REV. PATRICK BRONTË.
CHARLOTTE BRONTË.
BY
T. WEMYSS REID.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1877.
[All Rights Reserved.]
THIRD EDITION.
CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.
To the Right Honourable
THE LORD HOUGHTON, D.C.L. F.R.S. &c.
THIS MEMORIAL OF A LIFE
WHICH HAS ADDED A NEW GLORY TO THE
LITERARY HISTORY OF YORKSHIRE
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY HIS GRATEFUL FRIEND
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
I have spoken so freely in the opening chapter of this Monograph ofthe circumstances under which it has been written, that very littleneed be said by way of introduction here. This attempt to throw somefresh light upon the character of one of the most remarkable women ofour age has not been a task lightly taken up, or hastily performed.The life and genius of Charlotte Brontë had long engaged my attentionbefore I undertook, at the request of the lady to whom I am indebtedfor most of the original materials I have employed in these pages, thework which I have now completed. In executing that work I have hadample reason to feel and acknowledge my own deficiencies. With theknowledge that I was treading in the footsteps of so consummate aliterary artist as Mrs. Gaskell, I have been compelled to refrain fromwriting not a few of the chapters in Charlotte Brontë's life which arenecessary to a complete acquaintance with her character, simplybecause they had been written so well already. And whilst Inecessarily shrink from any appearance of rivalry with CharlotteBrontë's original biographer, I have been additionally oppressed bythe feeling that the pen which can do full justice to one of the mostmoving and noble stories in English literature has not yet been found.But I have been sustained both by the sympathy of many friends, knownand unknown, who share my feelings with regard to the Brontës, and bythe invaluable assistance rendered to me by those who were intimatelyacquainted with the household at Haworth Parsonage. Foremost amongthese must be mentioned Miss Ellen Nussey, the schoolfellow andlife-long friend of Charlotte Brontë, who has freely placed at mydisposal all the letters and other materials she possessed from whichany light could be thrown upon the career of her old companion, andwho has in addition aided me with much valuable counsel and advicein the decision of many difficult points. Miss Wooler, who wasCharlotte's attached teacher, and who still happily survives in agreen old age, has also placed me under obligations by her readinessto supply me with her pupil's letters to herself. Nor must I omitto mention my indebtedness to Lord Houghton for information uponquestions which could only be decided by those who met "Currer Bell"during her brief visits to London at a time when she was one of theliterary lions of society.
The additions made in this volume to the Monograph as it originallyappeared in Macmillan's Magazine are numer