New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-23
The Three sisters-Currer, Ellis, and Acton

The Three sisters-C urrer, Ellis, and Acton
BELL.
Three years ago appeared Jane Eyre" BY
Currer Bell WutherDg Heights by Ellis
Bell and Agnes Grey" by Acton Bell. The
critics were puzzled with these Bells. Were
they only one and was that one a man or
woman The mystery has now been cleared IN
a preface TO "Wuthering Heights" and Agnes
Grew They were three sisters, the eldest OF
whom Miss alias Cuuer, Bell. alone survives
and describes their home as" village Parson-
age among the hills bordering Yorkshire and
Lancashire. The scenery OF these bulls Is not
grand-it is not romantic It IS scarcely striking.
Long low moors, dark with heath, shuts IN little
valleys where a stream waters, here and there, a
fringe of stunted copse Mills and scattered cot
tages chase romance from these valleys u 10
only higher up, deep in among the rloSes OF the
mOOrs, that imagination can had rest Tor the sole
of her foot and even il she finds II there, she
must be solitude loving rayen,--no gentle dove.
If she demand beauty 60 inspire her she must
hiring IL Unborn these mOOrs are too stern 70
yield any product so delicate. About five years
ago NV two sisters and myself, after somewhat
PROLONGED period OF separation. found ourselves
r. united and at home Resident IN remote DIS
trict where education had made little progress,
and where. consequently. there WAS no induce
mont 70 seek social intercourse beyond oar own
domestic circle, we were wholly dependent on
ourselves and each other on books and study, Tor
the enioyments and occupations OF NE. one
dsv. in the Autumn Of lS45. | accidentally lighted
ON a Ms volume Of verse in my sister Emlys
Handwriting. OF course, | was not surprised.
knowing that she could not write verse looked
il over and something more tnsn surprise seized
me-a deep conviction thas these were not com
mon illusions, nor at all hAe tue poe'iy "o sr-
generally write Meantime, my younger sister
onietlv produced some of her own compositions
Min tine that. since Emlys had given me pleas
ure | migit like 10 look ut hers. l could not put
De a partial Judge yet | thought that these
verses too had sweet sincere Patnos Oh Iuen
own. We had very early cherished the cream
of one day becoming authors thls dream nSsSi
sal;r,,,;sbed even when distance divided and alb
sorbing tasks occupied VI now suddenly acquired
strength and consistency It took the char9cter
of a resolve. We agreed 20 arrange smhi SC
lection Of our poems. and, II possible get them
nrinted Averse to personal pdohcty, We Vehed
pnr own names under those OF Carer. Ellis, and
Atom BeU. the ambiguous choice being dictated
bv n sort OF conscientious acruple at assuming
Cbr;stian names positively masculine, while We
Aid NOT like TO declare ourselves women because
without at that time suspectlng that our NOUS
of writing and thinking was not what Is oaneo
feminine we had q vague impression that
.n,boresses are liable to be looked on with pre-
indice. we had noticed how critics sometimes
nse for their chastisement the weapon OF person
alitv and for their reward iattery, when Is NOT
true praise The bringing out oil our nttie oooh
was hard work. lllsuccess failed 10 crush "
the mere effort to succeed had given wondeH1i
zest to existence il must be pursuea. we escn
set 10 work on q prose tale: Ellis Bell produced
sWutbering Heights, Acton Bell Agnes Grey
and Currer Bell also wrote a narrative IN onS
volume These MSS. were perseyerngiy 90
truded upon various publishers tor the space Oh
wear and a half usually, their fate was an lBno-
minious and abrupt dismissal At last w utner,
ing Heights and Agnes Grey, were accepteu
on terms somewhat mpoverishlng 70 the TWO au
thors was then just completing Jane hylo,
a. which I had been working while the one
volume tale was Flooding its weary rouhu N
London: in three weeks ! sent It on iriendiy
and skilful hands took it in This was IN the com
meucement Of September, lo47 1t came out pc
fore the close OF October following, while WI
thering Heights and Agnes Grey my sisters
works which had already been in press Tor montns'
still fingered under a different management
They appeared at last. Critics failed TO do them
Justice. Neither Ellis nor Acton allowed herself
for one moment TO sink under want of encourage.
ment energy nerved the one, and endurance
upheld the other They were both prepared 10
try again l would fam think that hope and the
sense of power was yet strong within them. But
a great change approached atflctOn came in
that shape which 10 anticipate is dread to look
back on, grief In the very heat and burden Of
day, the laborers failed in their work. My sister
Emily first declined. She sank rapidly. She
made haste to leave US She died December 10,
ls4s. We thought this enough; but we wore
utterly and presumptuously wrong. She was not
buried ere Anne fell i'll. She had not been com.
mitted to the grave fortnight before we received
distinct intimation that il was necessary to pre-
pare our minds to see the younger sister 20 after
the elder. Accordingly, she followed in the same
path with slower step, and with a patience that
equaled the others tortitude.