable others to become participators in that knowledge." + +Commonplace as this extract may seem, it is noteworthy on two or three +accounts: in the first place, instead of discussing the plot or story, +she analyses the character of Varney; and next, she, knowing nothing of +the world, both from her youth and her isolated position, has yet been so +accustomed to hear "human nature" distrusted, as to receive the notion of +intense and artful villainy without surprise. + +What was formal and set in her way of writing to "E." diminished as their +personal acquaintance increased, and as each came to know the home of the +other; so that small details concerning people and places had their +interest and their significance. In the summer of 1833, she wrote to +invite her friend to come and pay her a visit. "Aunt thought it would be +better" (she says) "to defer it until about the middle of summer, as the +winter, and even the spring seasons, are remarkably cold and bleak among +our mountains." + +The first impression made on the visitor by the sisters of her school- +friend was, that Emily was a tall, long-armed girl, more fully grown than +her elder sister; extremely reserved in manner. I distinguish reserve +from shyness, because I imagine shyness would please, if it knew how; +whereas, reserve is indifferent whether it pleases or not. Anne, like +her eldest sister, was shy; Emily was reserved. + +Branwell was rather a handsome boy, with "tawny" hair, to use Miss +Bronte's phrase for a more obnoxious colour. All were very clever, +original, and utterly different to any people or family "E." had ever +seen before. But, on the whole, it was a happy visit to all parties. +Charlotte says, in writing to "E.," just after her return home--"Were I +to tell you of the impression you have made on every one here, you would +accuse me of flattery. Papa and aunt are continually adducing you as an +example for me to shape my actions and behaviour by. Emily and Anne say +'they never saw any one they liked so well as you.' And Tabby, whom you +have absolutely fascinated, talks a great deal more nonsense about your +ladyship than I care to repeat. It is now so dark that, notwithstanding +the singular property of seeing in the night-time, which the young ladies +at Roe Head used to attribute to me, I can scribble no longer." + +To a visitor at the parsonage, it was a great thing to have Tabby's good +word. She had a Yorkshire keenness of perception into character, and it +was not everybody she liked. + +Haworth is built with an utter disregard of all sanitary conditions: the +great old churchyard lies above all the houses, and it is terrible to +think how the very water-springs of the pumps below must be poisoned. But +this winter of 1833-4 was particularly wet and rainy, and there were an +unusual number of deaths in the village. A dreary season it was to the +family in the parsonage: their usual walks obstructed by the spongy state +of the moors--the passing and funeral bells so frequently tolling, and +filling the heavy air with their mournful sound--and, when they were +still, the "chip, chip," of the mason, as he cut the grave-stones in a +shed close by. In many, living, as it were, in a churchyard, and with +all the sights and sounds connected with the last offices to the dead +things of everyday occurrence, the very familiarity would have bred +indifference. But it was otherwise with Charlotte Bronte. One of her +friends says:--"I have seen her turn pale and feel faint when, in +Hartshead church, some one accidentally remarked that we were walking +over graves. Charlotte was certainly afraid of death. Not only of dead +bodies, or dying people. She dreaded it as something horrible. She +thought we did not know how long the 'moment of dissolution' might really +be, or how terrible. This was just such a terror as only hypochondriacs +can provide for themselves. She told me long ago that a misfortune was +often preceded by the dream frequently repeated which she gives to 'Jane +Eyre,' of carrying a little wailing child, and being unable to still it. +She described herself as having the most painful sense of pity for the +little thing, lying _inert_, as sick children do, while she walked about +in some gloomy place with it, such as the aisle of Haworth Church. The +misfortunes she mentioned were not always to herself. She thought such +sensitiveness to omens was like the cholera, present to susceptible +people,--some feeling more, some less." + +About the beginning of 1834, "E." went to London for the first time. The +idea of her friend's visit seems to have stirred Charlotte strangely. She +appears to have formed her notions of its probable consequences from some +of the papers in the "British Essayists," "The Rambler," "The Mirror," or +"The Lounger," which may have been among the English classics on the +parsonage bookshelves; for she evidently imagines that an entire change +of character for the worse is the usual effect of a visit to "the great +metropolis," and is delighted to find that "E." is "E." still. And, as +her faith in her friend's stability is restored, her own imagination is +deeply moved by the idea of what great wonders are to be seen in that +vast and famous city. + + "Haworth, February 20th, 1834. + + "Your letter gave me real and heartfelt pleasure, mingled with no + small share of astonishment. Mary had previously informed me of your + departure for London, and I had not ventured to calculate on any + communication from you while surrounded by the splendours and + novelties of that great city, which has been called the mercantile + metropolis of Europe. Judging from human nature, I thought that a + little country girl, for the first time in a situation so well + calculated to excite curiosity, and to distract attention, would lose + all remembrance, for a time at least, of distant and familiar objects, + and give herself up entirely to the fascination of those scenes which + were then presented to her view. Your kind, interesting, and most + welcome epistle showed me, however, that I had been both mistaken and + uncharitable in these suppositions. I was greatly amused at the tone + of nonchalance which you assumed, while treating of London and its + wonders. Did you not feel awed while gazing at St. Paul's and + Westminster Abbey? Had you no feeling of intense and ardent interest, + when in St. James's you saw the palace where so many of England's + kings have held their courts, and beheld the representations of their + persons on the walls? You should not be too much afraid of appearing + _country-bred_; the magnificence of London has drawn exclamations of + astonishment from travelled men, experienced in the world, its wonders + and beauties. Have you yet seen anything of the great personages whom + the sitting of Parliament now detains in London--the Duke of + Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Earl Grey, Mr. Stanley, Mr. O'Connell? If + I were you, I would not be too anxious to spend my time in reading + whilst in town. Make use of your own eyes for the purposes of + observation now, and, for a time at least, lay aside the spectacles + with which authors would furnish us." + +In a postscript she adds:-- + + "Will you be kind enough to inform me of the number of performers in + the King's military band?" + +And in something of the same strain she writes on + + "June 19th. + "My own Dear E., + + "I may rightfully and truly call you so now. You _have_ returned or + _are_ returning from London--from the great city which is to me as + apocryphal as Babylon, or Nineveh, or ancient Rome. You are + withdrawing from the world (as it is called), and bringing with you--if + your letters enable me to form a correct judgment--a heart as + unsophisticated, as natural, as true, as that you carried there. I am + slow, _very_ slow, to believe the protestations of another; I know my + own sentiments, I can read my own mind, but the minds of the rest of + man and woman kind are to me sealed volumes, hieroglyphical scrolls, + which I cannot easily either unseal or decipher. Yet time, careful + study, long acquaintance, overcome most difficulties; and, in your + case, I think they have succeeded well in bringing to light and + construing that hidden language, whose turnings, windings, + inconsistencies, and obscurities, so frequently baffle the researches + of the honest observer of human nature . . . I am truly grateful for + your mindfulness of so obscure a person as myself, and I hope the + pleasure is not altogether selfish; I trust it is partly derived from + the consciousness that my friend's character is of a higher, a more + steadfast order than I was once perfectly aware of. Few girls would + have done as you have done--would have beheld the glare, and glitter, + and dazzling display of London with dispositions so unchanged, heart + so uncontaminated. I see no affectation in your letters, no trifling, + no frivolous contempt of plain, and weak admiration of showy persons + and things." + +In these days of cheap railway trips, we may smile at the idea of a short +visit to London having any great effect upon the character, whatever it +may have upon the intellect. But her London--her great apocryphal +city--was the "town" of a century before, to which giddy daughters +dragged unwilling papas, or went with injudicious friends, to the +detriment of all their better qualities, and sometimes to the ruin of +their fortunes; it was the Vanity Fair of the "Pilgrim's Progress" to +her. + +But see the just and admirable sense with which she can treat a subject +of which she is able to overlook all the bearings. + + "Haworth, July 4th, 1834. + + "In your last, you request me to tell you of your faults. Now, + really, how can you be so foolish! I _won't_ tell you of your faults, + because I don't know them. What a creature would that be, who, after + receiving an affectionate and kind letter from a beloved friend, + should sit down and write a catalogue of defects by way of answer! + Imagine me doing so, and then consider what epithets you would bestow + on me. Conceited, dogmatical, hypocritical, little humbug, I should + think, would be the mildest. Why, child! I've neither time nor + inclination to reflect on your _faults_ when you are so far from me, + and when, besides, kind letters and presents, and so forth, are + continually bringing forth your goodness in the most prominent light. + Then, too, there are judicious relations always round you, who can + much better discharge that unpleasant office. I have no doubt their + advice is completely at your service; why then should I intrude mine? + If you will not hear them, it will be vain though one should rise from + the dead to instruct you. Let us have no more nonsense, if you love + me. Mr. --- is going to be married, is he? Well, his wife elect + appeared to me to be a clever and amiable lady, as far as I could + judge from the little I saw of her, and from your account. Now to that + flattering sentence must I tack on a list of her faults? You say it + is in contemplation for you to leave ---. I am sorry for it. --- is + a pleasant spot, one of the old family halls of England, surrounded by + lawn and woodland, speaking of past times, and suggesting (to me at + least) happy feelings. M. thought you grown less, did she? I am not + grown a bit, but as short and dumpy as ever. You ask me to recommend + you some books for your perusal. I will do so in as few words as I + can. If you like poetry, let it be first-rate; Milton, Shakspeare, + Thomson, Goldsmith, Pope (if you will, though I don't admire him), + Scott, Byron, Campbell, Wordsworth, and Southey. Now don't be + startled at the names of Shakspeare and Byron. Both these were great + men, and their works are like themselves. You will know how to choose + the good, and to avoid the evil; the finest passages are always the + purest, the bad are invariably revolting; you will never wish to read + them over twice. Omit the comedies of Shakspeare, and the Don Juan, + perhaps the Cain, of Byron, though the latter is a magnificent poem, + and read the rest fearlessly; that must indeed be a depraved mind + which can gather evil from Henry VIII., from Richard III., from + Macbeth, and Hamlet, and Julius Caesar. Scott's sweet, wild, romantic + poetry can do you no harm. Nor can Wordsworth's, nor Campbell's, nor + Southey's--the greatest part at least of his; some is certainly + objectionable. For history, read Hume, Rollin, and the Universal + History, if you can; I never did. For fiction, read Scott alone; all + novels after his are worthless. For biography, read Johnson's Lives + of the Poets, Boswell's Life of Johnson, Southey's Life of Nelson, + Lockhart's Life of Burns, Moore's Life of Sheridan, Moore's Life of + Byron, Wolfe's Remains. For natural history, read Bewick and Audubon, + and Goldsmith and White's history of Selborne. For divinity, your + brother will advise you there. I can only say, adhere to standard + authors, and avoid novelty." + +From this list, we see that she must have had a good range of books from +which to choose her own reading. It is evident, that the womanly +consciences of these two correspondents were anxiously alive to many +questions discussed among the stricter religionists. The morality of +Shakspeare needed the confirmation of Charlotte's opinion to the +sensitive "E.;" and a little later, she inquired whether dancing was +objectionable, when indulged in for an hour or two in parties of boys and +girls. Charlotte replies, "I should hesitate to express a difference of +opinion from Mr. ---, or from your excellent sister, but really the +matter seems to me to stand thus. It is allowed on all hands, that the +sin of dancing consists not in the mere action of 'shaking the shanks' +(as the Scotch say), but in the consequences that usually attend it; +namely, frivolity and waste of time; when it is used only, as in the case +you state, for the exercise and amusement of an hour among young people +(who surely may without any breach of God's commandments be allowed a +little light-heartedness), these consequences cannot follow. Ergo +(according to my manner of arguing), the amusement is at such times +perfectly innocent." + +Although the distance between Haworth and B--- was but seventeen miles, +it was difficult to go straight from the one to the other without hiring +a gig or vehicle of some kind for the journey. Hence a visit from +Charlotte required a good deal of pre-arrangement. _The_ Haworth gig was +not always to be had; and Mr. Bronte was often unwilling to fall into any +arrangement for meeting at Bradford or other places, which would occasion +trouble to others. The whole family had an ample share of that sensitive +pride which led them to dread incurring obligations, and to fear +"outstaying their welcome" when on any visit. I am not sure whether Mr. +Bronte did not consider distrust of others as a part of that knowledge of +human nature on which he piqued himself. His precepts to this effect, +combined with Charlotte's lack of hope, made her always fearful of loving +too much; of wearying the objects of her affection; and thus she was +often trying to restrain her warm feelings, and was ever chary of that +presence so invariably welcome to her true friends. According to this +mode of acting, when she was invited for a month, she stayed but a +fortnight amidst "E.'s" family, to whom every visit only endeared her the +more, and by whom she was received with that kind of quiet gladness with +which they would have greeted a sister. + +She still kept up her childish interest in politics. In March, 1835, she +writes: "What do you think of the course politics are taking? I make +this enquiry, because I now think you take a wholesome interest in the +matter; formerly you did not care greatly about it. B., you see, is +triumphant. Wretch! I am a hearty hater, and if there is any one I +thoroughly abhor, it is that man. But the Opposition is divided, Red- +hots, and Luke-warms; and the Duke (par excellence _the_ Duke) and Sir +Robert Peel show no signs of insecurity, though they have been twice +beat; so 'Courage, mon amie,' as the old chevaliers used to say, before +they joined battle." + +In the middle of the summer of 1835, a great family plan was mooted at +the parsonage. The question was, to what trade or profession should +Branwell be brought up? He was now nearly eighteen; it was time to +decide. He was very clever, no doubt; perhaps to begin with, the +greatest genius in this rare family. The sisters hardly recognised their +own, or each others' powers, but they knew _his_. The father, ignorant +of many failings in moral conduct, did proud homage to the great gifts of +his son; for Branwell's talents were readily and willingly brought out +for the entertainment of others. Popular admiration was sweet to him. +And this led to his presence being sought at "arvills" and all the great +village gatherings, for the Yorkshiremen have a keen relish for +intellect; and it likewise procured him the undesirable distinction of +having his company recommended by the landlord of the Black Bull to any +chance traveller who might happen to feel solitary or dull over his +liquor. "Do you want some one to help you with your bottle, sir? If you +do, I'll send up for Patrick" (so the villagers called him till the day +of his death, though in his own family he was always "Branwell"). And +while the messenger went, the landlord entertained his guest with +accounts of the wonderful talents of the boy, whose precocious +cleverness, and great conversational powers, were the pride of the +village. The attacks of ill health to which Mr. Bronte had been subject +of late years, rendered it not only necessary that he should take his +dinner alone (for the sake of avoiding temptations to unwholesome diet), +but made it also desirable that he should pass the time directly +succeeding his meals in perfect quiet. And this necessity, combined with +due attention to his parochial duties, made him partially ignorant how +his son employed himself out of lesson-time. His own youth had been +spent among people of the same conventional rank as those into whose +companionship Branwell was now thrown; but he had had a strong will, and +an earnest and persevering ambition, and a resoluteness of purpose which +his weaker son wanted. + +It is singular how strong a yearning the whole family had towards the art +of drawing. Mr. Bronte had been very solicitous to get them good +instruction; the girls themselves loved everything connected with it--all +descriptions or engravings of great pictures; and, in default of good +ones, they would take and analyse any print or drawing which came in +their way, and find out how much thought had gone to its composition, +what ideas it was intended to suggest, and what it _did_ suggest. In the +same spirit, they laboured to design imaginations of their own; they +lacked the power of execution, not of conception. At one time, Charlotte +had the notion of making her living as an artist, and wearied her eyes in +drawing with pre-Raphaelite minuteness, but not with pre-Raphaelite +accuracy, for she drew from fancy rather than from nature. + +But they all thought there could be no doubt about Branwell's talent for +drawing. I have seen an oil painting of his, done I know not when, but +probably about this time. It was a group of his sisters, life-size, +three-quarters' length; not much better than sign-painting, as to +manipulation; but the likenesses were, I should think, admirable. I +could only judge of the fidelity with which the other two were depicted, +from the striking resemblance which Charlotte, upholding the great frame +of canvas, and consequently standing right behind it, bore to her own +representation, though it must have been ten years and more since the +portraits were taken. The picture was divided, almost in the middle, by +a great pillar. On the side of the column which was lighted by the sun, +stood Charlotte, in the womanly dress of that day of gigot sleeves and +large collars. On the deeply shadowed side, was Emily, with Anne's +gentle face resting on her shoulder. Emily's countenance struck me as +full of power; Charlotte's of solicitude; Anne's of tenderness. The two +younger seemed hardly to have attained their full growth, though Emily +was taller than Charlotte; they had cropped hair, and a more girlish +dress. I remember looking on those two sad, earnest, shadowed faces, and +wondering whether I could trace the mysterious expression which is said +to foretell an early death. I had some fond superstitious hope that the +column divided their fates from hers, who stood apart in the canvas, as +in life she survived. I liked to see that the bright side of the pillar +was towards _her_--that the light in the picture fell on _her_: I might +more truly have sought in her presentment--nay, in her living face--for +the sign of death--in her prime. They were good likenesses, however +badly executed. From thence I should guess his family augured truly that, +if Branwell had but the opportunity, and, alas! had but the moral +qualities, he might turn out a great painter. + +The best way of preparing him to become so appeared to be to send him as +a pupil to the Royal Academy. I dare say he longed and yearned to follow +this path, principally because it would lead him to that mysterious +London--that Babylon the great--which seems to have filled the +imaginations and haunted the minds of all the younger members of this +recluse family. To Branwell it was more than a vivid imagination, it was +an impressed reality. By dint of studying maps, he was as well +acquainted with it, even down to its by-ways, as if he had lived there. +Poor misguided fellow! this craving to see and know London, and that +stronger craving after fame, were never to be satisfied. He was to die +at the end of a short and blighted life. But in this year of 1835, all +his home kindred were thinking how they could best forward his views, and +how help him up to the pinnacle where he desired to be. What their plans +were, let Charlotte explain. These are not the first sisters who have +laid their lives as a sacrifice before their brother's idolized wish. +Would to God they might be the last who met with such a miserable return! + + "Haworth, July 6th, 1835. + + "I had hoped to have had the extreme pleasure of seeing you at Haworth + this summer, but human affairs are mutable, and human resolutions must + bend to the course of events. We are all about to divide, break up, + separate. Emily is going to school, Branwell is going to London, and + I am going to be a governess. This last determination I formed + myself, knowing that I should have to take the step sometime, 'and + better sune as syne,' to use the Scotch proverb; and knowing well that + papa would have enough to do with his limited income, should Branwell + be placed at the Royal Academy, and Emily at Roe Head. Where am I + going to reside? you will ask. Within four miles of you, at a place + neither of us is unacquainted with, being no other than the identical + Roe Head mentioned above. Yes! I am going to teach in the very + school where I was myself taught. Miss W--- made me the offer, and I + preferred it to one or two proposals of private governess-ship, which + I had before received. I am sad--very sad--at the thoughts of leaving + home; but duty--necessity--these are stern mistresses, who will not be + disobeyed. Did I not once say you ought to be thankful for your + independence? I felt what I said at the time, and I repeat it now + with double earnestness; if anything would cheer me, it is the idea of + being so near you. Surely, you and Polly will come and see me; it + would be wrong in me to doubt it; you were never unkind yet. Emily + and I leave home on the 27th of this month; the idea of being together + consoles us both somewhat, and, truth, since I must enter a situation, + 'My lines have fallen in pleasant places.' I both love and respect + Miss W-." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +On the 29th of July, 1835, Charlotte, now a little more than nineteen +years old, went as teacher to Miss W---'s. Emily accompanied her as a +pupil; but she became literally ill from home-sickness, and could not +settle to anything, and after passing only three months at Roe Head, +returned to the parsonage and the beloved moors. + +Miss Bronte gives the following reasons as those which prevented Emily's +remaining at school, and caused the substitution of her younger sister in +her place at Miss W---'s:-- + +"My sister Emily loved the moors. Flowers brighter than the rose bloomed +in the blackest of the heath for her;--out of a sullen hollow in a livid +hill-side, her mind could make an Eden. She found in the bleak solitude +many and dear delights; and not the least and best-loved was--liberty. +Liberty was the breath of Emily's nostrils; without it she perished. The +change from her own home to a school, and from her own very noiseless, +very secluded, but unrestricted and unartificial mode of life, to one of +disciplined routine (though under the kindest auspices), was what she +failed in enduring. Her nature proved here too strong for her fortitude. +Every morning, when she woke, the vision of home and the moors rushed on +her, and darkened and saddened the day that lay before her. Nobody knew +what ailed her but me. I knew only too well. In this struggle her +health was quickly broken: her white face, attenuated form, and failing +strength, threatened rapid decline. I felt in my heart she would die, if +she did not go home, and with this conviction obtained her recall. She +had only been three months at school; and it was some years before the +experiment of sending her from home was again ventured on." + +This physical suffering on Emily's part when absent from Haworth, after +recurring several times under similar circumstances, became at length so +much an acknowledged fact, that whichever was obliged to leave home, the +sisters decided that Emily must remain there, where alone she could enjoy +anything like good health. She left it twice again in her life; once +going as teacher to a school in Halifax for six months, and afterwards +accompanying Charlotte to Brussels for ten. When at home, she took the +principal part of the cooking upon herself, and did all the household +ironing; and after Tabby grew old and infirm, it was Emily who made all +the bread for the family; and any one passing by the kitchen-door, might +have seen her studying German out of an open book, propped up before her, +as she kneaded the dough; but no study, however interesting, interfered +with the goodness of the bread, which was always light and excellent. +Books were, indeed, a very common sight in that kitchen; the girls were +taught by their father theoretically, and by their aunt, practically, +that to take an active part in all household work was, in their position, +woman's simple duty; but in their careful employment of time, they found +many an odd five minutes for reading while watching the cakes, and +managed the union of two kinds of employment better than King Alfred. + +Charlotte's life at Miss W---'s was a very happy one, until her health +failed. She sincerely loved and respected the former schoolmistress, to +whom she was now become both companion and friend. The girls were hardly +strangers to her, some of them being younger sisters of those who had +been her own playmates. Though the duties of the day might be tedious +and monotonous, there were always two or three happy hours to look +forward to in the evening, when she and Miss W--- sat together--sometimes +late into the night--and had quiet pleasant conversations, or pauses of +silence as agreeable, because each felt that as soon as a thought or +remark occurred which they wished to express, there was an intelligent +companion ready to sympathise, and yet they were not compelled to "make +talk." + +Miss W--- was always anxious to afford Miss Bronte every opportunity of +recreation in her power; but the difficulty often was to persuade her to +avail herself of the invitations which came, urging her to spend Saturday +and Sunday with "E." and "Mary," in their respective homes, that lay +within the distance of a walk. She was too apt to consider, that +allowing herself a holiday was a dereliction of duty, and to refuse +herself the necessary change, from something of an over-ascetic spirit, +betokening a loss of healthy balance in either body or mind. Indeed, it +is clear that such was the case, from a passage, referring to this time, +in the letter of "Mary" from which I have before given extracts. + +"Three years after--" (the period when they were at school together)--"I +heard that she had gone as teacher to Miss W---'s. I went to see her, +and asked how she could give so much for so little money, when she could +live without it. She owned that, after clothing herself and Anne, there +was nothing left, though she had hoped to be able to save something. She +confessed it was not brilliant, but what could she do? I had nothing to +answer. She seemed to have no interest or pleasure beyond the feeling of +duty, and, when she could get, used to sit alone, and 'make out.' She +told me afterwards, that one evening she had sat in the dressing-room +until it was quite dark, and then observing it all at once, had taken +sudden fright." No doubt she remembered this well when she described a +similar terror getting hold upon Jane Eyre. She says in the story, "I +sat looking at the white bed and overshadowed walls--occasionally turning +a fascinated eye towards the gleaming mirror--I began to recall what I +had heard of dead men troubled in their graves . . . I endeavoured to be +firm; shaking my hair from my eyes, I lifted my head and tried to look +boldly through the dark room; at this moment, a ray from the moon +penetrated some aperture in the blind. No! moon light was still, and +this stirred . . . prepared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my +nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald +of some coming vision from another world. My heart beat thick, my head +grew hot; a sound filled my ears which I deemed the rustling of wings; +something seemed near me." {4} + +"From that time," Mary adds, "her imaginations became gloomy or +frightful; she could not help it, nor help thinking. She could not +forget the gloom, could not sleep at night, nor attend in the day. + +"She told me that one night, sitting alone, about this time, she heard a +voice repeat these lines: + + "'Come thou high and holy feeling, + Shine o'er mountain, flit o'er wave, + Gleam like light o'er dome and shielding.' + +"There were eight or ten more lines which I forget. She insisted that +she had not made them, that she had heard a voice repeat them. It is +possible that she had read them, and unconsciously recalled them. They +are not in the volume of poems which the sisters published. She repeated +a verse of Isaiah, which she said had inspired them, and which I have +forgotten. Whether the lines were recollected or invented, the tale +proves such habits of sedentary, monotonous solitude of thought as would +have shaken a feebler mind." + +Of course, the state of health thus described came on gradually, and is +not to be taken as a picture of her condition in 1836. Yet even then +there is a despondency in some of her expressions, that too sadly reminds +one of some of Cowper's letters. And it is remarkable how deeply his +poems impressed her. His words, his verses, came more frequently to her +memory, I imagine, than those of any other poet. + +"Mary" says: "Cowper's poem, 'The Castaway,' was known to them all, and +they all at times appreciated, or almost appropriated it. Charlotte told +me once that Branwell had done so; and though his depression was the +result of his faults, it was in no other respect different from hers. +Both were not mental but physical illnesses. She was well aware of this, +and would ask how that mended matters, as the feeling was there all the +same, and was not removed by knowing the cause. She had a larger +religious toleration than a person would have who had never questioned, +and the manner of recommending religion was always that of offering +comfort, not fiercely enforcing a duty. One time I mentioned that some +one had asked me what religion I was of (with the view of getting me for +a partizan), and that I had said that that was between God and me;--Emily +(who was lying on the hearth-rug) exclaimed, 'That's right.' This was +all I ever heard Emily say on religious subjects. Charlotte was free +from religious depression when in tolerable health; when that failed, her +depression returned. You have probably seen such instances. They don't +get over their difficulties; they forget them, when their stomach (or +whatever organ it is that inflicts such misery on sedentary people) will +let them. I have heard her condemn Socinianism, Calvinism, and many +other 'isms' inconsistent with Church of Englandism. I used to wonder at +her acquaintance with such subjects." + + "May 10th, 1836. + + "I was struck with the note you sent me with the umbrella; it showed a + degree of interest in my concerns which I have no right to expect from + any earthly creature. I won't play the hypocrite; I won't answer your + kind, gentle, friendly questions in the way you wish me to. Don't + deceive yourself by imagining I have a bit of real goodness about me. + My darling, if I were like you, I should have my face Zion-ward, + though prejudice and error might occasionally fling a mist over the + glorious vision before me--but I _am not like you_. If you knew my + thoughts, the dreams that absorb me, and the fiery imagination that at + times eats me up, and makes me feel society, as it is, wretchedly + insipid, you would pity and I dare say despise me. But I know the + treasures of the _Bible_; I love and adore them. I can _see_ the Well + of Life in all its clearness and brightness; but when I stoop down to + drink of the pure waters they fly from my lips as if I were Tantalus. + + "You are far too kind and frequent in your invitations. You puzzle + me. I hardly know how to refuse, and it is still more embarrassing to + accept. At any rate, I cannot come this week, for we are in the very + thickest melee of the Repetitions. I was hearing the terrible fifth + section when your note arrived. But Miss Wooler says I must go to + Mary next Friday, as she promised for me on Whit-Sunday; and on Sunday + morning I will join you at church, if it be convenient, and stay till + Monday. There's a free and easy proposal! Miss W--- has driven me to + it. She says her character is implicated." + +Good, kind Miss W---! however monotonous and trying were the duties +Charlotte had to perform under her roof, there was always a genial and +thoughtful friend watching over her, and urging her to partake of any +little piece of innocent recreation that might come in her way. And in +those Midsummer holidays of 1836, her friend E. came to stay with her at +Haworth, so there was one happy time secured. + +Here follows a series of letters, not dated, but belonging to the latter +portion of this year; and again we think of the gentle and melancholy +Cowper. + + "My dear dear E., + + "I am at this moment trembling all over with excitement, after reading + your note; it is what I never received before--it is the unrestrained + pouring out of a warm, gentle, generous heart . . . I thank you with + energy for this kindness. I will no longer shrink from answering your + questions. I _do_ wish to be better than I am. I pray fervently + sometimes to be made so. I have stings of conscience, visitings of + remorse, glimpses of holy, of inexpressible things, which formerly I + used to be a stranger to; it may all die away, and I may be in utter + midnight, but I implore a merciful Redeemer, that, if this be the dawn + of the gospel, it may still brighten to perfect day. Do not mistake + me--do not think I am good; I only wish to be so. I only hate my + former flippancy and forwardness. Oh! I am no better than ever I was. + I am in that state of horrid, gloomy uncertainty that, at this moment, + I would submit to be old, grey-haired, to have passed all my youthful + days of enjoyment, and to be settling on the verge of the grave, if I + could only thereby ensure the prospect of reconciliation to God, and + redemption through his Son's merits. I never was exactly careless of + these matters, but I have always taken a clouded and repulsive view of + them; and now, if possible, the clouds are gathering darker, and a + more oppressive despondency weighs on my spirits. You have cheered + me, my darling; for one moment, for an atom of time, I thought I might + call you my own sister in the spirit; but the excitement is past, and + I am now as wretched and hopeless as ever. This very night I will + pray as you wish me. May the Almighty hear me compassionately! and I + humbly hope he will, for you will strengthen my polluted petitions + with your own pure requests. All is bustle and confusion round me, + the ladies pressing with their sums and their lessons . . . If you + love me, _do, do, do_ come on Friday: I shall watch and wait for you, + and if you disappoint me I shall weep. I wish you could know the + thrill of delight which I experienced, when, as I stood at the dining- + room window, I saw ---, as he whirled past, toss your little packet + over the wall." + +Huddersfield market-day was still the great period for events at Roe +Head. Then girls, running round the corner of the house and peeping +between tree-stems, and up a shadowy lane, could catch a glimpse of a +father or brother driving to market in his gig; might, perhaps, exchange +a wave of the hand; or see, as Charlotte Bronte did from the window, a +white packet tossed over the avail by come swift strong motion of an arm, +the rest of the traveller's body unseen. + +"Weary with a day's hard work . . . I am sitting down to write a few +lines to my dear E. Excuse me if I say nothing but nonsense, for my mind +is exhausted and dispirited. It is a stormy evening, and the wind is +uttering a continual moaning sound, that makes me feel very melancholy. +At such times--in such moods as these--it is my nature to seek repose in +some calm tranquil idea, and I have now summoned up your image to give me +rest. There you sit, upright and still in your black dress, and white +scarf, and pale marble-like face--just like reality. I wish you would +speak to me. If we should be separated--if it should be our lot to live +at a great distance, and never to see each other again--in old age, how I +should conjure up the memory of my youthful days, and what a melancholy +pleasure I should feel in dwelling on the recollection of my early +friend! . . . I have some qualities that make me very miserable, some +feelings that you can have no participation in--that few, very few, +people in the world can at all understand. I don't pride myself on these +peculiarities. I strive to conceal and suppress them as much as I can; +but they burst out sometimes, and then those who see the explosion +despise me, and I hate myself for days afterwards . . . I have just +received your epistle and what accompanied it. I can't tell what should +induce you and your sisters to waste your kindness on such a one as me. +I'm obliged to them, and I hope you'll tell them so. I'm obliged to you +also, more for your note than for your present. The first gave me +pleasure, the last something like pain." + +* * * * * + +The nervous disturbance, which is stated to have troubled her while she +was at Miss W---'s, seems to have begun to distress her about this time; +at least, she herself speaks of her irritable condition, which was +certainly only a temporary ailment. + +"You have been very kind to me of late, and have spared me all those +little sallies of ridicule, which, owing to my miserable and wretched +touchiness of character, used formerly to make me wince, as if I had been +touched with a hot iron; things that nobody else cares for, enter into my +mind and rankle there like venom. I know these feelings are absurd, and +therefore I try to hide them, but they only sting the deeper for +concealment." + +Compare this state of mind with the gentle resignation with which she had +submitted to be put aside as useless, or told of her ugliness by her +school-fellows, only three years before. + +"My life since I saw you has passed as monotonously and unbroken as ever; +nothing but teach, teach, teach, from morning till night. The greatest +variety I ever have is afforded by a letter from you, or by meeting with +a pleasant new book. The 'Life of Oberlin,' and 'Leigh Richmond's +Domestic Portraiture,' are the last of this description. The latter work +strongly attracted and strangely fascinated my attention. Beg, borrow, +or steal it without delay; and read the 'Memoir of Wilberforce,'--that +short record of a brief uneventful life; I shall never forget it; it is +beautiful, not on account of the language in which it is written, not on +account of the incidents it details, but because of the simple narrative +it gives of a young talented sincere Christian." + +* * * * * + +About this time Miss W--- removed her school from the fine, open, breezy +situation of Roe Head, to Dewsbury Moor, only two or three miles distant. +Her new residence was on a lower site, and the air was less exhilarating +to one bred in the wild hill-village of Haworth. Emily had gone as +teacher to a school at Halifax, where there were nearly forty pupils. + +"I have had one letter from her since her departure," writes Charlotte, +on October 2nd, 1836: "it gives an appalling account of her duties; hard +labour from six in the morning to eleven at night, with only one half- +hour of exercise between. This is slavery. I fear she can never stand +it." + +* * * * * + +When the sisters met at home in the Christmas holidays, they talked over +their lives, and the prospect which they afforded of employment and +remuneration. They felt that it was a duty to relieve their father of +the burden of their support, if not entirely, or that of all three, at +least that of one or two; and, naturally, the lot devolved upon the elder +ones to find some occupation which would enable them to do this. They +knew that they were never likely to inherit much money. Mr. Bronte had +but a small stipend, and was both charitable and liberal. Their aunt had +an annuity of 50_l_., but it reverted to others at her death, and her +nieces had no right, and were the last persons in the world to reckon +upon her savings. What could they do? Charlotte and Emily were trying +teaching, and, as it seemed, without much success. The former, it is +true, had the happiness of having a friend for her employer, and of being +surrounded by those who knew her and loved her; but her salary was too +small for her to save out of it; and her education did not entitle her to +a larger. The sedentary and monotonous nature of the life, too, was +preying upon her health and spirits, although, with necessity "as her +mistress," she might hardly like to acknowledge this even to herself. But +Emily--that free, wild, untameable spirit, never happy nor well but on +the sweeping moors that gathered round her home--that hater of strangers, +doomed to live amongst them, and not merely to live but to slave in their +service--what Charlotte could have borne patiently for herself, she could +not bear for her sister. And yet what to do? She had once hoped that +she herself might become an artist, and so earn her livelihood; but her +eyes had failed her in the minute and useless labour which she had +imposed upon herself with a view to this end. + +It was the household custom among these girls to sew till nine o'clock at +night. At that hour, Miss Branwell generally went to bed, and her +nieces' duties for the day were accounted done. They put away their +work, and began to pace the room backwards and forwards, up and down,--as +often with the candles extinguished, for economy's sake, as not,--their +figures glancing into the fire-light, and out into the shadow, +perpetually. At this time, they talked over past cares and troubles; +they planned for the future, and consulted each other as to their plans. +In after years this was the time for discussing together the plots of +their novels. And again, still later, this was the time for the last +surviving sister to walk alone, from old accustomed habit, round and +round the desolate room, thinking sadly upon the "days that were no +more." But this Christmas of 1836 was not without its hopes and daring +aspirations. They had tried their hands at story-writing, in their +miniature magazine, long ago; they all of them "made out" perpetually. +They had likewise attempted to write poetry; and had a modest confidence +that they had achieved a tolerable success. But they knew that they +might deceive themselves, and that sisters' judgments of each other's +productions were likely to be too partial to be depended upon. So +Charlotte, as the eldest, resolved to write to Southey. I believe (from +an expression in a letter to be noticed hereafter), that she also +consulted Coleridge; but I have not met with any part of that +correspondence. + +On December 29th, her letter to Southey was despatched; and from an +excitement not unnatural in a girl who has worked herself up to the pitch +of writing to a Poet Laureate and asking his opinion of her poems, she +used some high-flown expressions which, probably, gave him the idea that +she was a romantic young lady, unacquainted with the realities of life. + +This, most likely, was the first of those adventurous letters that passed +through the little post-office of Haworth. Morning after morning of the +holidays slipped away, and there was no answer; the sisters had to leave +home, and Emily to return to her distasteful duties, without knowing even +whether Charlotte's letter had ever reached its destination. + +Not dispirited, however, by the delay, Branwell determined to try a +similar venture, and addressed the following letter to Wordsworth. It +was given by the poet to Mr. Quillinan in 1850, after the name of Bronte +had become known and famous. I have no means of ascertaining what answer +was returned by Mr. Wordsworth; but that he considered the letter +remarkable may, I think, be inferred both from its preservation, and its +recurrence to his memory when the real name of Currer Bell was made known +to the public. + + "Haworth, near Bradford, + "Yorkshire, January 19, 1837. + + "Sir,--I most earnestly entreat you to read and pass your judgment + upon what I have sent you, because from the day of my birth to this + the nineteenth year of my life, I have lived among secluded hills, + where I could neither know what I was, or what I could do. I read for + the same reason that I ate or drank; because it was a real craving of + nature. I wrote on the same principle as I spoke--out of the impulse + and feelings of the mind; nor could I help it, for what came, came + out, and there was the end of it. For as to self-conceit, that could + not receive food from flattery, since to this hour, not half a dozen + people in the world know that I have ever penned a line. + + "But a change has taken place now, sir: and I am arrived at an age + wherein I must do something for myself: the powers I possess must be + exercised to a definite end, and as I don't know them myself I must + ask of others what they are worth. Yet there is not one here to tell + me; and still, if they are worthless, time will henceforth be too + precious to be wasted on them. + + "Do pardon me, sir, that I have ventured to come before one whose + works I have most loved in our literature, and who most has been with + me a divinity of the mind, laying before him one of my writings, and + asking of him a judgment of its contents. I must come before some one + from whose sentence there is no appeal; and such a one is he who has + developed the theory of poetry as well as its practice, and both in + such a way as to claim a place in the memory of a thousand years to + come. + + "My aim, sir, is to push out into the open world, and for this I trust + not poetry alone--that might launch the vessel, but could not bear her + on; sensible and scientific prose, bold and vigorous efforts in my + walk in life, would give a farther title to the notice of the world; + and then again poetry ought to brighten and crown that name with + glory; but nothing of all this can be ever begun without means, and as + I don't possess these, I must in every shape strive to gain them. + Surely, in this day, when there is not a _writing_ poet worth a + sixpence, the field must be open, if a better man can step forward. + + "What I send you is the Prefatory Scene of a much longer subject, in + which I have striven to develop strong passions and weak principles + struggling with a high imagination and acute feelings, till, as youth + hardens towards age, evil deeds and short enjoyments end in mental + misery and bodily ruin. Now, to send you the whole of this would be a + mock upon your patience; what you see, does not even pretend to be + more than the description of an imaginative child. But read it, sir; + and, as you would hold a light to one in utter darkness--as you value + your own kindheartedness--_return_ me an _answer_, if but one word, + telling me whether I should write on, or write no more. Forgive undue + warmth, because my feelings in this matter cannot be cool; and believe + me, sir, with deep respect, + + "Your really humble servant, + "P. B. Bronte" + +The poetry enclosed seems to me by no means equal to parts of the letter; +but, as every one likes to judge for himself, I copy the six opening +stanzas--about a third of the whole, and certainly not the worst. + + So where he reigns in glory bright, + Above those starry skies of night, + Amid his Paradise of light + Oh, why may I not be? + + Oft when awake on Christmas morn, + In sleepless twilight laid forlorn, + Strange thoughts have o'er my mind been borne, + How he has died for me. + + And oft within my chamber lying, + Have I awaked myself with crying + From dreams, where I beheld Him dying + Upon the accursed Tree. + + And often has my mother said, + While on her lap I laid my head, + She feared for time I was not made, + But for Eternity. + + So "I can read my title clear, + To mansions in the skies, + And let me bid farewell to fear, + And wipe my weeping eyes." + + I'll lay me down on this marble stone, + And set the world aside, + To see upon her ebon throne + The Moon in glory ride. + +Soon after Charlotte returned to Dewsbury Moor, she was distressed by +hearing that her friend "E." was likely to leave the neighbourhood for a +considerable length of time. + + "Feb. 20th. + + "What shall I do without you? How long are we likely to be separated? + Why are we to be denied each other's society? It is an inscrutable + fatality. I long to be with you, because it seems as if two or three + days, or weeks, spent in your company would beyond measure strengthen + me in the enjoyment of those feelings which I have so lately begun to + cherish. You first pointed out to me that way in which I am so feebly + endeavouring to travel, and now I cannot keep you by my side, I must + proceed sorrowfully alone. Why are we to be divided? Surely, it must + be because we are in danger of loving each other too well--of losing + sight of the _Creator_ in idolatry of the _creature_. At first, I + could not say 'Thy will be done!' I felt rebellious, but I knew it + was wrong to feel so. Being left a moment alone this morning, I + prayed fervently to be enabled to resign myself to _every_ decree of + God's will, though it should be dealt forth by a far severer hand than + the present disappointment; since then I have felt calmer and humbler, + and consequently happier. Last Sunday I took up my Bible in a gloomy + state of mind: I began to read--a feeling stole over me such as I have + not known for many long years--a sweet, placid sensation, like those, + I remember, which used to visit me when I was a little child, and, on + Sunday evenings in summer, stood by the open window reading the life + of a certain French nobleman, who attained a purer and higher degree + of sanctity than has been known since the days of the early martyrs." + +"E.'s" residence was equally within a walk from Dewsbury Moor as it had +been from Roe Head; and on Saturday afternoons both "Mary" and she used +to call upon Charlotte, and often endeavoured to persuade her to return +with them, and be the guest of one of them till Monday morning; but this +was comparatively seldom. Mary says:--"She visited us twice or thrice +when she was at Miss W---'s. We used to dispute about politics and +religion. She, a Tory and clergyman's daughter, was always in a minority +of one in our house of violent Dissent and Radicalism. She used to hear +over again, delivered _with authority_, all the lectures I had been used +to give her at school on despotic aristocracy, mercenary priesthood, &c. +She had not energy to defend herself; sometimes she owned to a _little_ +truth in it, but generally said nothing. Her feeble health gave her her +yielding manner, for she could never oppose any one without gathering up +all her strength for the struggle. Thus she would let me advise and +patronise most imperiously, sometimes picking out any grain of sense +there might be in what I said, but never allowing any one materially to +interfere with her independence of thought and action. Though her +silence sometimes left one under the impression that she agreed when she +did not, she never gave a flattering opinion, and thus her words were +golden, whether for praise or blame." + +"Mary's" father was a man of remarkable intelligence, but of strong, not +to say violent prejudices, all running in favour of Republicanism and +Dissent. No other county but Yorkshire could have produced such a man. +His brother had been a _detenu_ in France, and had afterwards voluntarily +taken up his residence there. Mr. T. himself had been much abroad, both +on business and to see the great continental galleries of paintings. He +spoke French perfectly, I have been told, when need was; but delighted +usually in talking the broadest Yorkshire. He bought splendid engravings +of the pictures which he particularly admired, and his house was full of +works of art and of books; but he rather liked to present his rough side +to any stranger or new-comer; he would speak his broadest, bring out his +opinions on Church and State in their most startling forms, and, by and +by, if he found his hearer could stand the shock, he would involuntarily +show his warm kind heart, and his true taste, and real refinement. His +family of four sons and two daughters were brought up on Republican +principles; independence of thought and action was encouraged; no "shams" +tolerated. They are scattered far and wide: Martha, the younger +daughter, sleeps in the Protestant cemetery at Brussels; Mary is in New +Zealand; Mr. T. is dead. And so life and death have dispersed the circle +of "violent Radicals and Dissenters" into which, twenty years ago, the +little, quiet, resolute clergyman's daughter was received, and by whom +she was truly loved and honoured. + +January and February of 1837 had passed away, and still there was no +reply from Southey. Probably she had lost expectation and almost hope +when at length, in the beginning of March, she received the letter +inserted in Mr. C. C. Southey's life of his Father, vol. iv. p. 327. + +After accounting for his delay in replying to hers by the fact of a long +absence from home, during which his letters had accumulated, whence "it +has lain unanswered till the last of a numerous file, not from disrespect +or indifference to its contents, but because in truth it is not an easy +task to answer it, nor a pleasant one to cast a damp over the high +spirits and the generous desires of youth," he goes on to say: "What you +are I can only infer from your letter, which appears to be written in +sincerity, though I may suspect that you have used a fictitious +signature. Be that as it may, the letter and the verses bear the same +stamp, and I can well understand the state of mind they indicate. + +* * * * * + +"It is not my advice that you have asked as to the direction of your +talents, but my opinion of them, and yet the opinion may be worth little, +and the advice much. You evidently possess, and in no inconsiderable +degree, what Wordsworth calls the 'faculty of verse.' I am not +depreciating it when I say that in these times it is not rare. Many +volumes of poems are now published every year without attracting public +attention, any one of which if it had appeared half a century ago, would +have obtained a high reputation for its author. Whoever, therefore, is +ambitious of distinction in this way ought to be prepared for +disappointment. + +"But it is not with a view to distinction that you should cultivate this +talent, if you consult your own happiness. I, who have made literature +my profession, and devoted my life to it, and have never for a moment +repented of the deliberate choice, think myself, nevertheless, bound in +duty to caution every young man who applies as an aspirant to me for +encouragement and advice, against taking so perilous a course. You will +say that a woman has no need of such a caution; there can be no peril in +it for her. In a certain sense this is true; but there is a danger of +which I would, with all kindness and all earnestness, warn you. The day +dreams in which you habitually indulge are likely to induce a distempered +state of mind; and in proportion as all the ordinary uses of the world +seem to you flat and unprofitable, you will be unfitted for them without +becoming fitted for anything else. Literature cannot be the business of +a woman's life, and it ought not to be. The more she is engaged in her +proper duties, the less leisure will she have for it, even as an +accomplishment and a recreation. To those duties you have not yet been +called, and when you are you will be less eager for celebrity. You will +not seek in imagination for excitement, of which the vicissitudes of this +life, and the anxieties from which you must not hope to be exempted, be +your state what it may, will bring with them but too much. + +"But do not suppose that I disparage the gift which you possess; nor that +I would discourage you from exercising it. I only exhort you so to think +of it, and so to use it, as to render it conducive to your own permanent +good. Write poetry for its own sake; not in a spirit of emulation, and +not with a view to celebrity; the less you aim at that the more likely +you will be to deserve and finally to obtain it. So written, it is +wholesome both for the heart and soul; it may be made the surest means, +next to religion, of soothing the mind and elevating it. You may embody +in it your best thoughts and your wisest feelings, and in so doing +discipline and strengthen them. + +"Farewell, madam. It is not because I have forgotten that I was once +young myself, that I write to you in this strain; but because I remember +it. You will neither doubt my sincerity nor my good will; and however +ill what has here been said may accord with your present views and +temper, the longer you live the more reasonable it will appear to you. +Though I may be but an ungracious adviser, you will allow me, therefore, +to subscribe myself, with the best wishes for your happiness here and +hereafter, your true friend, + +"ROBERT SOUTHEY." + +* * * * * + +I was with Miss Bronte when she received Mr. Cuthbert Southey's note, +requesting her permission to insert the foregoing letter in his father's +life. She said to me, "Mr. Southey's letter was kind and admirable; a +little stringent, but it did me good." + +It is partly because I think it so admirable, and partly because it tends +to bring out her character, as shown in the following reply, that I have +taken the liberty of inserting the foregoing extracts from it. + + "Sir, March 16th. + + "I cannot rest till I have answered your letter, even though by + addressing you a second time I should appear a little intrusive; but I + must thank you for the kind and wise advice you have condescended to + give me. I had not ventured to hope for such a reply; so considerate + in its tone, so noble in its spirit. I must suppress what I feel, or + you will think me foolishly enthusiastic. + + "At the first perusal of your letter, I felt only shame and regret + that I had ever ventured to trouble you with my crude rhapsody; I felt + a painful heat rise to my face when I thought of the quires of paper I + had covered with what once gave me so much delight, but which now was + only a source of confusion; but after I had thought a little and read + it again and again, the prospect seemed to clear. You do not forbid + me to write; you do not say that what I write is utterly destitute of + merit. You only warn me against the folly of neglecting real duties + for the sake of imaginative pleasures; of writing for the love of + fame; for the selfish excitement of emulation. You kindly allow me to + write poetry for its own sake, provided I leave undone nothing which I + ought to do, in order to pursue that single, absorbing, exquisite + gratification. I am afraid, sir, you think me very foolish. I know + the first letter I wrote to you was all senseless trash from beginning + to end; but I am not altogether the idle dreaming being it would seem + to denote. My father is a clergyman of limited, though competent + income, and I am the eldest of his children. He expended quite as + much in my education as he could afford in justice to the rest. I + thought it therefore my duty, when I left school, to become a + governess. In that capacity I find enough to occupy my thoughts all + day long, and my head and hands too, without having a moment's time + for one dream of the imagination. In the evenings, I confess, I do + think, but I never trouble any one else with my thoughts. I carefully + avoid any appearance of preoccupation and eccentricity, which might + lead those I live amongst to suspect the nature of my pursuits. + Following my father's advice--who from my childhood has counselled me, + just in the wise and friendly tone of your letter--I have endeavoured + not only attentively to observe all the duties a woman ought to + fulfil, but to feel deeply interested in them. I don't always + succeed, for sometimes when I'm teaching or sewing I would rather be + reading or writing; but I try to deny myself; and my father's + approbation amply rewarded me for the privation. Once more allow me + to thank you with sincere gratitude. I trust I shall never more feel + ambitious to see my name in print: if the wish should rise, I'll look + at Southey's letter, and suppress it. It is honour enough for me that + I have written to him, and received an answer. That letter is + consecrated; no one shall ever see it, but papa and my brother and + sisters. Again I thank you. This incident, I suppose, will be + renewed no more; if I live to be an old woman, I shall remember it + thirty years hence as a bright dream. The signature which you + suspected of being fictitious is my real name. Again, therefore, I + must sign myself, + + "C. Bronte. + + "P.S.--Pray, sir, excuse me for writing to you a second time; I could + not help writing, partly to tell you how thankful I am for your + kindness, and partly to let you know that your advice shall not be + wasted; however sorrowfully and reluctantly it may be at first + followed. + + "C. B." + +I cannot deny myself the gratification of inserting Southey's reply:-- + + "Keswick, March 22, 1837. + + "Dear Madam, + + "Your letter has given me great pleasure, and I should not forgive + myself if I did not tell you so. You have received admonition as + considerately and as kindly as it was given. Let me now request that, + if you ever should come to these Lakes while I am living here, you + will let me see you. You would then think of me afterwards with the + more good-will, because you would perceive that there is neither + severity nor moroseness in the state of mind to which years and + observation have brought me. + + "It is, by God's mercy, in our power to attain a degree of + self-government, which is essential to our own happiness, and + contributes greatly to that of those around us. Take care of over- + excitement, and endeavour to keep a quiet mind (even for your health + it is the best advice that can be given you): your moral and spiritual + improvement will then keep pace with the culture of your intellectual + powers. + + "And now, madam, God bless you! + + "Farewell, and believe me to be your sincere friend, + + "ROBERT SOUTHEY. + +Of this second letter, also, she spoke, and told me that it contained an +invitation for her to go and see the poet if ever she visited the Lakes. +"But there was no money to spare," said she, "nor any prospect of my ever +earning money enough to have the chance of so great a pleasure, so I gave +up thinking of it." At the time we conversed together on the subject we +were at the Lakes. But Southey was dead. + +This "stringent" letter made her put aside, for a time, all idea of +literary enterprise. She bent her whole energy towards the fulfilment of +the duties in hand; but her occupation was not sufficient food for her +great forces of intellect, and they cried out perpetually, "Give, give," +while the comparatively less breezy air of Dewsbury Moor told upon her +health and spirits more and more. On August 27, 1837, she writes:-- + + "I am again at Dewsbury, engaged in the old business,--teach, teach, + teach . . . _When will you come home_? Make haste! You have been at + Bath long enough for all purposes; by this time you have acquired + polish enough, I am sure; if the varnish is laid on much thicker, I am + afraid the good wood underneath will be quite concealed, and your + Yorkshire friends won't stand that. Come, come. I am getting really + tired of your absence. Saturday after Saturday comes round, and I can + have no hope of hearing your knock at the door, and then being told + that 'Miss E. is come.' Oh, dear! in this monotonous life of mine, + that was a pleasant event. I wish it would recur again; but it will + take two or three interviews before the stiffness--the estrangement of + this long separation--will wear away." + +About this time she forgot to return a work-bag she had borrowed, by a +messenger, and in repairing her error she says:--"These aberrations of +memory warn me pretty intelligibly that I am getting past my prime." +AEtat 21! And the same tone of despondency runs through the following +letter:-- + + "I wish exceedingly that I could come to you before Christmas, but it + is impossible; another three weeks must elapse before I shall again + have my comforter beside me, under the roof of my own dear quiet home. + If I could always live with you, and daily read the Bible with you--if + your lips and mine could at the same time drink the same draught, from + the same pure fountain of mercy--I hope, I trust, I might one day + become better, far better than my evil, wandering thoughts, my corrupt + heart, cold to the spirit and warm to the flesh, will now permit me to + be. I often plan the pleasant life which we might lead together, + strengthening each other in that power of self-denial, that hallowed + and glowing devotion, which the first saints of God often attained to. + My eyes fill with tears when I contrast the bliss of such a state, + brightened by hopes of the future, with the melancholy state I now + live in, uncertain that I ever felt true contrition, wandering in + thought and deed, longing for holiness, which I shall _never_, _never_ + obtain, smitten at times to the heart with the conviction that ghastly + Calvinistic doctrines are true--darkened, in short, by the very + shadows of spiritual death. If Christian perfection be necessary to + salvation, I shall never be saved; my heart is a very hotbed for + sinful thoughts, and when I decide on an action I scarcely remember to + look to my Redeemer for direction. I know not how to pray; I cannot + bend my life to the grand end of doing good; I go on constantly + seeking my own pleasure, pursuing the gratification of my own desires. + I forget God, and will not God forget me? And, meantime, I know the + greatness of Jehovah; I acknowledge the perfection of His word; I + adore the purity of the Christian faith; my theory is right, my + practice horribly wrong." + +The Christmas holidays came, and she and Anne returned to the parsonage, +and to that happy home circle in which alone their natures expanded; +amongst all other people they shrivelled up more or less. Indeed, there +were only one or two strangers who could be admitted among the sisters +without producing the same result. Emily and Anne were bound up in their +lives and interests like twins. The former from reserve, the latter from +timidity, avoided all friendships and intimacies beyond their family. +Emily was impervious to influence; she never came in contact with public +opinion, and her own decision of what was right and fitting was a law for +her conduct and appearance, with which she allowed no one to interfere. +Her love was poured out on Anne, as Charlotte's was on her. But the +affection among all the three was stronger than either death or life. + +"E." was eagerly welcomed by Charlotte, freely admitted by Emily, and +kindly received by Anne, whenever she could visit them; and this +Christmas she had promised to do so, but her coming had to be delayed on +account of a little domestic accident detailed in the following letter:-- + + "Dec. 29, 1837. + + "I am sure you will have thought me very remiss in not sending my + promised letter long before now; but I have a sufficient and very + melancholy excuse in an accident that befell our old faithful Tabby, a + few days after my return home. She was gone out into the village on + some errand, when, as she was descending the steep street, her foot + slipped on the ice, and she fell; it was dark, and no one saw her + mischance, till after a time her groans attracted the attention of a + passer-by. She was lifted up and carried into the druggist's near; + and, after the examination, it was discovered that she had completely + shattered and dislocated one leg. Unfortunately, the fracture could + not be set till six o'clock the next morning, as no surgeon was to be + had before that time, and she now lies at our house in a very doubtful + and dangerous state. Of course we are all exceedingly distressed at + the circumstance, for she was like one of our own family. Since the + event we have been almost without assistance--a person has dropped in + now and then to do the drudgery, but we have as yet been able to + procure no regular servant; and consequently, the whole work of the + house, as well as the additional duty of nursing Tabby, falls on + ourselves. Under these circumstances I dare not press your visit + here, at least until she is pronounced out of danger; it would be too + selfish of me. Aunt wished me to give you this information before, + but papa and all the rest were anxious I should delay until we saw + whether matters took a more settled aspect, and I myself kept putting + it off from day to day, most bitterly reluctant to give up all the + pleasure I had anticipated so long. However, remembering what you + told me, namely, that you had commended the matter to a higher + decision than ours, and that you were resolved to submit with + resignation to that decision, whatever it might be, I hold it my duty + to yield also, and to be silent; it may be all for the best. I fear, + if you had been here during this severe weather, your visit would have + been of no advantage to you, for the moors are blockaded with snow, + and you would never have been able to get out. After this + disappointment, I never dare reckon with certainty on the enjoyment of + a pleasure again; it seems as if some fatality stood between you and + me. I am not good enough for you, and you must be kept from the + contamination of too intimate society. I would urge your visit yet--I + would entreat and press it--but the thought comes across me, should + Tabby die while you are in the house, I should never forgive myself. + No! it must not be, and in a thousand ways the consciousness of that + mortifies and disappoints me most keenly, and I am not the only one + who is disappointed. All in the house were looking to your visit with + eagerness. Papa says he highly approves of my friendship with you, + and he wishes me to continue it through life." + +A good neighbour of the Brontes--a clever, intelligent Yorkshire woman, +who keeps a druggist's shop in Haworth, and from her occupation, her +experience, and excellent sense, holds the position of village doctress +and nurse, and, as such, has been a friend, in many a time of trial, and +sickness, and death, in the households round--told me a characteristic +little incident connected with Tabby's fractured leg. Mr. Bronte is +truly generous and regardful of all deserving claims. Tabby had lived +with them for ten or twelve years, and was, as Charlotte expressed it, +"one of the family." But on the other hand, she was past the age for any +very active service, being nearer seventy than sixty at the time of the +accident; she had a sister living in the village; and the savings she had +accumulated, during many years' service, formed a competency for one in +her rank of life. Or if, in this time of sickness, she fell short of any +comforts which her state rendered necessary, the parsonage could supply +them. So reasoned Miss Branwell, the prudent, not to say anxious aunt; +looking to the limited contents of Mr. Bronte's purse, and the unprovided- +for-future of her nieces; who were, moreover, losing the relaxation of +the holidays, in close attendance upon Tabby. + +Miss Branwell urged her views upon Mr. Bronte as soon as the immediate +danger to the old servant's life was over. He refused at first to listen +to the careful advice; it was repugnant to his liberal nature. But Miss +Branwell persevered; urged economical motives; pressed on his love for +his daughters. He gave way. Tabby was to be removed to her sister's, +and there nursed and cared for, Mr. Bronte coming in with his aid when +her own resources fell short. This decision was communicated to the +girls. There were symptoms of a quiet, but sturdy rebellion, that winter +afternoon, in the small precincts of Haworth parsonage. They made one +unanimous and stiff remonstrance. Tabby had tended them in their +childhood; they, and none other, should tend her in her infirmity and +age. At tea-time, they were sad and silent, and the meal went away +untouched by any of the three. So it was at breakfast; they did not +waste many words on the subject, but each word they did utter was +weighty. They "struck" eating till the resolution was rescinded, and +Tabby was allowed to remain a helpless invalid entirely dependent upon +them. Herein was the strong feeling of Duty being paramount to pleasure, +which lay at the foundation of Charlotte's character, made most apparent; +for we have seen how she yearned for her friend's company; but it was to +be obtained only by shrinking from what she esteemed right, and that she +never did, whatever might be the sacrifice. + +She had another weight on her mind this Christmas. I have said that the +air of Dewsbury Moor did not agree with her, though she herself was +hardly aware how much her life there was affecting her health. But Anne +had begun to suffer just before the holidays, and Charlotte watched over +her younger sisters with the jealous vigilance of some wild creature, +that changes her very nature if danger threatens her young. Anne had a +slight cough, a pain at her side, a difficulty of breathing. Miss W--- +considered it as little more than a common cold; but Charlotte felt every +indication of incipient consumption as a stab at her heart, remembering +Maria and Elizabeth, whose places once knew them, and should know them no +more. + +Stung by anxiety for this little sister, she upbraided Miss W--- for her +fancied indifference to Anne's state of health. Miss W--- felt these +reproaches keenly, and wrote to Mr. Bronte about them. He immediately +replied most kindly, expressing his fear that Charlotte's apprehensions +and anxieties respecting her sister had led her to give utterance to over- +excited expressions of alarm. Through Miss W---'s kind consideration, +Anne was a year longer at school than her friends intended. At the close +of the half-year Miss W--- sought for the opportunity of an explanation +of each other's words, and the issue proved that "the falling out of +faithful friends, renewing is of love." And so ended the first, last, +and only difference Charlotte ever had with good, kind Miss W ---. + +Still her heart had received a shock in the perception of Anne's +delicacy; and all these holidays she watched over her with the longing, +fond anxiety, which is so full of sudden pangs of fear. + +Emily had given up her situation in the Halifax school, at the expiration +of six months of arduous trial, on account of her health, which could +only be re-established by the bracing moorland air and free life of home. +Tabby's illness had preyed on the family resources. I doubt whether +Branwell was maintaining himself at this time. For some unexplained +reason, he had given up the idea of becoming a student of painting at the +Royal Academy, and his prospects in life were uncertain, and had yet to +be settled. So Charlotte had quietly to take up her burden of teaching +again, and return to her previous monotonous life. + +Brave heart, ready to die in harness! She went back to her work, and +made no complaint, hoping to subdue the weakness that was gaining ground +upon her. About this time, she would turn sick and trembling at any +sudden noise, and could hardly repress her screams when startled. This +showed a fearful degree of physical weakness in one who was generally so +self-controlled; and the medical man, whom at length, through Miss W---'s +entreaty, she was led to consult, insisted on her return to the +parsonage. She had led too sedentary a life, he said; and the soft +summer air, blowing round her home, the sweet company of those she loved, +the release, the freedom of life in her own family, were needed, to save +either reason or life. So, as One higher than she had over-ruled that +for a time she might relax her strain, she returned to Haworth; and after +a season of utter quiet, her father sought for her the enlivening society +of her two friends, Mary and Martha T. At the conclusion of the +following letter, written to the then absent E., there is, I think, as +pretty a glimpse of a merry group of young people as need be; and like +all descriptions of doing, as distinct from thinking or feeling, in +letters, it saddens one in proportion to the vivacity of the picture of +what was once, and is now utterly swept away. + + "Haworth, June 9, 1838. + + "I received your packet of despatches on Wednesday; it was brought me + by Mary and Martha, who have been staying at Haworth for a few days; + they leave us to-day. You will be surprised at the date of this + letter. I ought to be at Dewsbury Moor, you know; but I stayed as + long as I was able, and at length I neither could nor dared stay any + longer. My health and spirits had utterly failed me, and the medical + man whom I consulted enjoined me, as I valued my life, to go home. So + home I went, and the change has at once roused and soothed me; and I + am now, I trust, fairly in the way to be myself again. + + "A calm and even mind like yours cannot conceive the feelings of the + shattered wretch who is now writing to you, when, after weeks of + mental and bodily anguish not to be described, something like peace + began to dawn again. Mary is far from well. She breathes short, has + a pain in her chest, and frequent flushings of fever. I cannot tell + you what agony these symptoms give me; they remind me too strongly of + my two sisters, whom no power of medicine could save. Martha is now + very well; she has kept in a continual flow of good humour during her + stay here, and has consequently been very fascinating . . . " + + "They are making such a noise about me I cannot write any more. Mary + is playing on the piano; Martha is chattering as fast as her little + tongue can run; and Branwell is standing before her, laughing at her + vivacity." + +Charlotte grew much stronger in this quiet, happy period at home. She +paid occasional visits to her two great friends, and they in return came +to Haworth. At one of their houses, I suspect, she met with the person +to whom the following letter refers--some one having a slight resemblance +to the character of "St. John," in the last volume of "Jane Eyre," and, +like him, in holy orders. + + "March 12, 1839. + + . . . "I had a kindly leaning towards him, because he is an amiable + and well-disposed man. Yet I had not, and could not have, that + intense attachment which would make me willing to die for him; and if + ever I marry, it must be in that light of adoration that I will regard + my husband. Ten to one I shall never have the chance again; but + _n'importe_. Moreover, I was aware that he knew so little of me he + could hardly be conscious to whom he was writing. Why! it would + startle him to see me in my natural home character; he would think I + was a wild, romantic enthusiast indeed. I could not sit all day long + making a grave face before my husband. I would laugh, and satirize, + and say whatever came into my head first. And if he were a clever + man, and loved me, the whole world, weighed in the balance against his + smallest wish, should be light as air." + +So that--her first proposal of marriage--was quietly declined and put on +one side. Matrimony did not enter into the scheme of her life, but good, +sound, earnest labour did; the question, however, was as yet undecided in +what direction she should employ her forces. She had been discouraged in +literature; her eyes failed her in the minute kind of drawing which she +practised when she wanted to express an idea; teaching seemed to her at +this time, as it does to most women at all times, the only way of earning +an independent livelihood. But neither she nor her sisters were +naturally fond of children. The hieroglyphics of childhood were an +unknown language to them, for they had never been much with those younger +than themselves. I am inclined to think, too, that they had not the +happy knack of imparting information, which seems to be a separate gift +from the faculty of acquiring it; a kind of sympathetic tact, which +instinctively perceives the difficulties that impede comprehension in a +child's mind, and that yet are too vague and unformed for it, with its +half-developed powers of expression, to explain by words. Consequently, +teaching very young children was anything but a "delightful task" to the +three Bronte sisters. With older girls, verging on womanhood, they might +have done better, especially if these had any desire for improvement. But +the education which the village clergyman's daughters had received, did +not as yet qualify them to undertake the charge of advanced pupils. They +knew but little French, and were not proficients in music; I doubt +whether Charlotte could play at all. But they were all strong again, +and, at any rate, Charlotte and Anne must put their shoulders to the +wheel. One daughter was needed at home, to stay with Mr. Bronte and Miss +Branwell; to be the young and active member in a household of four, +whereof three--the father, the aunt, and faithful Tabby--were past middle +age. And Emily, who suffered and drooped more than her sisters when away +from Haworth, was the one appointed to remain. Anne was the first to +meet with a situation. + + "April 15th, 1839. + + "I could not write to you in the week you requested, as about that + time we were very busy in preparing for Anne's departure. Poor child! + she left us last Monday; no one went with her; it was her own wish + that she might be allowed to go alone, as she thought she could manage + better and summon more courage if thrown entirely upon her own + resources. We have had one letter from her since she went. She + expresses herself very well satisfied, and says that Mrs. --- is + extremely kind; the two eldest children alone are under her care, the + rest are confined to the nursery, with which and its occupants she has + nothing to do . . . I hope she'll do. You would be astonished what a + sensible, clever letter she writes; it is only the talking part that I + fear. But I do seriously apprehend that Mrs. --- will sometimes + conclude that she has a natural impediment in her speech. For my own + part, I am as yet 'wanting a situation,' like a housemaid out of + place. By the way, I have lately discovered I have quite a talent for + cleaning, sweeping up hearths, dusting rooms, making beds, &c.; so, if + everything else fails, I can turn my hand to that, if anybody will + give me good wages for little labour. I won't be a cook; I hate + soothing. I won't be a nurserymaid, nor a lady's-maid, far less a + lady's companion, or a mantua-maker, or a straw-bonnet maker, or a + taker-in of plain work. I won't be anything but a housemaid . . . + With regard to my visit to G., I have as yet received no invitation; + but if I should be asked, though I should feel it a great act of self- + denial to refuse, yet I have almost made up my mind to do so, though + the society of the T.'s is one of the most rousing pleasures I have + ever known. Good-bye, my darling E., &c. + + "P. S.--Strike out that word 'darling;' it is humbug. Where's the use + of protestations? We've known each other, and liked each other, a + good while; that's enough." + +Not many weeks after this was written, Charlotte also became engaged as a +governess. I intend carefully to abstain from introducing the names of +any living people, respecting whom I may have to tell unpleasant truths, +or to quote severe remarks from Miss Bronte's letters; but it is +necessary that the difficulties she had to encounter in her various +phases of life, should be fairly and frankly made known, before the force +"of what was resisted" can be at all understood. I was once speaking to +her about "Agnes Grey"--the novel in which her sister Anne pretty +literally describes her own experience as a governess--and alluding more +particularly to the account of the stoning of the little nestlings in the +presence of the parent birds. She said that none but those who had been +in the position of a governess could ever realise the dark side of +"respectable" human nature; under no great temptation to crime, but daily +giving way to selfishness and ill-temper, till its conduct towards those +dependent on it sometimes amounts to a tyranny of which one would rather +be the victim than the inflicter. We can only trust in such cases that +the employers err rather from a density of perception and an absence of +sympathy, than from any natural cruelty of disposition. Among several +things of the same kind, which I well remember, she told me what had once +occurred to herself. She had been entrusted with the care of a little +boy, three or four years old, during the absence of his parents on a +day's excursion, and particularly enjoined to keep him out of the stable- +yard. His elder brother, a lad of eight or nine, and not a pupil of Miss +Bronte's, tempted the little fellow into the forbidden place. She +followed, and tried to induce him to come away; but, instigated by his +brother, he began throwing stones at her, and one of them hit her so +severe a blow on the temple that the lads were alarmed into obedience. +The next day, in full family conclave, the mother asked Miss Bronte what +occasioned the mark on her forehead. She simply replied, "An accident, +ma'am," and no further inquiry was made; but the children (both brothers +and sisters) had been present, and honoured her for not "telling tales." +From that time, she began to obtain influence over all, more or less, +according to their different characters; and as she insensibly gained +their affection, her own interest in them was increasing. But one day, +at the children's dinner, the small truant of the stable-yard, in a +little demonstrative gush, said, putting his hand in hers, "I love 'ou, +Miss Bronte." Whereupon, the mother exclaimed, before all the children, +"Love the _governess_, my dear!" + +"The family into which she first entered was, I believe, that of a +wealthy Yorkshire manufacturer. The following extracts from her +correspondence at this time will show how painfully the restraint of her +new mode of life pressed upon her. The first is from a letter to Emily, +beginning with one of the tender expressions in which, in spite of +'humbug,' she indulged herself. 'Mine dear love,' 'Mine-bonnie love,' +are her terms of address to this beloved sister. + +"June 8th, 1839. + +"I have striven hard to be pleased with my new situation. The country, +the house and the grounds are, as I have said, divine; but, alack-a-day! +there is such a thing as seeing all beautiful around you--pleasant woods, +white paths, green lawns, and blue sunshiny sky--and not having a free +moment or a free thought left to enjoy them. The children are constantly +with me. As for correcting them, I quickly found that was out of the +question; they are to do as they like. A complaint to the mother only +brings black looks on myself, and unjust, partial excuses to screen the +children. I have tried that plan once, and succeeded so notably, I shall +try no more. I said in my last letter that Mrs. --- did not know me. I +now begin to find she does not intend to know me; that she cares nothing +about me, except to contrive how the greatest possible quantity of labour +may be got out of me; and to that end she overwhelms me with oceans of +needle-work; yards of cambric to hem, muslin nightcaps to make, and, +above all things, dolls to dress. I do not think she likes me at all, +because I can't help being shy in such an entirely novel scene, +surrounded as I have hitherto been by strange and constantly changing +faces . . . I used to think I should like to be in the stir of grand +folks' society; but I have had enough of it--it is dreary work to look on +and listen. I see more clearly than I have ever done before, that a +private governess has no existence, is not considered as a living +rational being, except as connected with the wearisome duties she has to +fulfil . . . One of the pleasantest afternoons I have spent here--indeed, +the only one at all pleasant--was when Mr. --- walked out with his +children, and I had orders to follow a little behind. As he strolled on +through his fields, with his magnificent Newfoundland dog at his side, he +looked very like what a frank, wealthy, Conservative gentleman ought to +be. He spoke freely and unaffectedly to the people he met, and, though +he indulged his children and allowed them to tease himself far too much, +he would not suffer them grossly to insult others." + +(WRITTEN IN PENCIL TO A FRIEND.) + +"July, 1839. + +"I cannot procure ink, without going into the drawing-room, where I do +not wish to go . . . I should have written to you long since, and told +you every detail of the utterly new scene into which I have lately been +cast, had I not been daily expecting a letter from yourself, and +wondering and lamenting that you did not write; for you will remember it +was your turn. I must not bother you too much with my sorrows, of which, +I fear, you have heard an exaggerated account. If you were near me, +perhaps I might be tempted to tell you all, to grow egotistical, and pour +out the long history of a private governess's trials and crosses in her +first situation. As it is, I will only ask you to imagine the miseries +of a reserved wretch like me, thrown at once into the midst of a large +family, at a time when they were particularly gay--when the house was +filled with company--all strangers--people whose faces I had never seen +before. In this state I had charge given me of a set of pampered, +spoilt, turbulent children, whom I was expected constantly to amuse, as +well as to instruct. I soon found that the constant demand on my stock +of animal spirits reduced them to the lowest state of exhaustion; at +times I felt--and, I suppose, seemed--depressed. To my astonishment, I +was taken to task on the subject by Mrs. --- with a sternness of manner +and a harshness of language scarcely credible; like a fool, I cried most +bitterly. I could not help it; my spirits quite failed me at first. I +thought I had done my best--strained every nerve to please her; and to be +treated in that way, merely because I was shy and sometimes melancholy, +was too bad. At first I was for giving all up and going home. But, +after a little reflection, I determined to summon what energy I had, and +to weather the storm. I said to myself, 'I have never yet quitted a +place without gaining a friend; adversity is a good school; the poor are +born to labour, and the dependent to endure.' I resolved to be patient, +to command my feelings, and to take what came; the ordeal, I reflected, +would not last many weeks, and I trusted it would do me good. I +recollected the fable of the willow and the oak; I bent quietly, and now, +I trust, the storm is blowing over me. Mrs. --- is generally considered +an agreeable woman; so she is, I doubt not, in general society. She +behaves somewhat more civilly to me now than she did at first, and the +children are a little more manageable; but she does not know my +character, and she does not wish to know it. I have never had five +minutes' conversation with her since I came, except while she was +scolding me. I have no wish to be pitied, except by yourself; if I were +talking to you I could tell you much more." + +(TO EMILY, ABOUT THIS TIME.) + +"Mine bonnie love, I was as glad of your letter as tongue can express: it +is a real, genuine pleasure to hear from home; a thing to be saved till +bedtime, when one has a moment's quiet and rest to enjoy it thoroughly. +Write whenever you can. I could like to be at home. I could like to +work in a mill. I could like to feel some mental liberty. I could like +this weight of restraint to be taken off. But the holidays will come. +Coraggio." + +Her temporary engagement in this uncongenial family ended in the July of +this year; not before the constant strain upon her spirits and strength +had again affected her health; but when this delicacy became apparent in +palpitations and shortness of breathing, it was treated as affectation--as +a phase of imaginary indisposition, which could be dissipated by a good +scolding. She had been brought up rather in a school of Spartan +endurance than in one of maudlin self-indulgence, and could bear many a +pain and relinquish many a hope in silence. + +After she had been at home about a week, her friend proposed that she +should accompany her in some little excursion, having pleasure alone for +its object. She caught at the idea most eagerly at first; but her hope +stood still, waned, and had almost disappeared before, after many delays, +it was realised. In its fulfilment at last, it was a favourable specimen +of many a similar air-bubble dancing before her eyes in her brief career, +in which stern realities, rather than pleasures, formed the leading +incidents. + + "July 26th, 1839. + + "Your proposal has almost driven me 'clean daft'--if you don't + understand that ladylike expression, you must ask me what it means + when I see you. The fact is, an excursion with you anywhere,--whether + to Cleathorpe or Canada,--just by ourselves, would be to me most + delightful. I should, indeed, like to go; but I can't get leave of + absence for longer than a week, and I'm afraid that would not suit + you--must I then give it up entirely? I feel as if I _could not_; I + never had such a chance of enjoyment before; I do want to see you and + talk to you, and be with you. When do you wish to go? Could I meet + you at Leeds? To take a gig from Haworth to B., would be to me a very + serious increase of expense, and I happen to be very low in cash. Oh! + rich people seem to have many pleasures at their command which we are + debarred from! However, no repining. + + "Say when you go, and I shall be able in my answer to say decidedly + whether I can accompany you or not. I must--I will--I'm set upon + it--I'll be obstinate and bear down all opposition. + + "P.S.--Since writing the above, I find that aunt and papa have + determined to go to Liverpool for a fortnight, and take us all with + them. It is stipulated, however, that I should give up the Cleathorpe + scheme. I yield reluctantly." + +I fancy that, about this time, Mr. Bronte found it necessary, either from +failing health or the increased populousness of the parish, to engage the +assistance of a curate. At least, it is in a letter written this summer +that I find mention of the first of a succession of curates, who +henceforward revolved round Haworth Parsonage, and made an impression on +the mind of one of its inmates which she has conveyed pretty distinctly +to the world. The Haworth curate brought his clerical friends and +neighbours about the place, and for a time the incursions of these, near +the parsonage tea-time, formed occurrences by which the quietness of the +life there was varied, sometimes pleasantly, sometimes disagreeably. The +little adventure recorded at the end of the following letter is uncommon +in the lot of most women, and is a testimony in this case to the unusual +power of attraction--though so plain in feature--which Charlotte +possessed, when she let herself go in the happiness and freedom of home. + + "August 4th, 1839. + + "The Liverpool journey is yet a matter of talk, a sort of castle in + the air; but, between you and me, I fancy it is very doubtful whether + it will ever assume a more solid shape. Aunt--like many other elderly + people--likes to talk of such things; but when it comes to putting + them into actual execution, she rather falls off. Such being the + case, I think you and I had better adhere to our first plan of going + somewhere together independently of other people. I have got leave to + accompany you for a week--at the utmost a fortnight--but no more. + Where do you wish to go? Burlington, I should think, from what M. + says, would be as eligible a place as any. When do you set off? + Arrange all these things according to your convenience; I shall start + no objections. The idea of seeing the sea--of being near it--watching + its changes by sunrise, sunset, moonlight, and noon-day--in calm, + perhaps in storm--fills and satisfies my mind. I shall be + discontented at nothing. And then I am not to be with a set of people + with whom I have nothing in common--who would be nuisances and bores: + but with you, whom I like and know, and who knows me. + + "I have an odd circumstance to relate to you: prepare for a hearty + laugh! The other day, Mr. ---, a vicar, came to spend the day with + us, bringing with him his own curate. The latter gentleman, by name + Mr. B., is a young Irish clergyman, fresh from Dublin University. It + was the first time we had any of us seen him, but, however, after the + manner of his countrymen, he soon made himself at home. His character + quickly appeared in his conversation; witty, lively, ardent, clever + too; but deficient in the dignity and discretion of an Englishman. At + home, you know, I talk with ease, and am never shy--never weighed down + and oppressed by that miserable _mauvaise honte_ which torments and + constrains me elsewhere. So I conversed with this Irishman, and + laughed at his jests; and, though I saw faults in his character, + excused them because of the amusement his originality afforded. I + cooled a little, indeed, and drew in towards the latter part of the + evening, because he began to season his conversation with something of + Hibernian flattery, which I did not quite relish. However, they went + away, and no more was thought about them. A few days after, I got a + letter, the direction of which puzzled me, it being in a hand I was + not accustomed to see. Evidently, it was neither from you nor Mary, + my only correspondents. Having opened and read it, it proved to be a + declaration of attachment and proposal of matrimony, expressed in the + ardent language of the sapient young Irishman! I hope you are + laughing heartily. This is not like one of my adventures, is it? It + more nearly resembles Martha's. I am certainly doomed to be an old + maid. Never mind. I made up my mind to that fate ever since I was + twelve years old. + + "Well! thought I, I have heard of love at first sight, but this beats + all! I leave you to guess what my answer would be, convinced that you + will not do me the injustice of guessing wrong." + +On the 14th of August she still writes from Haworth:-- + + "I have in vain packed my box, and prepared everything for our + anticipated journey. It so happens that I can get no conveyance this + week or the next. The only gig let out to hire in Haworth, is at + Harrowgate, and likely to remain there, for aught I can hear. Papa + decidedly objects to my going by the coach, and walking to B., though + I am sure I could manage it. Aunt exclaims against the weather, and + the roads, and the four winds of heaven, so I am in a fix, and, what + is worse, so are you. On reading over, for the second or third time, + your last letter (which, by the by, was written in such hieroglyphics + that, at the first hasty perusal, I could hardly make out two + consecutive words), I find you intimate that if I leave this journey + till Thursday I shall be too late. I grieve that I should have so + inconvenienced you; but I need not talk of either Friday or Saturday + now, for I rather imagine there is small chance of my ever going at + all. The elders of the house have never cordially acquiesced in the + measure; and now that impediments seem to start up at every step, + opposition grows more open. Papa, indeed, would willingly indulge me, + but this very kindness of his makes me doubt whether I ought to draw + upon it; so, though I could battle out aunt's discontent, I yield to + papa's indulgence. He does not say so, but I know he would rather I + stayed at home; and aunt meant well too, I dare say, but I am provoked + that she reserved the expression of her decided disapproval till all + was settled between you and myself. Reckon on me no more; leave me + out in your calculations: perhaps I ought, in the beginning, to have + had prudence sufficient to shut my eyes against such a prospect of + pleasure, so as to deny myself the hope of it. Be as angry as you + please with me for disappointing you. I did not intend it, and have + only one thing more to say--if you do not go immediately to the sea, + will you come to see us at Haworth? This invitation is not mine only, + but papa's and aunt's." + +However, a little more patience, a little more delay, and she enjoyed the +pleasure she had wished for so much. She and her friend went to Easton +for a fortnight in the latter part of September. It was here she +received her first impressions of the sea. + + "Oct. 24th. + + "Have you forgotten the sea by this time, E.? Is it grown dim in your + mind? Or can you still see it, dark, blue, and green, and foam-white, + and hear it roaring roughly when the wind is high, or rushing softly + when it is calm? . . . I am as well as need be, and very fat. I think + of Easton very often, and of worthy Mr. H., and his kind-hearted + helpmate, and of our pleasant walks to H--- Wood, and to Boynton, our + merry evenings, our romps with little Hancheon, &c., &c. If we both + live, this period of our lives will long be a theme for pleasant + recollection. Did you chance, in your letter to Mr. H., to mention my + spectacles? I am sadly inconvenienced by the want of them. I can + neither read, write, nor draw with comfort in their absence. I hope + Madame won't refuse to give them up . . . Excuse the brevity of this + letter, for I have been drawing all day, and my eyes are so tired it + is quite a labour to write." + +But, as the vivid remembrance of this pleasure died away, an accident +occurred to make the actual duties of life press somewhat heavily for a +time. + + "December 21st, 1839 + + "We are at present, and have been during the last month, rather busy, + as, for that space of time, we have been without a servant, except a + little girl to run errands. Poor Tabby became so lame that she was at + length obliged to leave us. She is residing with her sister, in a + little house of her own, which she bought with her savings a year or + two since. She is very comfortable, and wants nothing; as she is + near, we see her very often. In the meantime, Emily and I are + sufficiently busy, as you may suppose: I manage the ironing, and keep + the rooms clean; Emily does the baking, and attends to the kitchen. We + are such odd animals, that we prefer this mode of contrivance to + having a new face amongst us. Besides, we do not despair of Tabby's + return, and she shall not be supplanted by a stranger in her absence. + I excited aunt's wrath very much by burning the clothes, the first + time I attempted to iron; but I do better now. Human feelings are + queer things; I am much happier black-leading the stoves, making the + beds, and sweeping the floors at home, than I should be living like a + fine lady anywhere else. I must indeed drop my subscription to the + Jews, because I have no money to keep it up. I ought to have + announced this intention to you before, but I quite forgot I was a + subscriber. I intend to force myself to take another situation when I + can get one, though I _hate_ and _abhor_ the very thoughts of + governess-ship. But I must do it; and, therefore, I heartily wish I + could hear of a family where they need such a commodity as a + governess." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +The year 1840 found all the Brontes living at home, except Anne. As I +have already intimated, for some reason with which I am unacquainted, the +plan of sending Branwell to study at the Royal Academy had been +relinquished; probably it was found, on inquiry, that the expenses of +such a life, were greater than his father's slender finances could +afford, even with the help which Charlotte's labours at Miss W---'s gave, +by providing for Anne's board and education. I gather from what I have +heard, that Branwell must have been severely disappointed when the plan +fell through. His talents were certainly very brilliant, and of this he +was fully conscious, and fervently desired, by their use, either in +writing or drawing, to make himself a name. At the same time, he would +probably have found his strong love of pleasure and irregular habits a +great impediment in his path to fame; but these blemishes in his +character were only additional reasons why he yearned after a London +life, in which he imagined he could obtain every stimulant to his already +vigorous intellect, while at the same time he would have a license of +action to be found only in crowded cities. Thus his whole nature was +attracted towards the metropolis; and many an hour must he have spent +poring over the map of London, to judge from an anecdote which has been +told me. Some traveller for a London house of business came to Haworth +for a night; and according to the unfortunate habit of the place, the +brilliant "Patrick" was sent for to the inn, to beguile the evening by +his intellectual conversation and his flashes of wit. They began to talk +of London; of the habits and ways of life there; of the places of +amusement; and Branwell informed the Londoner of one or two short cuts +from point to point, up narrow lanes or back streets; and it was only +towards the end of the evening that the traveller discovered, from his +companion's voluntary confession, that he had never set foot in London at +all. + +At this time the young man seemed to have his fate in his own hands. He +was full of noble impulses, as well as of extraordinary gifts; not +accustomed to resist temptation, it is true, from any higher motive than +strong family affection, but showing so much power of attachment to all +about him that they took pleasure in believing that, after a time, he +would "right himself," and that they should have pride and delight in the +use he would then make of his splendid talents. His aunt especially made +him her great favourite. There are always peculiar trials in the life of +an only boy in a family of girls. He is expected to act a part in life; +to _do_, while they are only to _be_; and the necessity of their giving +way to him in some things, is too often exaggerated into their giving way +to him in all, and thus rendering him utterly selfish. In the family +about whom I am writing, while the rest were almost ascetic in their +habits, Branwell was allowed to grow up self-indulgent; but, in early +youth, his power of attracting and attaching people was so great, that +few came in contact with him who were not so much dazzled by him as to be +desirous of gratifying whatever wishes he expressed. Of course, he was +careful enough not to reveal anything before his father and sisters of +the pleasures he indulged in; but his tone of thought and conversation +became gradually coarser, and, for a time, his sisters tried to persuade +themselves that such coarseness was a part of manliness, and to blind +themselves by love to the fact that Branwell was worse than other young +men. At present, though he had, they were aware, fallen into some +errors, the exact nature of which they avoided knowing, still he was +their hope and their darling; their pride, who should some time bring +great glory to the name of Bronte. + +He and his sister Charlotte were both slight and small of stature, while +the other two were of taller and larger make. I have seen Branwell's +profile; it is what would be generally esteemed very handsome; the +forehead is massive, the eye well set, and the expression of it fine and +intellectual; the nose too is good; but there are coarse lines about the +mouth, and the lips, though of handsome shape, are loose and thick, +indicating self-indulgence, while the slightly retreating chin conveys an +idea of weakness of will. His hair and complexion were sandy. He had +enough of Irish blood in him to make his manners frank and genial, with a +kind of natural gallantry about them. In a fragment of one of his +manuscripts which I have read, there is a justness and felicity of +expression which is very striking. It is the beginning of a tale, and +the actors in it are drawn with much of the grace of characteristic +portrait-painting, in perfectly pure and simple language which +distinguishes so many of Addison's papers in the "Spectator." The +fragment is too short to afford the means of judging whether he had much +dramatic talent, as the persons of the story are not thrown into +conversation. But altogether the elegance and composure of style are +such as one would not have expected from this vehement and ill-fated +young man. He had a stronger desire for literary fame burning in his +heart, than even that which occasionally flashed up in his sisters'. He +tried various outlets for his talents. He wrote and sent poems to +Wordsworth and Coleridge, who both expressed kind and laudatory opinions, +and he frequently contributed verses to the _Leeds Mercury_. In 1840, he +was living at home, employing himself in occasional composition of +various kinds, and waiting till some occupation, for which he might be +fitted without any expensive course of preliminary training, should turn +up; waiting, not impatiently; for he saw society of one kind (probably +what he called "life") at the Black Bull; and at home he was as yet the +cherished favourite. + +Miss Branwell was unaware of the fermentation of unoccupied talent going +on around her. She was not her nieces' confidante--perhaps no one so +much older could have been; but their father, from whom they derived not +a little of their adventurous spirit, was silently cognisant of much of +which she took no note. Next to her nephew, the docile, pensive Anne was +her favourite. Of her she had taken charge from her infancy; she was +always patient and tractable, and would submit quietly to occasional +oppression, even when she felt it keenly. Not so her two elder sisters; +they made their opinions known, when roused by any injustice. At such +times, Emily would express herself as strongly as Charlotte, although +perhaps less frequently. But, in general, notwithstanding that Miss +Branwell might be occasionally unreasonable, she and her nieces went on +smoothly enough; and though they might now and then be annoyed by petty +tyranny, she still inspired them with sincere respect, and not a little +affection. They were, moreover, grateful to her for many habits she had +enforced upon them, and which in time had become second nature: order, +method, neatness in everything; a perfect knowledge of all kinds of +household work; an exact punctuality, and obedience to the laws of time +and place, of which no one but themselves, I have heard Charlotte say, +could tell the value in after-life; with their impulsive natures, it was +positive repose to have learnt implicit obedience to external laws. +People in Haworth have assured me that, according to the hour of day--nay, +the very minute--could they have told what the inhabitants of the +parsonage were about. At certain times the girls would be sewing in +their aunt's bedroom--the chamber which, in former days, before they had +outstripped her in their learning, had served them as a schoolroom; at +certain (early) hours they had their meals; from six to eight, Miss +Branwell read aloud to Mr. Bronte; at punctual eight, the household +assembled to evening prayers in his study; and by nine he, the aunt, and +Tabby, were all in bed,--the girls free to pace up and down (like +restless wild animals) in the parlour, talking over plans and projects, +and thoughts of what was to be their future life. + +At the time of which I write, the favourite idea was that of keeping a +school. They thought that, by a little contrivance, and a very little +additional building, a small number of pupils, four or six, might be +accommodated in the parsonage. As teaching seemed the only profession +open to them, and as it appeared that Emily at least could not live away +from home, while the others also suffered much from the same cause, this +plan of school-keeping presented itself as most desirable. But it +involved some outlay; and to this their aunt was averse. Yet there was +no one to whom they could apply for a loan of the requisite means, except +Miss Branwell, who had made a small store out of her savings, which she +intended for her nephew and nieces eventually, but which she did not like +to risk. Still, this plan of school-keeping remained uppermost; and in +the evenings of this winter of 1839-40, the alterations that would be +necessary in the house, and the best way of convincing their aunt of the +wisdom of their project, formed the principal subject of their +conversation. + +This anxiety weighed upon their minds rather heavily, during the months +of dark and dreary weather. Nor were external events, among the circle +of their friends, of a cheerful character. In January, 1840, Charlotte +heard of the death of a young girl who had been a pupil of hers, and a +schoolfellow of Anne's, at the time when the sisters were together at Roe +Head; and had attached herself very strongly to the latter, who, in +return, bestowed upon her much quiet affection. It was a sad day when +the intelligence of this young creature's death arrived. Charlotte wrote +thus on January 12th, 1840:-- + + "Your letter, which I received this morning, was one of painful + interest. Anne C., it seems, is _dead_; when I saw her last, she was + a young, beautiful, and happy girl; and now 'life's fitful fever' is + over with her, and she 'sleeps well.' I shall never see her again. It + is a sorrowful thought; for she was a warm-hearted, affectionate + being, and I cared for her. Wherever I seek for her now in this + world, she cannot be found, no more than a flower or a leaf which + withered twenty years ago. A bereavement of this kind gives one a + glimpse of the feeling those must have who have seen all drop round + them, friend after friend, and are left to end their pilgrimage alone. + But tears are fruitless, and I try not to repine." + +During this winter, Charlotte employed her leisure hours in writing a +story. Some fragments of the manuscript yet remain, but it is in too +small a hand to be read without great fatigue to the eyes; and one cares +the less to read it, as she herself condemned it, in the preface to the +"Professor," by saying that in this story she had got over such taste as +she might once have had for the "ornamental and redundant in +composition." The beginning, too, as she acknowledges, was on a scale +commensurate with one of Richardson's novels, of seven or eight volumes. +I gather some of these particulars from a copy of a letter, apparently in +reply to one from Wordsworth, to whom she had sent the commencement of +the story, sometime in the summer of 1840. + + "Authors are generally very tenacious of their productions, but I am + not so much attached to this but that I can give it up without much + distress. No doubt, if I had gone on, I should have made quite a + Richardsonian concern of it . . . I had materials in my head for half- + a-dozen volumes . . . Of course, it is with considerable regret I + relinquish any scheme so charming as the one I have sketched. It is + very edifying and profitable to create a world out of your own brains, + and people it with inhabitants, who are so many Melchisedecs, and have + no father nor mother but your own imagination . . . I am sorry I did + not exist fifty or sixty years ago, when the 'Ladies' Magazine' was + flourishing like a green bay-tree. In that case, I make no doubt, my + aspirations after literary fame would have met with due encouragement, + and I should have had the pleasure of introducing Messrs. Percy and + West into the very best society, and recording all their sayings and + doings in double-columned close-printed pages . . . I recollect, when + I was a child, getting hold of some antiquated volumes, and reading + them by stealth with the most exquisite pleasure. You give a correct + description of the patient Grisels of those days. My aunt was one of + them; and to this day she thinks the tales of the 'Ladies' Magazine' + infinitely superior to any trash of modern literature. So do I; for I + read them in childhood, and childhood has a very strong faculty of + admiration, but a very weak one of criticism . . . I am pleased that + you cannot quite decide whether I am an attorney's clerk or a novel- + reading dress-maker. I will not help you at all in the discovery; and + as to my handwriting, or the ladylike touches in my style and imagery, + you must not draw any conclusion from that--I may employ an + amanuensis. Seriously, sir, I am very much obliged to you for your + kind and candid letter. I almost wonder you took the trouble to read + and notice the novelette of an anonymous scribe, who had not even the + manners to tell you whether he was a man or a woman, or whether his + 'C. T.' meant Charles Timms or Charlotte Tomkins." + +There are two or three things noticeable in the letter from which these +extracts are taken. The first is the initials with which she had +evidently signed the former one to which she alludes. About this time, +to her more familiar correspondents, she occasionally calls herself +"Charles Thunder," making a kind of pseudonym for herself out of her +Christian name, and the meaning of her Greek surname. In the next place, +there is a touch of assumed smartness, very different from the simple, +womanly, dignified letter which she had written to Southey, under nearly +similar circumstances, three years before. I imagine the cause of this +difference to be twofold. Southey, in his reply to her first letter, had +appealed to the higher parts of her nature, in calling her to consider +whether literature was, or was not, the best course for a woman to +pursue. But the person to whom she addressed this one had evidently +confined himself to purely literary criticisms, besides which, her sense +of humour was tickled by the perplexity which her correspondent felt as +to whether he was addressing a man or a woman. She rather wished to +encourage the former idea; and, in consequence, possibly, assumed +something of the flippancy which very probably existed in her brother's +style of conversation, from whom she would derive her notions of young +manhood, not likely, as far as refinement was concerned, to be improved +by the other specimens she had seen, such as the curates whom she +afterwards represented in "Shirley." + +These curates were full of strong, High-Church feeling. Belligerent by +nature, it was well for their professional character that they had, as +clergymen, sufficient scope for the exercise of their warlike +propensities. Mr. Bronte, with all his warm regard for Church and State, +had a great respect for mental freedom; and, though he was the last man +in the world to conceal his opinions, he lived in perfect amity with all +the respectable part of those who differed from him. Not so the curates. +Dissent was schism, and schism was condemned in the Bible. In default of +turbaned Saracens, they entered on a crusade against Methodists in +broadcloth; and the consequence was that the Methodists and Baptists +refused to pay the church-rates. Miss Bronte thus describes the state of +things at this time:-- + + "Little Haworth has been all in a bustle about church-rates, since you + were here. We had a stirring meeting in the schoolroom. Papa took + the chair, and Mr. C. and Mr. W. acted as his supporters, one on each + side. There was violent opposition, which set Mr. C.'s Irish blood in + a ferment, and if papa had not kept him quiet, partly by persuasion + and partly by compulsion, he would have given the Dissenters their + kale through the reek--a Scotch proverb, which I will explain to you + another time. He and Mr. W. both bottled up their wrath for that + time, but it was only to explode with redoubled force at a future + period. We had two sermons on dissent, and its consequences, preached + last Sunday--one in the afternoon by Mr. W., and one in the evening by + Mr. C. All the Dissenters were invited to come and hear, and they + actually shut up their chapels, and came in a body; of course the + church was crowded. Mr. W. delivered a noble, eloquent, High-Church, + Apostolical-Succession discourse, in which he banged the Dissenters + most fearlessly and unflinchingly. I thought they had got enough for + one while, but it was nothing to the dose that was thrust down their + throats in the evening. A keener, cleverer, bolder, and more heart- + stirring harangue than that which Mr. C. delivered from Haworth + pulpit, last Sunday evening, I never heard. He did not rant; he did + not cant; he did not whine; he did not sniggle; he just got up and + spoke with the boldness of a man who was impressed with the truth of + what he was saying, who has no fear of his enemies, and no dread of + consequences. His sermon lasted an hour, yet I was sorry when it was + done. I do not say that I agree either with him, or with Mr. W., + either in all or in half their opinions. I consider them bigoted, + intolerant, and wholly unjustifiable on the ground of common sense. My + conscience will not let me be either a Puseyite or a Hookist; _mais_, + if I were a Dissenter, I would have taken the first opportunity of + kicking, or of horse-whipping both the gentlemen for their stern, + bitter attack on my religion and its teachers. But in spite of all + this, I admired the noble integrity which could dictate so fearless an + opposition against so strong an antagonist. + + "P.S.--Mr. W. has given another lecture at the Keighley Mechanics' + Institution, and papa has also given a lecture; both are spoken of + very highly in the newspapers, and it is mentioned as a matter of + wonder that such displays of intellect should emanate from the village + of Haworth, 'situated among the bogs and mountains, and, until very + lately, supposed to be in a state of semi-barbarism.' Such are the + words of the newspaper." + +To fill up the account of this outwardly eventless year, I may add a few +more extracts from the letters entrusted to me. + + "May 15th, 1840. + + "Do not be over-persuaded to marry a man you can never respect--I do + not say _love_; because, I think, if you can respect a person before + marriage, moderate love at least will come after; and as to intense + _passion_, I am convinced that that is no desirable feeling. In the + first place, it seldom or never meets with a requital; and, in the + second place, if it did, the feeling would be only temporary: it would + last the honeymoon, and then, perhaps, give place to disgust, or + indifference, worse, perhaps, than disgust. Certainly this would be + the case on the man's part; and on the woman's--God help her, if she + is left to love passionately and alone. + + "I am tolerably well convinced that I shall never marry at all. Reason + tells me so, and I am not so utterly the slave of feeling but that I + can _occasionally hear_ her voice." + + "June 2nd, 1840. + + "M. is not yet come to Haworth; but she is to come on the condition + that I first go and stay a few days there. If all be well, I shall go + next Wednesday. I may stay at G--- until Friday or Saturday, and the + early part of the following week I shall pass with you, if you will + have me--which last sentence indeed is nonsense, for as I shall be + glad to see you, so I know you will be glad to see me. This + arrangement will not allow much time, but it is the only practicable + one which, considering all the circumstances, I can effect. Do not + urge me to stay more than two or three days, because I shall be + obliged to refuse you. I intend to walk to Keighley, there to take + the coach as far as B---, then to get some one to carry my box, and to + walk the rest of the way to G-. If I manage this, I think I shall + contrive very well. I shall reach B. by about five o'clock, and then + I shall have the cool of the evening for the walk. I have + communicated the whole arrangement to M. I desire exceedingly to see + both her and you. Good-bye. + + C. B. + C. B. + C. B. + C. B. + + "If you have any better plan to suggest I am open to conviction, + provided your plan is practicable." + + "August 20th, 1840. + + "Have you seen anything of Miss H. lately? I wish they, or somebody + else, would get me a situation. I have answered advertisements + without number, but my applications have met with no success. + + "I have got another bale of French books from G. containing upwards of + forty volumes. I have read about half. They are like the rest, + clever, wicked, sophistical, and immoral. The best of it is, they + give one a thorough idea of France and Paris, and are the best + substitute for French conversation that I have met with. + + "I positively have nothing more to say to you, for I am in a stupid + humour. You must excuse this letter not being quite as long as your + own. I have written to you soon, that you might not look after the + postman in vain. Preserve this writing as a curiosity in caligraphy--I + think it is exquisite--all brilliant black blots, and utterly + illegible letters. 'CALIBAN.' + + "'The wind bloweth where it listeth. Thou hearest the sound thereof, + but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth.' That, I + believe, is Scripture, though in what chapter or book, or whether it + be correctly quoted, I can't possibly say. However, it behoves me to + write a letter to a young woman of the name of E., with whom I was + once acquainted, 'in life's morning march, when my spirit was young.' + This young woman wished me to write to her some time since, though I + have nothing to say--I e'en put it off, day by day, till at last, + fearing that she will 'curse me by her gods,' I feel constrained to + sit down and tack a few lines together, which she may call a letter or + not as she pleases. Now if the young woman expects sense in this + production, she will find herself miserably disappointed. I shall + dress her a dish of salmagundi--I shall cook a hash--compound a + stew--toss up an _omelette soufflee a la Francaise_, and send it her + with my respects. The wind, which is very high up in our hills of + Judea, though, I suppose, down in the Philistine flats of B. parish it + is nothing to speak of, has produced the same effects on the contents + of my knowledge-box that a quaigh of usquebaugh does upon those of + most other bipeds. I see everything _couleur de rose_, and am + strongly inclined to dance a jig, if I knew how. I think I must + partake of the nature of a pig or an ass--both which animals are + strongly affected by a high wind. From what quarter the wind blows I + cannot tell, for I never could in my life; but I should very much like + to know how the great brewing-tub of Bridlington Bay works, and what + sort of yeasty froth rises just now on the waves. + + "A woman of the name of Mrs. B., it seems, wants a teacher. I wish + she would have me; and I have written to Miss W. to tell her so. + Verily, it is a delightful thing to live here at home, at full liberty + to do just what one pleases. But I recollect some scrubby old fable + about grasshoppers and ants, by a scrubby old knave yclept AEsop; the + grasshoppers sang all the summer, and starved all the winter. + + "A distant relation of mine, one Patrick Branwell, has set off to seek + his fortune in the wild, wandering, adventurous, romantic, + knight-errant-like capacity of clerk on the Leeds and Manchester + Railroad. Leeds and Manchester--where are they? Cities in the + wilderness, like Tadmor, alias Palmyra--are they not? + + "There is one little trait respecting Mr. W. which lately came to my + knowledge, which gives a glimpse of the better side of his character. + Last Saturday night he had been sitting an hour in the parlour with + Papa; and, as he went away, I heard Papa say to him 'What is the + matter with you? You seem in very low spirits to-night.' 'Oh, I + don't know. I've been to see a poor young girl, who, I'm afraid, is + dying.' 'Indeed; what is her name?' 'Susan Bland, the daughter of + John Bland, the superintendent.' Now Susan Bland is my oldest and + best scholar in the Sunday-school; and, when I heard that, I thought I + would go as soon as I could to see her. I did go on Monday afternoon, + and found her on her way to that 'bourn whence no traveller returns.' + After sitting with her some time, I happened to ask her mother, if she + thought a little port wine would do her good. She replied that the + doctor had recommended it, and that when Mr. W. was last there, he had + brought them a bottle of wine and jar of preserves. She added, that + he was always good-natured to poor folks, and seemed to have a deal of + feeling and kindheartedness about him. No doubt, there are defects in + his character, but there are also good qualities . . . God bless him! + I wonder who, with his advantages, would be without his faults. I + know many of his faulty actions, many of his weak points; yet, where I + am, he shall always find rather a defender than an accuser. To be + sure, my opinion will go but a very little way to decide his + character; what of that? People should do right as far as their + ability extends. You are not to suppose, from all this, that Mr. W. + and I are on very amiable terms; we are not at all. We are distant, + cold, and reserved. We seldom speak; and when we do, it is only to + exchange the most trivial and common-place remarks." + +The Mrs. B. alluded to in this letter, as in want of a governess, entered +into a correspondence with Miss Bronte, and expressed herself much +pleased with the letters she received from her, with the "style and +candour of the application," in which Charlotte had taken care to tell +her, that if she wanted a showy, elegant, or fashionable person, her +correspondent was not fitted for such a situation. But Mrs. B. required +her governess to give instructions in music and singing, for which +Charlotte was not qualified: and, accordingly, the negotiation fell +through. But Miss Bronte was not one to sit down in despair after +disappointment. Much as she disliked the life of a private governess, it +was her duty to relieve her father of the burden of her support, and this +was the only way open to her. So she set to advertising and inquiring +with fresh vigour. + +In the meantime, a little occurrence took place, described in one of her +letters, which I shall give, as it shows her instinctive aversion to a +particular class of men, whose vices some have supposed she looked upon +with indulgence. The extract tells all that need be known, for the +purpose I have in view, of the miserable pair to whom it relates. + + "You remember Mr. and Mrs. ---? Mrs. --- came here the other day, + with a most melancholy tale of her wretched husband's drunken, + extravagant, profligate habits. She asked Papa's advice; there was + nothing she said but ruin before them. They owed debts which they + could never pay. She expected Mr. ---'s instant dismissal from his + curacy; she knew, from bitter experience, that his vices were utterly + hopeless. He treated her and her child savagely; with much more to + the same effect. Papa advised her to leave him for ever, and go home, + if she had a home to go to. She said, this was what she had long + resolved to do; and she would leave him directly, as soon as Mr. B. + dismissed him. She expressed great disgust and contempt towards him, + and did not affect to have the shadow of regard in any way. I do not + wonder at this, but I do wonder she should ever marry a man towards + whom her feelings must always have been pretty much the same as they + are now. I am morally certain no decent woman could experience + anything but aversion towards such a man as Mr. ---. Before I knew, + or suspected his character, and when I rather wondered at his + versatile talents, I felt it in an uncontrollable degree. I hated to + talk with him--hated to look at him; though as I was not certain that + there was substantial reason for such a dislike, and thought it absurd + to trust to mere instinct, I both concealed and repressed the feeling + as much as I could; and, on all occasions, treated him with as much + civility as I was mistress of. I was struck with Mary's expression of + a similar feeling at first sight; she said, when we left him, 'That is + a hideous man, Charlotte!' I thought 'He is indeed.'" + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +Early in March, 1841, Miss Bronte obtained her second and last situation +as a governess. This time she esteemed herself fortunate in becoming a +member of a kind-hearted and friendly household. The master of it, she +especially regarded as a valuable friend, whose advice helped to guide +her in one very important step of her life. But as her definite +acquirements were few, she had to eke them out by employing her leisure +time in needlework; and altogether her position was that of "bonne" or +nursery governess, liable to repeated and never-ending calls upon her +time. This description of uncertain, yet perpetual employment, subject +to the exercise of another person's will at all hours of the day, was +peculiarly trying to one whose life at home had been full of abundant +leisure. _Idle_ she never was in any place, but of the multitude of +small talks, plans, duties, pleasures, &c., that make up most people's +days, her home life was nearly destitute. This made it possible for her +to go through long and deep histories of feeling and imagination, for +which others, odd as it sounds, have rarely time. This made it +inevitable that--later on, in her too short career--the intensity of her +feeling should wear out her physical health. The habit of "making out," +which had grown with her growth, and strengthened with her strength, had +become a part of her nature. Yet all exercise of her strongest and most +characteristic faculties was now out of the question. She could not (as +while she was at Miss W---'s) feel, amidst the occupations of the day, +that when evening came, she might employ herself in more congenial ways. +No doubt, all who enter upon the career of a governess have to relinquish +much; no doubt, it must ever be a life of sacrifice; but to Charlotte +Bronte it was a perpetual attempt to force all her faculties into a +direction for which the whole of her previous life had unfitted them. +Moreover, the little Brontes had been brought up motherless; and from +knowing nothing of the gaiety and the sportiveness of childhood--from +never having experienced caresses or fond attentions themselves--they +were ignorant of the very nature of infancy, or how to call out its +engaging qualities. Children were to them the troublesome necessities of +humanity; they had never been drawn into contact with them in any other +way. Years afterwards, when Miss Bronte came to stay with us, she +watched our little girls perpetually; and I could not persuade her that +they were only average specimens of well brought up children. She was +surprised and touched by any sign of thoughtfulness for others, of +kindness to animals, or of unselfishness on their part: and constantly +maintained that she was in the right, and I in the wrong, when we +differed on the point of their unusual excellence. All this must be +borne in mind while reading the following letters. And it must likewise +be borne in mind--by those who, surviving her, look back upon her life +from their mount of observation--how no distaste, no suffering ever made +her shrink from any course which she believed it to be her duty to engage +in. + + "March 3rd, 1841. + + "I told some time since, that I meant to get a situation, and when I + said so my resolution was quite fixed. I felt that however often I + was disappointed, I had no intention of relinquishing my efforts. + After being severely baffled two or three times,--after a world of + trouble, in the way of correspondence and interviews,--I have at + length succeeded, and am fairly established in my new place. + +* * * * * + + "The house is not very large, but exceedingly comfortable and well + regulated; the grounds are fine and extensive. In taking the place, I + have made a large sacrifice in the way of salary, in the hope of + securing comfort,--by which word I do not mean to express good eating + and drinking, or warm fire, or a soft bed, but the society of cheerful + faces, and minds and hearts not dug out of a lead-mine, or cut from a + marble quarry. My salary is not really more than 16_l_. per annum, + though it is nominally 20_l_., but the expense of washing will be + deducted therefrom. My pupils are two in number, a girl of eight, and + a boy of six. As to my employers, you will not expect me to say much + about their characters when I tell you that I only arrived here + yesterday. I have not the faculty of telling an individual's + disposition at first sight. Before I can venture to pronounce on a + character, I must see it first under various lights and from various + points of view. All I can say therefore is, both Mr. and Mrs. --- + seem to me good sort of people. I have as yet had no cause to + complain of want of considerateness or civility. My pupils are wild + and unbroken, but apparently well-disposed. I wish I may be able to + say as much next time I write to you. My earnest wish and endeavour + will be to please them. If I can but feel that I am giving + satisfaction, and if at the same time I can keep my health, I shall, I + hope, be moderately happy. But no one but myself can tell how hard a + governess's work is to me--for no one but myself is aware how utterly + averse my whole mind and nature are for the employment. Do not think + that I fail to blame myself for this, or that I leave any means + unemployed to conquer this feeling. Some of my greatest difficulties + lie in things that would appear to you comparatively trivial. I find + it so hard to repel the rude familiarity of children. I find it so + difficult to ask either servants or mistress for anything I want, + however much I want it. It is less pain for me to endure the greatest + inconvenience than to go into the kitchen to request its removal. I + am a fool. Heaven knows I cannot help it! + + "Now can you tell me whether it is considered improper for governesses + to ask their friends to come and see them. I do not mean, of course, + to stay, but just for a call of an hour or two? If it is not absolute + treason, I do fervently request that you will contrive, in some way or + other, to let me have a sight of your face. Yet I feel, at the same + time, that I am making a very foolish and almost impracticable demand; + yet this is only four miles from B---!" + +* * * * * + + "March 21st. + + "You must excuse a very short answer to your most welcome letter; for + my time is entirely occupied. Mrs. --- expected a good deal of sewing + from me. I cannot sew much during the day, on account of the + children, who require the utmost attention. I am obliged, therefore, + to devote the evenings to this business. Write to me often; very long + letters. It will do both of us good. This place is far better than + ---, but God knows, I have enough to do to keep a good heart in the + matter. What you said has cheered me a little. I wish I could always + act according to your advice. Home-sickness affects me sorely. I + like Mr. --- extremely. The children are over-indulged, and + consequently hard at times to manage. _Do, do_, do come and see me; + if it be a breach of etiquette, never mind. If you can only stop an + hour, come. Talk no more about my forsaking you; my darling, I could + not afford to do it. I find it is not in my nature to get on in this + weary world without sympathy and attachment in some quarter; and + seldom indeed do we find it. It is too great a treasure to be ever + wantonly thrown away when once secured." + +Miss Bronte had not been many weeks in her new situation before she had a +proof of the kind-hearted hospitality of her employers. Mr. --- wrote to +her father, and urgently invited him to come and make acquaintance with +his daughter's new home, by spending a week with her in it; and Mrs. --- +expressed great regret when one of Miss Bronte's friends drove up to the +house to leave a letter or parcel, without entering. So she found that +all her friends might freely visit her, and that her father would be +received with especial gladness. She thankfully acknowledged this +kindness in writing to urge her friend afresh to come and see her; which +she accordingly did. + + "June, 1841. + + "You can hardly fancy it possible, I dare say, that I cannot find a + quarter of an hour to scribble a note in; but so it is; and when a + note is written, it has to be carried a mile to the post, and that + consumes nearly an hour, which is a large portion of the day. Mr. and + Mrs. --- have been gone a week. I heard from them this morning. No + time is fixed for their return, but I hope it will not be delayed + long, or I shall miss the chance of seeing Anne this vacation. She + came home, I understand, last Wednesday, and is only to be allowed + three weeks' vacation, because the family she is with are going to + Scarborough. _I should like to see her_, to judge for myself of the + state of her health. I dare not trust any other person's report, no + one seems minute enough in their observations. I should very much + have liked you to have seen her. I have got on very well with the + servants and children so far; yet it is dreary, solitary work. You + can tell as well as me the lonely feeling of being without a + companion." + +Soon after this was written, Mr. and Mrs. --- returned, in time to allow +Charlotte to go and look after Anne's health, which, as she found to her +intense anxiety, was far from strong. What could she do to nurse and +cherish up this little sister, the youngest of them all? Apprehension +about her brought up once more the idea of keeping a school. If, by this +means, they three could live together, and maintain themselves, all might +go well. They would have some time of their own, in which to try again +and yet again at that literary career, which, in spite of all baffling +difficulties, was never quite set aside as an ultimate object; but far +the strongest motive with Charlotte was the conviction that Anne's health +was so delicate that it required a degree of tending which none but her +sister could give. Thus she wrote during those midsummer holidays. + + "Haworth, July 18th, 1841. + + "We waited long and anxiously for you, on the Thursday that you + promised to come. I quite wearied my eyes with watching from the + window, eye-glass in hand, and sometimes spectacles on nose. However, + you are not to blame . . . and as to disappointment, why, all must + suffer disappointment at some period or other of their lives. But a + hundred things I had to say to you will now be forgotten, and never + said. There is a project hatching in this house, which both Emily and + I anxiously wished to discuss with you. The project is yet in its + infancy, hardly peeping from its shell; and whether it will ever come + out a fine full-fledged chicken, or will turn addle and die before it + cheeps, is one of those considerations that are but dimly revealed by + the oracles of futurity. Now, don't be nonplussed by all this + metaphorical mystery. I talk of a plain and everyday occurrence, + though, in Delphic style, I wrap up the information in figures of + speech concerning eggs, chickens etceatera, etcaeterorum. To come to + the point: Papa and aunt talk, by fits and starts, of our--id est, + Emily, Anne, and myself--commencing a school! I have often, you know, + said how much I wished such a thing; but I never could conceive where + the capital was to come from for making such a speculation. I was + well aware, indeed, that aunt had money, but I always considered that + she was the last person who would offer a loan for the purpose in + question. A loan, however, she _has_ offered, or rather intimates + that she perhaps _will_ offer in case pupils can be secured, an + eligible situation obtained, &c. This sounds very fair, but still + there are matters to be considered which throw something of a damp + upon the scheme. I do not expect that aunt will sink more than + 150_l_. in such a venture; and would it be possible to establish a + respectable (not by any means a _showy_) school, and to commence + housekeeping with a capital of only that amount? Propound the + question to your sister, if you think she can answer it; if not, don't + say a word on the subject. As to getting into debt, that is a thing + we could none of us reconcile our mind to for a moment. We do not + care how modest, how humble our commencement be, so it be made on sure + grounds, and have a safe foundation. In thinking of all possible and + impossible places where we could establish a school, I have thought of + Burlington, or rather of the neighbourhood of Burlington. Do you + remember whether there was any other school there besides that of Miss + ---? This is, of course, a perfectly crude and random idea. There + are a hundred reasons why it should be an impracticable one. We have + no connections, no acquaintances there; it is far from home, &c. + Still, I fancy the ground in the East Riding is less fully occupied + than in the West. Much inquiry and consideration will be necessary, + of course, before any place is decided on; and I fear much time will + elapse before any plan is executed . . . Write as soon as you can. I + shall not leave my present situation till my future prospects assume a + more fixed and definite aspect." + +A fortnight afterwards, we see that the seed has been sown which was to +grow up into a plan materially influencing her future life. + + "August 7th, 1841. + + "This is Saturday evening; I have put the children to bed; now I am + going to sit down and answer your letter. I am again by + myself--housekeeper and governess--for Mr. and Mrs. --- are staying at + ---. To speak truth, though I am solitary while they are away, it is + still by far the happiest part of my time. The children are under + decent control, the servants are very observant and attentive to me, + and the occasional absence of the master and mistress relieves me from + the duty of always endeavouring to seem cheerful and conversable. + Martha ---, it appears, is in the way of enjoying great advantages; so + is Mary, for you will be surprised to hear that she is returning + immediately to the Continent with her brother; not, however, to stay + there, but to take a month's tour and recreation. I have had a long + letter from Mary, and a packet containing a present of a very handsome + black silk scarf, and a pair of beautiful kid gloves, bought at + Brussels. Of course, I was in one sense pleased with the gift--pleased + that they should think of me so far off, amidst the excitements of one + of the most splendid capitals of Europe; and yet it felt irksome to + accept it. I should think Mary and Martha have not more than + sufficient pocket-money to supply themselves. I wish they had + testified their regard by a less expensive token. Mary's letters + spoke of some of the pictures and cathedrals she had seen--pictures + the most exquisite, cathedrals the most venerable. I hardly know what + swelled to my throat as I read her letter: such a vehement impatience + of restraint and steady work; such a strong wish for wings--wings such + as wealth can furnish; such an urgent thirst to see, to know, to + learn; something internal seemed to expand bodily for a minute. I was + tantalised by the consciousness of faculties unexercised,--then all + collapsed, and I despaired. My dear, I would hardly make that + confession to any one but yourself; and to you, rather in a letter + than _viva voce_. These rebellious and absurd emotions were only + momentary; I quelled them in five minutes. I hope they will not + revive, for they were acutely painful. No further steps have been + taken about the project I mentioned to you, nor probably will be for + the present; but Emily, and Anne, and I, keep it in view. It is our + polar star, and we look to it in all circumstances of despondency. I + begin to suspect I am writing in a strain which will make you think I + am unhappy. This is far from being the case; on the contrary, I know + my place is a favourable one, for a governess. What dismays and + haunts me sometimes, is a conviction that I have no natural knack for + my vocation. If teaching only were requisite, it would be smooth and + easy; but it is the living in other people's houses--the estrangement + from one's real character--the adoption of a cold, rigid, apathetic + exterior, that is painful . . . You will not mention our school + project at present. A project not actually commenced is always + uncertain. Write to me often, my dear Nell; you _know_ your letters + are valued. Your 'loving child' (as you choose to call me so), + + C. B. + + "P.S. I am well in health; don't fancy I am not, but I have one + aching feeling at my heart (I must allude to it, though I had resolved + not to). It is about Anne; she has so much to endure: far, far more + than I ever had. When my thoughts turn to her, they always see her as + a patient, persecuted stranger. I know what concealed susceptibility + is in her nature, when her feelings are wounded. I wish I could be + with her, to administer a little balm. She is more lonely--less + gifted with the power of making friends, even than I am. 'Drop the + subject.'" + +She could bear much for herself; but she could not patiently bear the +sorrows of others, especially of her sisters; and again, of the two +sisters, the idea of the little, gentle, youngest suffering in lonely +patience, was insupportable to her. Something must be done. No matter +if the desired end were far away; all time was lost in which she was not +making progress, however slow, towards it. To have a school, was to have +some portion of daily leisure, uncontrolled but by her own sense of duty; +it was for the three sisters, loving each other with so passionate an +affection, to be together under one roof, and yet earning their own +subsistence; above all, it was to have the power of watching over these +two whose life and happiness were ever to Charlotte far more than her +own. But no trembling impatience should lead her to take an unwise step +in haste. She inquired in every direction she could, as to the chances +which a new school might have of success. In all there seemed more +establishments like the one which the sisters wished to set up than could +be supported. What was to be done? Superior advantages must be offered. +But how? They themselves abounded in thought, power, and information; +but these are qualifications scarcely fit to be inserted in a prospectus. +Of French they knew something; enough to read it fluently, but hardly +enough to teach it in competition with natives or professional masters. +Emily and Anne had some knowledge of music; but here again it was +doubtful whether, without more instruction, they could engage to give +lessons in it. + +Just about this time, Miss W--- was thinking of relinquishing her school +at Dewsbury Moor; and offered to give it up in favour of her old pupils, +the Brontes. A sister of hers had taken the active management since the +time when Charlotte was a teacher; but the number of pupils had +diminished; and, if the Brontes undertook it, they would have to try and +work it up to its former state of prosperity. This, again, would require +advantages on their part which they did not at present possess, but which +Charlotte caught a glimpse of. She resolved to follow the clue, and +never to rest till she had reached a successful issue. With the forced +calm of a suppressed eagerness, that sends a glow of desire through every +word of the following letter, she wrote to her aunt thus. + + "Dear Aunt, + + "Sept. 29th, 1841. + + "I have heard nothing of Miss W--- yet since I wrote to her, + intimating that I would accept her offer. I cannot conjecture the + reason of this long silence, unless some unforeseen impediment has + occurred in concluding the bargain. Meantime, a plan has been + suggested and approved by Mr. and Mrs. --- " (the father and mother of + her pupils) "and others, which I wish now to impart to you. My + friends recommend me, if I desire to secure permanent success, to + delay commencing the school for six months longer, and by all means to + contrive, by hook or by crook, to spend the intervening time in some + school on the continent. They say schools in England are so numerous, + competition so great, that without some such step towards attaining + superiority, we shall probably have a very hard struggle, and may fail + in the end. They say, moreover, that the loan of 100_l_., which you + have been so kind as to offer us, will, perhaps, not be all required + now, as Miss W--- will lend us the furniture; and that, if the + speculation is intended to be a good and successful one, half the sum, + at least, ought to be laid out in the manner I have mentioned, thereby + insuring a more speedy repayment both of interest and principal. + + "I would not go to France or to Paris. I would go to Brussels, in + Belgium. The cost of the journey there, at the dearest rate of + travelling, would be 5_l_.; living is there little more than half as + dear as it is in England, and the facilities for education are equal + or superior to any other place in Europe. In half a year, I could + acquire a thorough familiarity with French. I could improve greatly + in Italian, and even get a dash of German, i.e., providing my health + continued as good as it is now. Mary is now staying at Brussels, at a + first-rate establishment there. I should not think of going to the + Chateau de Kokleberg, where she is resident, as the terms are much too + high; but if I wrote to her, she, with the assistance of Mrs. Jenkins, + the wife of the British Chaplain, would be able to secure me a cheap, + decent residence and respectable protection. I should have the + opportunity of seeing her frequently; she would make me acquainted + with the city; and, with the assistance of her cousins, I should + probably be introduced to connections far more improving, polished, + and cultivated, than any I have yet known. + + "These are advantages which would turn to real account, when we + actually commenced a school; and, if Emily could share them with me, + we could take a footing in the world afterwards which we can never do + now. I say Emily instead of Anne; for Anne might take her turn at + some future period, if our school answered. I feel certain, while I + am writing, that you will see the propriety of what I say. You always + like to use your money to the best advantage. You are not fond of + making shabby purchases; when you do confer a favour, it is often done + in style; and depend upon it, 50_l_., or 100_l_., thus laid out, would + be well employed. Of course, I know no other friend in the world to + whom I could apply on this subject except yourself. I feel an + absolute conviction that, if this advantage were allowed us, it would + be the making of us for life. Papa will, perhaps, think it a wild and + ambitious scheme; but who ever rose in the world without ambition? + When he left Ireland to go to Cambridge University, he was as + ambitious as I am now. I want us _all_ to get on. I know we have + talents, and I want them to be turned to account. I look to you, + aunt, to help us. I think you will not refuse. I know, if you + consent, it shall not be my fault if you ever repent your kindness." + +This letter was written from the house in which she was residing as +governess. It was some little time before an answer came. Much had to +be talked over between the father and aunt in Haworth Parsonage. At last +consent was given. Then, and not till then, she confided her plan to an +intimate friend. She was not one to talk over-much about any project, +while it remained uncertain--to speak about her labour, in any direction, +while its result was doubtful. + + "Nov. 2nd, 1841. + + "Now let us begin to quarrel. In the first place, I must consider + whether I will commence operations on the defensive, or the offensive. + The defensive, I think. You say, and I see plainly, that your + feelings have been hurt by an apparent want of confidence on my part. + You heard from others of Miss W---'s overtures before I communicated + them to you myself. This is true. I was deliberating on plans + important to my future prospects. I never exchanged a letter with you + on the subject. True again. This appears strange conduct to a + friend, near and dear, long-known, and never found wanting. Most + true. I cannot give you my _excuses_ for this behaviour; this word + _excuse_ implies confession of a fault, and I do not feel that I have + been in fault. The plain fact is, I _was_ not, I am not now, certain + of my destiny. On the contrary, I have been most uncertain, perplexed + with contradictory schemes and proposals. My time, as I have often + told you, is fully occupied; yet I had many letters to write, which it + was absolutely necessary should be written. I knew it would avail + nothing to write to you then to say I was in doubt and + uncertainty--hoping this, fearing that, anxious, eagerly desirous to + do what seemed impossible to be done. When I thought of you in that + busy interval, it was to resolve, that you should know all when my way + was clear, and my grand end attained. If I could, I would always work + in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their + results. Miss W--- did most kindly propose that I should come to + Dewsbury Moor and attempt to revive the school her sister had + relinquished. She offered me the use of her furniture. At first, I + received the proposal cordially, and prepared to do my utmost to bring + about success; but a fire was kindled in my very heart, which I could + not quench. I so longed to increase my attainments--to become + something better than I am; a glimpse of what I felt, I showed to you + in one of my former letters--only a glimpse; Mary cast oil upon the + flames--encouraged me, and in her own strong, energetic language, + heartened me on. I longed to go to Brussels; but how could I get + there? I wished for one, at least, of my sisters to share the + advantage with me. I fixed on Emily. She deserved the reward, I + knew. How could the point be managed? In extreme excitement, I wrote + a letter home, which carried the day. I made an appeal to aunt for + assistance, which was answered by consent. Things are not settled; + yet it is sufficient to say we have a _chance_ of going for half a + year. Dewsbury Moor is relinquished. Perhaps, fortunately so. In my + secret soul, I believe there is no cause to regret it. My plans for + the future are bounded to this intention: if I once get to Brussels, + and if my health is spared, I will do my best to make the utmost of + every advantage that shall come within my reach. When the half-year + is expired, I will do what I can. + +* * * * * + + "Believe me, though I was born in April, the month of cloud and + sunshine, I am not changeful. My spirits are unequal, and sometimes I + speak vehemently, and sometimes I say nothing at all; but I have a + steady regard for you, and if you will let the cloud and shower pass + by, be sure the sun is always behind, obscured, but still existing." + +At Christmas she left her situation, after a parting with her employers +which seems to have affected and touched her greatly. "They only made +too much of me," was her remark, after leaving this family; "I did not +deserve it." + +* * * * * + +All four children hoped to meet together at their father's house this +December. Branwell expected to have a short leave of absence from his +employment as a clerk on the Leeds and Manchester Railway, in which he +had been engaged for five months. Anne arrived before Christmas-day. She +had rendered herself so valuable in her difficult situation, that her +employers vehemently urged her to return, although she had announced her +resolution to leave them; partly on account of the harsh treatment she +had received, and partly because her stay at home, during her sisters' +absence in Belgium, seemed desirable, when the age of the three remaining +inhabitants of the parsonage was taken into consideration. + +After some correspondence and much talking over plans at home, it seemed +better, in consequence of letters which they received from Brussels +giving a discouraging account of the schools there, that Charlotte and +Emily should go to an institution at Lille, in the north of France, which +was highly recommended by Baptist Noel, and other clergymen. Indeed, at +the end of January, it was arranged that they were to set off for this +place in three weeks, under the escort of a French lady, then visiting in +London. The terms were 50_l_. each pupil, for board and French alone, +but a separate room was to be allowed for this sum; without this +indulgence, it was lower. Charlotte writes:-- + + "January 20th, 1842. + + "I consider it kind in aunt to consent to an extra sum for a separate + room. We shall find it a great privilege in many ways. I regret the + change from Brussels to Lille on many accounts, chiefly that I shall + not see Martha. Mary has been indefatigably kind in providing me with + information. She has grudged no labour, and scarcely any expense, to + that end. Mary's price is above rubies. I have, in fact, two + friends--you and her--staunch and true, in whose faith and sincerity I + have as strong a belief as I have in the Bible. I have bothered you + both--you especially; but you always get the tongs and heap coals of + fire upon my head. I have had letters to write lately to Brussels, to + Lille, and to London. I have lots of chemises, nightgowns, pocket- + handkerchiefs, and pockets to make; besides clothes to repair. I have + been, every week since I came home, expecting to see Branwell, and he + has never been able to get over yet. We fully expect him, however, + next Saturday. Under these circumstances how can I go visiting? You + tantalize me to death with talking of conversations by the fireside. + Depend upon it, we are not to have any such for many a long month to + come. I get an interesting impression of old age upon my face; and + when you see me next I shall certainly wear caps and spectacles." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +I am not aware of all the circumstances which led to the relinquishment +of the Lille plan. Brussels had had from the first a strong attraction +for Charlotte; and the idea of going there, in preference to any other +place, had only been given up in consequence of the information received +of the second-rate character of its schools. In one of her letters +reference has been made to Mrs. Jenkins, the wife of the chaplain of the +British Embassy. At the request of his brother--a clergyman, living not +many miles from Haworth, and an acquaintance of Mr. Bronte's--she made +much inquiry, and at length, after some discouragement in her search, +heard of a school which seemed in every respect desirable. There was an +English lady who had long lived in the Orleans family, amidst the various +fluctuations of their fortunes, and who, when the Princess Louise was +married to King Leopold, accompanied her to Brussels, in the capacity of +reader. This lady's granddaughter was receiving her education at the +pensionnat of Madame Heger; and so satisfied was the grandmother with the +kind of instruction given, that she named the establishment, with high +encomiums, to Mrs. Jerkins; and, in consequence, it was decided that, if +the terms suited, Miss Bronte and Emily should proceed thither. M. Heger +informs me that, on receipt of a letter from Charlotte, making very +particular inquiries as to the possible amount of what are usually termed +"extras," he and his wife were so much struck by the simple earnest tone +of the letter, that they said to each other:--"These are the daughters of +an English pastor, of moderate means, anxious to learn with an ulterior +view of instructing others, and to whom the risk of additional expense is +of great consequence. Let us name a specific sum, within which all +expenses shall be included." + +This was accordingly done; the agreement was concluded, and the Brontes +prepared to leave their native county for the first time, if we except +the melancholy and memorable residence at Cowan Bridge. Mr. Bronte +determined to accompany his daughters. Mary and her brother, who were +experienced in foreign travelling, were also of the party. Charlotte +first saw London in the day or two they now stopped there; and, from an +expression in one of her subsequent letters, they all, I believe, stayed +at the Chapter Coffee House, Paternoster Row--a strange, old-fashioned +tavern, of which I shall have more to say hereafter. + +Mary's account of their journey is thus given. + +"In passing through London, she seemed to think our business was and +ought to be, to see all the pictures and statues we could. She knew the +artists, and know where other productions of theirs were to be found. I +don't remember what we saw except St. Paul's. Emily was like her in +these habits of mind, but certainly never took her opinion, but always +had one to offer . . . I don't know what Charlotte thought of Brussels. +We arrived in the dark, and went next morning to our respective schools +to see them. We were, of course, much preoccupied, and our prospects +gloomy. Charlotte used to like the country round Brussels. 'At the top +of every hill you see something.' She took, long solitary walks on the +occasional holidays." + +Mr. Bronte took his daughters to the Rue d'Isabelle, Brussels; remained +one night at Mr. Jenkins'; and straight returned to his wild Yorkshire +village. + +What a contrast to that must the Belgian capital have presented to those +two young women thus left behind! Suffering acutely from every strange +and unaccustomed contact--far away from their beloved home, and the dear +moors beyond--their indomitable will was their great support. Charlotte's +own words, with regard to Emily, are:-- + + "After the age of twenty, having meantime studied alone with diligence + and perseverance, she went with me to an establishment on the + continent. The same suffering and conflict ensued, heightened by the + strong recoil of her upright heretic and English spirit from the + gentle Jesuitry of the foreign and Romish system. Once more she + seemed sinking, but this time she rallied through the mere force of + resolution: with inward remorse and shame she looked back on her + former failure, and resolved to conquer, but the victory cost her + dear. She was never happy till she carried her hard-won knowledge + back to the remote English village, the old parsonage-house, and + desolate Yorkshire hills." + +They wanted learning. They came for learning. They would learn. Where +they had a distinct purpose to be achieved in intercourse with their +fellows, they forgot themselves; at all other times they were miserably +shy. Mrs. Jenkins told me that she used to ask them to spend Sundays and +holidays with her, until she found that they felt more pain than pleasure +from such visits. Emily hardly ever uttered more than a monosyllable. +Charlotte was sometimes excited sufficiently to speak eloquently and +well--on certain subjects; but before her tongue was thus loosened, she +had a habit of gradually wheeling round on her chair, so as almost to +conceal her face from the person to whom she was speaking. + +And yet there was much in Brussels to strike a responsive chord in her +powerful imagination. At length she was seeing somewhat of that grand +old world of which she had dreamed. As the gay crowds passed by her, so +had gay crowds paced those streets for centuries, in all their varying +costumes. Every spot told an historic tale, extending back into the +fabulous ages when Jan and Jannika, the aboriginal giant and giantess, +looked over the wall, forty feet high, of what is now the Rue Villa +Hermosa, and peered down upon the new settlers who were to turn them out +of the country in which they had lived since the deluge. The great +solemn Cathedral of St. Gudule, the religious paintings, the striking +forms and ceremonies of the Romish Church--all made a deep impression on +the girls, fresh from the bare walls and simple worship of Haworth +Church. And then they were indignant with themselves for having been +susceptible of this impression, and their stout Protestant hearts arrayed +themselves against the false Duessa that had thus imposed upon them. + +The very building they occupied as pupils, in Madame Heger's pensionnat, +had its own ghostly train of splendid associations, marching for ever, in +shadowy procession, through and through the ancient rooms, and shaded +alleys of the gardens. From the splendour of to-day in the Rue Royale, +if you turn aside, near the statue of the General Beliard, you look down +four flights of broad stone steps upon the Rue d'Isabelle. The chimneys +of the houses in it are below your feet. Opposite to the lowest flight +of steps, there is a large old mansion facing you, with a spacious walled +garden behind--and to the right of it. In front of this garden, on the +same side as the mansion, and with great boughs of trees sweeping over +their lowly roofs, is a row of small, picturesque, old-fashioned +cottages, not unlike, in degree and uniformity, to the almshouses so +often seen in an English country town. The Rue d'Isabelle looks as +though it had been untouched by the innovations of the builder for the +last three centuries; and yet any one might drop a stone into it from the +back windows of the grand modern hotels in the Rue Royale, built and +furnished in the newest Parisian fashion. + +In the thirteenth century, the Rue d'Isabelle was called the Fosse-aux- +Chiens; and the kennels for the ducal hounds occupied the place where +Madame Heger's pensionnat now stands. A hospital (in the ancient large +meaning of the word) succeeded to the kennel. The houseless and the +poor, perhaps the leprous, were received, by the brethren of a religious +order, in a building on this sheltered site; and what had been a fosse +for defence, was filled up with herb-gardens and orchards for upwards of +a hundred years. Then came the aristocratic guild of the cross-bow +men--that company the members whereof were required to prove their noble +descent--untainted for so many generations, before they could be admitted +into the guild; and, being admitted, were required to swear a solemn +oath, that no other pastime or exercise should take up any part of their +leisure, the whole of which was to be devoted to the practice of the +noble art of shooting with the cross-bow. Once a year a grand match was +held, under the patronage of some saint, to whose church-steeple was +affixed the bird, or semblance of a bird, to be hit by the victor. {5} +The conqueror in the game was Roi des Arbaletriers for the coming year, +and received a jewelled decoration accordingly, which he was entitled to +wear for twelve months; after which he restored it to the guild, to be +again striven for. The family of him who died during the year that he +was king, were bound to present the decoration to the church of the +patron saint of the guild, and to furnish a similar prize to be contended +for afresh. These noble cross-bow men of the middle ages formed a sort +of armed guard to the powers in existence, and almost invariably took the +aristocratic, in preference to the democratic side, in the numerous civil +dissensions of the Flemish towns. Hence they were protected by the +authorities, and easily obtained favourable and sheltered sites for their +exercise-ground. And thus they came to occupy the old fosse, and took +possession of the great orchard of the hospital, lying tranquil and sunny +in the hollow below the rampart. + +But, in the sixteenth century, it became necessary to construct a street +through the exercise-ground of the "Arbaletriers du Grand Serment," and, +after much delay, the company were induced by the beloved Infanta +Isabella to give up the requisite plot of ground. In recompense for +this, Isabella--who herself was a member of the guild, and had even shot +down the bird, and been queen in 1615--made many presents to the +arbaletriers; and, in return, the grateful city, which had long wanted a +nearer road to St. Gudule, but been baffled by the noble archers, called +the street after her name. She, as a sort of indemnification to the +arbaletriers, caused a "great mansion" to be built for their +accommodation in the new Rue d'Isabelle. This mansion was placed in +front of their exercise-ground, and was of a square shape. On a remote +part of the walls, may still be read-- + + PHILLIPPO IIII. HISPAN. REGE. ISABELLA-CLARA-EUGENIA HISPAN. + INFANS. MAGNAE GULDAE REGINA GULDAE FRATRIBUS POSUIT. + +In that mansion were held all the splendid feasts of the Grand Serment +des Arbaletriers. The master-archer lived there constantly, in order to +be ever at hand to render his services to the guild. The great saloon +was also used for the court balls and festivals, when the archers were +not admitted. The Infanta caused other and smaller houses to be built in +her new street, to serve as residences for her "garde noble;" and for her +"garde bourgeoise," a small habitation each, some of which still remain, +to remind us of English almshouses. The "great mansion," with its +quadrangular form; the spacious saloon--once used for the archducal +balls, where the dark, grave Spaniards mixed with the blond nobility of +Brabant and Flanders--now a schoolroom for Belgian girls; the cross-bow +men's archery-ground--all are there--the pensionnat of Madame Heger. + +This lady was assisted in the work of instruction by her husband--a +kindly, wise, good, and religious man--whose acquaintance I am glad to +have made, and who has furnished me with some interesting details, from +his wife's recollections and his own, of the two Miss Brontes during +their residence in Brussels. He had the better opportunities of watching +them, from his giving lessons in the French language and literature in +the school. A short extract from a letter, written to me by a French +lady resident in Brussels, and well qualified to judge, will help to show +the estimation in which he is held. + +"Je ne connais pas personnellement M. Heger, mais je sais qu'il est peu +de caracteres aussi nobles, aussi admirables que le sien. Il est un des +membres les plus zeles de cette Societe de S. Vincent de Paul dont je +t'ai deja parle, et ne se contente pas de servir les pauvres et les +malades, mais leur consacre encore les soirees. Apres des journees +absorbees tout entieres par les devoirs que sa place lui impose, il +reunit les pauvres, les ouvriers, leur donne des cours gratuits, et +trouve encore le moyen de les amuser en les instruisant. Ce devouement +te dira assez que M. Heger est profondement et ouvertement religieux. Il +a des manieres franches et avenantes; il se fait aimer de tous ceux qui +l'approchent, et surtout des enfants. Il a la parole facile, et possde a +un haut degre l'eloquence du bon sens et du coeur. Il n'est point +auteur. Homme de zele et de conscience, il vient de se demettre des +fonctions elevees et lucratives qu'il exercait a l'Athenee, celles de +Prefet des Etudes, parce qu'il ne peut y realiser le bien qu'il avait +espere, introduire l'enseignement religieux dans le programme des etudes. +J'ai vu une fois Madame Heger, qui a quelque chose de froid et de +compasse dans son maintien, et qui previent peu en sa faveur. Je la +crois pourtant aimee et appreciee par ses eleves." + +There were from eighty to a hundred pupils in the pensionnat, when +Charlotte and Emily Bronte entered in February 1842. + +M. Heger's account is that they knew nothing of French. I suspect they +knew as much (or as little), for all conversational purposes, as any +English girls do, who have never been abroad, and have only learnt the +idioms and pronunciation from an Englishwoman. The two sisters clung +together, and kept apart from the herd of happy, boisterous, +well-befriended Belgian girls, who, in their turn, thought the new +English pupils wild and scared-looking, with strange, odd, insular ideas +about dress; for Emily had taken a fancy to the fashion, ugly and +preposterous even during its reign, of gigot sleves, and persisted in +wearing them long after they were "gone out." Her petticoats, too, had +not a curve or a wave in them, but hung down straight and long, clinging +to her lank figure. The sisters spoke to no one but from necessity. They +were too full of earnest thought, and of the exile's sick yearning, to be +ready for careless conversation or merry game. M. Heger, who had done +little but observe, during the few first weeks of their residence in the +Rue d'Isabelle, perceived that with their unusual characters, and +extraordinary talents, a different mode must be adopted from that in +which he generally taught French to English girls. He seems to have +rated Emily's genius as something even higher than Charlotte's; and her +estimation of their relative powers was the same. Emily had a head for +logic, and a capability of argument, unusual in a man, and rare indeed in +a woman, according to M. Heger. Impairing the force of this gift, was a +stubborn tenacity of will, which rendered her obtuse to all reasoning +where her own wishes, or her own sense of right, was concerned. "She +should have been a man--a great navigator," said M. Heger in speaking of +her. "Her powerful reason would have deduced new spheres of discovery +from the knowledge of the old; and her strong imperious will would never +have been daunted by opposition or difficulty; never have given way but +with life." And yet, moreover, her faculty of imagination was such that, +if she had written a history, her view of scenes and characters would +have been so vivid, and so powerfully expressed, and supported by such a +show of argument, that it would have dominated over the reader, whatever +might have been his previous opinions, or his cooler perceptions of its +truth. But she appeared egotistical and exacting compared to Charlotte, +who was always unselfish (this is M. Heger's testimony); and in the +anxiety of the elder to make her younger sister contented she allowed her +to exercise a kind of unconscious tyranny over her. + +After consulting with his wife, M. Heger told them that he meant to +dispense with the old method of grounding in grammar, vocabulary, &c., +and to proceed on a new plan--something similar to what he had +occasionally adopted with the elder among his French and Belgian pupils. +He proposed to read to them some of the master-pieces of the most +celebrated French authors (such as Casimir de la Vigne's poem on the +"Death of Joan of Arc," parts of Bossuet, the admirable translation of +the noble letter of St. Ignatius to the Roman Christians in the +"Bibliotheque Choisie des Peres de l'Eglise," &c.), and after having thus +impressed the complete effect of the whole, to analyse the parts with +them, pointing out in what such or such an author excelled, and where +were the blemishes. He believed that he had to do with pupils capable, +from their ready sympathy with the intellectual, the refined, the +polished, or the noble, of catching the echo of a style, and so +reproducing their own thoughts in a somewhat similar manner. + +After explaining his plan to them, he awaited their reply. Emily spoke +first; and said that she saw no good to be derived from it; and that, by +adopting it, they should lose all originality of thought and expression. +She would have entered into an argument on the subject, but for this, M. +Heger had no time. Charlotte then spoke; she also doubted the success of +the plan; but she would follow out M. Heger's advice, because she was +bound to obey him while she was his pupil. Before speaking of the +results, it may be desirable to give an extract from one of her letters, +which shows some of her first impressions of her new life. + +"Brussels, 1842 (May?). + +"I was twenty-six years old a week or two since; and at this ripe time of +life I am a school-girl, and, on the whole, very happy in that capacity. +It felt very strange at first to submit to authority instead of +exercising it--to obey orders instead of giving them; but I like that +state of things. I returned to it with the same avidity that a cow, that +has long been kept on dry hay, returns to fresh grass. Don't laugh at my +simile. It is natural to me to submit, and very unnatural to command. + +"This is a large school, in which there are about forty externes, or day +pupils, and twelve pensionnaires, or boarders. Madame Heger, the head, +is a lady of precisely the same cast of mind, degree of cultivation, and +quality of intellect as Miss ---. I think the severe points are a little +softened, because she has not been disappointed, and consequently soured. +In a word, she is a married instead of a maiden lady. There are three +teachers in the school--Mademoiselle Blanche, Mademoiselle Sophie, and +Mademoiselle Marie. The two first have no particular character. One is +an old maid, and the other will be one. Mademoiselle Marie is talented +and original, but of repulsive and arbitrary manners, which have made the +whole school, except myself and Emily, her bitter enemies. No less than +seven masters attend, to teach the different branches of +education--French, Drawing, Music, Singing, Writing, Arithmetic, and +German. All in the house are Catholics except ourselves, one other girl, +and the gouvernante of Madame's children, an Englishwoman, in rank +something between a lady's maid and a nursery governess. The difference +in country and religion makes a broad line of demarcation between us and +all the rest. We are completely isolated in the midst of numbers. Yet I +think I am never unhappy; my present life is so delightful, so congenial +to my own nature, compared to that of a governess. My time, constantly +occupied, passes too rapidly. Hitherto both Emily and I have had good +health, and therefore we have been able to work well. There is one +individual of whom I have not yet spoken--M. Heger, the husband of +Madame. He is professor of rhetoric, a man of power as to mind, but very +choleric and irritable in temperament. He is very angry with me just at +present, because I have written a translation which he chose to +stigmatize as '_peu correct_.' He did not tell me so, but wrote the word +on the margin of my book, and asked, in brief stern phrase, how it +happened that my compositions were always better than my translations? +adding that the thing seemed to him inexplicable. The fact is, some +weeks ago, in a high-flown humour, he forbade me to use either dictionary +or grammar in translating the most difficult English compositions into +French. This makes the task rather arduous, and compels me every now and +then to introduce an English word, which nearly plucks the eyes out of +his head when he sees it. Emily and he don't draw well together at all. +Emily works like a horse, and she has had great difficulties to contend +with--far greater than I have had. Indeed, those who come to a French +school for instruction ought previously to have acquired a considerable +knowledge of the French language, otherwise they will lose a great deal +of time, for the course of instruction is adapted to natives and not to +foreigners; and in these large establishments they will not change their +ordinary course for one or two strangers. The few private lessons that +M. Heger has vouchsafed to give us, are, I suppose, to be considered a +great favour; and I can perceive they have already excited much spite and +jealousy in the school. + +"You will abuse this letter for being short and dreary, and there are a +hundred things which I want to tell you, but I have not time. Brussels +is a beautiful city. The Belgians hate the English. Their external +morality is more rigid than ours. To lace the stays without a +handkerchief on the neck is considered a disgusting piece of indelicacy." + +The passage in this letter where M. Heger is represented as prohibiting +the use of dictionary or grammar, refers, I imagine, to the time I have +mentioned, when he determined to adopt a new method of instruction in the +French language, of which they were to catch the spirit and rhythm rather +from the ear and the heart, as its noblest accents fell upon them, than +by over-careful and anxious study of its grammatical rules. It seems to +me a daring experiment on the part of their teacher; but, doubtless, he +knew his ground; and that it answered is evident in the composition of +some of Charlotte's _devoirs_, written about this time. I am tempted, in +illustration of this season of mental culture, to recur to a conversation +which I had with M. Heger on the manner in which he formed his pupils' +style, and to give a proof of his success, by copying a _devoir_ of +Charlotte's with his remarks upon it. + +He told me that one day this summer (when the Brontes had been for about +four months receiving instruction from him) he read to them Victor Hugo's +celebrated portrait of Mirabeau, "mais, dans ma lecon je me bornais a ce +qui concerne _Mirabeau orateur_. C'est apres l'analyse de ce morceau, +considere surtout du point de vue du fond, de la disposition de ce qu'on +pourrait appeler _la charpente_ qu'ont ete faits les deux portraits que +je vous donne." He went on to say that he had pointed out to them the +fault in Victor Hugo's style as being exaggeration in conception, and, at +the same time, he had made them notice the extreme beauty of his +"nuances" of expression. They were then dismissed to choose the subject +of a similar kind of portrait. This selection M. Heger always left to +them; for "it is necessary," he observed, "before sitting down to write +on a subject, to have thoughts and feelings about it. I cannot tell on +what subject your heart and mind have been excited. I must leave that to +you." The marginal comments, I need hardly say, are M. Heger's; the +words in italics are Charlotte's, for which he substitutes a better form +of expression, which is placed between brackets. {6} + + + +IMITATION. + + + "Le 31 Juillet, 1842. + + PORTRAIT DE PIERRE L'HERMITE. CHARLOTTE BRONTE + + "De temps en temps, il parait sur la terre des hommes destines a etre + les instruments [predestines] {Pourquoi cette suppression?} de grands + changements moraux ou politiques. Quelquefois c'est un conquerant, un + Alexandre ou un Attila, qui passe comme un ouragan, et purifie + l'atmosphere moral, comme l'orage purifie l'atmosphere physique; + quelquefois, c'est un revolutionnaire, un Cromwell, ou un Robespierre, + qui fait expier par un roi {les fautes et} les vices de toute une + dynastie; quelquefois c'est un enthousiaste religieux comme Mahomet, + ou Pierre l'Hermite, qui, avec le seul levier de la pensee, souleve + des nations entieres, les deracine et les transplante dans des climats + nouveaux, _peuplant l'Asie avec les habitants de l'Europe_. Pierre + l'Hermite etait gentilhomme de Picardie, en France, {Invtile, quand + vous ecrivez er francais} pourquoi donc n'a-t-il passe sa vie comma + les autres gentilhommes, ses contemporains, ont passe la leur, a + table, a la chasse, dans son lit, sans s'inquieter de Saladin, ou de + ses Sarrasins? N'est-ce pas, parce qu'il y a dans certaines natures, + _une ardour_ [un foyer d'activite] indomptable qui ne leur permet pas + de rester inactives, _qui les force a se remuer afin d'exercer les + facultes puissantes, qui meme en dormant sont pretes, comme Sampson, a + briser les noeuds qui les retiennent_? + + {Vous avez commence a parler de Pierre: vous etes entree dans le + sujet: marchez au but.} + + "Pierre prit la profession des armes; _si son ardeur avait ete de + cette espece_ [s'il n'avait eu que cette ardeur vulgaire] qui provient + d'une robuste sante, _il aurait_ [c'eut] ete un brave militaire, et + rien de plus; mais son ardeur etait celle de l'ame, sa flamme etait + pure et elle s'elevait vers le ciel. + + "_Sans doute_ [Il est vrai que] la jeunesse de Pierre _etait_ [fet] + troublee par passions orageuses; les natures puissantes sont extremes + en tout, elles ne connaissent la tiedeur ni dans le bien, ni dans le + mal; Pierre donc chercha d'abord avidement la gloire qui se fletrit et + les plaisirs qui trompent, mais _il fit bientot la decouverte_ + [bientot il s'apercut] que ce qu'il poursuivait n'etait qe'une + illusion a laquelle il ne pourrait jamais atteindre; {Vnutile, quand + vous avez dit illusion} il retourna donc sur ses pas, il recommenca le + voyage de la vie, mais cette fois il evita le chemin spacieux qui mene + a la perdition et il prit le chemin etroit qui mene a la vie; + _puisque_ [comme] le trajet etait long et difficile il jeta la casque + et les armes du soldat, et se vetit de l'habit simple du moine. A la + vie militaire succeda la vie monastique, car les extremes se touchent, + et _chez l'homme sincere_ la sincerite du repentir amene + [necessairement a la suite] _avec lui_ la rigueur de la penitence. + [Voila donc Pierre devenu moine!] + + "Mais _Pierre_ [il] avait en lui un principe qui l'empechait de rester + long-temps inactif, ses idees, sur quel sujet _qu'il soit_ [que ce + fut] ne pouvaient pas etre bornees; il ne lui suffisait pas que lui- + meme fut religieux, que lui-meme fut convaincu de la realite de + Christianisme (sic), il fallait que toute l'Europe, que toute l'Asie, + partageat sa conviction et professat la croyance de la Croix. La + Piete [fervente] elevee par la Genie, nourrie par la Solitude, _fit + naitre une espece d'inspiration_ [exalta son ame jusqu'a + l'inspiration] _dans son ame_, et lorsqu'il quitta sa cellule et + reparut dans le monde, il portait comme Moise l'empreinte de la + Divinite sur son front, et _tout_ [tous] reconnurent en lui la + veritable apotre de la Croix. + + "Mahomet n'avait jamais remue les molles nations de l'Orient comme + alors Pierre remua les peuples austeres de l'Occident; il fallait que + cette eloquence fut d'une force presque miraculeuse _qui pouvait_ + [presqu'elle] persuad_er_ [ait] aux rois de vendre leurs royaumes + _afin de procurer_ [pour avoir] des armes et des soldats _pour aider_ + [a offrir] a Pierre dans la guerre sainte qu'il voulait livrer aux + infideles. La puissance de Pierre [l'Hermite] n'etait nullement une + puissance physique, car la nature, ou pour mieux dire, Dieu est + impartial dans la distribution de ses dons; il accorde a l'un de ses + enfants la grace, la beaute, les perfections corporelles, a l'autre + l'esprit, la grandeur morale. Pierre donc etait un homme petit, d'une + physionomie peu agreable; mais il avait ce courage, cette constance, + cet enthousiasme, cette energie de sentiment qui ecrase toute + opposition, et qui fait que la volonte d'un seul homme devient la loi + de toute une nation. Pour se former une juste idee de l'influence + qu'exerca cet homme sur les _caracteres_ [choses] et les idees de son + temps, il faut se le representer au milieu de l'armee des croisees + dans son double role de prophete et de guerrier; le pauvre hermite, + vetu _du pauvre_ [de l'humble] habit gris est la plus puissant qieun + roi; il est entoure _d'une_ [de la] multitude [avide] une multitude + qui ne voit que lui, tandis qui lui, il ne voit que le ciel; ses yeux + leves semblent dire, 'Je vois Dieu et les anges, et j'ai perdu de vue + la terre!' + + "_Dans ce moment le_ [mais ce] pauvre _habit_ [froc] gris est pour lui + comme le manteau d'Elijah; il l'enveloppe d'inspiration; _il_ [Pierre] + lit dans l'avenir; il voit Jerusalem delivree; [il voit] le saint + sepulcre libre; il voit le Croissant argent est arrache du Temple, et + l'Oriflamme et la Croix rouge sont etabli a sa place; non-seulement + Pierre voit ces merveilles, mais il les fait voir a tous ceux qui + l'entourent; il ravive l'esperance et le courage dans [tous ces corps + epuises de fatigues et de privations]. La bataille ne sera livree que + demain, mais la victoire est decidee ce soir. Pierre a promis; et les + Croises se fient a sa parole, comme les Israelites se fiaient a celle + de Moise et de Josue." + +As a companion portrait to this, Emily chose to depict Harold on the eve +of the battle of Hastings. It appears to me that her _devoir_ is +superior to Charlotte's in power and in imagination, and fully equal to +it in language; and that this, in both cases, considering how little +practical knowledge of French they had when they arrived at Brussels in +February, and that they wrote without the aid of dictionary or grammar, +is unusual and remarkable. We shall see the progress Charlotte had made, +in ease and grace of style, a year later. + +In the choice of subjects left to her selection, she frequently took +characters and scenes from the Old Testament, with which all her writings +show that she was especially familiar. The picturesqueness and colour +(if I may so express it), the grandeur and breadth of its narrations, +impressed her deeply. To use M. Heger's expression, "Elle etait nourrie +de la Bible." After he had read De la Vigne's poem on Joan of Arc, she +chose the "Vision and Death of Moses on Mount Nebo" to write about; and, +in looking over this _devoir_, I was much struck with one or two of M. +Heger's remarks. After describing, in a quiet and simple manner, the +circumstances under which Moses took leave of the Israelites, her +imagination becomes warmed, and she launches out into a noble strain, +depicting the glorious futurity of the Chosen People, as, looking down +upon the Promised Land, he sees their prosperity in prophetic vision. +But, before reaching the middle of this glowing description, she +interrupts herself to discuss for a moment the doubts that have been +thrown on the miraculous relations of the Old Testament. M. Heger +remarks, "When you are writing, place your argument first in cool, +prosaic language; but when you have thrown the reins on the neck of your +imagination, do not pull her up to reason." Again, in the vision of +Moses, he sees the maidens leading forth their flocks to the wells at +eventide, and they are described as wearing flowery garlands. Here the +writer is reminded of the necessity of preserving a certain +verisimilitude: Moses might from his elevation see mountains and plains, +groups of maidens and herds of cattle, but could hardly perceive the +details of dress, or the ornaments of the head. + +When they had made further progress, M. Heger took up a more advanced +plan, that of synthetical teaching. He would read to them various +accounts of the same person or event, and make them notice the points of +agreement and disagreement. Where they were different, he would make +them seek the origin of that difference by causing them to examine well +into the character and position of each separate writer, and how they +would be likely to affect his conception of truth. For instance, take +Cromwell. He would read Bossuet's description of him in the "Oraison +Funebre de la Reine d'Angleterre," and show how in this he was considered +entirely from the religious point of view, as an instrument in the hands +of God, preordained to His work. Then he would make them read Guizot, +and see how, in this view, Cromwell was endowed with the utmost power of +free-will, but governed by no higher motive than that of expediency; +while Carlyle regarded him as a character regulated by a strong and +conscientious desire to do the will of the Lord. Then he would desire +them to remember that the Royalist and Commonwealth men had each their +different opinions of the great Protector. And from these conflicting +characters, he would require them to sift and collect the elements of +truth, and try to unite them into a perfect whole. + +This kind of exercise delighted Charlotte. It called into play her +powers of analysis, which were extraordinary, and she very soon excelled +in it. + +Wherever the Brontes could be national they were so, with the same +tenacity of attachment which made them suffer as they did whenever they +left Haworth. They were Protestant to the backbone in other things +beside their religion, but pre-eminently so in that. Touched as +Charlotte was by the letter of St. Ignatius before alluded to, she +claimed equal self-devotion, and from as high a motive, for some of the +missionaries of the English Church sent out to toil and to perish on the +poisonous African coast, and wrote as an "imitation," "Lettre d'un +Missionnaire, Sierra Leone, Afrique." + +Something of her feeling, too, appears in the following letter:-- + + "Brussels, 1842. + + "I consider it doubtful whether I shall come home in September or not. + Madame Heger has made a proposal for both me and Emily to stay another + half-year, offering to dismiss her English master, and take me as + English teacher; also to employ Emily some part of each day in + teaching music to a certain number of the pupils. For these services + we are to be allowed to continue our studies in French and German, and + to have board, &c., without paying for it; no salaries, however, are + offered. The proposal is kind, and in a great selfish city like + Brussels, and a great selfish school, containing nearly ninety pupils + (boarders and day pupils included), implies a degree of interest which + demands gratitude in return. I am inclined to accept it. What think + you? I don't deny I sometimes wish to be in England, or that I have + brief attacks of home sickness; but, on the whole, I have borne a very + valiant heart so far; and I have been happy in Brussels, because I + have always been fully occupied with the employments that I like. + Emily is making rapid progress in French, German, music, and drawing. + Monsieur and Madame Heger begin to recognise the valuable parts of her + character, under her singularities. + + "If the national character of the Belgians is to be measured by the + character of most of the girls is this school, it in a character + singularly cold, selfish, animal, and inferior. They are very + mutinous and difficult for the teachers to manage; and their + principles are rotten to the core. We avoid them, which it is not + difficult to do, as we have the brand of Protestantism and Anglicism + upon us. People talk of the danger which Protestants expose + themselves to in going to reside in Catholic countries, and thereby + running the chance of changing their faith. My advice to all + Protestants who are tempted to do anything so besotted as turn + Catholics, is, to walk over the sea on to the Continent; to attend + mass sedulously for a time; to note well the mummeries thereof; also + the idiotic, mercenary aspect of all the priests; and then, if they + are still disposed to consider Papistry in any other light than a most + feeble, childish piece of humbug, let them turn Papists at once--that's + all. I consider Methodism, Quakerism, and the extremes of High and + Low Churchism foolish, but Roman Catholicism beats them all. At the + same time, allow me to tell you, that there are some Catholics who are + as good as any Christians can be to whom the Bible is a sealed book, + and much better than many Protestants." + +When the Brontes first went to Brussels, it was with the intention of +remaining there for six months, or until the _grandes vacances_ began in +September. The duties of the school were then suspended for six weeks or +two months, and it seemed a desirable period for their return. But the +proposal mentioned in the foregoing letter altered their plans. Besides, +they were happy in the feeling that they were making progress in all the +knowledge they had so long been yearning to acquire. They were happy, +too, in possessing friends whose society had been for years congenial to +them, and in occasional meetings with these, they could have the +inexpressible solace to residents in a foreign country--and peculiarly +such to the Brontes--of talking over the intelligence received from their +respective homes--referring to past, or planning for future days. "Mary" +and her sister, the bright, dancing, laughing Martha, were +parlour-boarders in an establishment just beyond the barriers of +Brussels. Again, the cousins of these friends were resident in the town; +and at their house Charlotte and Emily were always welcome, though their +overpowering shyness prevented their more valuable qualities from being +known, and generally kept them silent. They spent their weekly holiday +with this family, for many months; but at the end of the time, Emily was +as impenetrable to friendly advances as at the beginning; while Charlotte +was too physically weak (as "Mary" has expressed it) to "gather up her +forces" sufficiently to express any difference or opposition of opinion, +and had consequently an assenting and deferential manner, strangely at +variance with what they knew of her remarkable talents and decided +character. At this house, the T.'s and the Brontes could look forward to +meeting each other pretty frequently. There was another English family +where Charlotte soon became a welcome guest, and where, I suspect, she +felt herself more at her ease than either at Mrs. Jenkins', or the +friends whom I have first mentioned. + +An English physician, with a large family of daughters, went to reside at +Brussels, for the sake of their education. He placed them at Madame +Heger's school in July, 1842, not a month before the beginning of the +_grandes vacances_ on August 15th. In order to make the most of their +time, and become accustomed to the language, these English sisters went +daily, through the holidays, to the pensionnat in the Rue d'Isabelle. Six +or eight boarders remained, besides the Miss Brontes. They were there +during the whole time, never even having the break to their monotonous +life, which passing an occasional day with a friend would have afforded +them; but devoting themselves with indefatigable diligence to the +different studies in which they were engaged. Their position in the +school appeared, to these new comers, analogous to what is often called +that of a parlour-boarder. They prepared their French, drawing, German, +and literature for their various masters; and to these occupations Emily +added that of music, in which she was somewhat of a proficient; so much +so as to be qualified to give instruction in it to the three younger +sisters of my informant. + +The school was divided into three classes. In the first were from +fifteen to twenty pupils; in the second, sixty was about the average +number--all foreigners, excepting the two Brontes and one other; in the +third, there were from twenty to thirty pupils. The first and second +classes occupied a long room, divided by a wooden partition; in each +division were four long ranges of desks; and at the end was the +_estrade_, or platform, for the presiding instructor. On the last row, +in the quietest corner, sat Charlotte and Emily, side by side, so deeply +absorbed in their studies as to be insensible to any noise or movement +around them. The school-hours were from nine to twelve (the luncheon +hour), when the boarders and half-boarders--perhaps two-and-thirty +girls--went to the refectoire (a room with two long tables, having an oil- +lamp suspended over each), to partake of bread and fruit; the _externes_, +or morning pupils, who had brought their own refreshment with them, +adjourning to eat it in the garden. From one to two, there was fancy- +work--a pupil reading aloud some light literature in each room; from two +to four, lessons again. At four, the externes left; and the remaining +girls dined in the refectoire, M. and Madame Heger presiding. From five +to six there was recreation, from six to seven, preparation for lessons; +and, after that succeeded the _lecture pieuse_--Charlotte's nightmare. On +rare occasions, M. Heger himself would come in, and substitute a book of +a different and more interesting kind. At eight, there was a slight meal +of water and _pistolets_ (the delicious little Brussels rolls), which was +immediately followed by prayers, and then to bed. + +The principal bedroom was over the long classe, or schoolroom. There +were six or eight narrow beds on each side of the apartment, every one +enveloped in its white draping curtain; a long drawer, beneath each, +served for a wardrobe, and between each was a stand for ewer, basin, and +looking-glass. The beds of the two Miss Brontes were at the extreme end +of the room, almost as private and retired as if they had been in a +separate apartment. + +During the hours of recreation, which were always spent in the garden, +they invariably walked together, and generally kept a profound silence; +Emily, though so much the taller, leaning on her sister. Charlotte would +always answer when spoken to, taking the lead in replying to any remark +addressed to both; Emily rarely spoke to any one. Charlotte's quiet, +gentle manner never changed. She was never seen out of temper for a +moment; and occasionally, when she herself had assumed the post of +English teacher, and the impertinence or inattention of her pupils was +most irritating, a slight increase of colour, a momentary sparkling of +the eye, and more decided energy of manner, were the only outward tokens +she gave of being conscious of the annoyance to which she was subjected. +But this dignified endurance of hers subdued her pupils, in the long run, +far more than the voluble tirades of the other mistresses. My informant +adds:--"The effect of this manner was singular. I can speak from +personal experience. I was at that time high-spirited and impetuous, not +respecting the French mistresses; yet, to my own astonishment, at one +word from her, I was perfectly tractable; so much so, that at length, M. +and Madame Heger invariably preferred all their wishes to me through her; +the other pupils did not, perhaps, love her as I did, she was so quiet +and silent; but all respected her." + +With the exception of that part which describes Charlotte's manner as +English teacher--an office which she did not assume for some months +later--all this description of the school life of the two Brontes refers +to the commencement of the new scholastic year in October 1842; and the +extracts I have given convey the first impression which the life at a +foreign school, and the position of the two Miss Brontes therein, made +upon an intelligent English girl of sixteen. I will make a quotation +from "Mary's" letter referring to this time. + +"The first part of her time at Brussels was not uninteresting. She spoke +of new people and characters, and foreign ways of the pupils and +teachers. She knew the hopes and prospects of the teachers, and +mentioned one who was very anxious to marry, 'she was getting so old.' +She used to get her father or brother (I forget which) to be the bearer +of letters to different single men, who she thought might be persuaded to +do her the favour, saying that her only resource was to become a sister +of charity if her present employment failed and that she hated the idea. +Charlotte naturally looked with curiosity to people of her own condition. +This woman almost frightened her. 'She declares there is nothing she can +turn to, and laughs at the idea of delicacy,--and she is only ten years +older than I am!' I did not see the connection till she said, 'Well, +Polly, I should hate being a sister of charity; I suppose that would +shock some people, but I should.' I thought she would have as much +feeling as a nurse as most people, and more than some. She said she did +not know how people could bear the constant pressure of misery, and never +to change except to a new form of it. It would be impossible to keep +one's natural feelings. I promised her a better destiny than to go +begging any one to marry her, or to lose her natural feelings as a sister +of charity. She said, 'My youth is leaving me; I can never do better +than I have done, and I have done nothing yet.' At such times she seemed +to think that most human beings were destined by the pressure of worldly +interests to lose one faculty and feeling after another 'till they went +dead altogether. I hope I shall be put in my grave as soon as I'm dead; +I don't want to walk about so.' Here we always differed. I thought the +degradation of nature she feared was a consequence of poverty, and that +she should give her attention to earning money. Sometimes she admitted +this, but could find no means of earning money. At others she seemed +afraid of letting her thoughts dwell on the subject, saying it brought on +the worst palsy of all. Indeed, in her position, nothing less than +entire constant absorption in petty money matters could have scraped +together a provision. + +"Of course artists and authors stood high with Charlotte, and the best +thing after their works would have been their company. She used very +inconsistently to rail at money and money-getting, and then wish she was +able to visit all the large towns in Europe, see all the sights and know +all the celebrities. This was her notion of literary fame,--a passport +to the society of clever people . . . When she had become acquainted with +the people and ways at Brussels her life became monotonous, and she fell +into the same hopeless state as at Miss W---'s, though in a less degree. +I wrote to her, urging her to go home or elsewhere; she had got what she +wanted (French), and there was at least novelty in a new place, if no +improvement. That if she sank into deeper gloom she would soon not have +energy to go, and she was too far from home for her friends to hear of +her condition and order her home as they had done from Miss W---'s. She +wrote that I had done her a great service, that she should certainly +follow my advice, and was much obliged to me. I have often wondered at +this letter. Though she patiently tolerated advice, she could always +quietly put it aside, and do as she thought fit. More than once +afterwards she mentioned the 'service' I had done her. She sent me +10_l_. to New Zealand, on hearing some exaggerated accounts of my +circumstances, and told me she hoped it would come in seasonably; it was +a debt she owed me 'for the service I had done her.' I should think +10_l_. was a quarter of her income. The 'service' was mentioned as an +apology, but kindness was the real motive." + +The first break in this life of regular duties and employments came +heavily and sadly. Martha--pretty, winning, mischievous, tricksome +Martha--was taken ill suddenly at the Chateau de Koekelberg. Her sister +tended her with devoted love; but it was all in vain; in a few days she +died. Charlotte's own short account of this event is as follows:-- + +"Martha T.'s illness was unknown to me till the day before she died. I +hastened to Koekelberg the next morning--unconscious that she was in +great danger--and was told that it was finished. She had died in the +night. Mary was taken away to Bruxelles. I have seen Mary frequently +since. She is in no ways crushed by the event; but while Martha was ill, +she was to her more than a mother--more than a sister: watching, nursing, +cherishing her so tenderly, so unweariedly. She appears calm and serious +now; no bursts of violent emotion; no exaggeration of distress. I have +seen Martha's grave--the place where her ashes lie in a foreign country." + +Who that has read "Shirley" does not remember the few lines--perhaps half +a page--of sad recollection? + + "He has no idea that little Jessy will die young, she is so gay, and + chattering, and arch--original even now; passionate when provoked, but + most affectionate if caressed; by turns gentle and rattling; exacting + yet generous; fearless . . . yet reliant on any who will help her. + Jessy, with her little piquant face, engaging prattle, and winning + ways, is made to be a pet. + + * * * * * + + "Do you know this place? No, you never saw it; but you recognise the + nature of these trees, this foliage--the cypress, the willow, the yew. + Stone crosses like these are not unfamiliar to you, nor are these dim + garlands of everlasting flowers. Here is the place: green sod and a + grey marble head-stone--Jessy sleeps below. She lived through an + April day; much loved was she, much loving. She often, in her brief + life, shed tears--she had frequent sorrows; she smiled between, + gladdening whatever saw her. Her death was tranquil and happy in + Rose's guardian arms, for Rose had been her stay and defence through + many trials; the dying and the watching English girls were at that + hour alone in a foreign country, and the soil of that country gave + Jessy a grave. + + * * * * * + + "But, Jessy, I will write about you no more. This is an autumn + evening, wet and wild. There is only one cloud in the sky; but it + curtains it from pole to pole. The wind cannot rest; it hurries + sobbing over hills of sullen outline, colourless with twilight and + mist. Rain has beat all day on that church tower" (Haworth): "it + rises dark from the stony enclosure of its graveyard: the nettles, the + long grass, and the tombs all drip with wet. This evening reminds me + too forcibly of another evening some years ago: a howling, rainy + autumn evening too--when certain who had that day performed a + pilgrimage to a grave new made in a heretic cemetery, sat near a wood + fire on the hearth of a foreign dwelling. They were merry and social, + but they each knew that a gap, never to be filled, had been made in + their circle. They knew they had lost something whose absence could + never be quite atoned for, so long as they lived; and they knew that + heavy falling rain was soaking into the wet earth which covered their + lost darling; and that the sad, sighing gale was mourning above her + buried head. The fire warmed them; Life and Friendship yet blessed + them: but Jessy lay cold, coffined, solitary--only the sod screening + her from the storm." + +This was the first death that had occurred in the small circle of +Charlotte's immediate and intimate friends since the loss of her two +sisters long ago. She was still in the midst of her deep sympathy with +"Mary," when word came from home that her aunt, Miss Branwell, was +ailing--was very ill. Emily and Charlotte immediately resolved to go +home straight, and hastily packed up for England, doubtful whether they +should ever return to Brussels or not, leaving all their relations with +M. and Madame Heger, and the pensionnat, uprooted, and uncertain of any +future existence. Even before their departure, on the morning after they +received the first intelligence of illness--when they were on the very +point of starting--came a second letter, telling them of their aunt's +death. It could not hasten their movements, for every arrangement had +been made for speed. They sailed from Antwerp; they travelled night and +day, and got home on a Tuesday morning. The funeral and all was over, +and Mr. Bronte and Anne were sitting together, in quiet grief for the +loss of one who had done her part well in their household for nearly +twenty years, and earned the regard and respect of many who never knew +how much they should miss her till she was gone. The small property +which she had accumulated, by dint of personal frugality and self-denial, +was bequeathed to her nieces. Branwell, her darling, was to have had his +share; but his reckless expenditure had distressed the good old lady, and +his name was omitted in her will. + +When the first shock was over, the three sisters began to enjoy the full +relish of meeting again, after the longest separation they had had in +their lives. They had much to tell of the past, and much to settle for +the future. Anne had been for some little time in a situation, to which +she was to return at the end of the Christmas holidays. For another year +or so they were again to be all three apart; and, after that, the happy +vision of being together and opening a school was to be realised. Of +course they did not now look forward to settling at Burlington, or any +other place which would take them away from their father; but the small +sum which they each independently possessed would enable them to effect +such alterations in the parsonage-house at Haworth as would adapt it to +the reception of pupils. Anne's plans for the interval were fixed. Emily +quickly decided to be the daughter to remain at home. About Charlotte +there was much deliberation and some discussion. + +Even in all the haste of their sudden departure from Brussels, M. Heger +had found time to write a letter of sympathy to Mr. Bronte on the loss +which he had just sustained; a letter containing such a graceful +appreciation of the daughters' characters, under the form of a tribute of +respect to their father, that I should have been tempted to copy it, even +had there not also been a proposal made in it respecting Charlotte, which +deserves a place in the record of her life. + + "Au Reverend Monsieur Bronte, Pasteur Evangelique, &c, &c. + + "Samedi, 5 Obre. + + "MONSIEUR, + + "Un evenement bien triste decide mesdemoiselles vas filles a retourner + brusquement en Angleterre, ce depart qui nous afflige beaucoup a + cependant ma complete approbation; il est bien naturel qu'elles + cherchent a vous consoler de ce que le ciel vient de vous oter, on se + serrant autour de vous, poui mieux vous faire apprecier ce que le ciel + vous a donne et ce qu'il vous laisse encore. J'espere que vous me + pardonnerez, Monsieur, de profiter de cette circonstance pour vous + faire parvenir l'expression de mon respect; je n'ai pas l'honneur de + vous connaitre personnellement, et cependant j'eprouve pour votre + personne un sentiment de sincere veneration, car en jugeant un pere de + famille par ses enfants on ne risque pas de se tromper, et sous ce + rapport l'education et les sentiments que nous avons trouves dans + mesdemoiselles vos filles n'ont pu que nous donner une tres-haute idee + de votre merite et de votre caractere. Vous apprendrez sans doute + avec plaisir que vos enfants ont fait du progres tresremarquable dans + toutes les branches de l'enseignenient, et que ces progres sont + entierement du a leur amour pour le travail et a leur perseverance; + nous n'avons eu que bien peu a faire avec de pareilles eleves; leur + avancement est votre oeuvre bien plus que la notre; nous n'avons pas + eu a leur apprendre le prix du temps et de l'instruction, elles + avaient appris tout cela dans la maison paternelle, et nous n'avons + eu, pour notre part, que le faible merite de diriger leurs efforts et + de fournir un aliment convenable a la louable activite que vos filles + ont puisees dans votre exemple et dans vos lecons. Puissent les + eloges meritees que nous donnons a vos enfants vous etre de quelque + consolation dans le malheur que vous afflige; c'est la notre espoir en + vous ecrivant, et ce sera, pour Mesdemoiselles Charlotte et Emily, une + douce et belle recompense de leurs travaux. + + "En perdant nos deux cheres eleves, nous ne devons pas vous cacher que + nous eprouvons a la fois et du chagrin et de l'inquietude; nous sommes + affliges parce que cette brusque separation vient briser l'affection + presque paternelle que nous leur avons vouee, et notre peine + s'augmente a la vue de tant de travaux interrompues, de tant de choses + bien commencees, et qui ne demandent que quelque temps encore pour + etre menees a bonne fin. Dans un an, chacune de vos demoiselles eut + ete entierement premunie contre les eventualites de l'avenir; chacune + d'elles acquerait a la fois et l'instruction et la science + d'enseignement; Mlle Emily allait apprendre le piano; recevoir les + lecons du meilleur professeur que nous ayons en Belgique, et deja elle + avait elle-meme de petites eleves; elle perdait donc a la fois un + reste d'ignorance et un reste plus genant encore de timidite; Mlle + Charlotte commencait a donner des lecons en francais, et d'acquerir + cette assurance, cet aplomb si necessaire dans l'enseignement; encore + un an tout au plus et l'oeuvre etait achevee et bien achevee. Alors + nous aurions pu, si cela vous eut convenu, offrir a mesdemoiselles vos + filles ou du moins a l'une des deux une position qui eut ete dans ses + gouts, et qui lui eut donne cette douce independance si difficile a + trouver pour une jeune personne. Ce n'est pas, croyez le bien, + Monsieur, ce n'est pas ici pour nous une question d'interet personnel, + c'est une question d'affection; vous me pardonnerez si nous vous + parlons de vos enfants, si nous nous occupons de leur avenir, comme si + elles faisaient partie de notre famille; leurs qualites personnelles, + leur bon vouloir, leur zele extreme sont les seules causes qui nous + poussent a nous hasarder de la sorte. Nous savons, Monsieur, que vous + peserez plus murement et plus sagement que nous la consequence + qu'aurait pour l'avenir une interruption complete dans les etudes de + vos deux filles; vous deciderez ce qu'il faut faire, et vous nous + pardonnerez notre franchise, si vous daignez considerer que le motif + qui nous fait agir est une affection bien desinteressee et qui + s'affligerait beaucoup de devoir deja se resigner a n'etre plus utile + a vos chers enfants. + + "Agreez, je vous prie, Monsieur, l'expression respectueuse de mes + sentiments de haute consideration. + + "C. HEGER." + +There was so much truth, as well as so much kindness in this letter--it +was so obvious that a second year of instruction would be far more +valuable than the first, that there was no long hesitation before it was +decided that Charlotte should return to Brussels. + +Meanwhile, they enjoyed their Christmas all together inexpressibly. +Branwell was with them; that was always a pleasure at this time; whatever +might be his faults, or even his vices, his sisters yet held him up as +their family hope, as they trusted that he would some day be their family +pride. They blinded themselves to the magnitude of the failings of which +they were now and then told, by persuading themselves that such failings +were common to all men of any strength of character; for, till sad +experience taught them better, they fell into the usual error of +confounding strong passions with strong character. + +Charlotte's friend came over to see her, and she returned the visit. Her +Brussels life must have seemed like a dream, so completely, in this short +space of time, did she fall back into the old household ways; with more +of household independence than she could ever have had during her aunt's +lifetime. Winter though it was, the sisters took their accustomed walks +on the snow-covered moors; or went often down the long road to Keighley, +for such books as had been added to the library there during their +absence from England. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +Towards the end of January, the time came for Charlotte to return to +Brussels. Her journey thither was rather disastrous. She had to make +her way alone; and the train from Leeds to London, which should have +reached Euston-square early in the afternoon, was so much delayed that it +did not get in till ten at night. She had intended to seek out the +Chapter Coffee-house, where she had stayed before, and which would have +been near the place where the steam-boats lay; but she appears to have +been frightened by the idea of arriving at an hour which, to Yorkshire +notions, was so late and unseemly; and taking a cab, therefore, at the +station, she drove straight to the London Bridge Wharf, and desired a +waterman to row her to the Ostend packet, which was to sail the next +morning. She described to me, pretty much as she has since described it +in "Villette," her sense of loneliness, and yet her strange pleasure in +the excitement of the situation, as in the dead of that winter's night +she went swiftly over the dark river to the black hull's side, and was at +first refused leave to ascend to the deck. "No passengers might sleep on +board," they said, with some appearance of disrespect. She looked back +to the lights and subdued noises of London--that "Mighty Heart" in which +she had no place--and, standing up in the rocking boat, she asked to +speak to some one in authority on board the packet. He came, and her +quiet simple statement of her wish, and her reason for it, quelled the +feeling of sneering distrust in those who had first heard her request; +and impressed the authority so favourably that he allowed her to come on +board, and take possession of a berth. The next morning she sailed; and +at seven on Sunday evening she reached the Rue d'Isabelle once more; +having only left Haworth on Friday morning at an early hour. + +Her salary was 16_l_. a year; out of which she had to pay for her German +lessons, for which she was charged as much (the lessons being probably +rated by time) as when Emily learnt with her and divided the expense, +viz., ten francs a month. By Miss Bronte's own desire, she gave her +English lessons in the _classe_, or schoolroom, without the supervision +of Madame or M. Heger. They offered to be present, with a view to +maintain order among the unruly Belgian girls; but she declined this, +saying that she would rather enforce discipline by her own manner and +character than be indebted for obedience to the presence of a _gendarme_. +She ruled over a new schoolroom, which had been built on the space in the +play-ground adjoining the house. Over that First Class she was +_surveillante_ at all hours; and henceforward she was called +_Mademoiselle_ Charlotte by M. Heger's orders. She continued her own +studies, principally attending to German, and to Literature; and every +Sunday she went alone to the German and English chapels. Her walks too +were solitary, and principally taken in the allee defendue, where she was +secure from intrusion. This solitude was a perilous luxury to one of her +temperament; so liable as she was to morbid and acute mental suffering. + +On March 6th, 1843, she writes thus:-- + + "I am settled by this time, of course. I am not too much overloaded + with occupation; and besides teaching English, I have time to improve + myself in German. I ought to consider myself well off, and to be + thankful for my good fortunes. I hope I am thankful; and if I could + always keep up my spirits and never feel lonely, or long for + companionship, or friendship, or whatever they call it, I should do + very well. As I told you before, M. and Madame Heger are the only two + persons in the house for whom I really experience regard and esteem, + and of course, I cannot be always with them, nor even very often. They + told me, when I first returned, that I was to consider their sitting- + room my sitting-room also, and to go there whenever I was not engaged + in the schoolroom. This, however, I cannot do. In the daytime it is + a public room, where music-masters and mistresses are constantly + passing in and out; and in the evening, I will not, and ought not to + intrude on M. and Madame Heger and their children. Thus I am a good + deal by myself, out of school-hours; but that does not signify. I now + regularly give English lessons to M. Heger and his brother-in-law. + They get on with wonderful rapidity; especially the first. He already + begins to speak English very decently. If you could see and hear the + efforts I make to teach them to pronounce like Englishmen, and their + unavailing attempts to imitate, you would laugh to all eternity. + + "The Carnival is just over, and we have entered upon the gloom and + abstinence of Lent. The first day of Lent we had coffee without milk + for breakfast; vinegar and vegetables, with a very little salt fish, + for dinner; and bread for supper. The Carnival was nothing but + masking and mummery. M. Heger took me and one of the pupils into the + town to see the masks. It was animating to see the immense crowds, + and the general gaiety, but the masks were nothing. I have been twice + to the D.'s" (those cousins of "Mary's" of whom I have before made + mention). "When she leaves Bruxelles, I shall have nowhere to go to. + I have had two letters from Mary. She does not tell me she has been + ill, and she does not complain; but her letters are not the letters of + a person in the enjoyment of great happiness. She has nobody to be as + good to her as M. Heger is to me; to lend her books; to converse with + her sometimes, &c. + + "Good-bye. When I say so, it seems to me that you will hardly hear + me; all the waves of the Channel heaving and roaring between must + deaden the sound." + +From the tone of this letter, it may easily be perceived that the +Brussels of 1843 was a different place from that of 1842. Then she had +Emily for a daily and nightly solace and companion. She had the weekly +variety of a visit to the family of the D.s; and she had the frequent +happiness of seeing "Mary" and Martha. Now Emily was far away in +Haworth--where she or any other loved one, might die, before Charlotte, +with her utmost speed, could reach them, as experience, in her aunt's +case, had taught her. The D.s were leaving Brussels; so, henceforth, her +weekly holiday would have to be passed in the Rue d'Isabelle, or so she +thought. "Mary" was gone off on her own independent course; Martha alone +remained--still and quiet for ever, in the cemetery beyond the Porte de +Louvain. The weather, too, for the first few weeks after Charlotte's +return, had been piercingly cold; and her feeble constitution was always +painfully sensitive to an inclement season. Mere bodily pain, however +acute, she could always put aside; but too often ill-health assailed her +in a part far more to be dreaded. Her depression of spirits, when she +was not well, was pitiful in its extremity. She was aware that it was +constitutional, and could reason about it; but no reasoning prevented her +suffering mental agony, while the bodily cause remained in force. + +The Hegers have discovered, since the publication of "Villette," that at +this beginning of her career as English teacher in their school, the +conduct of her pupils was often impertinent and mutinous in the highest +degree. But of this they were unaware at the time, as she had declined +their presence, and never made any complaint. Still it must have been a +depressing thought to her at this period, that her joyous, healthy, +obtuse pupils were so little answerable to the powers she could bring to +bear upon them; and though from their own testimony, her patience, +firmness, and resolution, at length obtained their just reward, yet with +one so weak in health and spirits, the reaction after such struggles as +she frequently had with her pupils, must have been very sad and painful. + +She thus writes to her friend E.:-- + + "April, 1843. + + "Is there any talk of your coming to Brussels? During the bitter cold + weather we had through February, and the principal part of March, I + did not regret that you had not accompanied me. If I had seen you + shivering as I shivered myself, if I had seen your hands and feet as + red and swelled as mine were, my discomfort would just have been + doubled. I can do very well under this sort of thing; it does not + fret me; it only makes me numb and silent; but if you were to pass a + winter in Belgium, you would be ill. However, more genial weather is + coming now, and I wish you were here. Yet I never have pressed you, + and never would press you too warmly to come. There are privations + and humiliations to submit to; there is monotony and uniformity of + life; and, above all, there is a constant sense of solitude in the + midst of numbers. The Protestant, the foreigner, is a solitary being, + whether as teacher or pupil. I do not say this by way of complaining + of my own lot; for though I acknowledge that there are certain + disadvantages in my present position, what position on earth is + without them? And, whenever I turn back to compare what I am with + what I was--my place here with my place at Mrs. ---'s for instance--I + am thankful. There was an observation in your last letter which + excited, for a moment, my wrath. At first, I thought it would be + folly to reply to it, and I would let it die. Afterwards, I + determined to give one answer, once for all. 'Three or four people,' + it seems, 'have the idea that the future _epoux_ of Mademoiselle + Bronte is on the Continent.' These people are wiser than I am. They + could not believe that I crossed the sea merely to return as teacher + to Madame Hegers. I must have some more powerful motive than respect + for my master and mistress, gratitude for their kindness, &c., to + induce me to refuse a salary of 50_l_. in England, and accept one of + 16_l_. in Belgium. I must, forsooth, have some remote hope of + entrapping a husband somehow, or somewhere. If these charitable + people knew the total seclusion of the life I lead,--that I never + exchange a word with any other man than Monsieur Heger, and seldom + indeed with him,--they would, perhaps, cease to suppose that any such + chimerical and groundless notion had influenced my proceedings. Have + I said enough to clear myself of so silly an imputation? Not that it + is a crime to marry, or a crime to wish to be married; but it is an + imbecility, which I reject with contempt, for women, who have neither + fortune nor beauty, to make marriage the principal object of their + wishes and hopes, and the aim of all their actions; not to be able to + convince themselves that they are unattractive, and that they had + better be quiet, and think of other things than wedlock." + +The following is an extract, from one of the few letters which have been +preserved, of her correspondence with her sister Emily:-- + + "May 29, 1843 + + "I get on here from day to day in a Robinson-Crusoe-like sort of way, + very lonely, but that does not signify. In other respects, I have + nothing substantial to complain of, nor is this a cause for complaint. + I hope you are well. Walk out often on the moors. My love to Tabby. + I hope she keeps well." + +And about this time she wrote to her father, + + "June 2nd, 1818, + + "I was very glad to hear from home. I had begun to get low-spirited + at not receiving any news, and to entertain indefinite fears that + something was wrong. You do not say anything about your own health, + but I hope you are well, and Emily also. I am afraid she will have a + good deal of hard work to do now that Hannah" (a servant-girl who had + been assisting Tabby) "is gone. I am exceedingly glad to hear that + you still keep Tabby" (considerably upwards of seventy). "It is an + act of great charity to her, and I do not think it will be unrewarded, + for she is very faithful, and will always serve you, when she has + occasion, to the best of her abilities; besides, she will be company + for Emily, who, without her, would be very lonely." + +I gave a _devoir_, written after she had been four months under M. +Heger's tuition. I will now copy out another, written nearly a year +later, during which the progress made appears to me very great. + + "31 Mai, 1843. + + "SUR LA MORT DE NAPOLEON. + + "Napoleon naquit en Corse et mourut a Ste. Helene. Entre ces deux + iles rien qu'un vaste et brulant desert et l'ocean immense. Il naquit + fils d'un simple gentilhomme, et mourut empereur, mais sans couronne + et dans les fers. Entre son berceau et sa tombe qu'y a-t-il? la + carriere d'un soldat parvenu, des champs de bataille, une mer de sang, + un trone, puis du sang encore, et des fers. Sa vie, c'est l'arc en + ciel; les deux points extremes touchent la terre, la comble lumi-neuse + mesure les cieux. Sur Napoleon au berceau une mere brillait; dans la + maison paternelle il avait des freres et des soeurs; plus tard dans + son palais il eut une femme qui l'aimait. Mais sur son lit de mort + Napoleon est seul; plus de mere, ni de frere, ni de soeur, ni de + femme, ni d'enfant!! D'autres ont dit et rediront ses exploits, moi, + je m'arrete a contempler l'abandonnement de sa derniere heure! + + "Il est la, exile et captif, enchaine sur un ecueil. Nouveau + Promethee il subit le chatiment de son orgueil! Promethee avait voulu + etre Dieu et Createur; il deroba le feu du Ciel pour animer le corps + qu'il avait forme. Et lui, Buonaparte, il a voulu creer, non pas un + homme, mais un empire, et pour donner une existence, une ame, a son + oeuvre gigantesque, il n'a pas hesite a arracher la vie a des nations + entieres. Jupiter indigne de l'impiete de Promethee, le riva vivant a + la cime du Caucase. Ainsi, pour punir l'ambition rapace de + Buonaparte, la Providence l'a enchaine, jusqu'a ce que la mort s'en + suivit, sur un roc isole de l'Atlantique. Peut-etre la aussi a-t-il + senti lui fouillant le flanc cet insatiable vautour dont parle la + fable, peut-etre a-t-il souffert aussi cette soif du coeur, cette faim + de l'ame, qui torturent l'exile, loin de sa famille et de sa patrie. + Mais parler ainsi n'est-ce pas attribuer gratuitement a Napoleon une + humaine faiblesse qu'il n'eprouva jamais? Quand donc s'est-il laisse + enchainer par un lien d'affection? Sans doute d'autres conquerants + ont hesite dans leur carriere de gloire, arretes par un obstacle + d'amour ou d'amitie, retenus par la main d'une femme, rappeles par la + voix d'un ami--lui, jamais! Il n'eut pas besoin, comme Ulysse, de se + lier au mat du navire, ni de se boucher les oreilles avec de la cire; + il ne redoutait pas le chant des Sirenes--il le dedaignait; il se fit + marbre et fer pour executer ses grands projets. Napoleon ne se + regardait pas comme un homme, mais comme l'incarnation d'un peuple. Il + n'aimait pas; il ne considerait ses amis et ses proches que comme des + instruments auxquels il tint, tant qu'ils furent utiles, et qu'il jeta + de cote quand ils cesserent de l'etre. Qu'on ne se permette donc pas + d'approcher du sepulcre du Corse avec sentiments de pitie, ou de + souiller de larmes la pierre qui couvre ses restes, son ame + repudierait tout cela. On a dit, je le sais, qu'elle fut cruelle la + main qui le separa de sa femme et de son enfant. Non, c'etait une + main qui, comme la sienne, ne tremblait ni de passion ni de crainte, + c'etait la main d'un homme froid, convaincu, qui avait su deviner + Buonaparte; et voici ce que disait cet homme que la defaite n'a pu + humilier, ni la victoire enorgueiller. 'Marie-Louise n'est pas la + femme de Napoleon; c'est la France que Napoleon a epousee; c'est la + France qu'il aime, leur union enfante la perte de l'Europe; voila la + divorce que je veux; voila l'union qu'il faut briser.' + + "La voix des timides et des traitres protesta contre cette sentence. + 'C'est abuser de droit de la victoire! C'est fouler aux pieds le + vaincu! Que l'Angleterre se montre clemente, qu'elle ouvre ses bras + pour recevoir comme hote son ennemi desarme.' L'Angleterre aurait + peut-etre ecoute ce conseii, car partout et toujours il y a des ames + faibles et timorees bientot seduites par la flatterie ou effrayees par + le reproche. Mais la Providence permit qu'un homme se trouvat qui n'a + jamais su ce que c'est que la crainte; qui aima sa patrie mieux que sa + renommee; impenetrable devant les menaces, inaccessible aux louanges, + il se presenta devant le conseil de la nation, et levant son front + tranquille en haut, il osa dire: 'Que la trahison se taise! car c'est + trahir que de conseiller de temporiser avec Buonaparte. Moi je sais + ce que sont ces guerres dont l'Europe saigne encore, comme une victime + sous le couteau du boucher. Il faut en finir avec Napoleon + Buonaparte. Vous vous effrayez a tort d'un mot si dur! Je n'ai pas + de magnanimite, dit-on? Soit! que m'importe ce qu'on dit de moi? Je + n'ai pas ici a me faire une reputation de heros magnanime, mais a + guerir, si la cure est possible, l'Europe qui se meurt, epuisee de + ressources et de sang, l'Europe dont vous negligez les vrais interets, + pre-occupes que vous etes d'une vaine renommee de clemence. Vous etes + faibles! Eh bien! je viens vous aider. Envoyez Buonaparte a Ste. + Helene! n'hesitez pas, ne cherchez pas un autre endroit; c'est le seul + convenable. Je vous le dis, j'ai reflechi pour vous; c'est la qu'il + doit etre et non pas ailleurs. Quant a Napoleon, homme, soldat, je + n'ai rien contre lui; c'est un lion royal, aupres de qui vous n'etes + que des chacals. Mais Napoleon Empereur, c'est autre chose, je + l'extirperai du sol de l'Europe.' Et celui qui parla ainsi toujours + sut garder sa promesse, celle-la comme toutes les autres. Je l'ai + dit, et je le repete, cet homme est l'egal de Napoleon par le genie; + comme trempe de caractere, comme droiture, comme elevation de pensee + et de but, il est d'une tout autre espece. Napoleon Buonaparte etait + avide de renommee et de gloire; Arthur Wellesley ne se soucie ni de + l'une ni de l'autre; l'opinion publique, la popularite, etaient choses + de grand valeur aux yeux de Napoleon; pour Wellington l'opinion + publique est une rumeur, un rien que le souffle de son inflexible + volonte fait disparaitre comme une bulle de savon. Napoleon flattait + le peuple; Wellington le brusqne; l'un cherchait les + applau-dissements, l'autre ne se soucie que du temoignage de sa + conscience; quand elle approuve, c'est assez; toute autre louange + l'obsede. Aussi ce peuple, qui adorait Buonaparte s'irritait, + s'insurgeait contre la morgue de Wellington: parfois il lui temoigna + sa colere et sa haine par des grognements, par des hurlements de betes + fauves; et alors, avec une impassibilite de senateur romain, le + moderne Coriolan toisait du regard l'emeute furieuse; il croisait ses + bras nerveux sur sa large poitrine, et seul, debout sur son seuil, il + attendait, il bravait cette tempete populaire dont les flots venaient + mourir a quelques pas de lui: et quand la foule, honteuse de sa + rebellion, venait lecher les pieds du maitre, le hautain patricien + meprisait l'hommage d'aujourd'hui comme la haine d'hier, et dans les + rues de Londres, et devant son palais ducal d'Apsley, il repoussait + d'un genre plein de froid dedain l'incommode empressement du peuple + enthousiaste. Cette fierte neanmoins n'excluait pas en lui une rare + modestie; partout il se soustrait a l'eloge; se derobe au panegyrique; + jamais il ne parle de ses exploits, et jamais il ne souffre qu'un + autre lui en parle en sa presence. Son caractere egale en grandeur et + surpasse en verite celui de tout autre heros ancien ou moderne. La + gloire de Napoleon crut en une nuit, comme la vigne de Jonas, et il + suffit d'un jour pour la fletrir; la gloire de Wellington est comme + les vieux chenes qui ombragent le chateau de ses peres sur les rives + du Shannon; le chene croit lentement; il lui faut du temps pour + pousser vers le ciel ses branches noueuses, et pour enfoncer dans le + sol ces racines profondes qui s'enchevetrent dans les fondements + solides de la terre; mais alors, l'arbre seculaire, inebranlable comme + le roc ou il a sa base, brave et la faux du temps et l'effort des + vents et des tempetes. Il faudra peut-etre un siecle a l'Angleterre + pour qu'elle connaise la valeur de son heros. Dans un siecle, + l'Europe entiere saura combien Wellington a des droits a sa + reconnaissance." + +How often in writing this paper "in a strange land," must Miss Bronte +have thought of the old childish disputes in the kitchen of Haworth +parsonage, touching the respective merits of Wellington and Buonaparte! +Although the title given to her _devoir_ is, "On the Death of Napoleon," +she seems yet to have considered it a point of honour rather to sing +praises to an English hero than to dwell on the character of a foreigner, +placed as she was among those who cared little either for an England or +for Wellington. She now felt that she had made great progress towards +obtaining proficiency in the French language, which had been her main +object in coming to Brussels. But to the zealous learner "Alps on Alps +arise." No sooner is one difficulty surmounted than some other desirable +attainment appears, and must be laboured after. A knowledge of German +now became her object; and she resolved to compel herself to remain in +Brussels till that was gained. The strong yearning to go home came upon +her; the stronger self-denying will forbade. There was a great internal +struggle; every fibre of her heart quivered in the strain to master her +will; and, when she conquered herself, she remained, not like a victor +calm and supreme on the throne, but like a panting, torn, and suffering +victim. Her nerves and her spirits gave way. Her health became much +shaken. + + "Brussels, August 1st, 1843. + + "If I complain in this letter, have mercy and don't blame me, for, I + forewarn you, I am in low spirits, and that earth and heaven are + dreary and empty to me at this moment. In a few days our vacation + will begin; everybody is joyous and animated at the prospect, because + everybody is to go home. I know that I am to stay here during the + five weeks that the holidays last, and that I shall be much alone + during that time, and consequently get downcast, and find both days + and nights of a weary length. It is the first time in my life that I + have really dreaded the vacation. Alas! I can hardly write, I have + such a dreary weight at my heart; and I do so wish to go home. Is not + this childish? Pardon me, for I cannot help it. However, though I am + not strong enough to bear up cheerfully, I can still bear up; and I + will continue to stay (D. V.) some months longer, till I have acquired + German; and then I hope to see all your faces again. Would that the + vacation were well over! it will pass so slowly. Do have the + Christian charity to write me a long, long letter; fill it with the + minutest details; nothing will be uninteresting. Do not think it is + because people are unkind to me that I wish to leave Belgium; nothing + of the sort. Everybody is abundantly civil, but home-sickness keeps + creeping over me. I cannot shake it off. Believe me, very merrily, + vivaciously, gaily, yours, + + "C.B." + +The _grandes vacances_ began soon after the date of this letter, when she +was left in the great deserted pensionnat, with only one teacher for a +companion. This teacher, a Frenchwoman, had always been uncongenial to +her; but, left to each other's sole companionship, Charlotte soon +discovered that her associate was more profligate, more steeped in a kind +of cold, systematic sensuality, than she had before imagined it possible +for a human being to be; and her whole nature revolted from this woman's +society. A low nervous fever was gaining upon Miss Bronte. She had +never been a good sleeper, but now she could not sleep at all. Whatever +had been disagreeable, or obnoxious, to her during the day, was presented +when it was over with exaggerated vividness to her disordered fancy. +There were causes for distress and anxiety in the news from home, +particularly as regarded Branwell. In the dead of the night, lying awake +at the end of the long deserted dormitory, in the vast and silent house, +every fear respecting those whom she loved, and who were so far off in +another country, became a terrible reality, oppressing her and choking up +the very life-blood in her heart. Those nights were times of sick, +dreary, wakeful misery; precursors of many such in after years. + +In the daytime, driven abroad by loathing of her companion and by the +weak restlessness of fever, she tried to walk herself into such a state +of bodily fatigue as would induce sleep. So she went out, and with weary +steps would traverse the Boulevards and the streets, sometimes for hours +together; faltering and resting occasionally on some of the many benches +placed for the repose of happy groups, or for solitary wanderers like +herself. Then up again--anywhere but to the pensionnat--out to the +cemetery where Martha lay--out beyond it, to the hills whence there is +nothing to be seen but fields as far as the horizon. The shades of +evening made her retrace her footsteps--sick for want of food, but not +hungry; fatigued with long continued exercise--yet restless still, and +doomed to another weary, haunted night of sleeplessness. She would +thread the streets in the neighbourhood of the Rue d'Isabelle, and yet +avoid it and its occupant, till as late an hour as she dared be out. At +last, she was compelled to keep her bed for some days, and this +compulsory rest did her good. She was weak, but less depressed in +spirits than she had been, when the school re-opened, and her positive +practical duties recommenced. + +She writes thus:-- + +"October 13th, 1843 + +"Mary is getting on well, as she deserves to do. I often hear from her. +Her letters and yours are one of my few pleasures. She urges me very +much to leave Brussels and go to her; but, at present, however tempted to +take such a step, I should not feel justified in doing so. To leave a +certainty for a complete uncertainty, would be to the last degree +imprudent. Notwithstanding that, Brussels is indeed desolate to me now. +Since the D.s left, I have had no friend. I had, indeed, some very kind +acquaintances in the family of a Dr. ---, but they, too, are gone now. +They left in the latter part of August, and I am completely alone. I +cannot count the Belgians anything. It is a curious position to be so +utterly solitary in the midst of numbers. Sometimes the solitude +oppresses me to an excess. One day, lately, I felt as if I could bear it +no longer, and I went to Madame Heger, and gave her notice. If it had +depended on her, I should certainly have soon been at liberty; but M. +Heger, having heard of what was in agitation, sent for me the day after, +and pronounced with vehemence his decision, that I should not leave. I +could not, at that time, have persevered in my intention without exciting +him to anger; so I promised to stay a little while longer. How long that +will be, I do not know. I should not like to return to England to do +nothing. I am too old for that now; but if I could hear of a favourable +opportunity for commencing a school, I think I should embrace it. We +have as yet no fires here, and I suffer much from cold; otherwise, I am +well in health. Mr. --- will take this letter to England. He is a +pretty-looking and pretty behaved young man, apparently constructed +without a backbone; by which I don't allude to his corporal spine, which +is all right enough, but to his character. + + "I get on here after a fashion; but now that Mary D. has left + Brussels, I have nobody to speak to, for I count the Belgians as + nothing. Sometimes I ask myself how long shall I stay here; but as + yet I have only asked the question; I have not answered it. However, + when I have acquired as much German as I think fit, I think I shall + pack up bag and baggage and depart. Twinges of home-sickness cut me + to the heart, every now and then. To-day the weather is glaring, and + I am stupified with a bad cold and headache. I have nothing to tell + you. One day is like another in this place. I know you, living in + the country, can hardly believe it is possible life can be monotonous + in the centre of a brilliant capital like Brussels; but so it is. I + feel it most on holidays, when all the girls and teachers go out to + visit, and it sometimes happens that I am left, during several hours, + quite alone, with four great desolate schoolrooms at my disposition. I + try to read, I try to write; but in vain. I then wander about from + room to room, but the silence and loneliness of all the house weighs + down one's spirits like lead. You will hardly believe that Madame + Heger (good and kind as I have described her) never comes near me on + these occasions. I own, I was astonished the first time I was left + alone thus; when everybody else was enjoying the pleasures of a fete + day with their friends, and she knew I was quite by myself, and never + took the least notice of me. Yet, I understand, she praises me very + much to everybody, and says what excellent lessons I give. She is not + colder to me than she is to the other teachers; but they are less + dependent on her than I am. They have relations and acquaintances in + Bruxelles. You remember the letter she wrote me, when I was in + England? How kind and affectionate that was? is it not odd? In the + meantime, the complaints I make at present are a sort of relief which + I permit myself. In all other respects I am well satisfied with my + position, and you may say so to people who inquire after me (if any + one does). Write to me, dear, whenever you can. You do a good deed + when you send me a letter, for you comfort a very desolate heart." + +One of the reasons for the silent estrangement between Madame Heger and +Miss Bronte, in the second year of her residence at Brussels, is to be +found in the fact, that the English Protestant's dislike of Romanism +increased with her knowledge of it, and its effects upon those who +professed it; and when occasion called for an expression of opinion from +Charlotte Bronte, she was uncompromising truth. Madame Heger, on the +opposite side, was not merely a Roman Catholic, she was _devote_. Not of +a warm or impulsive temperament, she was naturally governed by her +conscience, rather than by her affections; and her conscience was in the +hands of her religious guides. She considered any slight thrown upon her +Church as blasphemy against the Holy Truth; and, though she was not given +to open expression of her thoughts and feelings, yet her increasing +coolness of behaviour showed how much her most cherished opinions had +been wounded. Thus, although there was never any explanation of Madame +Heger's change of manner, this may be given as one great reason why, +about this time, Charlotte was made painfully conscious of a silent +estrangement between them; an estrangement of which, perhaps, the former +was hardly aware. I have before alluded to intelligence from home, +calculated to distress Charlotte exceedingly with fears respecting +Branwell, which I shall speak of more at large when the realisation of +her worst apprehensions came to affect the daily life of herself and her +sisters. I allude to the subject again here, in order that the reader +may remember the gnawing, private cares, which she had to bury in her own +heart; and the pain of which could only be smothered for a time under the +diligent fulfilment of present duty. Another dim sorrow was faintly +perceived at this time. Her father's eyesight began to fail; it was not +unlikely that he might shortly become blind; more of his duty must +devolve on a curate, and Mr. Bronte, always liberal, would have to pay at +a higher rate than he had heretofore done for this assistance. + +She wrote thus to Emily:-- + +"Dec.1st, 1843. + +"This is Sunday morning. They are at their idolatrous 'messe,' and I am +here, that is in the Refectoire. I should like uncommonly to be in the +dining-room at home, or in the kitchen, or in the back kitchen. I should +like even to be cutting up the hash, with the clerk and some register +people at the other table, and you standing by, watching that I put +enough flour, not too much pepper, and, above all, that I save the best +pieces of the leg of mutton for Tiger and Keeper, the first of which +personages would be jumping about the dish and carving-knife, and the +latter standing like a devouring flame on the kitchen-floor. To complete +the picture, Tabby blowing the fire, in order to boil the potatoes to a +sort of vegetable glue! How divine are these recollections to me at this +moment! Yet I have no thought of coming home just now. I lack a real +pretext for doing so; it is true this place is dismal to me, but I cannot +go home without a fixed prospect when I get there; and this prospect must +not be a situation; that would be jumping out of the frying-pan into the +fire. _You_ call yourself idle! absurd, absurd! . . . Is papa well? Are +you well? and Tabby? You ask about Queen Victoria's visit to Brussels. I +saw her for an instant flashing through the Rue Royale in a carriage and +six, surrounded by soldiers. She was laughing and talking very gaily. +She looked a little stout, vivacious lady, very plainly dressed, not much +dignity or pretension about her. The Belgians liked her very well on the +whole. They said she enlivened the sombre court of King Leopold, which +is usually as gloomy as a conventicle. Write to me again soon. Tell me +whether papa really wants me very much to come home, and whether you do +likewise. I have an idea that I should be of no use there--a sort of +aged person upon the parish. I pray, with heart and soul, that all may +continue well at Haworth; above all in our grey half-inhabited house. God +bless the walls thereof! Safety, health, happiness, and prosperity to +you, papa, and Tabby. Amen. + +"C. B." + +Towards the end of this year (1843) various reasons conspired with the +causes of anxiety which have been mentioned, to make her feel that her +presence was absolutely and imperatively required at home, while she had +acquired all that she proposed to herself in coming to Brussels the +second time; and was, moreover, no longer regarded with the former +kindliness of feeling by Madame Heger. In consequence of this state of +things, working down with sharp edge into a sensitive mind, she suddenly +announced to that lady her immediate intention of returning to England. +Both M. and Madame Heger agreed that it would be for the best, when they +learnt only that part of the case which she could reveal to them--namely, +Mr. Bronte's increasing blindness. But as the inevitable moment of +separation from people and places, among which she had spent so many +happy hours, drew near, her spirits gave way; she had the natural +presentiment that she saw them all for the last time, and she received +but a dead kind of comfort from being reminded by her friends that +Brussels and Haworth were not so very far apart; that access from one +place to the other was not so difficult or impracticable as her tears +would seem to predicate; nay, there was some talk of one of Madame +Heger's daughters being sent to her as a pupil, if she fulfilled her +intention of trying to begin a school. To facilitate her success in this +plan, should she ever engage in it, M. Heger gave her a kind of diploma, +dated from, and sealed with the seal of the Athenee Royal de Bruxelles, +certifying that she was perfectly capable of teaching the French +language, having well studied the grammar and composition thereof, and, +moreover, having prepared herself for teaching by studying and practising +the best methods of instruction. This certificate is dated December 29th +1843, and on the 2nd of January, 1844, she arrived at Haworth. + +On the 23rd of the month she writes as follows:-- + +"Every one asks me what I am going to do, now that I am returned home; +and every one seems to expect that I should immediately commence a +school. In truth, it is what I should wish to do. I desire it above all +things. I have sufficient money for the undertaking, and I hope now +sufficient qualifications to give me a fair chance of success; yet I +cannot yet permit myself to enter upon life--to touch the object which +seems now within my reach, and which I have been so long straining to +attain. You will ask me why? It is on papa's account; he is now, as you +know, getting old, and it grieves me to tell you that he is losing his +sight. I have felt for some months that I ought not to be away from him; +and I feel now that it would be too selfish to leave him (at least, as +long as Branwell and Anne are absent), in order to pursue selfish +interests of my own. With the help of God, I will try to deny myself in +this matter, and to wait. + +"I suffered much before I left Brussels. I think, however long I live, I +shall not forget what the parting with M. Heger cost me. It grieved me +so much to grieve him who has been so true, kind, and disinterested a +friend. At parting he gave me a kind of diploma certifying my abilities +as a teacher, sealed with the seal of the Athenee Royal, of which he is +professor. I was surprised also at the degree of regret expressed by my +Belgian pupils, when they knew I was going to leave. I did not think it +had been in their phlegmatic nature . . . I do not know whether you feel +as I do, but there are times now when it appears to me as if all my ideas +and feelings, except a few friendships and affections, are changed from +what they used to be; something in me, which used to be enthusiasm, is +tamed down and broken. I have fewer illusions; what I wish for now is +active exertion--a stake in life. Haworth seems such a lonely, quiet +spot, buried away from the world. I no longer regard myself as +young--indeed, I shall soon be twenty-eight; and it seems as if I ought +to be working and braving the rough realities of the world, as other +people do. It is, however, my duty to restrain this feeling at present, +and I will endeavour to do so." + +Of course her absent sister and brother obtained a holiday to welcome her +return home, and in a few weeks she was spared to pay a visit to her +friend at B. But she was far from well or strong, and the short journey +of fourteen miles seems to have fatigued her greatly. + +Soon after she came back to Haworth, in a letter to one of the household +in which she had been staying, there occurs this passage:--"Our poor +little cat has been ill two days, and is just dead. It is piteous to see +even an animal lying lifeless. Emily is sorry." These few words relate +to points in the characters of the two sisters, which I must dwell upon a +little. Charlotte was more than commonly tender in her treatment of all +dumb creatures, and they, with that fine instinct so often noticed, were +invariably attracted towards her. The deep and exaggerated consciousness +of her personal defects--the constitutional absence of hope, which made +her slow to trust in human affection, and, consequently, slow to respond +to any manifestation of it--made her manner shy and constrained to men +and women, and even to children. We have seen something of this +trembling distrust of her own capability of inspiring affection, in the +grateful surprise she expresses at the regret felt by her Belgian pupils +at her departure. But not merely were her actions kind, her words and +tones were ever gentle and caressing, towards animals: and she quickly +noticed the least want of care or tenderness on the part of others +towards any poor brute creature. The readers of "Shirley" may remember +that it is one of the tests which the heroine applies to her lover. + + "Do you know what soothsayers I would consult?" . . . "The little + Irish beggar that comes barefoot to my door; the mouse that steals out + of the cranny in my wainscot; the bird in frost and snow that pecks at + my window for a crumb; the dog that licks my hand and sits beside my + knee. I know somebody to whose knee the black cat loves to climb, + against whose shoulder and cheek it likes to purr. The old dog always + comes out of his kennel and wags his tail, and whines affectionately + when somebody passes." [For "somebody" and "he," read "Charlotte + Bronte" and "she."] "He quietly strokes the cat, and lets her sit + while he conveniently can; and when he must disturb her by rising, he + puts her softly down, and never flings her from him roughly: he always + whistles to the dog, and gives him a caress." + +The feeling, which in Charlotte partook of something of the nature of an +affection, was, with Emily, more of a passion. Some one speaking of her +to me, in a careless kind of strength of expression, said, "she never +showed regard to any human creature; all her love was reserved for +animals." The helplessness of an animal was its passport to Charlotte's +heart; the fierce, wild, intractability of its nature was what often +recommended it to Emily. Speaking of her dead sister, the former told me +that from her many traits in Shirley's character were taken; her way of +sitting on the rug reading, with her arm round her rough bull-dog's neck; +her calling to a strange dog, running past, with hanging head and lolling +tongue, to give it a merciful draught of water, its maddened snap at her, +her nobly stern presence of mind, going right into the kitchen, and +taking up one of Tabby's red-hot Italian irons to sear the bitten place, +and telling no one, till the danger was well-nigh over, for fear of the +terrors that might beset their weaker minds. All this, looked upon as a +well-invented fiction in "Shirley," was written down by Charlotte with +streaming eyes; it was the literal true account of what Emily had done. +The same tawny bull-dog (with his "strangled whistle"), called "Tartar" +in "Shirley," was "Keeper" in Haworth parsonage; a gift to Emily. With +the gift came a warning. Keeper was faithful to the depths of his nature +as long as he was with friends; but he who struck him with a stick or +whip, roused the relentless nature of the brute, who flew at his throat +forthwith, and held him there till one or the other was at the point of +death. Now Keeper's household fault was this. He loved to steal +upstairs, and stretch his square, tawny limbs, on the comfortable beds, +covered over with delicate white counterpanes. But the cleanliness of +the parsonage arrangements was perfect; and this habit of Keeper's was so +objectionable, that Emily, in reply to Tabby's remonstrances, declared +that, if he was found again transgressing, she herself, in defiance of +warning and his well-known ferocity of nature, would beat him so severely +that he would never offend again. In the gathering dusk of an autumn +evening, Tabby came, half-triumphantly, half-tremblingly, but in great +wrath, to tell Emily that Keeper was lying on the best bed, in drowsy +voluptuousness. Charlotte saw Emily's whitening face, and set mouth, but +dared not speak to interfere; no one dared when Emily's eyes glowed in +that manner out of the paleness of her face, and when her lips were so +compressed into stone. She went upstairs, and Tabby and Charlotte stood +in the gloomy passage below, full of the dark shadows of coming night. +Down-stairs came Emily, dragging after her the unwilling Keeper, his hind +legs set in a heavy attitude of resistance, held by the "scuft of his +neck," but growling low and savagely all the time. The watchers would +fain have spoken, but durst not, for fear of taking off Emily's +attention, and causing her to avert her head for a moment from the +enraged brute. She let him go, planted in a dark corner at the bottom of +the stairs; no time was there to fetch stick or rod, for fear of the +strangling clutch at her throat--her bare clenched fist struck against +his red fierce eyes, before he had time to make his spring, and, in the +language of the turf, she "punished him" till his eyes were swelled up, +and the half-blind, stupified beast was led to his accustomed lair, to +have his swollen head fomented and cared for by the very Emily herself. +The generous dog owed her no grudge; he loved her dearly ever after; he +walked first among the mourners to her funeral; he slept moaning for +nights at the door of her empty room, and never, so to speak, rejoiced, +dog fashion, after her death. He, in his turn, was mourned over by the +surviving sister. Let us somehow hope, in half Red Indian creed, that he +follows Emily now; and, when he rests, sleeps on some soft white bed of +dreams, unpunished when he awakens to the life of the land of shadows. + +Now we can understand the force of the words, "Our poor little cat is +dead. Emily is sorry." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +The moors were a great resource this spring; Emily and Charlotte walked +out on them perpetually, "to the great damage of our shoes, but I hope, +to the benefit of our health." The old plan of school-keeping was often +discussed in these rambles; but in-doors they set with vigour to shirt- +making for the absent Branwell, and pondered in silence over their past +and future life. At last they came to a determination. + +"I have seriously entered into the enterprise of keeping a school--or +rather, taking a limited number of pupils at home. That is, I have begun +in good earnest to seek for pupils. I wrote to Mrs. --- " (the lady with +whom she had lived as governess, just before going to Brussels), "not +asking her for her daughter--I cannot do that--but informing her of my +intention. I received an answer from Mr. --- expressive of, I believe, +sincere regret that I had not informed them a month sooner, in which +case, he said, they would gladly have sent me their own daughter, and +also Colonel S.'s, but that now both were promised to Miss C. I was +partly disappointed by this answer, and partly gratified; indeed, I +derived quite an impulse of encouragement from the warm assurance that if +I had but applied a little sooner they would certainly have sent me their +daughter. I own I had misgivings that nobody would be willing to send a +child for education to Haworth. These misgivings are partly done away +with. I have written also to Mrs. B., and have enclosed the diploma +which M. Heger gave me before I left Brussels. I have not yet received +her answer, but I wait for it with some anxiety. I do not expect that +she will send me any of her children, but if she would, I dare say she +could recommend me other pupils. Unfortunately, she knows us only very +slightly. As soon as I can get an assurance of only _one_ pupil, I will +have cards of terms printed, and will commence the repairs necessary in +the house. I wish all that to be done before winter. I think of fixing +the board and English education at 25_l_. per annum." + +Again, at a later date, July 24th, in the same year, she writes:-- + +"I am driving on with my small matter as well as I can. I have written +to all the friends on whom I have the slightest claim, and to some on +whom I have no claim; Mrs. B., for example. On her, also, I have +actually made bold to call. She was exceedingly polite; regretted that +her children were already at school at Liverpool; thought the undertaking +a most praiseworthy one, but feared I should have some difficulty in +making it succeed on account of the _situation_. Such is the answer I +receive from almost every one. I tell them the _retired situation_ is, +in some points of view, an advantage; that were it in the midst of a +large town I could not pretend to take pupils on terms so moderate (Mrs. +B. remarked that she thought the terms very moderate), but that, as it +is, not having house-rent to pay, we can offer the same privileges of +education that are to be had in expensive seminaries, at little more than +half their price; and as our number must be limited, we can devote a +large share of time and pains to each pupil. Thank you for the very +pretty little purse you have sent me. I make to you a curious return in +the shape of half a dozen cards of terms. Make such use of them as your +judgment shall dictate. You will see that I have fixed the sum at +35_l_., which I think is the just medium, considering advantages and +disadvantages." + +This was written in July; August, September, and October passed away, and +no pupils were to be heard of. Day after day, there was a little hope +felt by the sisters until the post came in. But Haworth village was wild +and lonely, and the Brontes but little known, owing to their want of +connections. Charlotte writes on the subject, in the early winter +months, to this effect-- + + "I, Emily, and Anne, are truly obliged to you for the efforts you have + made in our behalf; and if you have not been successful, you are only + like ourselves. Every one wishes us well; but there are no pupils to + be had. We have no present intention, however, of breaking our hearts + on the subject, still less of feeling mortified at defeat. The effort + must be beneficial, whatever the result may be, because it teaches us + experience, and an additional knowledge of this world. I send you two + more circulars." + +A month later, she says:-- + + "We have made no alterations yet in our house. It would be folly to + do so, while there is so little likelihood of our ever getting pupils. + I fear you are giving yourself too much trouble on our account. Depend + upon it, if you were to persuade a mamma to bring her child to + Haworth, the aspect of the place would frighten her, and she would + probably take the dear girl back with her, instanter. We are glad + that we have made the attempt, and we will not be cast down because it + has not succeeded." + +There were, probably, growing up in each sister's heart, secret +unacknowledged feelings of relief, that their plan had not succeeded. +Yes! a dull sense of relief that their cherished project had been tried +and had failed. For that house, which was to be regarded as an +occasional home for their brother, could hardly be a fitting residence +for the children of strangers. They had, in all likelihood, become +silently aware that his habits were such as to render his society at +times most undesirable. Possibly, too, they had, by this time, heard +distressing rumours concerning the cause of that remorse and agony of +mind, which at times made him restless and unnaturally merry, at times +rendered him moody and irritable. + +In January, 1845, Charlotte says:--"Branwell has been quieter and less +irritable, on the whole, this time than he was in summer. Anne is, as +usual, always good, mild, and patient." The deep-seated pain which he +was to occasion to his relations had now taken a decided form, and +pressed heavily on Charlotte's health and spirits. Early in this year, +she went to H. to bid good-bye to her dear friend "Mary," who was leaving +England for Australia. + +Branwell, I have mentioned, had obtained the situation of a private +tutor. Anne was also engaged as governess in the same family, and was +thus a miserable witness to her brother's deterioration of character at +this period. Of the causes of this deterioration I cannot speak; but the +consequences were these. He went home for his holidays reluctantly, +stayed there as short a time as possible, perplexing and distressing them +all by his extraordinary conduct--at one time in the highest spirits, at +another, in the deepest depression--accusing himself of blackest guilt +and treachery, without specifying what they were; and altogether evincing +an irritability of disposition bordering on insanity. + +Charlotte and Emily suffered acutely from his mysterious behaviour. He +expressed himself more than satisfied with his situation; he was +remaining in it for a longer time than he had ever done in any kind of +employment before; so that for some time they could not conjecture that +anything there made him so wilful, and restless, and full of both levity +and misery. But a sense of something wrong connected with him, sickened +and oppressed them. They began to lose all hope in his future career. He +was no longer the family pride; an indistinct dread, caused partly by his +own conduct, partly by expressions of agonising suspicion in Anne's +letters home, was creeping over their minds that he might turn out their +deep disgrace. But, I believe, they shrank from any attempt to define +their fears, and spoke of him to each other as little as possible. They +could not help but think, and mourn, and wonder. + +"Feb. 20th, 1845. + +"I spent a week at H., not very pleasantly; headache, sickliness, and +flatness of spirits, made me a poor companion, a sad drag on the +vivacious and loquacious gaiety of all the other inmates of the house. I +never was fortunate enough to be able to rally, for as much as a single +hour, while I was there. I am sure all, with the exception perhaps of +Mary, were very glad when I took my departure. I begin to perceive that +I have too little life in me, now-a-days, to be fit company for any +except very quiet people. Is it age, or what else, that changes me so?" + +Alas! she hardly needed to have asked this question. How could she be +otherwise than "flat-spirited," "a poor companion," and a "sad drag" on +the gaiety of those who were light-hearted and happy! Her honest plan +for earning her own livelihood had fallen away, crumbled to ashes; after +all her preparations, not a pupil had offered herself; and, instead of +being sorry that this wish of many years could not be realised, she had +reason to be glad. Her poor father, nearly sightless, depended upon her +cares in his blind helplessness; but this was a sacred pious charge, the +duties of which she was blessed in fulfilling. The black gloom hung over +what had once been the brightest hope of the family--over Branwell, and +the mystery in which his wayward conduct was enveloped. Somehow and +sometime, he would have to turn to his home as a hiding place for shame; +such was the sad foreboding of his sisters. Then how could she be +cheerful, when she was losing her dear and noble "Mary," for such a +length of time and distance of space that her heart might well prophesy +that it was "for ever"? Long before, she had written of Mary T., that +she "was full of feelings noble, warm, generous, devoted, and profound. +God bless her! I never hope to see in this world a character more truly +noble. She would die willingly for one she loved. Her intellect and +attainments are of the very highest standard." And this was the friend +whom she was to lose! Hear that friend's account of their final +interview:-- + +"When I last saw Charlotte (Jan. 1845), she told me she had quite decided +to stay at home. She owned she did not like it. Her health was weak. +She said she should like any change at first, as she had liked Brussels +at first, and she thought that there must be some possibility for some +people of having a life of more variety and more communion with human +kind, but she saw none for her. I told her very warmly, that she ought +not to stay at home; that to spend the next five years at home, in +solitude and weak health, would ruin her; that she would never recover +it. Such a dark shadow came over her face when I said, 'Think of what +you'll be five years hence!' that I stopped, and said, 'Don't cry, +Charlotte!' She did not cry, but went on walking up and down the room, +and said in a little while, 'But I intend to stay, Polly.'" + +A few weeks after she parted from Mary, she gives this account of her +days at Haworth. + +"March 24th, 1845. + +"I can hardly tell you how time gets on at Haworth. There is no event +whatever to mark its progress. One day resembles another; and all have +heavy, lifeless physiognomies. Sunday, baking-day, and Saturday, are the +only ones that have any distinctive mark. Meantime, life wears away. I +shall soon be thirty; and I have done nothing yet. Sometimes I get +melancholy at the prospect before and behind me. Yet it is wrong and +foolish to repine. Undoubtedly, my duty directs me to stay at home for +the present. There was a time when Haworth was a very pleasant place to +me; it is not so now. I feel as if we were all buried here. I long to +travel; to work; to live a life of action. Excuse me, dear, for +troubling you with my fruitless wishes. I will put by the rest, and not +trouble you with them. You must write to me. If you knew how welcome +your letters are, you would write very often. Your letters, and the +French newspapers, are the only messengers that come to me from the outer +world beyond our moors; and very welcome messengers they are." + +One of her daily employments was to read to her father, and it required a +little gentle diplomacy on her part to effect this duty; for there were +times when the offer of another to do what he had been so long accustomed +to do for himself, only reminded him too painfully of the deprivation +under which he was suffering. And, in secret, she, too, dreaded a +similar loss for herself. Long-continued ill health, a deranged +condition of the liver, her close application to minute drawing and +writing in her younger days, her now habitual sleeplessness at nights, +the many bitter noiseless tears she had shed over Branwell's mysterious +and distressing conduct--all these causes were telling on her poor eyes; +and about this time she thus writes to M. Heger:-- + + "Il n'y a rien que je crains comme le desoeuvrement, l'inertie, la + lethargie des facultes. Quand le corps est paresseux l'esprit souffre + cruellement; je ne connaitrais pas cette lethargie, si je pouvais + ecrire. Autrefois je passais des journees, des semaines, des mois + entiers a ecrire, et pas tout-a-fait sans fruit, puisque Southey et + Coleridge, deux de nos meilleurs auteurs, a qui j'ai envoye certains + manuscrits, en ont bien voulu temoigner leur approbation; mais a + present, j'ai la vue trop faible; si j'ecrivais beaueoup je + deviendrais aveugle. Cette faiblesse de vue est pour moi une terrible + privation; sans cela, savez-vous ce que je ferais, Monsieur? + J'ecrirais un livre et je le dedierais a mon maitre de litterature, au + seul maitre que j'aie jamais eu--a vous, Monsieur! Je vous ai dit + souvent en francais combien je vous respecte, combien je suis + redevable a votre bonte, a vos conseils. Je voudrais le dire une fois + en anglais. Cela ne se peut pas; il ne faut pas y penser. La + carriere des lettres m'est fermee . . . N'oubliez pas de me dire + comment vous vous portez, comment Madame et les enfants se portent. Je + compte bientot avoir de vos nouvelles; cette idee me souris, car le + souvenir de vos bontes ne s'effacera jamais de ma memoire, et tant que + ce souvenir durera, le respect que vous m'avez inspire durera aussi. + Agreez, Monsieur," &c. + +It is probable, that even her sisters and most intimate friends did not +know of this dread of ultimate blindness which beset her at this period. +What eyesight she had to spare she reserved for the use of her father. +She did but little plain-sewing; not more writing than could be avoided, +and employed herself principally in knitting. + +"April 2nd, 1845. + +"I see plainly it is proved to us that there is scarcely a draught of +unmingled happiness to be had in this world. ---'s illness comes with --- +'s marriage. Mary T. finds herself free, and on that path to adventure +and exertion to which she has so long been seeking admission. Sickness, +hardship, danger are her fellow travellers--her inseparable companions. +She may have been out of the reach of these S. W. N. W. gales, before +they began to blow, or they may have spent their fury on land, and not +ruffled the sea much. If it has been otherwise, she has been sorely +tossed, while we have been sleeping in our beds, or lying awake thinking +about her. Yet these real, material dangers, when once past, leave in +the mind the satisfaction of having struggled with difficulty, and +overcome it. Strength, courage, and experience are their invariable +results; whereas, I doubt whether suffering purely mental has any good +result, unless it be to make us by comparison less sensitive to physical +suffering . . . Ten years ago, I should have laughed at your account of +the blunder you made in mistaking the bachelor doctor for a married man. +I should have certainly thought you scrupulous over-much, and wondered +how you could possibly regret being civil to a decent individual, merely +because he happened to be single, instead of double. Now, however, I can +perceive that your scruples are founded on common sense. I know that if +women wish to escape the stigma of husband-seeking, they must act and +look like marble or clay--cold, expressionless, bloodless; for every +appearance of feeling, of joy, sorrow, friendliness, antipathy, +admiration, disgust, are alike construed by the world into the attempt to +hook a husband. Never mind! well-meaning women have their own +consciences to comfort them after all. Do not, therefore, be too much +afraid of showing yourself as you are, affectionate and good-hearted; do +not too harshly repress sentiments and feelings excellent in themselves, +because you fear that some puppy may fancy that you are letting them come +out to fascinate him; do not condemn yourself to live only by halves, +because if you showed too much animation some pragmatical thing in +breeches might take it into his pate to imagine that you designed to +dedicate your life to his inanity. Still, a composed, decent, equable +deportment is a capital treasure to a woman, and that you possess. Write +again soon, for I feel rather fierce, and want stroking down." + + "June 13th, 1845. + + "As to the Mrs. ---, who, you say, is like me, I somehow feel no + leaning to her at all. I never do to people who are said to be like + me, because I have always a notion that they are only like me in the + disagreeable, outside, first-acquaintance part of my character; in + those points which are obvious to the ordinary run of people, and + which I know are not pleasing. You say she is 'clever'--'a clever + person.' How I dislike the term! It means rather a shrewd, very + ugly, meddling, talking woman . . . I feel reluctant to leave papa for + a single day. His sight diminishes weekly; and can it be wondered at + that, as he sees the most precious of his faculties leaving him, his + spirits sometimes sink? It is so hard to feel that his few and scanty + pleasures must all soon go. He has now the greatest difficulty in + either reading or writing; and then he dreads the state of dependence + to which blindness will inevitably reduce him. He fears that he will + be nothing in his parish. I try to cheer him; sometimes I succeed + temporarily, but no consolation can restore his sight, or atone for + the want of it. Still he is never peevish; never impatient; only + anxious and dejected." + +For the reason just given, Charlotte declined an invitation to the only +house to which she was now ever asked to come. In answer to her +correspondent's reply to this letter, she says:-- + + "You thought I refused you coldly, did you? It was a queer sort of + coldness, when I would have given my ears to say Yes, and was obliged + to say No. Matters, however, are now a little changed. Anne is come + home, and her presence certainly makes me feel more at liberty. Then, + if all be well, I will come and see you. Tell me only when I must + come. Mention the week and the day. Have the kindness also to answer + the following queries, if you can. How far is it from Leeds to + Sheffield? Can you give me a notion of the cost? Of course, when I + come, you will let me enjoy your own company in peace, and not drag me + out a visiting. I have no desire at all to see your curate. I think + he must be like all the other curates I have seen; and they seem to me + a self-seeking, vain, empty race. At this blessed moment, we have no + less than three of them in Haworth parish--and there is not one to + mend another. The other day, they all three, accompanied by Mr. S., + dropped, or rather rushed, in unexpectedly to tea. It was Monday + (baking day), and I was hot and tired; still, if they had behaved + quietly and decently, I would have served them out their tea in peace; + but they began glorifying themselves, and abusing Dissenters in such a + manner, that my temper lost its balance, and I pronounced a few + sentences sharply and rapidly, which struck them all dumb. Papa was + greatly horrified also, but I don't regret it." + +On her return from this short visit to her friend, she travelled with a +gentleman in the railway carriage, whose features and bearing betrayed +him, in a moment, to be a Frenchman. She ventured to ask him if such was +not the case; and, on his admitting it, she further inquired if he had +not passed a considerable time in Germany, and was answered that he had; +her quick ear detected something of the thick guttural pronunciation, +which, Frenchmen say, they are able to discover even in the grandchildren +of their countrymen who have lived any time beyond the Rhine. Charlotte +had retained her skill in the language by the habit of which she thus +speaks to M. Heger:-- + + "Je crains beaucoup d'oublier le francais--j'apprends tous les jours + une demie page de francais par coeur, et j'ai grand plaisir a + apprendre cette lecon, Veuillez presenter a Madame l'assurance de mon + estime; je crains que Maria-Louise et Claire ne m'aient deja oubliees; + mais je vous reverrai un jour; aussitot que j'aurais gagne assez + d'argent pour alter a Bruxelles, j'y irai." + +And so her journey back to Haworth, after the rare pleasure of this visit +to her friend, was pleasantly beguiled by conversation with the French +gentleman; and she arrived at home refreshed and happy. What to find +there? + +It was ten o'clock when she reached the parsonage. Branwell was there, +unexpectedly, very ill. He had come home a day or two before, apparently +for a holiday; in reality, I imagine, because some discovery had been +made which rendered his absence imperatively desirable. The day of +Charlotte's return, he had received a letter from Mr. ---, sternly +dismissing him, intimating that his proceedings were discovered, +characterising them as bad beyond expression, and charging him, on pain +of exposure, to break off immediately, and for ever, all communication +with every member of the family. + +Whatever may have been the nature and depth of Branwell's sins,--whatever +may have been his temptation, whatever his guilt,--there is no doubt of +the suffering which his conduct entailed upon his poor father and his +innocent sisters. The hopes and plans they had cherished long, and +laboured hard to fulfil, were cruelly frustrated; henceforward their days +were embittered and the natural rest of their nights destroyed by his +paroxysms of remorse. Let us read of the misery caused to his poor +sisters in Charlotte's own affecting words:-- + + "We have had sad work with Branwell. He thought of nothing but + stunning or drowning his agony of mind. No one in this house could + have rest; and, at last, we have been obliged to send him from home + for a week, with some one to look after him. He has written to me + this morning, expressing some sense of contrition . . . but as long as + he remains at home, I scarce dare hope for peace in the house. We + must all, I fear, prepare for a season of distress and disquietude. + When I left you, I was strongly impressed with the feeling that I was + going back to sorrow." + + "August, 1845. + + "Things here at home are much as usual; not very bright as it regards + Branwell, though his health, and consequently his temper, have been + somewhat better this last day or two, because he is now _forced to_ + abstain." + + "August 18th, 1845. + + "I have delayed writing, because I have no good news to communicate. + My hopes ebb low indeed about Branwell. I sometimes fear he will + never be fit for much. The late blow to his prospects and feelings + has quite made him reckless. It is only absolute want of means that + acts as any check to him. One ought, indeed, to hope to the very + last; and I try to do so, but occasionally hope in his case seems so + fallacious." + + "Nov. 4th, 1845. + + "I hoped to be able to ask you to come to Haworth. It almost seemed + as if Branwell had a chance of getting employment, and I waited to + know the result of his efforts in order to say, dear ---, come and see + us. But the place (a secretaryship to a railway committee) is given + to another person. Branwell still remains at home; and while _he_ is + here, _you_ shall not come. I am more confirmed in that resolution + the more I see of him. I wish I could say one word to you in his + favour, but I cannot. I will hold my tongue. We are all obliged to + you for your kind suggestion about Leeds; but I think our school + schemes are, for the present, at rest." + + "Dec. 31st, 1845. + + "You say well, in speaking of ---, that no sufferings are so awful as + those brought on by dissipation; alas! I see the truth of this + observation daily proved. --and--must have as weary and burdensome a + life of it in waiting upon their unhappy brother. It seems grievous, + indeed, that those who have not sinned should suffer so largely." + +In fact, all their latter days blighted with the presence of cruel, +shameful suffering,--the premature deaths of two at least of the +sisters,--all the great possibilities of their earthly lives snapped +short,--may be dated from Midsummer 1845. + +For the last three years of Branwell's life, he took opium habitually, by +way of stunning conscience; he drank moreover, whenever he could get the +opportunity. The reader may say that I have mentioned his tendency to +intemperance long before. It is true; but it did not become habitual, as +far as I can learn, until after he was dismissed from his tutorship. He +took opium, because it made him forget for a time more effectually than +drink; and, besides, it was more portable. In procuring it he showed all +the cunning of the opium-eater. He would steal out while the family were +at church--to which he had professed himself too ill to go--and manage to +cajole the village druggist out of a lump; or, it might be, the carrier +had unsuspiciously brought him some in a packet from a distance. For +some time before his death he had attacks of delirium tremens of the most +frightful character; he slept in his father's room, and he would +sometimes declare that either he or his father should be dead before the +morning. The trembling sisters, sick with fright, would implore their +father not to expose himself to this danger; but Mr. Bronte is no timid +man, and perhaps he felt that he could possibly influence his son to some +self-restraint, more by showing trust in him than by showing fear. The +sisters often listened for the report of a pistol in the dead of the +night, till watchful eye and hearkening ear grew heavy and dull with the +perpetual strain upon their nerves. In the mornings young Bronte would +saunter out, saying, with a drunkard's incontinence of speech, "The poor +old man and I have had a terrible night of it; he does his best--the poor +old man! but it's all over with me." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + +In the course of this sad autumn of 1845, a new interest came up; faint, +indeed, and often lost sight of in the vivid pain and constant pressure +of anxiety respecting their brother. In the biographical notice of her +sisters, which Charlotte prefixed to the edition of "Wuthering Heights" +and "Agnes Grey," published in 1850--a piece of writing unique, as far as +I know, in its pathos and its power--she says:-- + + "One day in the autumn of 1845, I accidentally lighted on a MS. volume + of verse, in my sister Emily's handwriting. Of course, I was not + surprised, knowing that she could and did write verse: I looked it + over, and something more than surprise seized me--a deep conviction + that these were not common effusions, nor at all like the poetry women + generally write. I thought them condensed and terse, vigorous and + genuine. To my ear they had also a peculiar music, wild, melancholy, + and elevating. My sister Emily was not a person of demonstrative + character, nor one on the recesses of whose mind and feelings even + those nearest and dearest to her could, with impunity, intrude + unlicensed: it took hours to reconcile her to the discovery I had + made, and days to persuade her that such poems merited publication . . + . Meantime, my younger sister quietly produced some of her own + compositions, intimating that since Emily's had given me pleasure, I + might like to look at hers. I could not but be a partial judge, yet I + thought that these verses too had a sweet sincere pathos of their own. + We had very early cherished the dream of one day being authors. We + agreed to arrange a small selection of our poems, and, if possible, + get them printed. Averse to personal publicity, we veiled our own + names under those of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell; the ambiguous + choice being dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming + Christian names, positively masculine, while we did not like to + declare ourselves women, because--without at the time suspecting that + our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called 'feminine,' we + had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on + with prejudice; we noticed how critics sometimes use for their + chastisement the weapon of personality, and for their reward, a + flattery, which is not true praise. The bringing out of our little + book was hard work. As was to be expected, neither we nor our poems + were at all wanted; but for this we had been prepared at the outset; + though inexperienced ourselves, we had read the experience of others. + The great puzzle lay in the difficulty of getting answers of any kind + from the publishers to whom we applied. Being greatly harassed by + this obstacle, I ventured to apply to the Messrs. Chambers, of + Edinburgh, for a word of advice; _they_ may have forgotten the + circumstance, but _I_ have not, for from them I received a brief and + business-like, but civil and sensible reply, on which we acted, and at + last made way." + +I inquired from Mr. Robert Chambers, and found, as Miss Bronte +conjectured, that he had entirely forgotten the application which had +been made to him and his brother for advice; nor had they any copy or +memorandum of the correspondence. + +There is an intelligent man living in Haworth, who has given me some +interesting particulars relating to the sisters about this period. He +says:-- + +"I have known Miss Bronte, as Miss Bronte, a long time; indeed, ever +since they came to Haworth in 1819. But I had not much acquaintance with +the family till about 1843, when I began to do a little in the stationery +line. Nothing of that kind could be had nearer than Keighley before I +began. They used to buy a great deal of writing paper, and I used to +wonder whatever they did with so much. I sometimes thought they +contributed to the Magazines. When I was out of stock, I was always +afraid of their coming; they seemed so distressed about it, if I had +none. I have walked to Halifax (a distance of ten miles) many a time, +for half a ream of paper, for fear of being without it when they came. I +could not buy more at a time for want of capital. I was always short of +that. I did so like them to come when I had anything for them; they were +so much different to anybody else; so gentle and kind, and so very quiet. +They never talked much. Charlotte sometimes would sit and inquire about +our circumstances so kindly and feelingly! . . . Though I am a poor +working man (which I have never felt to be any degradation), I could talk +with her with the greatest freedom. I always felt quite at home with +her. Though I never had any school education, I never felt the want of +it in her company." + +The publishers to whom she finally made a successful application for the +production of "Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell's poems," were Messrs. +Aylott and Jones, Paternoster Row. Mr. Aylott has kindly placed the +letters which she wrote to them on the subject at my disposal. The first +is dated January 28th, 1846, and in it she inquires if they will publish +one volume octavo of poems; if not at their own risk, on the author's +account. It is signed "C. Bronte." They must have replied pretty +speedily, for on January 31st she writes again:-- + +"GENTLEMEN, + +"Since you agree to undertake the publication of the work respecting +which I applied to you, I should wish now to know, as soon as possible, +the cost of paper and printing. I will then send the necessary +remittance, together with the manuscript. I should like it to be printed +in one octavo volume, of the same quality of paper and size of type as +Moxon's last edition of Wordsworth. The poems will occupy, I should +think, from 200 to 250 pages. They are not the production of a +clergyman, nor are they exclusively of a religious character; but I +presume these circumstances will be immaterial. It will, perhaps, be +necessary that you should see the manuscript, in order to calculate +accurately the expense of publication; in that case I will send it +immediately. I should like, however, previously, to have some idea of +the probable cost; and if, from what I have said, you can make a rough +calculation on the subject, I should be greatly obliged to you." + +In her next letter, February 6th, she says:-- + +"You will perceive that the poems are the work of three persons, +relatives--their separate pieces are distinguished by their respective +signatures." + +She writes again on February 15th; and on the 16th she says:-- + +"The MS. will certainly form a thinner volume than I had anticipated. I +cannot name another model which I should like it precisely to resemble, +yet, I think, a duodecimo form, and a somewhat reduced, though still +_clear_ type, would be preferable. I only stipulate for _clear_ type, +not too small, and good paper." + +On February 21st she selects the "long primer type" for the poems, and +will remit 31_l_. 10_s_. in a few days. + +Minute as the details conveyed in these notes are, they are not trivial, +because they afford such strong indications of character. If the volume +was to be published at their own risk, it was necessary that the sister +conducting the negotiation should make herself acquainted with the +different kinds of type, and the various sizes of books. Accordingly she +bought a small volume, from which to learn all she could on the subject +of preparation for the press. No half-knowledge--no trusting to other +people for decisions which she could make for herself; and yet a generous +and full confidence, not misplaced, in the thorough probity of Messrs. +Aylott and Jones. The caution in ascertaining the risk before embarking +in the enterprise, and the prompt payment of the money required, even +before it could be said to have assumed the shape of a debt, were both +parts of a self-reliant and independent character. Self-contained also +was she. During the whole time that the volume of poems was in the +course of preparation and publication, no word was written telling +anyone, out of the household circle, what was in progress. + +I have had some of the letters placed in my hands, which she addressed to +her old schoolmistress, Miss W-. They begin a little before this time. +Acting on the conviction, which I have all along entertained, that where +Charlotte Bronte's own words could be used, no others ought to take their +place, I shall make extracts from this series, according to their dates. + +"Jan. 30th, 1846. + +"MY DEAR MISS W---, + +"I have not yet paid my visit to ---; it is, indeed, more than a year +since I was there, but I frequently hear from E., and she did not fail to +tell me that you were gone into Worcestershire; she was unable, however, +to give me your exact address. Had I known it, I should have written to +you long since. I thought you would wonder how we were getting on, when +you heard of the railway panic; and you may be sure that I am very glad +to be able to answer your kind inquiries by the assurance that our small +capital is as yet undiminished. The York and Midland is, as you say, a +very good line, yet, I confess to you, I should wish, for my own part, to +be wise in time. I cannot think that even the very best lines will +continue for many years at their present premiums; and I have been most +anxious for us to sell our shares ere it be too late, and to secure the +proceeds in some safer, if, for the present, less profitable investment. +I cannot, however, persuade my sisters to regard the affair precisely +from my point of view; and I feel as if I would rather run the risk of +loss than hurt Emily's feelings by acting in direct opposition to her +opinion. She managed in a most handsome and able manner for me, when I +was in Brussels, and prevented by distance from looking after my own +interests; therefore, I will let her manage still, and take the +consequences. Disinterested and energetic she certainly is; and if she +be not quite so tractable or open to conviction as I could wish, I must +remember perfection is not the lot of humanity; and as long as we can +regard those we love, and to whom we are closely allied, with profound +and never-shaken esteem, it is a small thing that they should vex us +occasionally by what appear to us unreasonable and headstrong notions. + + "You, my dear Miss W---, know, full as well as I do, the value of + sisters' affection to each other; there is nothing like it in this + world, I believe, when they are nearly equal in age, and similar in + education, tastes, and sentiments. You ask about Branwell; he never + thinks of seeking employment, and I begin to fear that he has rendered + himself incapable of filling any respectable station in life; besides, + if money were at his disposal, he would use it only to his own injury; + the faculty of self-government is, I fear, almost destroyed in him. + You ask me if I do not think that men are strange beings? I do, + indeed. I have often thought so; and I think, too, that the mode of + bringing them up is strange: they are not sufficiently guarded from + temptation. Girls are protected as if they were something very frail + or silly indeed, while boys are turned loose on the world, as if they, + of all beings in existence, were the wisest and least liable to be led + astray. I am glad you like Broomsgrove, though, I dare say, there are + few places you would _not_ like, with Mrs. M. for a companion. I + always feel a peculiar satisfaction when I hear of your enjoying + yourself, because it proves that there really is such a thing as + retributive justice even in this world. You worked hard; you denied + yourself all pleasure, almost all relaxation, in your youth, and in + the prime of life; now you are free, and that while you have still, I + hope, many years of vigour and health in which you can enjoy freedom. + Besides, I have another and very egotistical motive for being pleased; + it seems that even 'a lone woman' can be happy, as well as cherished + wives and proud mothers. I am glad of that. I speculate much on the + existence of unmarried and never-to-be-married women now-a-days; and I + have already got to the point of considering that there is no more + respectable character on this earth than an unmarried woman, who makes + her own way through life quietly, perseveringly, without support of + husband or brother; and who, having attained the age of forty-five or + upwards, retains in her possession a well-regulated mind, a + disposition to enjoy simple pleasures, and fortitude to support + inevitably pains, sympathy with the sufferings of others, and + willingness to relieve want as far as her means extend." + +During the time that the negotiation with Messrs. Aylott and Co. was +going on, Charlotte went to visit her old school-friend, with whom she +was in such habits of confidential intimacy; but neither then nor +afterwards, did she ever speak to her of the publication of the poems; +nevertheless, this young lady suspected that the sisters wrote for +Magazines; and in this idea she was confirmed when, on one of her visits +to Haworth, she saw Anne with a number of "Chambers's Journal," and a +gentle smile of pleasure stealing over her placid face as she read. + +"What is the matter?" asked the friend. "Why do you smile?" + +"Only because I see they have inserted one of my poems," was the quiet +reply; and not a word more was said on the subject. + +To this friend Charlotte addressed the following letters:-- + + "March 3rd, 1846. + + "I reached home a little after two o'clock, all safe and right + yesterday; I found papa very well; his sight much the same. Emily and + Anne were going to Keighley to meet me; unfortunately, I had returned + by the old road, while they were gone by the new, and we missed each + other. They did not get home till half-past four, and were caught in + the heavy shower of rain which fell in the afternoon. I am sorry to + say Anne has taken a little cold in consequence, but I hope she will + soon be well. Papa was much cheered by my report of Mr. C.'s opinion, + and of old Mrs. E.'s experience; but I could perceive he caught gladly + at the idea of deferring the operation a few months longer. I went + into the room where Branwell was, to speak to him, about an hour after + I got home: it was very forced work to address him. I might have + spared myself the trouble, as he took no notice, and made no reply; he + was stupified. My fears were not in vain. I hear that he got a + sovereign while I have been away, under pretence of paying a pressing + debt; he went immediately and changed it at a public-house, and has + employed it as was to be expected. --- concluded her account by + saying he was a 'hopeless being;' it is too true. In his present + state it is scarcely possible to stay in the room where he is. What + the future has in store I do not know." + + "March 31st, 1846. + + "Our poor old servant Tabby had a sort of fit, a fortnight since, but + is nearly recovered now. Martha" (the girl they had to assist poor + old Tabby, and who remains still the faithful servant at the + parsonage,) "is ill with a swelling in her knee, and obliged to go + home. I fear it will be long before she is in working condition + again. I received the number of the 'Record' you sent . . . I read + D'Aubigne's letter. It is clever, and in what he says about + Catholicism very good. The Evangelical Alliance part is not very + practicable, yet certainly it is more in accordance with the spirit of + the Gospel to preach unity among Christians than to inculcate mutual + intolerance and hatred. I am very glad I went to--when I did, for the + changed weather has somewhat changed my health and strength since. How + do you get on? I long for mild south and west winds. I am thankful + papa continues pretty well, though often made very miserable by + Branwell's wretched conduct. _There_--there is no change but for the + worse." + +Meanwhile the printing of the volume of poems was quietly proceeding. +After some consultation and deliberation, the sisters had determined to +correct the proofs themselves, Up to March 28th the publishers had +addressed their correspondent as C. Bronte, Esq.; but at this time some +"little mistake occurred," and she desired Messrs. Aylott and Co. in +future to direct to her real address, "_Miss_ Bronte," &c. She had, +however, evidently left it to be implied that she was not acting on her +own behalf, but as agent for the real authors, since in a note dated +April 6th, she makes a proposal on behalf of "C., E., and A. Bell," which +is to the following effect, that they are preparing for the press a work +of fiction, consisting of three distinct and unconnected tales, which may +be published either together, as a work of three volumes, of the ordinary +novel size, or separately, as single volumes, as may be deemed most +advisable. She states, in addition, that it is not their intention to +publish these tales on their own account; but that the authors direct her +to ask Messrs. Aylott and Co. whether they would be disposed to undertake +the work, after having, of course, by due inspection of the MS., +ascertained that its contents are such as to warrant an expectation of +success. To this letter of inquiry the publishers replied speedily, and +the tenor of their answer may be gathered from Charlotte's, dated April +11th. + + "I beg to thank you, in the name of C., E., and A. Bell, for your + obliging offer of advice. I will avail myself of it, to request + information on two or three points. It is evident that unknown + authors have great difficulties to contend with, before they can + succeed in bringing their works before the public. Can you give me + any hint as to the way in which these difficulties are best met? For + instance, in the present case, where a work of fiction is in question, + in what form would a publisher be most likely to accept the MS.? + Whether offered as a work of three vols., or as tales which might be + published in numbers, or as contributions to a periodical? + + "What publishers would be most likely to receive favourably a proposal + of this nature? + + "Would it suffice to _write_ to a publisher on the subject, or would + it be necessary to have recourse to a personal interview? + + "Your opinion and advice on these three points, or on any other which + your experience may suggest as important, would be esteemed by us as a + favour." + +It is evident from the whole tenor of this correspondence, that the +truthfulness and probity of the firm of publishers with whom she had to +deal in this her first literary venture, were strongly impressed upon her +mind, and was followed by the inevitable consequence of reliance on their +suggestions. And the progress of the poems was not unreasonably lengthy +or long drawn out. On April 20th she writes to desire that three copies +may be sent to her, and that Messrs. Aylott will advise her as to the +reviewers to whom copies ought to be sent. + +I give the next letter as illustrating the ideas of these girls as to +what periodical reviews or notices led public opinion. + +"The poems to be neatly done up in cloth. Have the goodness to send +copies and advertisements, _as early as possible_, to each of the +undermentioned periodicals. + +"'Colburn's New Monthly Magazine.' + +"'Bentley's Magazine.' + +"'Hood's Magazine.' + +"'Jerrold's Shilling Magazine.' + +"'Blackwood's Magazine.' + +"'The Edinburgh Review.' + +"'Tait's Edinburgh Magazine.' + +"'The Dublin University Magazine.' + +"Also to the 'Daily News' and to the 'Britannia' papers. + +"If there are any other periodicals to which you have been in the habit +of sending copies of works, let them be supplied also with copies. I +think those I have mentioned will suffice for advertising." + +In compliance with this latter request, Messrs. Aylott suggest that +copies and advertisements of the work should be sent to the "Athenaeum," +"Literary Gazette," "Critic," and "Times;" but in her reply Miss Bronte +says, that she thinks the periodicals she first mentioned will be +sufficient for advertising in at present, as the authors do not wish to +lay out a larger sum than two pounds in advertising, esteeming the +success of a work dependent more on the notice it receives from +periodicals than on the quantity of advertisements. In case of any +notice of the poems appearing, whether favourable or otherwise, Messrs. +Aylott and Co. are requested to send her the name and number of those +periodicals in which such notices appear; as otherwise, since she has not +the opportunity of seeing periodicals regularly, she may miss reading the +critique. "Should the poems be remarked upon favourably, it is my +intention to appropriate a further sum for advertisements. If, on the +other hand, they should pass unnoticed or be condemned, I consider it +would be quite useless to advertise, as there is nothing, either in the +title of the work, or the names of the authors, to attract attention from +a single individual." + +I suppose the little volume of poems was published some time about the +end of May, 1846. It stole into life; some weeks passed over, without +the mighty murmuring public discovering that three more voices were +uttering their speech. And, meanwhile, the course of existence moved +drearily along from day to day with the anxious sisters, who must have +forgotten their sense of authorship in the vital care gnawing at their +hearts. On June 17th, Charlotte writes:-- + +"Branwell declares that he neither can nor will do anything for himself; +good situations have been offered him, for which, by a fortnight's work, +he might have qualified himself, but he will do nothing except drink and +make us all wretched." + +In the "Athenaeum" of July 4th, under the head of poetry for the million, +came a short review of the poems of C., E., and A. Bell. The reviewer +assigns to Ellis the highest rank of the three "brothers," as he supposes +them to be; he calls Ellis "a fine, quaint spirit;" and speaks of "an +evident power of wing that may reach heights not here attempted." Again, +with some degree of penetration, the reviewer says, that the poems of +Ellis "convey an impression of originality beyond what his contributions +to these volumes embody." Currer is placed midway between Ellis and +Acton. But there is little in the review to strain out, at this distance +of time, as worth preserving. Still, we can fancy with what interest it +was read at Haworth Parsonage, and how the sisters would endeavour to +find out reasons for opinions, or hints for the future guidance of their +talents. + +I call particular attention to the following letter of Charlotte's, dated +July 10th, 1846. To whom it was written, matters not; but the wholesome +sense of duty in it--the sense of the supremacy of that duty which God, +in placing us in families, has laid out for us, seems to deserve especial +regard in these days. + + "I see you are in a dilemma, and one of a peculiar and difficult + nature. Two paths lie before you; you conscientiously wish to choose + the right one, even though it be the most steep, strait, and rugged; + but you do not know which is the right one; you cannot decide whether + duty and religion command you to go out into the cold and friendless + world, and there to earn your living by governess drudgery, or whether + they enjoin your continued stay with your aged mother, neglecting, + _for the present_, every prospect of independency for yourself, and + putting up with daily inconvenience, sometimes even with privations. I + can well imagine, that it is next to impossible for you to decide for + yourself in this matter, so I will decide it for you. At least, I + will tell you what is my earnest conviction on the subject; I will + show you candidly how the question strikes me. The right path is that + which necessitates the greatest sacrifice of self-interest--which + implies the greatest good to others; and this path, steadily followed, + will lead, I believe, in time, to prosperity and to happiness, though + it may seem, at the outset, to tend quite in a contrary direction. + Your mother is both old and infirm; old and infirm people have but few + sources of happiness--fewer almost than the comparatively young and + healthy can conceive; to deprive them of one of these is cruel. If + your mother is more composed when you are with her, stay with her. If + she would be unhappy in case you left her, stay with her. It will not + apparently, as far as short-sighted humanity can see, be for your + advantage to remain at ---, nor will you be praised and admired for + remaining at home to comfort your mother; yet, probably, your own + conscience will approve, and if it does, stay with her. I recommend + you to do what I am trying to do myself." + +The remainder of this letter is only interesting to the reader as it +conveys a peremptory disclaimer of the report that the writer was engaged +to be married to her father's curate--the very same gentleman to whom, +eight years afterwards, she was united; and who, probably, even now, +although she was unconscious of the fact, had begun his service to her, +in the same tender and faithful spirit as that in which Jacob served for +Rachel. Others may have noticed this, though she did not. + +A few more notes remain of her correspondence "on behalf of the Messrs. +Bell" with Mr. Aylott. On July 15th she says, "I suppose, as you have +not written, no other notices have yet appeared, nor has the demand for +the work increased. Will you favour me with a line stating whether +_any_, or how many copies have yet been sold?" + +But few, I fear; for, three days later, she wrote the following:-- + +"The Messrs. Bell desire me to thank you for your suggestion respecting +the advertisements. They agree with you that, since the season is +unfavourable, advertising had better be deferred. They are obliged to +you for the information respecting the number of copies sold." + +On July 23rd she writes to the Messrs. Aylott:-- + +"The Messrs. Bell would be obliged to you to post the enclosed note in +London. It is an answer to the letter you forwarded, which contained an +application for their autographs from a person who professed to have read +and admired their poems. I think I before intimated, that the Messrs. +Bell are desirous for the present of remaining unknown, for which reason +they prefer having the note posted in London to sending it direct, in +order to avoid giving any clue to residence, or identity by post-mark, +&c." + +Once more, in September, she writes, "As the work has received no further +notice from any periodical, I presume the demand for it has not greatly +increased." + +In the biographical notice of her sisters, she thus speaks of the failure +of the modest hopes vested in this publication. "The book was printed; +it is scarcely known, and all of it that merits to be known are the poems +of Ellis Bell. + +"The fixed conviction I held, and hold, of the worth of these poems, has +not, indeed, received the confirmation of much favourable criticism; but +I must retain it notwithstanding." + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +{1} A reviewer pointed out the discrepancy between the age (twenty-seven +years) assigned, on the mural tablet, to Anne Bronte at the time of her +death in 1849, and the alleged fact that she was born at Thornton, from +which place Mr. Bronte removed on February 25th, 1820. I was aware of +the discrepancy, but I did not think it of sufficient consequence to be +rectified by an examination of the register of births. Mr. Bronte's own +words, on which I grounded my statement as to the time of Anne Bronte's +birth, are as follows:-- + +"In Thornton, Charlotte, Patrick Branwell, Emily Jane, and Anne were +born." And such of the inhabitants of Haworth as have spoken on the +subject say that all the children of Mr. and Mrs. Bronte were born before +they removed to Haworth. There is probably some mistake in the +inscription on the tablet. + +{2} In the month of April 1858, a neat mural tablet was erected within +the Communion railing of the Church at Haworth, to the memory of the +deceased members of the Bronte family. The tablet is of white Carrara +marble on a ground of dove-coloured marble, with a cornice surmounted by +an ornamental pediment of chaste design. Between the brackets which +support the tablet, is inscribed the sacred monogram I.H.S., in old +English letters. + +In Memory of + +Maria, wife of the Rev. P. Bronte, A.B., Minister of Haworth, + +She died Sept. 15th, 1821, in the 39th year of her age. + +Also, of Maria, their daughter, who died May 6th, 1825, in the 12th year +of her age. + +Also, of Elizabeth, their daughter, who died June 15th, 1825, in the 11th +year of her age. + +Also, of Patrick Branwell, their son, who died Sept. 24th, 1848, aged 31 +years. + +Also, of Emily Jane, their daughter, who died Dec. 19th, 1848, aged 30 +years. + +Also, of Anne, their daughter, who died May 28th, 1849, aged 29 years. +She was buried at the Old Church, Scarborough. + +Also, of Charlotte, their daughter, wife of the Rev. A. B. Nicholls, B.A. +She died March 31st, 1855, in the 39th year of her age. + +"The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, but +thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus +Christ."--1 Cor. xv. 56, 57. + +{3} With regard to my own opinion of the present school, I can only give +it as formed after what was merely a cursory and superficial inspection, +as I do not believe that I was in the house above half an hour; but it +was and is this,--that the house at Casterton seemed thoroughly healthy +and well kept, and is situated in a lovely spot; that the pupils looked +bright, happy, and well, and that the lady superintendent was a most +prepossessing looking person, who, on my making some inquiry as to the +accomplishments taught to the pupils, said that the scheme of education +was materially changed since the school had been opened. I would have +inserted this testimony in the first edition, had I believed that any +weight could be attached to an opinion formed on such slight and +superficial grounds. + +{4} "Jane Eyre," vol. I., page 20. + +{5} Scott describes the sport, "Shooting at the Popinjay," "as an +ancient game formerly practised with archery, but at this period (1679) +with firearms. This was the figure of a bird decked with parti-coloured +feathers, so as to resemble a popinjay or parrot. It was suspended to a +pole, and served for a mark at which the competitors discharged their +fusees and carbines in rotation, at the distance of seventy paces. He +whose ball brought down the mark held the proud title of Captain of the +Popinjay for the remainder of the day, and was usually escorted in +triumph to the most respectable change-house in the neighbourhood, where +the evening was closed with conviviality, conducted under his auspices, +and if he was able to maintain it, at his expense."--Old Mortality. + +{6} In this Gutenberg eBook M. Heger's comments are given in {} at +approximately the place where they occur--DP. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE - +VOLUME 1*** + + +******* This file should be named 1827.txt or 1827.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/2/1827 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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