New-York tribune., 1905-11-11
CHARLOTTE BRONTE.
Il Brief Biography by Mr. Clement
Shorter.

CHARLOTTE BRoNTB AND HER SISTERS s
BY Clement X Shorter. Illustrated l6rno. pp
247. Charles Scribner's Sons
All the essential facts of Charlotte Brontes
history with some of the non-essential theories
concerning her inner life. are rehearsed in this
compact volume. It is done in the easy journal
istic manner for which Mr.. Shorter has a gift,
a manner which very well BELTS a series de-
voted to comparatively brief surveys OF Liter
airy Lives" Agreeable books Of this kind un-
doubtedly win a welcome among people VINO
have not the opportunity or the taste for leisure
" reading There are those old-fashioned
enough. we believe, to prefer Mrs. Gaskelfs S
memoir with all it's imperfections on its head
and without the not particularly important new
material gathered since her day. 1t will remain
the foundation Of everything that can be writ
ten concerning Charlotte and her sisters.
Such new material was discovered by :Ar'
Shorter he has here, in an earlier work, used
with excellent effect. He is the more Justlfed,
therefore. in discounting the trash OF sensation
ruongers like the person who tried to show that
Charlotte Bronte was in love with her Brussels
schoolrnaster. The book Of that scaVenger zen
fat and it is to be supposed that the dirty
pennies it brought him were few on the suo-
tect of this runored attachment Mr. Shorter is
wise and reasonable, though he might be some
what more emphatic respecting the aosuroly OIL
forever attempting to reduce imaginative work
to a basis of reality. What is Imagination lor
IF If is not to create, to set upon the scene
e,,ra ,ar+a,,inr no doubt of those traits Of
humanity which experience reveals but owing
sc ,ndivtduality to the inspiration Of veritable
genius2
We have no sympathy with the laborious
triaing which traces would-be resemplances
between Paul Emanuel Louis Moore, Rochester
and the other masculine personages OF Char-
lotte's stories and the few real men known 10
the shy Yorkshire girl. Few of these identlnca-
tions-is identihcations they be-seem to US to
possess any real interest; we may wen De CON
tent with those which she has herself offered in
personal letters.
Mrs Gaskefl in seeking an original for st.
Tobn Rivers. the ascetic young clergyman
who wants to marry Jane Eyre as helper IN
his missionary work, hit upon Henry Nussey'
the brother Of that Ellen Nussey who WAS
Charlottes chief woman friend. Mr.. Shorter
5oas NOT agree with the earlier biographer,
though he records the fact that this eVangeh-
ca1 clergyman offered marriage to Charlotte,
Influenced. it would seem. more by a keen de-
sire for a housekeeper who would look aIter the
schools and attend to the coal and blanket
finds than from any deep seated affection"
Our author has been allowed to read the fSeV'
1Er Nussey's diary, finding in it some entries
concerning the young mans attempts TO get d
wife:
He first asked the daughter of his former wear ar
Iutwigge whom he characterlzes as 3G 1sained
May She refused him and we have the IooWhg e
lines in his diary Qn Iuesaay yans: as: loss. but
trust provdential Believe not her VIII MAI Us is
eeG eeod for U.S. for as church and His gory o3
Write Yorkshire friend @ C. rscord Received
an unfavorable reply from e c8rse is "" Charlotte
Bponts ana some might md satisfaction II n facf 5Hf
faet that the marriage which this mater o. lader
ahond have tuTned out napy In M NI55fg
hOweyer we have not 4obn m Ri2ers i've ere are
f refsrences to missionary work in Mr. Nussey
nssnped person with not sufficient brains to 6e
high soqed s,s5 aRaG a5H de6 e6cis Is n n her BOOK
is why am inced TO think that the ,f Tsai If in
Iypatnre: n1 that sns had read from the keghley
library Sargens Memoir OF henry ial NJ 1rhaTo her
aunt must have constantly spoken 10 lgr, n
father also for ne Mas pCoege, Cambridge fact
which probably led her to give RIVERS ms Ci4s''-
name OF St John
Here is one lifelike character ora"h by oH0-
,o++a not from actual personal knoWleoSe put
- ..I,+a-o+ure" Whv not others, then?
,1o r,a, whom Charlotte married when she
-. o,,rroachips middle age was as lar re-
,o,,ad from the type of Henry Nussey aS ii0--i
+bo+ of St John Rivers Arthur Nlcholis "'9
~ q rood soul without much deplh'
+ - q very real affection for his famous
- Af+er her death he stayed on et HaWorth
-, el6 nv F3rontg until he. too departed then
80 .-o+a gave I'D the church and went back
- ,is native Ireland and became farmer Ihere'
-. ,-aars ago Mr. Shorter visited him, hndlns
,;s house fuu of Bronte relics-relcs winch even
,1,,5ad the two rocking chairs so frequently
,aa at Haworth by Emily and Anne
I,,1+z in their tragic last Illness There, too,
80 hing, for fifty years the only trustworthy
+r.f+ of charlotte This it may be noted.
&c n go eventually 10 the National Portrait GaI-
lerv. Mr. Shorter says that in seeking the e@>
c,ra+e he had almost been prepared Tor &
yarroxv minded limited, austere man., having
-eaa estimates of him that inclined TO this view
Miss Ellen Nussey. the very Personifica 5lon 1 OF
LOYALTY TO the memory Of her Gear lrleia, We Tas
x1-on1 her Mrs Gasken mad imbibed pre1udlce
.tet ts exnressed IN more than one letter nave
seen Mr. Nichols had his tdiosyncraelcs as nave
caSsn+ry village without incurrfns prejudice anc
,ofs-T S3ersfa ding The author OF Crawford
-oighf we'll realize that in any case tune We may
i-InhCIls as II softenS them with most men,
IL - sSsyia man who shook hands With me at
Panarher Station carried me on IN ms Jaunt-
~ a. 10 ais pleasant ho'nA and introduced me
his kindly family circle was an entirely benign
I j5E,eraG minded man, with no remnants in his
,siure Of that Intolerance and pedantry that may
o-.-1;er he was keenly interested IN everything
.baT was going on IN the great world very graft
fed az the universal ~ u rs Wis
genius and greatly apprecstLse u l4e ii-se li1at
was now offered on al sioea
The author adds that Mr.. Nichols denied the
No6 Inn ed g