The Press. — London, England, 1857-04-04 00:00:00

340 from the school very ill about the time when the fever broke forth. Elizitheth also sick ened. Consumption had macre rapid progress before it was noticed. Maria died on the tith of May, 1825 ; her sister Elizabeth died six weeks later, on the 15th of June. One marvels to rend that, notwithstanding these deaths, the other two sisters, Charlotte and Emily, were sent back to school after the midsummer holidays. Fortunately the failure of their health was noticed before remedy was too late. They were removed from school in the autumn of 1825, Charlotte being then nine years old. From this time the three girls, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, remained at home. Their aunt, Miss Branwell, did what she could to instruct them, and they were fortunate in the attachment of " Tabby," an elderly servant, thoroughly Yorkshire in dialect, appearance, and character. Mr. Bronto was an ardent politician, and taught his children to take an interest in the events of the day. The three little girls were all remarkable for liveliness of fancy, and early amused themselves with writing stories. By the time Charlotte was fourteen, she had composed no less than twenty-two volumes. Tne - writing of these MSS is so minute that it cannot be read without a magnifying glass. The girl was probably careful of her paper, and crowded her composition into as small a space as possible. In appearance, Charlotte, when in her fifteenth year, was a little set, antiquated, " girl, very quiet in manners, and very " quaint in dress " She described her own figure as " stunted," but as eve►y part was justly proportioned, the word was scarcely ap plicable. Her eyes war; quiet and intelligent, except when she was strongly moved, and then they glowed with spiritual fire. " I never " saw the like in any other creature," says Mrs. Gaskell, and adds : 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 overbalanced 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 1 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. In 1831 Charlotte went to school again to Miss Wooler, at Roe's Head, and remained there for a year or two. Subsequently, in 1835, she went to Miss Wooler as a teacher, but her health gave way, and she was compelled to return home. Her sisters seem to have bene fitted greatly by her instruction. At the close of the year 1836, both her brother Patrick and herself seem to have seriously considered whether they might not succeed in literature. Charlotte wrote to Southey, with some specimens of her poetical composition ; her brother did the same to Wordsworth. His letter shows great ability, but does not seem to have been answered. Southey replied to Miss Bronte in a letter full of excellent sense. He advised her to devote herself to her home duties in the first place, and to devote attention to literature only as a recreation. Charlotte followed this advice for a time, but ultimately the bent of her mind was too strong to be resisted. Her genius was too active to allow her to remain idle She took a situation as a governess, and entered one of those " respectable " fami lies where the governess is almost certain to feel herself slighted : She said that none but those who had been in the posi• tion of a govenfess could ever realise the dark side of `• re• spectable " 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. Her health failed her in this situation, but she was not wholly discouraged. In 1841 she took a second situation, but remained in it only a few months. She desired to qualify herself for a superior situation, and at length deter mined to enter a pensionnat at Brussels. She remained as pupil and teacher two years, =IIC% THE PRESS. and acquired the French language. Her sister Emily accompanied her part of the time. The sisters, at the commencement of 1844, decided on an attempt to establish a school. The effort was, however, unsuccessful. No pupils could be obtained, and the mind of Charlotte reverted more strongly than ever to literary hopes. She collected Home poems by her tw) sisters and herself, and opened a cor respondence with Messrs. Aylott and Jones for their issue in a small volume. The pub lishers required thirty guineas for the ex penses of the volume ; this sum was made up and sent, and a small volume of poems appeared by Currer, Ellis, and Acton We have a distinct recollection of this volume. It was marked by great originality. The poem which struck us most was one in which the ghost of a deserted girl appeared to her lover after his prosperous marriage. She had died by drowning ; and there was singular power in the description of her appearance veiled in a rush of waters. The reviews of the day gave most praise to some verses by Ellis; but certainly the piece we have mentioned by Currer was by far the most powerful in the volume. It attracted little notice, and the sisters must have been disappointed by their venture. Still they were nut discouraged. Charlotte, and Emily, and Anne, each resolved to send a novel to London. The productions of the two first, " Wutheriug Heights" and " Agnes Grey," were accepted. Charlotte's pro duction was less fortunate; it was called " The Professor," and we see is now announced for publication. It was offered to many houses and rejected. She has said herself, " Currer "Bell's book found acceptance nowhere, nor any " acknowledgment of merit, so that something " like the chill of despair began to invade his "heart." Yet at this time she began "Jane Eyre," and wrote so rapidly that she threw her self into a fever which compelled her to pause when she had carried her heroine to Thorn field. The story originated, it is said, in a conversation which she had held with her sisters. She told them they were morally wrong in always making their heroines beautiful. They said it was impossible to make them interesting other ,vise. She replied, " I will prove to you that you are wrong. I " will show you a heroine as plain and as " small as myself, who shall be as interesting as " any of yours " This was the key-note of the story. While working at it, " The Professor " had been sent to the house of Smith and Elder. It was courteously declined for reasons given, and Miss Bront.e was encouraged to finish " Jane Eyre," and send it to the same firm. It was despatched on the 24th of August, 1847, little more than a fortnight after " The Pro fessor " had been declined. On the eve of her great success we pause for a moment to view her domestic position. It was gloomy enough. Tier father was nearly blind by cataract, and had been compelled to submit to an operation for relief. Her sisters and herself had no other hope of achieving independence than by their literary labours, and they had yet received little encourage• ment. The heaviest of their troubles has to be mentioned. Their brother Patrick was finely gifted. He had attained considerable skill as an artist, and a group by his hand of the sisters yet re mains to attest his proficiency. It was first proposed that he should go to London and study as an artist, but funds were wanting. He became a railway clerk, and afterwards a private tutor. His facile disposition rendered him peculiarly open to temptation ; the story of his degradation is that of many young m-n. Some retrieve their error, but his fall was irre coverable. In the house, as we understand, where he resided as tutor, the lady, a married woman of double his own age, made advances to him which ho wanted strength to resist. When once ensnared, he became her unresisting captive. She was insensible to shame, and did with hint as she pleased. His family wondered at the change which had come over him when he visited his home. He was rest less and unhappy, but they had no snspicion of the truth, until a letter came to him from the husband of his paramour, full of angry and bitter SATURDAY, reproach, and forbidding him ever to enter the house again. The youth, ardently attached to the guilty woman, and overwhelmed with shame at the discovery, was almost frantic. He drank freely, and, when deprived of spirits, succeeded in procuring opium. Scarcely a rational being, he was jealously guarded by his father, for the family were not without apprehensions of a frightful catastrophe. At length one chance of redemption seemed to present itself to him. The husband he had injured died. His wife was left free. Young Bronto hastened to see her, and to offer her his hand. A messenger from the woman met him on the way. The injured husband had left a considerable fortune to his wife, but de pendent on the condition that she never saw Brunte more. Preferring money to the youth she had seduced, she forbade him her pre sence, and desired that they might never meet more. From this time he never held up his head. At the time the little volume of poems was published by the sisters, June, 1848, Char lotte wrote : 13ranwell declares that he neither can nor will do any thing for himself ; good situations have been offered him, for which, by a fortnight's work, he might have qualified himself ; but he will do uothing, except drink and make us all wretched. He lived in a state of frightful degradation and misery two years longer. The success of "Jane Byre" came oppor tunely to cheer the family. The publishers felt confident of its merit:— When the manuscript of "Jane Eyre" had been re ceived by the future publishers of that remarkable novel, it fell to the share of a gentleman connected with the firm to read it first. He was so powerfully struck by the elm ra3ter of the tale, that he reported his impression in very strong terms to Mr. Smith, who appears to have been much amused by the admiration excited. " You seem to have been so enchanted, that I do not know how to believe you," he laughingly said. But when a second reader, in the person of a clear-headed Scotchtnan, not given to enthusiasm, had taken the MS. borne in the evening, and became so deeply interested in it, as to sit up half the night to finish it, Mr. Smith's curiosity was sufficiently excited to prompt him to read it for himself; and great as were the praises which had been bestowed upon it, he found that they had not exceeded the truth. Yet success was not immediate. The reviews spoke of the new novel doubtfully. But a few weeks after publication thera was a run for the book, and its success was assured. Unfortu nately, " there is little record remaining of the " manner in which the first news of its wonder " ful success reached and affected the heart of " the three sisters." As Miss Bronte had constantly corresponded with Messrs. Smith as " Currer Bell," under cover to Miss Bronte, they were ignorant of the real author. A rumour was circulated that all the novels of the sisters were by one hand. Messrs. Smith wrote to state the report, and to say that it affected the character, not of the authors only, but of themselves. Charlotte and Anne, conse quently, determined to start for London. The date to which the following extract refers is June, 1840 : About eight o'clock on Saturday morning they arrived at the Chapter Coffeehouse, Paternoster-row—a strange place, but they did not know where else to go. They re freshed themselves by washing, and had some breakfast. Then they sat still fur a few minutes to consider what next should be done. • • • • • On reaching Mr. Smith's, Charlotte put his own letter into his hands ; the same letter which had excited so much disturbance at Haworth I'arsonage only twenty four hours before. " Where did you get this ?" said he—as if he could not believe that the two young ladies dressed in black, of slight figures and diminutive stature, looking pleased yet agitated, could be the embodied Currer and Acton Bell, for whom curiosity had been hunting so eagerly in vain. An explanation ensued, and Mr. Smith at once began to form plans for their amusement and pleasure during their stay in London. He urged them to meet a few literary friends at his house ; and this was a strong temptaLon to Charlotte, as amongst them were one or two of the writers whom she particularly wished ti, see ; but her resolution to remain unknown induced her firmly to put it aside. The sisters were equally persevering [in declining Mr Smith's invitations to stay at his house. They refused to leave their quarters, saying they were not prepared for a long stay. They saw London in the height of the fashionable season, went to the Opera, to the Royal Academy, and dined twice at L. Smith's. On the following Tuesday they left for their Yorkshire home, thoroughly exhausted by their visit. Miss Bronte was now almost in the position of Byron, She woko up ono morning, and 1