Part 9 (1/2)

I have said that during the stored in other work than that of political writing This was the coave my impressions of Charlotte and Emily Bronte to the public The story of Charlotte Bronte, as told by Mrs Gaskell, had always possessed a great fascination for raphy of Charlotte appeared, and I had received fro details about Charlotte's father, and his life after his daughter's death When I went to Leeds in 1866, the first pilgrie I made was to Haworth That was less than eleven years after Charlotte's death, and at a ti in the village who had a perfect recollection of the wonderful sisters But, strange to say, Haworth was not in those days a popular ”shrine” ”Whiles some Americans come to see the church, but nobody else,” was the statement made to me when I asked the sexton if there were many visitors to the home of the Brontes

My visit furnished me with a theme for a descriptive article which was printed in _Cha written it, I believed that my connection with the Brontes was at an end But when I went back to Leeds in 1870, I was struck by the fact that throughout the West Riding of Yorkshi+re there prevailed a widespread feeling that was nothing less than one of positive antipathy to the works and the story of the Brontes Their books, though they dealt with local scenes and characters, were no longer read In that respect, however, the West Riding hardly differed froland What was peculiar to Yorkshi+re was the fact that, if you e co nant snort froraceful libel upon the district, and that ”Wuthering Heights” was a book so dreadful in its character that its author would only have met with her deserts if she had been soundly whipped for writing it I met more than one lady who had known the Brontes, and who, in reply to uised contempt I was assured that they were not ladies, that they were not even successful as governesses, that their father and brother were a pair of reprobates, and that they the eood society of their neighbourhood, had deliberately revenged the scurrilous libels and caricatures in order to bring Yorkshi+re men and women into contempt It all see prevalent in Yorkshi+re with regard to the Brontes thirty years ago

I was asked to deliver a lecture before some literary society in Leeds, and it seemed to me that I could not do better than tell the story of the Brontes; and defend thehbours Accordingly, I wrote a lecture which was the foundation of the little book I subsequently published on the same subject Miss Nussey, Charlotte's schoolfellow and bosom friend, and the ”dear E” of Mrs Gaskell's ”Life,” was then living at Birstall, near Leeds She heard of h some mutual friend, and expressed a desire to be allowed to read it After having done so, she asked ladly complied I found her a cheerful, neat, and well-preserved woh she ell advanced in ood deal of the charhtful story of ”shi+rley,” is endowed

I am well aware that the identity of Ellen Nussey and Caroline Helstone has been questioned by some recent writers, and that Mr Nicholls, as for a few months Charlotte Bronte's husband, is quoted in support of this denial All I can say is, first, that Miss Nussey acknowledged to me the truth of the statement that she had served as a model for Caroline Helstone, just as Emily Bronte served as a model for shi+rley herself; and secondly, that it was impossible for anyone to know Miss Nussey in those days without seeing how vivid and truthful Charlotte's portrait of her was Alret that Mrs Gaskell had not done justice to Charlotte's life and character in her famous Memoir To me this was rank heresy, for, like most other persons, I was indebted to Mrs Gaskell for nearly all the knowledge I then possessed of the Bronte story But, in reply to my defence of Mrs

Gaskell, Miss Nussey entered into particulars She explained to me that Mrs Gaskell had mixed up the sordid and shameful story of Branwell Bronte with that of his sisters; and she protested against the way in which local traditions, that had nothing to do with the character of the gifted sisters, in whole drop of Yorkshi+re blood, had been ih these traditions were in some way connected with the lives of the Brontes

Finally, she declared that she would not rest satisfied until a book had been written about Charlotte which toned down the over-colouring of Mrs

Gaskell's narrative, and she asked me if I was prepared to write such a book

It was a flattering proposal, but I felt compelled to decline it I ell aware that I could not put myself into competition with Mrs

Gaskell, even if I desired to do so, and I had no wish to appear to attack a book which I regarded as one of the raphy But Miss Nussey was persistent, and she offered me the use of all Charlotte's correspondence with her, including the letters relating to her courtshi+p and e, which Mrs Gaskell had never even seen

After I had read these letters and other docuested that, if I could not write a book, I azine articles out of the materials in my possession Miss Nussey e as she could see Charlotte ”set right” in the eyes of the world, she would be perfectly satisfied with anything I chose to do Accordingly, in the spring of 1866, I wrote three articles which appeared in _Mac, and I ement from outside, other than that which I received fro the editors and critics of the day was that there was nothing new to be said about the Brontes, and that, even if there were, the public would not care to hear it The kind and genial editor of _Mace Grove--shared this conviction, and it was only at the urgent request of Williareed to look atseen them, he liked them, and wrote to me warmly in their praise Nor did the public like thee Grove was correct in his statement that these contributions of mine about the author of ”Jane Eyre” had done azine than any article since Mrs Stowe's famous defaht it would have done, with the publication of my articles in _Macmillan's_ I received a summons from the famous head of that fir him in the deferential manner in which authors in those days waited upon iruffness if I could add enough to the articles to make a book ”The public,” said Mr Macnificance, ”see more of the stuff; I really don't knohy But if you can do so more, we'll make a book of it” Then he named the honorariuazine articles and the volume It was a modest sum--only a hundred pounds, and of this I felt that Miss Nussey was entitled to a considerable share But a hundred pounds was not to be despised Besides, I lovedleft to say about it So I closed with Mr Macmillan's offer, and a few raph,” was duly published

It will be seen that it was by accident rather than design that I wrote the book Miss Nussey azine articles; Mr Maced me to expand the on the subject, and it would have been left to somebody else to start that Bronte cult which has since spread so widely

The appearance of the volume marked an important epoch in my life Yet, in the first instance, ”Charlotte Bronte” was very coldly received by the critics Most of them seemed to think that the book was entirely superfluous They evidently shared Mr Macmillan's surprise that anybody should think such a volureed that I had no special qualifications for the task I had undertaken, and that the new ht was of little value One of my critics, the _Athenaeu spoken of ”the scent of the heather” The ingenuous writer evidently had seen heather nowhere save on the slab of a fisher's shop But, in spite of the critics, the book sold, and sold rapidly It went through three editions in this country within a feeeks of its publication It was republished in Ae a sale there that it was speedily pirated, the pirates not even having the decency to give e

Snubbed as I felt myself to be, I still had my reward People who had read the book wrote to me in enthusiastic terms, and they were not all Americans who did so I speedily became aware that I had, almost by accident, tapped a vein of pure and rich sentihton, forwarded to me a letter he had received froe: ”Has anyone told you I am just about to publish a 'Study' on Charlotte Bronte, which has grown out of all proportion to the thing it was meant to be--a review of (or article on) Mr Wemyss Reid's little jewel and treasure-casket of a book?” Need I say that I was more than consoled for the coldness of the reception which the Press had given toto wait before I saw the Bronte cult a great and growing factor in our literary life The critics could not ignore Mr Swinburne, and when his ”Note” on Charlotte Bronte appeared, they were compelled to discuss seriously the question which they had previously regarded as superfluous or trivial

At Mr Swinburne's request I subsequently went to see the distinguished poet at the rooms he occupied in Great Jah Mr Swinburne cannot be bla on the doorstep, after ringing the bell, for an unusually long ti a tradesman's boy arrived, basket on ar the bell violently to quicken the moveht be disturbing a poet's daydreae all over her face and person, opened the door, and, without paying the slightest attention to an to rate the soby in no measured terms He retaliated in the same fashi+on, and I found myself quite unheeded in the , I interposed between the boy and the landlady, and asked the latter if Mr Swinburne was at ho contempt for a few seconds, and then ejaculated, ”No, he ain't, and it would be a good thing for him if he never hen the likes of you co delivered herself of this hospitable sentence, she slammed the door in my face, and left ain, and in consequence IMr Swinburne's acquaintance at that time

I was elected about this time a member of the Savile Club, which then had its home in Savile Row My proposer was Mr J F McLennan, the author of ”Prie,” and I owed ood offices, but partly to the fact thatpublic A great deal has been written since then about the Brontes Soenius with a penetrating insight that has opened up for us the secrets of their wonderful laboratory, whilst industrious investigators have brought to light many facts which were unknown to Mrs

Gaskell at the time when she wrote her famous Memoir A Bronte Society has been formed in Yorkshi+re, and noeither that the Brontes are not fully appreciated in the world of letters, or that in their own county their falected or despised I myself have added very little to the literature which has been poured forth upon the subject since the appearance of Mr

Swinburne's ”Note” I shrank fro so, because I was not in sympathy with the public curiosity which aspired to know everything that there was to tell about the Brontes without regard to its intrinsic interest, or to that decent reticence which even the dead have a right to expect froraph” publish the remarkable letters in which Charlotte told Miss Nussey the story of her strange love affair with Mr Nicholls Mr Nicholls was still living, and I felt that these letters could not decently be published during his lifetime Twenty years later, however, they were published by Mr Shorter, not only during the lifetientleman's full consent

My chief contribution to the Bronte controversy after the publication of the ”raph” was a lecture delivered at the Royal Institution in 1895 on Ehts,” in which I set forth the theory that Emily had, in part, been inspired in her description of the s by the bitter experiences through which she passed as an eyewitness of her brother Branwell's last days My theory hasBronte students, and I still adhere to it as the most probable explanation of a literary problem of no common difficulty

Once, somewhere between 1890 and 1896, I was compelled to take up the pen in my own defence I read in the _North American Review_ an article entitled ”The Defareat amazement found that it was a vicious attack upon my little book published more than twenty years previously! I was accused by the writer--an American lady whose na been the first to defame Charlotte Bronte, because I had been the first to point out the singular influence over her life and character which was exercised by her teacher in Brussels, M Heger It is now obvious to everybody that this gentleinal of the Paul E influence in the whole of Charlotte Bronte's career as a writer That he exercised a curious fascination over the untrained young woe of French we know fro that a enuine intellectual force should have exercised this influence over thewhatever of intellectual society It was not only ht, but my duty, as a critic to point out the ier had played in the developenius, and there wasin what I said that touched in the slightest degree the purity of her exalted character Yet my critic in the _North American Review_ professed to discover that I had invented the story that Charlotte had ”fallen in love” with her teacher in Brussels, and abusedher to the world in an odious light Surely it is a mad world that can thus misconstrue obvious and innocent facts! I cannot but think, however, that the good lady of the _North Areat Bronte controversy than to contribute anything of value to our knowledge of the subject

As I have said already, when I first wrote about the Brontes there werewho had known the sisters well Of these Miss Nussey was the chief, and it may be of interest to repeat a few of the stateard to Charlotte One of the le visit which she paid to Haworth after Charlotte became the wife of Mr Nicholls Miss Nussey told me that she accompanied Charlotte and her husband one day on a walk over the moors In the course of their conversation she asked Charlotte if she riting another book ”No,”

replied Charlotte; ”Arthur says I have no tiyman's wife” She said it in such a tone as to convince her friend that she was not satisfied with her husband's decision, and Miss Nussey, plucking up her courage, remonstrated with hiift Mr

Nicholls's response was short and to the point ”I did not marry Currer Bell, the novelist, but Charlotte Bronte, the clergyhter

Currer BellI care” I do not vouch for the absolute truth of this story, but I give it as I heard it from Miss Nussey, and I am quite sure that when she told it to me she believed it to be true

Charlotte must have been more attractive than the world at one time believed her to have been, for she had several offers of e before Mr Nicholls appeared upon the scene as a suitor Mrs Se Smith, her publisher, was somewhat alarmed at the possibility of her son's ad into an affection for her, and whilst very kind to the young authoress, she let her see that in her opinion Mr S to become her husband In one of her letters to Miss Nussey, Charlotte discussed this situation, and with her characteristic candour and good sense caht Her son was both too young and too brilliant, she declared, to hter In ”Villette,” where the story of her own heart is told, Mrs Smith and her son are to be found portrayed in the characters of Mr John and his enius, her power, live after her in her books, and so long as those books are read will never be forgotten But it is not her faenius, her pohich are the most precious possessions she has left to us, but that sweetness and virtue, which like bright flowers bloorave and remind us of the life which lies beyond it