Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-04-11

trait of Charlotte Bronte-She was>
Noted as ConversationaIist
One of the most notable persons ,.l.
ever came into our ole low window d.
ing room in Young street is a guest nv.
TO be forgotten by me, tiny, delicate "a.
tie person, whose small hand ueyertbe,ss.
grasped a mighty lever which set an ~
literary world of that day vibrating Tcas
still see the scene quite plainly-tbe h..
summer evening, the open windows H.
carriage driving to the door as we All Il,
silent and expectant; my father, who ran.
" waited, waiting with us; our governs.
and my sister and all in row, and ma
pared for the great event
We saw the carriage stop, and our of i,
sprang the active, well knit figure Of ",
George Smith, who was bringing MI.
Bronte to see our father. Ny father wbo
had been walking up and down the room
goes out into the hail to meet his guests
and then after n moments delay the doc,
opens wide, and the two gentlemen CONS
in, leading a tiny, delicate, serious lttl.
lady, pale, with fair, straight hair and
steady eyes. She may be little over thin
ty; she is dressed in little barege dress
with pattern Of faint green moss.
She enters in mittens, in silence. in a.
robustness; our hearts are beating with
wild excitement. This, then, is the author
ess, the unknown power whose books have
set all London talking, reading, speculat
ing; some people even say our father wrvs
the books-the wonderful books.
To say that we little girls had been given
"Jane Eyre" to read scarcely represents
the facts of the case, to say that we had
taken it without leave, read bits here and
read bits there, been carried away BY an
undreamed of and hitherto unimagiDe3
whirlwind into things, times, places, all
utterly absorbing and at the same time alb
solutely unintelligible TO us, would NOR
accurately describe our states of mind On
that summers evening as we look at Jane
Eyre-the great Jane Eyre-the tiny little
lady
The moment is so breathless that dinner
comes as a relief to the solemnity Of the
occasion, and we all smile as my father
stoops TO offer his arm, for, genius though
she may be, Miss Bronte can barely reach
his elbow. My own personal impression,
are that she is somewhat grave and stern.
specially to forward little girls who wish
to chatter. Mr. George Smith has since told
me how she afterward remarked upon my
fathers wonderful forbearance and gentle
ness with our uncalled for incursions into
the conversation. She sat gazing at him
with kindling eyes of interest, lighting up
with a sort of illumination every now and
then as she answered him. can see her
bending forward over the table, not eating
but listening to what he said as he carved
the dish before him.
think it must have been on this very
occasion chat my father invited some Of
his friends in the evening to meet Miss
Bronte-for everybody was interested and
anxious to see her Mrs. Grove, the reciter
of ghost stories, was there. Mrs. Brook
field, Mrs Carlyle, Mr.. Carlyle himself was
there, so am told, railing at the appear
ance of cocbueys upon Scotch mountain
sides; there were also too many Americas
for his taste, "but the Americans were as
God compared to the cockneys," says the
philosopher Besides the Carlyles there
were Mrs Elliott and Miss Perry, Mrs
Proctor and her daughter, most of my
fathers habitual friends and companions
In the recent life of Lord Houghtcu was
amused to see a note quoted in which Lord
Houghton was also convened. Wouldthn
he had been presentl--perhaps the parry
would have gone off better 1t was
gloomy and a silent evening.
Every one waited for the brilliant con
yersation which never began at all. Miss
Bronte retired to the sofa in the study, and
murmured a low word now and then 70
our kind governness, Miss Truelock. The
room looked very dark, the lamp began to
smoke a little, the conversation grew dim
mer and more dim, the ladies sat around
still expectant, my father was too much
perturbed by the gloom and the silence 10
be able to cope with it at all.
Mrs Brookfleld, who was in the doorwsF
by the study, near the corner in which Miss
Bronte was sitting, leaned forward with
little commonplace, since brilliance was
not to be the order of the evening. DO
you like London, Miss Bronte" she said
another silence, pause, then Miss Bronte
answers Yes" and ono" very graTely
and there the conversation drops.
My sister and were much too young 70
be bored in those days; alarmed, impressed
we might be, but not yet bored. party
was party, a lioness was a lioness; and
shall ! confess it?--at that time an extra
dish Of biscuits was enough to mark the
evening We felt all the importance Of
the occasion; tea spread in the dining
room, ladies in the drawing room; We
roamed about incOuveniently, no DOUBT
and excitedly, and in one Of my excursions
crossing the hall | was surprised to see my
father opening the front door with his "a.
on. He put his fingers to his lips, walked
out into the darkness, and shut the door
quietly behind him. When ! went oao1
to the drawing room again the ladies' askel
me where he was. vaguely answered 1hS'
| thought he was coming back.
was puzzled at the time, nor was y ai
made clear to me till long years atter"aiui,
when one day Mrs. Proctor asked me u
knew what had happened once when my
father had invited a party TO meet Jau'
Eyre mt his house It was one OF the luH
est evenings she had ever spent IN her iAe
she said. And then, with a good deai Vi
humor, she described the situation, the "a
dies who all come expecting so much us
lightful conversation, and the gloom anu
the constraiut, and how finally, over
whelmed by the situation, my father h'9
quietly left the room, left the house auD
gone oil To his club. o.,
The ladies waited, wondered, and hA'--.
departed ALSO aud as we were goinE ~ Z.
bed with our candles after everybody VIZ
gone, I remember two pretty Miss j. 3 ~
shiny silk dresses, arriving, fun OF eAl,.