Brontës (197 page)

87.
CB to EN, [12 Nov 1840]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 231].

88.
CB to EN, [17 Mar 1840]: MS HM 24421 p.3, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 212]; CB to EN, [end June 1840]: MS BS 46 p.3, BPM [
LCB
, i, 222]; CB to EN, [20 Aug 1840]: MS HM 24425 p.3, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 226].
Charlotte's use of ‘Charivari' and ‘Ça Ira' reflects her French reading at this time;
Punch
did not use the title ‘The London Charivari' until 1841.

89.
Ibid., p.2 [
LCB
, i, 226]; CB to EN, [?14 Aug 1840]: MS Bon 166, BPM [
LCB
, i, 224–5].

90.
HG
, 29 Aug 1840 p.2.

91.
CB to EN, [?29 Sept 1840]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 228]. The references are from the Bible, Mark ch.3 v.17 and 2Chronicles ch.8 v.4.

92.
WG
PBB
, 180; Proceedings of the Directors of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, 1841–2, 31 Aug 1840: MS RAIL 343/10, NA. The clerk-in-charge, George Duncan, was engaged at an annual salary of £130, rising to a possible £150. Thomas Sugden, whom Branwell first offered as surety in place of his aunt, was not landlord of the Black Bull, as Gérin claims but a wool-stapler: White,
Directory of the
…
West Riding of Yorkshire
(1843), 372. See above, p.339–40, for Branwell's seeking employment as a bank clerk.

93.
HG
, 10 Oct 1840 p.2; 19 Dec 1840 p.3; 26 Dec 1840 p.4.

94.
Ibid., 2Oct 1840 p.2; 20 Feb 1841 p.1.

95.
Ibid., 17 Oct 1840 p.2. Passions were roused to such an extent that the head waiter of the White Swan Hotel was later prosecuted for an assault on the guard of the rival Union Hotel omnibus: ibid., 28 Nov 1840, p.3.

96.
White,
Directory of the
…
West Riding of Yorkshire
(1843), 444.

97.
Du Maurier, 117 and WG
PBB
, 183–4both cite ‘local tradition' for which I have been unable to find a contemporary source. White,
Directory of the
…
West Riding of Yorkshire
(1843), 444 does not list a ‘Pear Tree Inn' though it identifies Edward (not Ely) Bates as the owner of a beer-house.

98.
A concert of sacred music was held in the Old Assembly Rooms in the Talbot Inn, Halifax, on 9 September 1840 and there was a performance of
Messiah
in the Oddfellows' Hall on 28 December:
HG
, 9Nov 1840 p.1; 28 Dec 1840 p.2; 2Jan 1841 p.3. Two lectures by Mr Burns, a New Zealand chief in full regalia, were given in the Old Assembly Rooms: ibid., 5 Dec 1840 p.3. Halifax Theatre reopened under the management of Mr Skerrett in December: ibid., 26 Dec 1840 p.2; 2Jan 1841 p.3.

99.
Leyland, i, 266–7.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: A WISH FOR WINGS

Title: ‘I hardly know what swelled to my throat as I read her letter … such a strong wish for wings – wings such as wealth can furnish': CB to EN, 7 Aug 1841 [
LCB
, i, 266].

1.
CB to EN, [3Jan 1841]: MS Gr. E3 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, i, 242].

2.
CB to EN, [20 Nov 1840]: HM 24426 pp.1, 2–3, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 233].

3.
Ellen enigmatically referred to Charlotte ‘helping to cook a certain hash which has been concocted at Earnley', this being Henry Nussey's home: CB to Henry Nussey, 11 Jan 1841: MS BS 47 p.2, BPM [
LCB
, i, 244–5].

4.
CB to Henry Nussey, 26 May 1840: MS in private hands [
LCB
, i, 220]. I am grateful to William Self for permission to quote from this ms and to Margaret Smith for the use of her transcript of it.

5.
CB to Henry Nussey, 11 Jan 1841: MS BS 47 p.3, BPM [
LCB
, i, 245].

6.
CB to EN, [?3Mar 1841]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 246].

7.
Ibid.; Anne's salary was £10 per quarter: Edmund Robinson, Cash Book, 1845–6: MS 93/2, Robinson Papers, BPM.

8.
Monument to John White, St Wilfrid's Parish Church, Calverley. The entire inscription reads ‘Sacred to the memory of John White of Upperwood House, Rawdon Gentleman who died 30th October 1860 in the 70th year of his age & was interred near the east window of this church on the 6th day of the following month. This Monument is erected by his sorrowing widow in affectionate remembrance of his amiable upright and truly Christian demeanour in every relation of life.' For his children see
Brontë House – the First Fifty Years: 1934–1984
(Woodhouse Grove School, 1984), 4. When Upperwood House was demolished, Brontë House, the preparatory school for Woodhouse Grove, was built in its grounds.

9.
CB to EN, [?3Mar 1841]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 246–7].

10.
CB to WSW, 12 May 1848: MS Gr. F3 pp.1–3, BPM [
LCB
, ii, 63–5].

11.
See below, p.414.

12.
CB to EN, [?21 Mar 1841]: MS BS 47.5 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, i, 248–9].

13.
CB to EN, [?1 Apr 1841]: HM 24427 p.1, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 249].

14.
CB to EJB, [?2Apr 1841]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 251].

15.
CB to EN, [?4 May 1841]: MS BS 48 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, i, 252].

16.
Ibid., pp.1–3 [
LCB
, i, 252–3].

17.
Ibid., p.1 [
LCB
, i, 252]; CB to Henry Nussey, 9 May [1841]: MS in private hands [
LCB
, i, 256]. I am grateful to William Self for permission to quote from this ms and to Margaret Smith for the use of her transcript of it.

18.
CB to EN, [?4May 1841]: MS BS 48 p.3, BPM [
LCB
, i, 253].

19.
Ibid., pp.3–4[
LCB
, i, 253].

20.
Ibid., p.3[
LCB
, i, 253]; CB to EN, [?10 June 1841]: MS BS 49 pp.3–4, BPM [
LCB
, i, 257].

21.
CB to EN, 1July 1841: MS in private hands [
LCB
, i, 258]. I am grateful to Lynda Glading for allowing me to see this ms and quote from it. CB to EN, [?3July 1841]: MS Gr. E1 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, i, 259]; CB to EN, 19 July 1841: MS Gr. E4 p.1, BPM [
LCB
, i, 261].

22.
Dr Scoresby to all clergymen of Bradford parish, Dec 1840: MS in unsorted bundle, 1840, Whitby; Inhabitants of Haworth, Petition to Joseph Shackleton, Dec 1840: MS (2 copies, one in Scoresby's hand), in unsorted bundle, 1840, Whitby.

23.
BO
, 11 Feb 1841 pp.3, 4.

24.
PB,
LI
, 13 Mar 1841 p.7 [
LRPB
, 126].

25.
Morgan's relations with the vicar had deteriorated to such an extent that he now wrote to him and ‘respectfully … decline[d] any further correspondence with him': he announced his intention to follow the example of George Bull and James Bardsley and resign his living but was dissuaded by his parishioners, who ‘earnestly solicited' his continued ministrations and presented him with a silver service in recognition of their appreciation: William Morgan to Dr Scoresby, 3Apr 1841: MS in unsorted bundle, 1840, Whitby;
HG
, 10 Apr 1841 p.3; 17 Apr 1841 p.2.

26.
PB,
BO
, 13 May 1841 p.4[
LRPB
, 127–8].

27.
Ibid.

28.
John Winterbotham,
BO
, 20 May 1841 p.4; 5 June 1841 p.4.

29.
HG
, 3July 1841 p.3.

30.
Accounts of the campaign in Haworth differ according to the political affiliation of the newspaper. The Tory
LI
, 3July 1841 p.5declared ‘Never was there such a signal defeat of and discomforture to the Whig party in Haworth' while the supplement to the Whig
LM
, 3July 1841 p.3said that ‘The visit of the Blue candidates to Haworth has strengthened much the Liberal cause'.

31.
EJB, Diary Paper, 30 July 1841: MS in Law [facsimile in Shorter,
Charlotte Brontë and her Circle
, opp. 146;
LCB
, i, 262–3]. Emily's hawk is usually referred to as ‘Hero' but
LCB
correctly identifies it as Nero: the Brontës often gave their pets classical names and the hawk's beak would be reminiscent of a Roman nose. Victoria and Adelaide, named after the queen and her mother, were the pet geese.

32.
CB to EN, 1July 1841: MS in private hands [
LCB
, i, 258]. The Robinsons are listed among the visitors in
Scarborough Herald
, 22 July 1841 p.3. Details of Wood's Lodgings are given in an advertisement in
Scarborough Record
, 7June 1845 p.1.

33.
AB, Diary Paper, 30 July 1841: MS in Law [
LCB
, i, 264–5].

34.
CB to EN, 19 July 1841: MS Gr. E4 pp.1–2, BPM [
LCB
, i, 260].

35.
Ibid., pp.2–3, 3, 4[
LCB
, i, 260–1].

36.
Ibid., p.4[
LCB
, i, 261].

37.
Ibid., p.3[
LCB
, i, 261].

38.
CB to EN, [2Nov 1841]: MS HM 24429 pp.1–2, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 271].

39.
CB to EN, 7Aug 1841: MS HM 24428 p.2, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 266].

40.
CB to Aunt Branwell, 29 Sept 1842: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 268–9].

41.
CB to EN, [2Nov 1841]: MS HM 24429 p.3, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 272].

42.
CB to EJB, [?7Nov 1841]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 273].

43.
Ibid.

44.
CB to EN, [2Nov 1841]: MS HM 24429 p.1, Huntington [
LCB
, i, 271]; CB to EN, [?9Dec 1841]: MS p.3, Harvard [
LCB
, i, 275].

45.
CB to EN, [?10 Jan 1842]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 277].

46.
The narrative poems included a reworking of Augusta Almeda's murder by Douglas: EJB, ‘Were they Shepherds, who sat all day' Jan 1841–May 1844, ‘‘Twas night, her comrades gathered all', 17 Aug 1841 and ‘Weeks of wild delirium past –', 1Sept 1841: MS Add 43483 pp.29–38, 20–2, 17–19 [Roper, 110–19, 124–5, 126–8].

47.
EJB, ‘Shall earth no more inspire thee', 16 May 1841: MS in Law [facsimile in
Poems
1934, 307; Roper, 121–2]. The nature-loving character who is rejected by society may be Douglas, the outlaw who killed Augusta. He appears in other poems.

48.
EJB, ‘I see around me tombstones grey', 17 July 1841: MS in Law [facsimile in
Poems
1934, 316; Roper, 124].

49.
EJB,
Wuthering Heights
, 80. See also ibid., 160 where the dying Catherine muses ‘the thing that irks me most is this shattered
prison, after all. I'm tired of being enclosed here. I'm wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there; not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart; but really with it, and in it.'

50.
EJB, ‘And like myself lone, wholey lone', 27 Feb 1841: MS in Berg [Roper, 120].

51.
EJB, ‘Riches I hold in light esteem', 1 Mar 1841: MS in Law [facsimile in
Poems
1934, 309; Roper, 120–1].

52.
CB to EN, [?10 Jan 1842]: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 277].

53.
CB to EN, [20 Jan 1842]: MS HM 24430 p.4 [
LCB
, i, 279].

54.
Ibid. Chitham, 15 and WG
AB
, 138, 142, 146, 180, 182 both espouse the love affair theory.

55.
CB to EN, [20 Jan 1842]: MS HM 24430 p.2 [
LCB
, i, 278].

56.
Ibid., pp.2–3[
LCB
, i, 278].

57.
CB to EN, [?17 Dec 1841]: MS Bon 167, BPM [
LCB
, i, 275–6].

58.
CB to EJB, 2Apr 1841: MS n.l. [
LCB
, i, 251]; Proceedings of the Directors of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, 1841–2, 1Apr 1841: MS RAIL 343/10, NA.

59.
Census Returns for Midgley township, 1841: Microfilm, Halifax.

60.
Grundy, 60.

61.
PBB to Francis Grundy, 22 May [1842]: MS n.l. [Grundy, 85]. Grundy dates this letter to 1845 but on content it clearly dates from 1842. Du Maurier, 118–32 and WG
PBB
, 187–204, for example, are both convinced of Branwell's downfall through debauchery at Luddenden Foot.

62.
Among Grundy's wilder exaggerations was his claim to have met all the Brontë sisters whom he describes,
en masse
, as ‘distant and distrait, large of nose, small of figure, red of hair, prominent of spectacles': Grundy, 74. He described Branwell in similar unflattering terms: ‘Branwell was very like them, almost insignificantly small – one of his life's trials. He had a mass of red hair, which he wore brushed high off his forehead, – to help his height, I fancy; a great, bumpy, intellectual forehead, nearly half the size of the whole facial contour; small ferrety eyes, deep sunk, and still further hidden by the never removed spectacles; prominent nose, but weak lower features. He had a downcast look, which never varied, save for a rapid momentary glance at long intervals. Small and thin of person, he was the reverse of attractive at first sight.': ibid., 75.

63.
Leyland, i, 289–90; Grundy, 76.

64.
Weightman's salary, paid by the Church Pastoral Aid Society, was £100 p.a.:
HG
, 20 Feb 1841 p.4. Weightman preached a sermon on the society's behalf in Haworth church, raising a ‘liberal collection' for its funds: ibid., 27 Feb 1841 p.2.

65.
The so-called ‘Luddenden Foot Notebook' was mainly in use in the period 1840–2but Branwell continued to make entries in 1843. The ms is divided, the bulk (28 pages) being MS BS 127, BPM, the rest (14 pages) in the Brotherton. For the concert note see PBB, [LFN], 1840–2: MS p.2, Brotherton. The only concert of sacred music held in the Old Assembly Rooms on a Monday was on 11 November 1841:
HG
, 7 Nov 1841 p.1; 14 Nov 1841 p.3. Branwell notes the address of the ‘Mottet Society' and that subscriptions, in the form of post office order, should be sent to the Managing Editor E. Rimbaud: PBB, [LFN], 1840–2: MS p.5, Brotherton.