Charlotte Brontë and Her Circle

by Clement King Shorter

[56b] Baptisms solomnised in the Parish of Bradford and Chapelry of Thornton in the County of York.

When Baptized.	Child’s Christian Name.	Parent’s Name (Christian).	Parent’s Name (Surname).	Abode.	Quality, Trade or Profession.	By whom the Ceremony was Performed.
1816 29th June	Charlotte daughter of	The Rev. Patrick and Maria.	Brontë	Thornton	Minister of Thornton	Wm. Morgan Minster of Christ Church Bradford.
1817 July 23	Patrick Branwell son of	Patrick and Maria.	Brontë	Thornton	Minister	Jno. Fennell officiating Minister.
1818 20th August	Emily Jane daughter of	The Rev. Patrick and Maria.	Brontë A.B.	Thornton Parsonage	Minister of Thornton	Wm. Morgan Minster of Christ Church Bradford.
1820 March 25th	Anne daughter of	The Rev. Patrick and Maria.	Brontë	Minister of Haworth		Wm. Morgan Minster of Christ Church Bradford.

[74] At the same time it is worth while quoting from a letter by ‘A. H.’ in August 1855. A. H. was a teacher who was at Cowan Bridge during the time of the residence of the little Brontës there.

‘In July 1824 the Rev. Mr. Brontë arrived at Cowan Bridge with two of his daughters, Maria and Elizabeth, 12 and 10 years of age. The children were delicate; both had but recently recovered from the measles and whooping-cough—so recently, indeed, that doubts were entertained whether they could be admitted with safety to the other pupils. They were received, however, and went on so well that in September their father returned, bringing with him two more of his children—Charlotte, 9 [she was really but 8] and Emily, 6 years of age. During both these visits Mr. Brontë lodged at the school, sat at the same table with the children, saw the whole routine of the establishment, and, so far as I have ever known, was satisfied with everything that came under his observation.

‘“The two younger children enjoyed uniformly good health.” Charlotte was a general favourite. To the best of my recollection she was never under disgrace, however slight; punishment she certainly did not experience while she was at Cowan Bridge.

‘In size, Charlotte was remarkably diminutive; and if, as has been recently asserted, she never grew an inch after leaving the Clergy Daughters’ School, she must have been a literal dwarf, and could not have obtained a situation as teacher in a school at Brussels, or anywhere else; the idea is absurd. In respect of the treatment of the pupils at Cowan Bridge, I will say that neither Mr. Brontë’s daughters nor any other of the children were denied a sufficient quantity of food. Any statement to the contrary is entirely false. The daily dinner consisted of meat, vegetables, and pudding, in abundance; the children were permitted, and expected, to ask for whatever they desired, and were never limited.

‘It has been remarked that the food of the school was such that none but starving children could eat it; and in support of this statement reference is made to a certain occasion when the medical attendant was consulted about it. In reply to this, let me say that during the spring of 1825 a low fever, although not an alarming one, prevailed in the school, and the managers, naturally anxious to ascertain whether any local cause occasioned the epidemic, took an opportunity to ask the physician’s opinion of the food that happened to be then on the table. I recollect that he spoke rather scornfully of a baked rice pudding; but as the ingredients of this dish were chiefly, rice, sugar, and milk, its effects could hardly have been so serious as have been affirmed. I thus furnish you with the simple fact from which those statements have been manufactured.

‘I have not the least hesitation in saying that, upon the whole, the comforts were as many and the privations as few at Cowan Bridge as can well be found in so large an establishment. How far young or delicate children are able to contend with the necessary evils of a public school is, in my opinion, a very grave question, and does not enter into the present discussion.

‘The younger children in all larger institutions are liable to be oppressed; but the exposure to this evil at Cowan Bridge was not more than in other schools, but, as I believe, far less. Then, again, thoughtless servants will occasionally spoil food, even in private families; and in public schools they are likely to be still less particular, unless they are well looked after.

‘But in this respect the institution in question compares very favourably with other and more expensive schools, as from personal experience I have reason to know.—A.H., August 1855.’—From A Vindication of the Clergy Daughters’ School and the Rev. W. Carus Wilson from the Remarks in ‘The Life of Charlotte Brontë,’ by the Rev. H. Shepheard, M.A. London: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday, 1857.

[92] The Rev. William Weightman.

[95] It is interesting to note that Charlotte sent one of her little pupils a gift-book during the holidays. The book is lost, but the fly-leaf of it, inscribed ‘Sarah Louisa White, from her friend C. Brontë, July 20, 1841,’ is in the possession of Mr. W. Lowe Fleeming, of Wolverhampton.

[96] ‘Upperwood House, Rawdon, September 29th, 1841.

‘Dear Aunt,—I have heard nothing of Miss Wooler yet since I wrote to her intimating that I would accept her offer. I cannot conjecture the reason of this long silence, unless some unforeseen impediment has occurred in concluding the bargain. Meantime, a plan has been suggested and approved by Mr. and Mrs. White, and others, which I wish now to impart to you. My friends recommend me, if I desire to secure permanent success, to delay commencing the school for six months longer, and by all means to contrive, by hook or by crook, to spend the intervening time in some school on the continent. They say schools in England are so numerous, competition so great, that without some such step towards attaining superiority we shall probably have a very hard struggle, and may fail in the end. They say, moreover, that the loan of £100, which you have been so kind as to offer us, will, perhaps, not be all required now, as Miss Wooler will lend us the furniture; and that, if the speculation is intended to be a good and successful one, half the sum, at least, ought to be laid out in the manner I have mentioned, thereby insuring a more speedy repayment both of interest and principal.

‘I would not go to France or to Paris. I would go to Brussels, in Belgium. The cost of the journey there, at the dearest rate of travelling, would be £5; living is there little more than half as dear as it is in England, and the facilities for education are equal or superior to any other place in Europe. In half a year, I could acquire a thorough familiarity with French. I could improve greatly in Italian, and even get a dash of German, i.e., providing my health continued as good as it is now. Martha Taylor is now staying in Brussels, at a first-rate establishment there. I should not think of going to the Château de Kockleberg, where she is resident, as the terms are much too high; but if I wrote to her, she, with the assistance of Mrs. Jenkins, the wife of the British Consul, would be able to secure me a cheap and decent residence and respectable protection. I should have the opportunity of seeing her frequently, she would make me acquainted with the city; and, with the assistance of her cousins, I should probably in time be introduced to connections far more improving, polished, and cultivated, than any I have yet known.

‘These are advantages which would turn to vast account, when we actually commenced a school—and, if Emily could share them with me, only for a single half-year, we could take a footing in the world afterwards which we can never do now. I say Emily instead of Anne; for Anne might take her turn at some future period, if our school answered. I feel certain, while I am writing, that you will see the propriety of what I say; you always like to use your money to the best advantage; you are not fond of making shabby purchases; when you do confer a favour, it is often done in style; and depend upon it £50, or £100, thus laid out, would be well employed. Of course, I know no other friend in the world to whom I could apply on this subject except yourself. I feel an absolute conviction that, if this advantage were allowed us, it would be the making of us for life. Papa will perhaps think it a wild and ambitious scheme; but who ever rose in the world without ambition? When he left Ireland to go to Cambridge University, he was as ambitious as I am now. I want us all to go on. I know we have talents, and I want them to be turned to account. I look to you, aunt, to help us. I think you will not refuse. I know, if you consent, it shall not be my fault if you ever repent your kindness. With love to all, and the hope that you are all well,—Believe me, dear aunt, your affectionate niece,

‘Miss Branwell. C. Brontë.’

Mrs. Gaskell’s ‘Life.’ Corrected and completed from original letter in the possession of Mr. A. B. Nicholls.

[107] Miss Mary Dixon, the sister of Mr. George Dixon, M.P., is still alive, but she has unfortunately not preserved her letters from Charlotte Brontë.