New-York tribune., 1894-03-25
THE BRONTES.
4 STORY OF THEIR RELATIVES IN IRE
LAND.

STRANGFR THAN FICTION. ny DR.. william
Wright u. Appleton GO.
DR. Wright undertakes in this book TO account
for tho genius of the lrontG sisters and me- may D"
said 70 succeed in his object. granting tho theory
that STORYTELLING Is hereditary. For among the
Irish hogs he has unearthed the memory or
Grandfather Brontr. who had the great diai Sl'tS
Of Imagination and expression. and could NOV" al
will the peasant audience round his KIN hre hla
son Patrick also had this storytelling power ana
Charlotte's friend Ellen Nussey. has often de-
scribed the brcathless absorption with which the
group Of girls Haworth would sit listening to the
Rector's tragic tales. Many of these tales hah
their origin In cruel and romantic experiences
of Grandfather Hugh Bront"'s childhood ana youth
experiences which. aa Dr Wright uuioHhteliF
shows were utilized by the novelist sisters. and "s-
pccially by Emily In "WuthcrinS Heights. Inc
erratic HoathclifIe is certainly modelled upon Welsh
rronte who caused all Hugh's boysh miseri"s as
certainly Joseph was drawn from NelSh hf"h'
scoundrel servant. Gallagher
There are a number of loose ends in Or Wright
book which cannot apparently be brought into r"a-
sonable order. The story OF the swarthy wall VINO
is adopted by the cnttic-leang Bront". and who
grows up under the name Of Welsh Bront" 10 b"
the evil genius of his lencfactors family. Is simple
and probable enough But when on" oi the '"ns
Of the despoiel race hohnohs with the man VINO
has been its destruction and hands to him one
reader begins 10 think that the tale may be eN-
aggerated He doubts still more when. later on. h"
reads that "A son Of Hugh IS named after This vile
oppressor OF i,s fathe' tilildhood ut all true or
partly false the stories told by Patrick iirontr TO
his daughters bore rich fruit In those young nagi-
nations Those who have searched the lonely York
shire noors and the Belgian cty for The sources OF
the sisters inspirations have seen only half the
picture.
The Irish Bron,a~ were stllwart handsome.
uneIucatcd mon and women. with strangr.
Wild poetry and romance IN th" strain. They
were as q ruc covcrer ih1r IN" r"op''
about them seldom associated with th'm. AMI
were considered more or less dangerous. oIt-
landsh and uncanny. II wa. IN short race
that might well eliminate IN the three girls oi
genius In iIaworth Rectory. Patrick was IN" ntst
TO struggle ont Of III" family estate OF tenant
farmer or inn-keeper. and 70 win FOR him7"f a
university training and entrance To- l"arned pro
fession together with mild rcpute n poet Eut
his brothers and sisters II iillterate had an Infinite
respect for learning. and took great pride I'm Pat
rck's achievements and the literary successes OF
his daughters. In former books dealing with the
B-ontc sisters ttlc has been said Of their Irish
relatives that IT was supposed that the latter were
wholly ignored at HawOrth Dr. Wright. however.
shows that kindly relations existed between them.
that Patrick Bront6 took pains 70 send an early
COPY Of Jane Eyre his eldest brother AT Bally-
naskcaPh. and that hc continually kept his brothers
and sisters Informed concerning All MS fAinlN v'-
tails Some OF the brothers visited the English
rectory; and II vas the eldest Hugh who sought
London with his finest shillanh to wrenk ven
geance on the author OF the famous "Quarterly'
attack on Jane Eyre" and It's author After
weary and vain search he returned TO Ireland by
way OF Haworth. finding the rectory dreary with
one bereavement and the approaching shadow Of
another. '"rhe gentle Anne received him with the
warmest welcome. and talked OF accompanying him
TO ireland. which she spoke OF az home At part
ing she threw her long. slender arms round his
neck and called him her noble uncle. and the great
giant felt amply rewarded for his fruitess efforts.
and never after referred to the circumstance with
out his eyes filing with tears Charlotte took him
for walk on the moor. asked thousand ques.
tons told him bout Emily and Branwel and. slip
ping a few sovereigns into his hand advised him
to hasten home" There no welcome for him
when he reached ireland told. the lusty
brothers and sisters feeling it disgrace that ne
should have failed in his mission OF thrashing the
reviewer. What. we wonder. would Hugh Bronte
have done II he had discovered the truth only
lately revealed-that the author Of the bitterly un-
lust and shallow article a woman? DR.. Wright.
however, has a theory that Miss Rigby (afterward
Lady Eastlake) was responsible for what
offensive In the article and that this element
introduced by Philistne the editorial STAFF
Of the "Quarterly." whether Lockhart another.
This is an opinion in which Mr.. Lang agrees with
the author. II they are right In their suppositon.
one cannot but wonder that Lady Eastlake. who
died only a short time ago did not nj least IN pri
yate, II not In public. disown criticism - harsh,
so superficial and. TO speak frankly. so vulgar.
Dr. Wright In the course OF his romantic version
of Hugh Brontas experiences. gives many inter
esting gmpses OF Irish life and character In the
early years of the century. IIc settles the ques-
ton OF pronunciation OF the Bronte name; 1t was
always "Irunty" in Ireland. he says. and never
"Prunty." as has been alleged. He does not dis
pose Of many other vcxed questions in the BrontG
history as given by former biographers: but he
certainly furnishes a valuable new starting point
for thai history His book is thrown together with
time In investigation. he should not have given
more care and thought 10 developing the results;
His literary style is poor-bumptious. jerky and
hurried.
The Department OF Philosophy and Education
Columbia College announces the early appearance
OF the first OF series OF contributions on phosoph-
ical psychological and educational subjects that
TO appear under the editorshp OF the members OF
the department The new series will contain first.
the longer and more important dissertations sub
mtted by advanced students In philosophy and edu-
cation in partial fulhlment OF the requirements for
the degree OF Doctor OF Philosophy. occasional
longer and technical studies by the professors
and instructors themselves. and reprints from other
Journals Of contributions made 20 them by members
OF the Department OF Philosophy at Columbia. The
contributions will appear at irregular intervals. and
will be numbered consecutively for binding and
preservation. The editors propose 10 conform IN
every respect to the directions regarding such pub
cations recently formulated by the trustees OF the
Columbia University Press. The new contributions
viii appear under the editorial direction Of Profes-
sor. Butler and CattelI and Doctors Hyslop and
Farrand The first 10 appear Will be entitled Fried