the year 1840 found all the brontës 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 brontë.
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. brontë; 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. brontë, 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 brontë 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 soufflèe à la française, 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 æsop; 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 brontë, 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 brontë 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.’”
